Two prophets directed their messages to Assyria: Jonah and Nahum. Obadiah spoke of the destruction of the Edomites. Then we had the prophets Amos and Hosea who spoke to the northern kingdom of Israel. Now we move onto the long list of prophets who ministered to the southern kingdom of Judah.
Joel 1:15 “For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.”
The term “day of the Lord” refers to a time when God steps into history, usually for judgment or deliverance. Soon He is going to punish Judah, if they don’t repent. Yet in the future there is going to come the GREAT Day of the Lord, a time when God brings judgment to the entire world. So in effect, there can be minor “days of the Lord” but then there will be the major “day of the Lord.”
Joel 2:12-13 “Even now, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments.”
It is easy to make an outward show of repentance. Years ago they would express their repentance by tearing their garments. God wants a genuine repentance, from the heart, not just outward symbolic acts.
Joel 2:18, 25, “Then the Lord will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people . . . I will repay you for the years the locust have eaten.”
Here God is saying, after He punishes Judah, he will bless them so much that He will make up for what they earlier lost.
Joel 2:28, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”
This is speaking of a time yet future, though it was partially fulfilled in Acts 2.
Joel teaches us that God loves us and would rather we turn to Him than punish us. But even in the midst of punishment, He has a plan for a great future for His people.
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