Evil Seen No More Zephaniah 3:15

After sharing concerning the restoration of a “remnant” of people which would be left in Judah after their destruction, Zephaniah the prophet instructed them to “sing”, “shout”, “be glad” and “rejoice”. In chapter three and verse fifteen of his prophesy , Zephaniah gives four reasons they should do so including they shall “see evil” no more where we read:

The LORD has taken away your judgments, he has cast out your enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of you: you shall not see evil any more.

The verse begins, “The LORD has taken away your judgments, he has cast out your enemy:” Zephaniah began with the first reason the people should “sing, shout, be glad and rejoice” as he wrote, “The LORD” or “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the one true God” “has taken away” which means “turned aside, departed and made to come to an end” “your judgments” which refers to “justices, ordinances, acts of deciding a case, procedures and litigations”. Zephaniah continued with the second reason, “he has cast out” or “turned away, declined and cleared out” “your enemy” which refers to “your personal adversary and foe”. Not only did the LORD turn aside the judgments which were against Judah, but He also “cleared out” their enemies as well.

The verse goes on to say, “the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of you: you shall not see evil any more.” Zephaniah added the third reason they should “sing, shout, be glad and rejoice” as he wrote, “the king” or “royal leader” “of Israel” which means “God prevails” and was “the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob and the name of the nation after their return from exile” “even the LORD” or “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the one true God” “is in the midst” which means “” “of you” which refers to “the nation of Israel”. Finally Zephaniah continued with the fourth reason as he wrote, “you shall not see” or “look at, perceive, inspect and consider” “evil any more” which means “bad, unpleasant, pain giving unhappiness and misery any longer”. The LORD was to be among the people of Israel and remove everything that caused misery and discomfort to them.

When we consider these words of Zephaniah, we can understand the people of Judah's reasons to rejoice and sing. They should “shout” and “be glad” as the LORD was with them, and He promised to remove all their enemies, turn aside their judgments and remove every evil thing which caused them misery. This is much like it is for those who gives their lives to Jesus Christ. Where “enemies, judgment and evil” were once a part of their lives, Jesus removes their impact upon the believer by being in their midst. Though foes come, and evil pursues, Jesus gives the Christian power to prevail against them. One day soon Jesus will return for His people, the church, and when He does, all enemies, evil and judgments will be put away. For this reason Paul the apostle wrote in the book of Romans in chapter eight and verse thirty seven, “we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us”, and may we always rely upon the One who has dominion and power over all “evil” that shall come against us.

Next time Zephaniah tells Zion to “fear no more”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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