When the righteous King of Israel
comes and dwells once again in the midst of his people (Zephaniah 3:15, Zephaniah 3:17), he will not come in judgment against his own. Thus they should not fear evil. The condemnation they deserve will be no more. As Psalm 23:1–6 promised, when the Lord is your shepherd, you need never again fear evil.
This becomes all the clearer with the arrival of Christ, who is Emmanuel, God with us,
or God in our midst
(Matthew 1:23; Matthew 28:20). With him present, there is no need for his people to fear evil (Matthew 10:28; John 12:15). For in Christ, God reconciled to himself those who were at one time his enemies (Romans 5:10). And if God is for us, nothing, not even tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword
(Romans 8:35), can separate us from God and his love. Rather, will not the one who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all also graciously give us all things (Romans 8:31–32)? Therefore, we can rest in Christ and soldier on in hope, while we await the day when the Lord will definitively deal with all our oppressors (Zephaniah 3:19) and gloriously dwell in our midst.
15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.