Oct. 19, 2022

“THE DAY OF THE LORD”

“THE IMMINENT DAY OF THE LORD”

JOEL 2:1-27

The Imminent Day of the Lord:

Joel 2:20 “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.”

Joel gave the people three timely instructions:

1.   “Blow the Trumpet”

Joel 2:1-11

This was real war, so Joel commanded the watchmen to blow their trumpets and warn the people.

Twice in this passage, Joel tells us that this invasion is “the Day of the Lord” (vs.1,11), meaning a very special period that God had planned and would direct:

vs.11 “The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?”

Isaiah 10:5-6

The locusts looked like miniature horses, but the Assyrians would ride real horses and conquer the land.

The prophet makes it clear that the Lord will be in charge of this invasion; this is His army fulfilling His Word vs.11.

2.   “Rend Your Hearts”

Joel 2:12-17

13"So rend your heart”

Matthew 15:8-9

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.”

The one thing that encourages us to repent and return to the Lord is the character of God:

Joel 2:13 “… 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.”

Knowing that He is indeed gracious and merciful ought to motivate us to seek His face.

Exodus 34:6-7

But all the people must assemble and then turn to the Lord vs.15-17.

Joel 2:17 “…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?”

This presents two reasons why God should deliver them:

*Israel’s covenant privileges as God’s heritage.

*The glory of God’s name before the other nations.

John 4:22 “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”

Israel was called to bear witness to the other nations that their God was the only true God.

3.   “Believe His Promises”

Joel 2:18-27

Isaiah 37:36-38

Without the former rain (March to April) and the latter rain (October to November), the land could not bear its crops, and one way God disciplined His people was to shut off the rain:

Deuteronomy 11:13-17

Vs.25 “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 cannot have back your time,” said Charles Spurgeon, “but there is a strange and wonderful way in which God can give back to you the wasted blessings, the unripened fruits of years over which you mourned…It is a pity that they should have been locust-eaten by your folly and negligence, but if they have been so, be not hopeless concerning them.”

And why will God do this for His underserving people?

Vs.27 “Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.”

We can claim God’s promise:

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”