JOEL 1-3 REND YOUR HEART2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Joel 1-3 Rend Your Heart

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011.

Alright, well as we get into the book of Joel this evening, we're going to be covering, Lord willing, the whole book. It's three chapters long. I'm talking about the situation that was going on as Joel is ministering. You might remember as we went through Hosea, that Hosea was ministering to the northern kingdom of Israel.

The nation of Israel was at one time united under King Solomon, under King David, under King Saul actually, and then David and then Solomon. And then under Solomon's son, the kingdom was divided into the northern kingdom, which was named Israel, and then the southern kingdom, which was named Judah. And so Hosea was ministering there in the northern kingdom, and it was right up until the end of that kingdom when Assyria came and conquered the northern kingdom.

Joel, on the other hand, is ministering to the southern kingdom. So he's in Jerusalem, most likely, there where the temple is, and he's ministering to the people probably quite a while before Hosea. And so it's kind of early into Judah's history. In fact, he's probably the first of the written prophets or the earliest of the written prophets that we have.

He was before Isaiah and Jeremiah. He was before Ezekiel. He was before Daniel. He was, as far as the timeline is concerned, probably the first of the written prophets that we have in our Old Testament.

Well, you also might remember in the book of Hosea, we looked at Hosea's family as an illustration that God was speaking to the people. It was a message that they were living out before the people based upon their family and their kids and the adulterous wife that Hosea had. Well, as we look at the book of Joel, God's still using an illustration to speak to the people, but it's not Joel's family. Instead, it's

the midst of what's going on around them, which was a very bad locust plague that was taking place. And so we'll see that as we get started here in Joel chapter 1.

So the book of Joel begins in chapter 1, verse 1, it says this, The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel, Hear this, you elders, and give ear, all you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell your children about it. Let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. Verse 4,

What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten. And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

And so now as Joel begins this message, it's the word of the Lord, it's a message that God has given to him to announce to the nation of Judah. And he's announcing to them to pay attention to what is going on. He tells them, hear this you elders and give ear you inhabitants of the land. He's calling for all of the people of the nation to

to consider the things that are going on in their days, the events that are happening. They are so unique, they're so unordinary,

That he says, make sure you tell your kids about it. And make sure your kids tell their kids. And then make sure those kids tell the next generation. But this is not everyday happenings. The events that are going on are very unusual. And so you need to stand up and take notice and listen and pay attention to what is going on.

Well, what is going on? What was happening that they were supposed to pay attention to? Well, he tells us in verse 4 about this swarm of locusts that had come upon the southern kingdom. He says, "...what the chewing locusts left, the swarming locusts have eaten." And then, "...what the swarming locusts left, the crawling locusts have eaten." And what the crawling locusts left, the consuming locusts have eaten."

Here in Judah, they were experiencing a swarm of locusts like they had never seen before. Those who were alive in those days, they'd not seen a swarm of locusts like this. They'd seen swarms of locusts. And even to this day, that's common there in the Middle East. There are these swarms of locusts that come through.

And a locust we would consider to be like a grasshopper. But one comic put it, you know, what's the difference between a locust and a grasshopper? Well, about 50 trillion. Because we might see a grasshopper here or there, but when the locusts come, they come in mass.

So much so that often it's described as like a dark cloud. And so they don't just come one or two at a time or five or ten at a time, and one over there, a couple over there. They come in mass. And so a swarm of locusts will actually sometimes like block out the sun and they'll bring darkness upon an area because it's so intense and so concentrated.

Well, this that they're experiencing now even goes beyond that so that everything within the region, everything in the land of Judah had been completely consumed by the locusts.

It's said that the locust can eat about twice its weight in food every day. Could you imagine if you could do that? You think the grocery bills are expensive now. The locust will eat twice its weight of food every day. And imagine, you know, millions of them coming upon a land, a great swarm of cloud, and they're eating the food.

That much every day, each of them eating twice their weight, you can imagine how very quickly the fields would just be stripped bare and the trees would be laid bare. It'll even go on to describe the bark being eaten off the trees. And so, you know, it was a very, very big deal. It was a very sorrowful thing because all of their crops that they survived on

were now gone, consumed by the locusts. They're going to lose much of the food that they were hoping to have there in the harvest.

