Oh Happy Days

Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.-Zephaniah 3:14-20***Judah was the southern nation in the Promised Land. Zephaniah the prophet proclaimed the words of the LORD God to the Israelites in Judah during the reign of King Josiah, the 15th king to rule the kingdom. Josiah worshiped the Lord God. Josiah's father King Amon and Amon's father King Manasseh were idol worshipers. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that the Israelites abused the prophets of the Lord God and disregarded the words of the Lord God and there was no remedy. Moreover, Manasseh was more wicked than the idol worshipers who previously inhabited the land and Manasseh shed blood throughout Jerusalem that the Lord was not willing to forgive. Manasseh was captured by the Assyrians and taken to Babylon, land that was controlled by the Assyrians. In Babylon, Manasseh prayed to the Lord God and was returned to Jerusalem. Afterwards, Manasseh instituted changes in Jerusalem and his life. Manasseh's great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) was the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's reign, the Babylonians (Chaldees/Chaldeans), Syrians (Arameans), Moabites, and Ammonites successfully attacked Judah, according to the will of the Lord God. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord while Jehoiakim reigned. During the reign of Jehoiakim's son King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the 18th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin and his family, to Babylon. During the reign of Jehoiakim's brother King Zedekiah (Mattaniah), the 19th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians conquered the royal city, Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Similarly, over 120 years earlier, the Assyrians invaded the northern nation of Israel in the Promised Land and conquered the royal city, Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. In Judah, the  temple and other buildings were looted and burned by the Babylonians. However, as proclaimed by Zephaniah, the invasions and subsequent exile were not the end. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, the birth tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, Ruth, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21, 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Jeremiah 39:1-18, 52:1-34, Zephaniah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26  

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