Christ in Joel, Our God Reigns!

The next book in the group we call “Minor Prophets” is Joel.  It is a short book, only three chapters long.  It is so rich in prophecy and in description of God’s nature.  I hope you will take a few minutes and read the entire book for yourself.  We don’t know a lot about Joel, the author of this book, except that his father was Pethuel.  He, unlike most of the other writers in the Old Testament, did not mention any kings who were ruling at the time of his writing.  But most authorities believe that he lived and prophesied in Judah during the rule of Joash, between 850 and 800 B.C.  That would make him a contemporary of Elisha.  His name means “Jehovah is God,” something God’s people had forgotten.  The book of Joel can be divided into three major themes:  A description of a plague which destroyed the land during the time in which Joel wrote; a vision of an invading army at some time in the future; and a future judgment of all nations when God will deliver His people and when Jesus will come to reign in His Millennial Kingdom.

The plague of locusts is described by Joel in just one verse:

What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten.  What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten.  And what the hopping locust left, the devouring locust has eaten. (Joel 1:4)

A plague of that nature is not unheard of in that part of the world.  A similar plague occurred in 1915 and was described in an article in the magazine, National Geographic:

John D. Whiting wrote, "Thus Joel, writing some seven or eight hundred years B. C., begins his description of a locust plague.  We marvel how this ancient writer could have given so graphic and true a description of a devastation caused by locusts in so condensed form." (p. 511). In  1915 the first swarms of adult locusts appeared in March, coming from the northeast, going toward southwest in such "thick clouds as to obscure the sun for the time being" (p. 513). The females, about two and one-half to three inches long, at once began to lay their eggs, sinking a hole about four inches deep into the hard soil and depositing about 100 eggs.  "It is estimated by competent authorities that as many as 65,000 to 75,000 locust eggs are concentrated in a square meter of soil" (pp.  516, 521).

In 1915 the fully developed flying locusts appeared about June 10 and at once began to complete the destruction begun in the earlier stages. They attacked the olive trees, whose tough, bitter leaves had not been to the liking of the creepers. Food becoming scarcer, both creeping and flying locusts attacked the olive trees, and "between the two they stripped every leaf, berry, and even the tender bark. Likewise, every variety of tree was attacked. . . Of the cacti they ate away layer after layer over the whole surface, giving the leaves the effect of having been jack-planed."  (p. 542). The full-grown locusts had cleaned up every bit of vegetation. ¹

Joel tells us that the plague was so severe that no vegetation remained in the land.  The people were dying of starvation, and even the animals had nothing to eat:

Lament like a woman dressed in funeral clothing, one who has lost the husband of her youth. . .What a terrible day!  The day of the Lord is near; it comes like chaos from the Almighty.  Isn’t the food cut off right before our eyes? Aren’t joy and gladness also gone from our God’s house? The grain shrivels under the shovels; the barns are empty. The granaries are in ruin because the grain has dried up. How the animals groan! Herds of cattle are in distress because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep pant. (Joel 1:8,15-18)

Is it any wonder that the prophet used this plague to describe the invading armies that God told him would someday ravage the land of Israel?  The second chapter of Joel begins the description of what will happen just before Jesus comes to reign on earth, the battle of Armageddon.  Notice the first part of the first verse of chapter two:

Blow the horn in Zion; give a shout on my holy mountain! (Joel 2:1a)

In today’s world, we might see this as a “News Bulletin” scrolled at the bottom of our TV screens; or we might hear on our radios that shrill, annoying sound from the Emergency Broadcast System; or one of those emergency text messages we get on our cell phones; or “We interrupt our normal broadcast for an emergency message.”  When God had something important to tell the people of Judah and/or Israel in that day, the priest would blow the shofar, a trumpet made from a ram’s horn, to get the people’s attention.