And so he says the plague is so bad that there's four kinds of locusts or four stages in the locust growth and what one left behind then the next one got and what they left behind the next one got and what they left behind the last one got. And the picture here, the idea is that it's just completely consumed, that there's nothing left, you know, there's not enough.

a fruit left, there's not some wheat left, everything is completely consumed by this swarm of locusts that has come upon the nation.

And so this word now comes to Joel. And God tells him, hey, tell the people to pay attention. Tell the people to listen up, to hear. Because this is unordinary. This is not normal. And I'm trying to get their attention. This is a warning for the people to turn and to get right with me. And we see that as we continue on in verse 5. It says this,

"Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth. For a nation has come up against My land, strong and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and He has the fangs of a fierce lion. He has laid waste My vine and ruined My fig tree. He has stripped it bare and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.

"Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. The grain offering and the drink offering have been cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn who minister to the Lord. The field is wasted, the land mourns, for the grain is ruined. The new wine is dried up, the oil fails.

Be ashamed, you farmers. Wail, you vine dressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. The vine has dried up, and the fig tree has withered. The pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are withered. Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.

You can see there in the description the devastation that was brought by this plague of locusts. And you can see that God is using this to call them to wake up. He says in verse 5, Awake, you drunkards, and weep. Now the nation of Judah was in a state of rebellion against God.

They had disregarded God's word. They'd been practicing idolatry, much like we've seen already thus far throughout all of the prophets, through Isaiah, through Jeremiah, through Ezekiel, through Hosea. We've seen this rebellion and disobedience among God's people. Well, the nation of Judah during this time was in the same position. They were in rebellion against God. And so God is using this swarm of locusts

as an opportunity to call them to wake up, as an opportunity to say, wake up, realize where you're at, realize the circumstances that you're in, realize that you need to repent. He says, weep and wail for the wine, you drunkards. Why? Well, because it's been cut off from your mouth. The locusts have consumed the vineyards, and so there's no grapes left to make wine.

And so weep and wail because you're not able to have the alcohol that you're addicted to. Weep and wail because you're not able to consume the wine that you desire, that you partake of so much. He also says there in verse 8 that they should lament. And so you see God calling their attention. Wake up and then lament. But notice what He tells them to lament like. Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

Picture this, the bride is ready for the wedding day, in our day, you know, using the ceremony. She walks down the aisle, they get married. But before they have an opportunity to consummate the marriage, the husband dies. What type of mourning, what type of lamenting, what type of wailing would take place for that woman? Who, the guy that she just married, minutes, hours,

Within their marriage, He's dead. I mean, that would be tragic, right? That would be incredibly sorrowful. The lamenting would be indescribable. God says, lament like that. He's not asking for a, oh, I'm sorry God. He's asking for a real, severe lamentation of the people. For a real repentance from the people over their condition and over their rebellion against God, over their sin.

He says that's how the land is. He says there in verse 10, the field is wasted, the land mourns, for the grain is ruined. Again, the locusts have wiped out everything. It's time to wake up and it's time to lament. And then we also see in verse 11, it's time to be ashamed. Verse 11 says, be ashamed you farmers, wail you vine dressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. So they're to wake up, they're to lament, and they're to be ashamed.

God is using this time that they're experiencing, this calamity that they're experiencing, to get their attention, to wake them up, to call them to repentance, to cause them to be ashamed. To be ashamed of their sin. To be ashamed of their condition. To be ashamed of what their rebellion has brought them to. Now as we look at the book of Joel, as I've often shared throughout the prophets,

We need to consider that not every bad thing that happens in a person's life is a direct result of judgment for sin.

Just because something bad takes place in your life, something we consider to be bad, some type of calamity or disaster or destruction, some type of locust plague or accident or whatever the case may be, just because we experience those things doesn't necessarily mean that God's saying, you're in sin and you need to repent. And that was the mistake that Job's friends made. They looked at Job, they saw what was his condition, they said, you must be in sin.

And so for 40 chapters, they keep telling them over and over again, you must be in sin. And there's Christians today who tell that to other Christians. Look at your life. You must be in sin. That's why you're in this condition. But that's not the reality. That being said, however, sometimes it is the reality. And sometimes God will allow locust plagues in our lives to tell us, wake up, lament,

Be ashamed of your sin. It's time to turn away, to get rid of that, and to get right with Me.

