ADONAI your God is in your midst—
    a mighty Savior!
He will delight over you with joy.
He will quiet you with His love.
He will dance for joy over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17, TLV

If someone would threaten to remove chocolate from this world if I didn’t choose my most favorite verse of the Bible, it would be today’s verse. Why? Because there are thousands of verses I love. Actually, it’s not that difficult for me to pick this passage. I mean what a love letter! From the Creator of the Universe, with a hint of the coming Messiah who would be in our midst!

Of course I’d choose this verse. He’ll delight over us? Quiet us with His love? Dance and sing for joy over us? When I need a big dose of lovin’ this is my go-to verse.

And the context? Even more significant. Any chapter that begins with the Hebrew word, “Oy!” (vs. 1), one knows God is not pleased. Israel has messed up horribly again. Jerusalem, the place where God placed His Name forever (2 Chronicles 6), has disappointed her love:

She did not obey;
she took no correction.
She did not trust in ADONAI.
She did not draw near to her God. (vs. 2)

So, the context is, even though Israel has messed up royally, God loves her. He won’t give up on her because He made a covenant with her. And even though Israel will continue to mess up, there will always be a remnant that won’t.

Then there is us. Those who were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:19), we’re given that same love letter. Why, because we have been redeemed by the precious blood of our Heavenly Father’s Son. So, when we have an “Oy!”, we know that His covenant is there to welcome back our repentant hearts. Not just welcome, but dance for joy.

Kind of reminds us of the father of the prodigal who sees his son from afar and runs to meet him. Celebrates with joy over his return (Luke 15:11-32). Was Yeshua thinking of this verse when He told this parable. I like to think so.

What is your go-to verse?