The second part of that verse is what God wanted His people to hear and respond to:

Let all the people of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is near— (Joel 2:1b)

Whenever we see the phrase, “The day of the Lord,” we know that God is talking about judgment.  In this case, the judgment is three-fold.  The most immediate judgment is of God’s people who had turned away from Him and who would be conquered by Assyria.  The second meaning refers to the coming of Christ, His atonement for our sin, and His sending the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer.  And the final meaning of this prophecy relates to the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and The Millennial Kingdom.  The first judgment took place in 732 B.C., but the final judgment is still to come.

Whenever God pronounces judgment on His people, He always tells us that He will spare those who turn to Him in repentance.  The judgments Joel describes are no different.  He tells His people that if they will truly repent, then He will forgive them and restore their land.  But He demands true, heart-felt repentance, not just an outward, hypocritical show that we put on for others to see:

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive. (Joel 2:12-13)

The next promise that God gave through Joel was greater than any other promise ever given to man.  He promised that He would, one day, pour out His Holy Spirit on anyone who trusts in Him.  Until that day, the Holy Spirit only “came upon” a few individuals for only a specific purpose – men like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets.

After that I will pour out my spirit upon everyone; your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days, I will also pour out my spirit on the male and female slaves. (Joel 2:28-29)

What God was promising here was unheard of!  He said that His Holy Spirit would not be limited to the priests and religious leaders, but He would be available to all people, including young and old, men and women, rich and poor!  And Jesus Christ gave us the same promise before His crucifixion:

I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you. (John 14:16-17)

The promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled just 50 days after Christ was crucified, on the day called Pentecost.

When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak. (Acts 2:1-4)

And Paul emphasized that God sees us all the same.  He does not discriminate on any basis – race or nationality, social status, or gender.  His Holy Spirit is given to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord:

There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galations 3:28)

Throughout the Bible, God tells us that He will give us plenty of warning before the final battle, the Battle of Armageddon, occurs.  Joel gives us two of those warnings, but there are many more throughout the Bible.  If we are wise, we will heed His warnings, and we will look for the signs of His Second Coming.
 
1.  The regathering of Judah to Jerusalem.  This occurred when Israel was granted statehood in 1948:

Truly, in those days and in that time, I will bring back to Judah and Jerusalem those who were sent away. (Joel 3:1)

Instead, they will say, “As the Lord lives who brought up the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the lands where he has banished them.” I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors. (Jeremiah 16:15)

The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity, says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it. (Jeremiah 30:3)

2.  Natural phenomena:

I will give signs in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. (Joel 2:30-31)
 
“Now immediately after the suffering of that time the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken.” (Matthew 24:29)

I looked on as he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as funeral clothing, and the entire moon turned red as blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its fruit when shaken by a strong wind. The sky disappeared like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. (Revelation 6:12-14)

Joel goes on to describe the great battle that will usher in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  When Christ comes, He will come in victory and power.  He will rule His Kingdom, and all His enemies will be defeated.  The Millennial Kingdom will be a time when the Jewish people will recognize Jesus Christ as their Messiah, as will all the other nations of the world.  This will be a time of perfect law, perfect judgment, and perfect peace, because Jesus will rule:

The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge for his people, a shelter for the people of Israel. So you will know that I am the Lord your God, settle down in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, and never again will strangers pass through it. (Joel 3:16-17)
 
In the days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of the mountains. It will be lifted above the hills; peoples will stream to it. Many nations will go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of Jacob’s God so that he may teach us his ways and we may walk in God’s paths.” Instruction will come from Zion; the Lord’s word from Jerusalem. God will judge between the nations, and settle disputes of mighty nations. Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools. Nation will not take up sword against nation; they will no longer learn how to make war. (Isaiah 2:2-4)

My prayer for you and for myself this week is very loosely based on Joel’s prayer in 1:19 and God’s direction in 2:12, 13:

To you, Lord, I cry, (for I know that I live in a wicked world.  I pray that I will listen for Your voice and seek your will for my life.  I want to serve you with all my heart, not just with vain, outward works,)  for (You are) merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.

All scripture is from the Common English Bible
¹ Pounds, Wil, “The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit,” Abide In Christ, 2008. Web. August 6, 2014. http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/joe2v28.html