And so sometimes God will use those things in our lives. So we can't say that never. We also can't look at somebody else and assume, well, you're in this condition, you must be in sin. But when these things happen to us, we often ask, well, how can I tell the difference? How can I tell if this difficulty that I'm experiencing now is a judgment for God for sin, or if it's just one of those things that God's going to use in my life to perfect and refine me?

How can I tell if it's a direct judgment for sin? And my first question to the person who asked that is, are you living in sin? We make it real difficult and complicated in our minds. How can I tell if this is judgment for sin? Well, let's ask the question. Are you living in sin? Are you practicing rebellion against God? Are you disregarding God's word in some aspect, in some area of your life? That should be the first question that we ask.

Is there an issue that God is seeking to address? Now, usually we as Christians are hesitant to really ask or answer that question. Not because we know of no sin in our lives, but because we hope it's not the sin in our life that we're thinking of.

You follow what I'm saying? We ask the question, is this a direct judgment for sin? Not because we don't know of any sin. We know of sin in our lives. We know of areas of rebellion. And so we ask, is this a judgment for God for sin? Because we're hoping the answer is no, so that way I don't have to deal with that sin issue in my life. It's not that we don't know of sin. It's that we don't want to repent of that sin. That's going to be difficult or painful or hard.

And so we'd rather it not be an issue of sin so that we don't have to deal with our sin condition. We're hoping God maybe wants to deal with something different, a different type of sin or a different situation. And we think in our minds, you know, it can't be that bitterness because that's been there a long time and this disaster is new. So it's probably something else. Well, no, listen. If you know of sin in your life, you need to repent.

And yes, allow the difficulties and disasters that take place in your life to be a warning, to be a siren that goes off or a sneeze in the middle of service to get your attention. Let it be something that awakens you. If you know of sin in your life, and then also there's disaster, there's problems, let it be a warning, just like God is using...

this locust plague to warn the people and say, wake up! You need to repent. Let it be an opportunity for you to lament and to be ashamed of sin. To turn from it and follow God. If there is known sin issues in your life, things that you know about, repent. Turn from it. Don't continue on in it. Going on to verse 13, it says, gird yourselves and lament, you priests.

Wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth. You who minister to my God for the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a feast, call a sacred assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God and cry out to the Lord. Verse 15.

Verse 1.

Joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed shrivels under the clods. Storehouses are in shambles. Barns are broken down for the grain has withered. How the animals groan. The herds of cattle are restless because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. Verse 19.

O Lord, to you I cry out, for fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field also cry out to you, for the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures.

Here as we go on in chapter 1, Joel is not only describing the plague of locusts, but also we see here that there's a drought and there's been a fire that has taken place as well. And so it's a kind of a three-fold attack, a three-fold destruction, a three-fold disaster. These three things have come together and have just devastated the land completely. And so he calls the people to cry out to the Lord.

He tells the priests, the spiritual leaders of the people, gird yourselves and lament, prepare yourself and sorrow will you who minister at the altar. Those who are spiritual leaders among the group, he says, look, you need to be first in this. You need to weep, you need to mourn, you need to repent in sin. You who minister to God with the grain offering and the drink offering, you need to mourn because they're not able to be offered to the Lord as a result of

of this disaster as a result of their sinful condition. And so he says, call a fast. Call the people to repentance. Call the people. Gather them together. And call them to turn to the Lord and cry out to the Lord there at the end of verse 14. Cry out to the Lord. You know, sometimes people have this idea that they cannot cry out to the Lord in trouble.

Because, well, you know, I have not really been faithful to the Lord. And so it's not really right. It's kind of hypocritical for me to call out to the Lord when things are difficult. And so they have this idea, they have this sense that they can't call out to the Lord because they haven't been faithful. But as we will see here in the book of Joel, the mercy and the grace of God is incredible. And He invites us, even when we've been in rebellion, even when we've blown it,

Whether that be accidental or intentional. Even when we've been stubborn and hard-hearted and just absolutely rebelling against God. When disaster strikes,

God still says, let this be an alarm clock for you to wake up, to lament, to be ashamed, and to cry out to Me. God wants us to cry out to Him. God wants us to call out to Him. Even if you've not been faithful up to this point, it's an opportunity, it's a reminder to cry out to the Lord, to call out to Him. We have in our minds many times, we've got to kind of get our act together, and then we can come to God.

God says, no, that's not the way to do it. Right now, call an assembly. Right now, call a fast and cry out to the Lord. Turn to Him. He invites you to do so. Whether the situation is brought upon you by sin or just it's part of life that's happening that He's using to refine you, cry out to the Lord.

