More on Joel

Well, the snow is piling up again in Michigan. Yesterday was a very tricky driving day here, but God granted us safety in our travels.

I’m looking this morning at Joel 2. Joel’s theme is “The Day of the Lord” throughout this small book. Chapter one had talked about the locusts and the devastation that brought to the land. In chapter two it seems as though he is talking about an army, but I suspect he is still referring to the locusts. There are so many that they just come in swarms going up into the houses through the windows and attacking whatever is in front of them. But these creatures have a commander – the Lord. Verse 11 says, “The Lord utters his voice at the head of his army; how vast is his host! Numberless are those who obey his command. Truly the day of the Lord is great; terrible indeed—who can endure it?”

Just as in the first chapter, there is a call to repentance. “Return to me with all your heart,” the Lord says. He calls for all the people both young and old, even the infants, to be gathered together for an assembly. The bride and bridegroom should halt their preparations and celebrations and come to this assembly. What is the purpose of this meeting? To cry out to the Lord to spare His people. It’s interesting that here, just as in many other places in Scripture, the plea to God is that He not make his people a mockery so that people will say, “Where is their God?”

God responds to this prayer and shows pity on the people. He promises rain and food and plenty as He restores what has been destroyed by the plague. In addition to the physical healing of the land, God promises a spiritual work. We’ll look at that next time.

The lesson for us as men who desire to be faithful, is that we need to learn to have a repentant heart. When God disciplines and chastens us, we need to respond with humility and God-honoring repentance.