Joel

Book of Joel

 

It's been an interesting week.  God never ceases to move in my life.  Sometimes I am in awe, other times I keep shaking my head trying to wrap it around everything that happened.  It was that kinda week.  I was talking to my mom yesterday (another very wise woman in my life) and this was our conclusion: We are living on a gold mine.   There are some many people that are hurting and need Jesus in their lives and they are all around us.   They need the love and life of Christ in their lives, the same life that I have.  They are our co-workers (even those bosses or associates we don't care for), the youth, our neighbors, our leaders, and our families.  Pastor Scott reminded us tonight that we are living in a time of cultural shifts.  Bible raised and believing generations vs. a post-modernist thought and life style.   I believe that the prophet Joel was in the same kind of culture shift. 

 

            The people of Judah have been invaded by a great, powerful army.  Not the Edomites, not Egypt, not the Assyrians (yet), but locusts.  We learned at the end of Proverbs that we can learn about community from locusts.  They work together, and unfortunately, they destroyed together the crops, the lands, and the well being of Judah.  Joel describes them as having jaws like lions, like a marching army, powerful and without number.  So why would God allow this great army to invade?  They turned from God.  The culture and society were me-focused, having a good time, and rejecting God.  The locusts came and wiped everything away, to a point that they were unable to perform ritual and religious sacrifices and "the joy of mankind is withered away." 

 

Joel mentions 5 times in this short book that "The day of Lord is at hand" meaning God's wrath is ready to be poured out on mind kind.  Joel is calling to the people that there is hope in God's mercies, but it will only come by repentance.  He calls the priests, the assemblies, congregations, and families to gather in fasting, to cry out to the Lord,  and rededicate.  If they do not, they will truly experience God's mighty hand against them, and it's worse than the locusts.  I believe our world is being eaten alive by locusts, but in many forms.   We also need to turn back to God in repentance.  A couple times Joel uses the word "Then" which is such a hopeful word.  By having a repentant heart and life, THEN "the Lord will be jealous (zealous in the NKJV) for His land and take pity on His people."

 

Joel prophesies of destruction, a Day of the Lord that will bring His wrath.  The end times.  Revelation.  We see this image of a powerful God that is angry.  God mercies, however, prevail.  Joel reminds Judah words that we have heard from the beginning, "He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love." The Spirit is promised and Peter spoke the words of Joel 2: 28-32 at the time of Pentecost to the early church.  The Spirit came to them in Acts 2 and we see the promise of God's greatest mercy to an undeserving people (all of us), "And it shall come to pass, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

 

My friend, we are living in a time where people have turned form God.  We have the Spirit.  Pray for the harvest.  Pray that evil, sin, locusts don't devour the field that surround us.  We must take action and pray for the gold that is around us.   I have been learning many things over the last few months and I know that God has me here for a reason.   We are all in our situations for a reason.  Do you see the gold around you?  The mission field that God has placed you in?  We may never know the impact that we indirectly have on people that come into contact with us.  We may never know until we are in heaven.  God is merciful and will keep His promises.  He delivers, but He is also Just.  The heavens tremble and the Day of the Lord is soon.  Be ready.  But praise to the God who dwells in Zion!