Now Joel goes on in verse 15 to say, Alas for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand. And he introduces to us this idea of the day of the Lord. It's something that we will see throughout the prophets. It's something we see throughout the scriptures. This time that's referred to as the day of the Lord.

You know, it's so funny, as I was studying and preparing to share this with you tonight, I forgot that I have a broken foot. Because I was going to share with you the illustration that I often use about the timeline and how it changed when Jesus went to the cross. So I'll just have to paint you the picture with words, but in my mind, I'm walking the stage, okay, just so you know. But...

If I started there at the back of the stage and started working my way to the front, that would be a picture of the timeline of history as the beginning was headed towards eternity. But then right here at the end of the stage, picture that that's when Jesus came as far as the timeline of history is concerned. And at that time, the timeline ceased continuing that way and made a 90 degree turn and started running parallel to the end of the stage.

What that means is, the idea here is, or the picture that I'm trying to paint for you is, we are right on the edge of eternity, and we've been right on the edge of eternity since Jesus was resurrected. Ever since that time, we've been living in what the Bible refers to as the day of the Lord, the last days. That time where any moment we can enter in to eternity.

And that's where we stand. And so Joel is looking forward to that day of the Lord. And he's using this current picture of the locust plague as a forecast of what the day of the Lord is going to be like. That day of the Lord includes the time of the church and times of blessing, but also includes that tribulation period that we studied in the book of Revelation. And we'll be talking more about that as we get further into the book of Joel.

And so it deals with some very severe judgments and so he says, "Alas, for the day of the Lord is at hand." We're right on the edge, he says. The day of the Lord is coming and the Lord is using this judgment there amongst the people. The day of the Lord is not a 24 hour time period, but it's an era. It's a span of time that began with the birth of the church at Pentecost, as we'll see in chapter 2.

And has been running parallel to eternity up to this point, but continues on into the tribulation period and then the return of Jesus Christ at the end. Let's head into chapter 2, verse 1. It says...

Verse 2.

Verse 6,

Before them, the people writhe in pain. All faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men. They climb the wall like men of war. Everyone marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. They do not push one another. Everyone marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city. They run on the wall. They climb into the houses. They enter at the windows like a thief.

Here in chapter 2, he begins to expound on this idea of the day of the Lord. And he describes...

that's coming and he compares it to the locust plague. And in the same way that the locusts

came and consumed the land. He describes this army that will come upon them and consume the land. In the same way that the locusts come and the locusts fly kind of in ranks. They fly as a unit, as an army. And it's mentioned throughout the scripture. Even though they have no king, in Proverbs it says, they fly together. They march in their ranks. Well, he uses that picture then of the locusts being that way for the army that's coming against his people for their rebellion.

Now, as we look at this description of this army that he gives, it's not very easy to determine what army he's referring to. There's a couple of possibilities as we look here at chapter 2. The army that is being described here could possibly be an invasion upon Israel or upon the nation of Judah that never actually happened because the people repented.

See, if the time frame is correct, Joel prophesied during the reign or at the beginning of the reign of Joash. And you might remember Joash. He was seven years old when he became king. You can check it out in 2 Kings 11-12. He was a young boy when he became king. His...

the person in charge ahead of him was Queen Athaliah. She was wicked and there was all kinds of idolatry. But under Joash, there was this return, there was this revival before the Lord. And they returned to the worship of the Lord. And so it could be that Joel is prophesying that Joash, as well as the people of the land, respond to this prophecy. They repent and God...

prevents this army from invading them. And so it could be the description of what was coming if they did not repent. That's a possibility. Another possibility is this could be describing the army of Babylon. As Babylon would later on do just this. And they would come and invade the land of Judah. They would conquer Jerusalem. And they would take all the inhabitants captive back to the land of Babylon. And so it could be fulfilled there under Babylon.

It also could be referring to, and perhaps it refers to more than one of these things. God often does that in His Word where He has dual fulfillments of prophecies. But it could be something that is going to be taking place during the tribulation period. As we see there in verse 10, it says the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon grow dark, and there's

you know, parallel thoughts to that in the book of Revelation describing that tribulation period where the sun and moon are diminished as a result of the things that are going on.

