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garden"Yahweh, your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will renew you in his love. He will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3.17

I was raised by men who sang – whether they had talent, or not. My father had talent. He had a deep, resonant bass voice. He was a four time all-state trumpeter who played in a United States Navy band. He sang all the time – usually changing the words to make them funny. He would change the Hank Williams' line, "Today I passed you on the street/ And my heart fell at your feet," to, "Today I passed out on the street/ 'Cause I smelled your stinkin' feet." You get the picture. He was also a world class whistler. He could whistle three different ways and do runs of sixteenth notes in all of them.

My Grandpa Browning did not have a deep, resonant bass voice – nor did he have a rich baritone, or even a passable tenor. He sounded like one of those old bicycle pumps that would hum and wheeze when you pumped down on them. That didn't stop him from constantly singing hymns. He especially liked "My God and I." He also liked the song "Young at Heart." He got his phrasing for that song from Frank Sinatra, singing with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He got his voice for that song from one of those old bicycle pumps that wheezes and hums. When he sang hymns at church he used his free hand to direct – although no one ever entertained the idea of asking him to lead. Both men were exuberant, happy singers.

I count it a blessing to have been surrounded by the singing voices of the men who raised me. They trained me to sing and whistle and make a general nuisance of myself and I enjoy it immensely.

Whether your father was musical, had a tin ear and didn't sing, or had a tin ear and sang anyway, we brothers and sisters in Christ all share a father who sings – and sings about us. In the passage above, from the prophet Zephaniah we have that remarkable verse, unique in scripture, that describes Yahweh singing.

Zephaniah is not a prophet we study much. From his identification in 1.1 he tells us he is descended from Hezekiah – so he is of the royal family. He prophesies during the reign of good King Josiah – a reign that began with zealous religious reform, and ended in the King's disobeying the will of God and dying on the battle field. It succeeds five decades of idolatry and debauchery under evil king Manasseh. His brief book follows a familiar pattern. Judah will be judged for her sins (1.2-18). There is a call for repentance (2.1-3). The nations to Judah's east, west, south, and north will be judged (2.4-15). There is a woe for Jerusalem (3.1-7). The faithful are encouraged to wait Yahweh's deliverance (3.8-13). The prophecy ends with that deliverance coming, and the call to rejoice (3.14-20).

It is in this last section that we are told Yahweh not only provides the victory, he joins in the celebration as well. I am unaware of any other reference in scripture to God singing. In this verse he is not only singing, but he is singing loudly, and he is singing about us.

I just want us to think about that for a moment – begin to imagine it if we can. What would God's singing voice sound like? And how wonderful it is to look forward to hearing it. We hear God's speaking voice every day we open the word. What a blessing it will be one day to hear God sing.

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