READING: Joel 2:18-3:21 – GOD Has Pity, He Will Pour Out His Spirit – He Judges Nations, & Israel’s Future

Verse of the Day: “The LORD had pity on His people.” – Joel 2:18 (ESV) 

Immediately after the assembly of the nation of Judah because of the Locust Plague, God had pity on His people. He said, “I’m giving you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.” He drove the Locusts into the Eastern and Western seas and supplied food, wine, and oil to Judah. He sent rain; grass and other vegetation began to grow. 

He promised to “restore to you the years that the Locusts ate, the army I sent among you,” that is, the Locust Plague. You’ll have plenty to eat, and “will praise the name of the LORD, and My people will never again be put to shame. You will know I am the LORD your God and there is no one else.” 

God said, “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. On male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” There will be wonders in the heavens. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood before the great Day of the Lord comes. “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”  

In chapter three, following His restoration of Jerusalem, the LORD will call the nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment. “The locusts, drought, and fires heralded the ‘Day of the LORD,’ which could be averted only by genuine repentance” (Homer Hailey, A Commentary on the Minor Prophets, p. 41).  

The first verses of chapter three point to the time after sending the Holy Spirit on all flesh, a time when “repentance and remission of sins was preached in His name.” We cannot say with certitude when judgment is of God or we think it is from God but is not. 

“Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great.” This points to a ‘Day-of-the-Lord’ judgment, but not when or where it will be. This is how Joel tells us  God is vigilant and can bring His judgment on any nation in this After Pentecost Time. 

When the LORD roars from Zion, I think of New Jerusalem from which our Lord is coming. Verse eighteen of chapter three is our assurance God is with us. Compare Romans 8:38-39; “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, not things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Remember: The Day of the Lord is a judgment on the wicked, but redemption for the righteous 

There’s a great day coming. Are you ready for that day to come? 

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PRAY FOR YOURSELF 

Father in the Heavens, Jesus told His disciples when to flee from Jerusalem and Judea and to hide in the mountains, but we have no certain way of knowing when disturbances and wars in our time may be a “Day-of-the-Lord” event or part of the everlasting fighting among the nations. I pray for guidence from Your Spirit to let me know how to discerne the two different types of disruptions of our lives. I know that in Christ we are safe, regardless of which kind of disturbance we are experiencing. Help us to grow from these experiences, is my prayer in the sacred name of Jesus, AMEN! 

MY PRAYER FOR YOU (and for me) 

Holy God, Eternal Father, I pray for all who may read these words, and for myself, that we may take seriously the idea of “The Day of the Lord” as a judgment on wicked people, cities, and nations but is also redemption for those who are faithful to You. We trust You know what you are doing when You judge our civic bodies in our space-time universe. We have seen such judgments in the Scriptures, but we do not have the savvy to know when these disturbances are from you or not. We pray, Father, that you will not lead us into the time of trial and temptation, and when we see our civic leaders are going over a moral cliff we need to pray for them with urgency to change their course. I lift up this prayer that all who read this may pray for our governing officials that they may come to their senses and change their course. Let us have an influence on Western Culture similar to what the early church had on the Roman Empire. This is my prayer, in the blessed name of Jesus, AMEN!