A final possibility is this could also be describing in Revelation chapter 9, another part of the tribulation period, where there's locusts that are released from this pit. They're demonic forces that are released from the pit and they're sent upon the earth and they torment mankind.

And so there's quite a different possibilities. It could be one of those. It could be several of them as God often does that with His words. But there's this invading army described and attached to this day of the Lord as God brings judgment for their rebellion against Him. Verse 12.

Now therefore, thus says the Lord, turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Now here's the point. That's why it doesn't matter so much which army is being referred to, because here's the point. Not that we know what army is being referred to, we just know this is what's coming, and so here's the point. Therefore...

Turn to Me with all your heart. That's what God's asking for. Cry out to Me. Turn to Me with fasting and weeping, with mourning. Verse 13, So rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and He relents from doing harm. Verse 13,

Verse 15, Verse 15,

Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children in nursing baths, let the bridegroom go out from his chamber and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests who minister to the Lord weep between the porch and the altar. Let them say, spare your people, O Lord, and do not give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God?

So the point of announcing this judgment that is coming and the point of calling them to wake up at this plague of locusts that's happening is to say it's an opportunity to repent, to turn to the Lord with all your heart. Basically, Joel is saying, look, as you look and see the plague of locusts and the disaster and destruction that's here and you think it's incredibly terrible, just wait.

Something much worse is in store if you do not repent. And that's the reality that we need to realize. When you and I experience disasters, when God's dealing with sin in our lives, He uses the difficulties and devastations of our life to wake us up, to call our attention and say, if you don't repent, something worse is in store. There's a far greater judgment that you can experience if you continue on in rebellion against God.

And so, let this be the time that you repent. That you turn to Me, notice He says, with all your heart. With all your heart. He's talking about a wholehearted commitment. He's talking about it's time to completely and wholly turn to the Lord. Not partially, not just a little bit, not mostly even.

but to fully commit yourself to the Lord. Turn to Me with all your heart, He says, with fasting and weeping, with mourning. There's to be this evidence. He says, rend your heart there in verse 13, and not your garments. Now in those days, in that culture, what you would do to express mourning is you would rip your clothing.

And it would express the grief of your heart, you know. We express sometimes grief, you know, like they were torn up inside or, you know, that tearing of the heart, that heart breaking. Well, they would express that outwardly by ripping their garments. But God says, look, it's not the garments that I want you to rip. It's not the garments that need to be ripped. It's your heart. It's your heart.

The people were good at ripping the garments and putting on the show and looking very remorseful. Just like you and I, we're good at putting on the show and looking very remorseful. But the repentance that needs to be there needs to be with all our heart. The ripping of the heart needs to, or the ripping needs to take place in the heart. That's what needs to be dealt with. And so he says, rend your heart, not your garments. I don't want your show. I don't want your religion. I want your heart.

I want you to turn to me completely. But notice what he says. Return to the Lord your God because this greater judgment is coming. He says, return to the Lord your God or else I'm going to beat you down and hurt you. He says, return to... No, what does he say? He says, return to the Lord your God for He's gracious and merciful.

So he's using this to call their attention, to wake them up, and to call them to repentance. But the reason we return to him, as Paul explained in the New Testament, it's the kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance. It's his kindness that brings us to repentance. And so consider his graciousness.

His mercy. He's slow to anger and of great kindness. And He relents from doing harm. Joel's saying, look, it's not too late. You have opportunity. Throughout all the prophets, when God announces judgment, it's to give people an opportunity to repent. And even when God brings judgment, as we saw throughout the book of Hosea, it's so that the people could be brought back to the Lord. He's gracious and merciful. Our God is completely amazing.

He says, look, get everyone together, repent, and call out to the Lord. Because He's a God who relents. And it's not too late. You can turn to the Lord. Turn to Him because He's gracious. Not just turn to Him or else, but He's gracious. He wants to pour out His love upon you. He wants to bless your life. He wants to work in your life. He's gracious. So return to the Lord. Sometimes we're afraid of God. And we think,

Man, I've been so bad. You know, if I come to Him, He's really going to beat me down. But He's not like your parents. Your parents could only beat you if they caught you, right? And if you could run faster, then you could outrun the beating. That's not the way that God works. He brings the beating so that we run to Him. And when we run to Him, it's not so that He can beat us more, it's so that He can be gracious to us and merciful. We can't outrun God.

But when you draw close to Him, He'll draw near to you. When you confess your sin, He'll forgive you. He's faithful and just to cleanse you from all your sin. And so it's a call to repentance because God's gracious. Return to Him. Stop running. Running away from God invites more chastening, more discipline, more judgment. Because you're continuing in rebellion. But turning from sin and turning to God invites God's grace into your life.

invites God's mercy to be poured out upon you. It invites God to pour out His love. And so Joel is explaining here, this is an opportunity to repent. You think this is bad, the worst is yet to come. So turn. Now is your chance. Now is your opportunity. You don't have to go through that. Turn and experience the grace and the mercy of God. Get everybody together.

Call all the people. He describes all kinds of different people, different classes, different stages of life. Get them all together. Turn to the Lord. Let it be collectively that the people turn to God. Not just one of you individually, but to let the nation turn back to God. Verse 18.

Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil and you will be satisfied by them. I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

So here's what he's saying. Look, if you turn to God, then what's going to happen is God will be zealous for His land. God's going to be zealous for you. And he'll go on now to describe in verse 20 and following the wonderful blessings that result as God will turn to them as a part of their repentance. Verse 20 says,

But I will remove far from you the northern army and will drive him away into a barren and desolate land with his face toward the eastern sea and his back toward the western sea. His stench will come up and his foul odor will rise because he has done monstrous things. So there verse 20 is a reference to the army that he described in the first part of chapter 2. And God says, if you turn to me, I'll drive them away. I'll remove them from you. You won't experience that invasion that I'm describing there. Verse 21.

Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things. Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field, for the open pastures are springing up, and the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and the vineyard their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion.

And rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floor shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you.

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you and my people shall never be put to shame. Verse 27. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God. There is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.

God says, look, if you turn to me, I'm going to turn to you with zeal, with passion, with fervor. I'm going to remove that army away from you. I'm going to fill your land with goodness. Your vineyards are going to be full again. The threshing floors are going to have wheat packed in them. You look around now, there's nothing left because of the locusts. God says there in verse 25, I will restore to you the years that the locusts has eaten.

This is amazing. God is not only desiring to show mercy and grace to us, but then He restores. The devastation that comes as a result of disobedience to God, God says, I'll restore those years. God has a way. He's able to bring restoration. You know, when we are living in a sinful condition, we withhold the blessings of God. We miss out on the blessings of God in our life. God says, but when you return to Me...

I can restore those blessings that you missed out on. I can restore the years that the locusts have eaten. And you'll eat in plenty. You'll have your needs met. And you'll be able to praise the name of the Lord your God. Sin destroys our life and causes years of blessing to be missed. But for those who return to the Lord, He can restore it. I love how in verse 26, He says they'll praise the name of the Lord your God who's dealt wondrously with you.

One of the Psalms, I can't remember exactly which one at the moment, tells us that God only does wondrous things. He doesn't do eh kind of things. He doesn't do so-so kind of things. The only kind of thing that God does is a wondrous thing. That's all He does. And when we return to Him, when He is working in our life, the only thing He knows how to do is something wondrous.

Something incredible. Something awe-inspiring. Something wonderful. That's our God. That's how He works. So He says, look, if you return to Me, this is My promise. I'm going to take care of all these things for you. And you're going to praise Me for the wondrous things that I've done. For the restoration that has taken place. Verse 28, And it shall come to pass afterward...

So we're moving forward now. And here in verse 28 and on, we're looking farther and farther into history, beginning with the church, as we'll see, and then on into the tribulation period. It says, "...and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions. And also on My men servants and on My maid servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls. And so he looks now even farther ahead.

to a time when the Spirit of God will be poured out on everyone. During the days of the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon a person, David or Samuel or Samson, but not everybody experienced the work of the Holy Spirit. But he says, look, there's coming a day when everybody will have the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit, to receive the work of the Holy Spirit in their life.

And of course he's looking forward to that time after Jesus resurrected and he told the disciples, "When I go to the Father, I'm going to send you another Comforter." And the disciples experienced that. In John chapter 20, as Jesus breathed into them and they received the Holy Spirit. And then the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. And in Acts chapter 2, as the Holy Spirit comes upon the church and they're speaking in tongues, there's this great commotion.

This big crowd gathers to see what's going on and Peter stands up and he says, you guys think that these people are drunk. But they're not drunk. What you see here is the fulfillment of Joel chapter 2 verse 28 and 29. The Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples. And they were speaking forth by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was a manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit. And so for you and I today as we look at verse 28 and 29, this has begun.

It began at the day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church. This is evidence of a couple things. First of all, we're living in the last days. Again, we're right parallel to eternity. At any moment, Jesus could return. At any moment, the world would be plunged into that seven-year tribulation period. We're right there. We're living in the last days. But also it means that you and I can experience the powerful working of the Holy Spirit

Because in those days, in our days, today, God says He'll pour out His Spirit on all flesh. You and I have the opportunity to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully through us. Well then in verses 30 through 31, we see looking forward into the tribulation period. It's not yet fulfilled. So 28 and 29 has begun. It will continue to take place throughout the end.

But 30 and 31 will take place during the tribulation period. There will be wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire, pillars of smoke. These are things we talked about through the book of Revelation. Then the sun turned to darkness, the moon turned to blood. That's found in Revelation 6, verse 12. During the sixth seal is opened.

And so we see all of these things are looking forward to a time that is yet to come, the judgment that God is bringing upon the earth. But then a ray of hope, a ray of light in the midst of that darkness in verse 32, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Here's God's promise for these days that we're living in. For the last days, the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all flesh and there's going to be some devastation and destruction, but whoever calls on the Lord

they will be saved. This is God's promise. Whoever believes in Jesus, as we talked about on Sunday, will be saved. Not believe in Jesus and hopefully you might be saved. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Notice also the whoever. It doesn't matter who a person is. It doesn't matter what they've done, what their history is, what their background is. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Whether it be someone famous or someone no one has ever known. Whether it be someone who's been really good all their life or someone who's been murderous. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord. The opportunity is for anyone. Anybody can be forgiven. Anybody can be saved. Whoever calls on Him will be saved. That's God's promise for these last days that we're living in. And that's why we need to be filled with the Spirit. And to be sharing the Gospel. To be giving opportunity.

Because whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. It's an invitation for salvation. Let's head into chapter 3 verse 1. It says, "For behold, in those days and in that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations,

They have also divided up my land. They have cast lots for my people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine that they may drink. Indeed, what have you to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against me? But if you retaliate against me swiftly and speedily, I will return your retaliation upon your own head.

Verse 7.

Here in verses 1 through 8 now, God is looking even yet beyond that tribulation period to the time of judgment. Now here's what the Bible declares.

When Jesus returns, there's going to be a judgment that takes place. When Jesus returns, if you remember the end time scenario, the tribulation will last seven years.

The church will be raptured ahead of that. At the end of the seven years, Jesus will return. He'll physically return. He'll set foot upon the earth. He'll put an end to the battle of Armageddon that is taking place. And the nations that are gathered there, the armies that are gathered there, will be put to death. And then he will establish his kingdom upon the earth and rule and reign here on the earth for 1,000 years.

Well, what Joel is describing now is the judgment that takes place just before the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Because it says in Matthew, Matthew chapter 25, verses 31 through 46, that the nations will be gathered together and they will be judged not on the basis of their relationship with Jesus, that's the eternal judgment, but this will be a judgment for how they treated Jesus.

the Jewish people, how they treated Jesus' brethren. And so they'll be gathered and judged for how they treated the nation of Israel and the Jewish people during that tribulation period. And so they'll be judged during that time and so they'll be gathered together. The valley of Jehoshaphat is interesting. It makes reference here in verse 2. He says he'll bring them to the valley of Jehoshaphat and we'll see that more as we head on into chapter 3.

But the valley of Jehoshaphat, there's not really a historical place with that name. But he's probably referring to the valley of Megiddo, which is Armageddon. And we'll see that as we go on in verse 9. It says this, Proclaim this among the nations. Prepare for war. Wake up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near. Let them come up.

Verse 1.

Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down for the winepress is full. The vats overflow for their wickedness is great.

Verse 17, Verse 18,

Then Jerusalem shall be holy and no alien shall ever pass through her again. So he's describing this time when he returns, when Jesus returns and establishes his kingdom upon the earth. Now just prior to his return, the book of Revelation tells us that the nations will be gathered together to the valley of Megiddo, to Armageddon. He says here in verse 9, Proclaim among the nations, prepare for war. Gather them together.

He says in verse 12, let the nations be wakened and come to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I'm going to sit to judge the surrounding nations. He describes in verse 14 the multitudes that are there in the valley of decision. And so they're going to be gathered together there and that is when Jesus will return at the battle of Armageddon. And the book of Revelation describes them turning their weapons to Jesus.

They're trying to knock out the Lord. They're trying to wipe out the Lord to destroy Him. But of course, they will not be successful. And He will destroy those armies. And He will bring swift judgment upon them. Verse 10 is interesting because it says, "...to beat your plowshares into swords."

Now we're more familiar with the reverse of that. Beat your swords into plowshares. Because that's what takes place during the millennium. As Jesus establishes His kingdom, there's no more war, there's no more battles. And so, make that sword into something useful and plow with it.

But here, before that takes place, he says, prepare for war. Because God is gathering them together for this battle of Armageddon. They're at the Valley of Decision, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, or the Valley of Megiddo. In Revelation chapter 16, verses 12 through 16, you can read about this, where the nations are gathered there to Armageddon. And it's during the sixth bowl judgment that is found there during the tribulation period.

In verse 13, he talks about putting the sickle for the harvest is ripe. And you might remember in Revelation chapter 14 where that same imagery is used, that harvest of judgment upon the earth. We don't have time to get into all the details of the connections here, but you can see that this is referring to those end times, the judgment that is to come. In verse 16, it says, the Lord also will roar from Zion. Well, immediately after...

verses 12-16 of Revelation 16, which describe the battle of Armageddon. In Revelation 16, it says, the seventh angel poured his bowl, the seventh bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying, it is done. The Lord is roaring from Zion. The heavens and earth will shake. And so, the judgment and the thing that he is warning against is still yet to come.

The tribulation period, the difficulty, is still yet to happen. That's the point. Let's finish it up in verse 18. And it will come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip with new wine. Now we're talking about the millennium. As Jesus establishes His kingdom, now there's going to be new wine. The hills will flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water. A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord, and the water of the valley of the Acacias.

Egypt shall be a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness because of the violence against the people of Judah. For they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed whom I had not acquitted for the Lord dwells in Zion. God says, look, in the end, this land, the nation of Israel...

is going to be blessed and refreshed and there's going to be water there's going to be fruit there's going to be abundance and the nations that attacked Israel the nations that have been against Israel they'll be desolate because Israel is my people but Israel will be established and so the prophet Joel as you look at the overview of the whole book he started out saying look at the present calamity

It's an opportunity. It's time to wake up. Because the judgment that's coming is far worse than what you're experiencing right now. But if you return to the Lord, the blessings of God will be established and will endure forever. And so as we look at the prophet Joel this evening, I want to ask you to consider, what are you going through? And is God calling you to wake up, to lament, to be ashamed?

To rend your heart and not your garments. Not to do an outward show of repentance, but to really change. To really turn around and pursue God with all your heart. Listen, when you go through disastrous times, it's not always, in every case, a direct result of sin. It's not always a judgment of God in your life. But sometimes it is. And so how to discern, how to determine, is this judgment regarding sin? Is this judgment

Just a flat tire that I got on the way home. What is it? Is it? Well, first question. Is there known sin in your life? Do you know about an issue in your heart? Is there bitterness? Are you pursuing things instead of God? Have you neglected your relationship with God? Is there sin in your life that you're practicing? Then I would say, whatever the condition is, whatever the situation is, it's a call to wake up.

To repent, to return to the Lord because He's gracious and He wants to work in your life. He wants to minister to you. The appropriate response is to rend your heart, to repent of sin. So Ronnie's going to come up. Not Ronnie. Who led worship tonight? Yeah, Ronnie. Alright, come on up Ronnie. He's going to lead us in just one song. But let's take this time. I don't know what's happening in your life. I don't know what's going on.

And I'm not sharing this because I know about some destruction in your life and you know, I'm telling you, you need to repent or you have hidden sin. That's not for me to decide. But I want to ask you to consider. Are you experiencing difficulty? And is there known sin in your life? Is this an area where God is saying, wake up. And if so, can I exhort you, I beg you, lend your heart. Turn to the Lord.

What's in store for you if you continue on in sin is far worse than anything you're going through right now. But what's in store for you if you return to the Lord is far greater than you can imagine. So turn to Him. Wholeheartedly. Completely. Turn away from sin. So let's take this time just to allow God to work in our hearts. To repent of sin and turn to Him.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.