Joel: Lessons on Missions from an Old Testament Prophet

INTRODUCTION

§ Wanted to preach on missions & Old Testament

§ OT not usually connected with missions

Ø Different emphases and modes of proclaiming truth

Ø OT ISRAEL = centripetal method

"Israel, by living a life in the presence and fear of the Lord, was to experience the fullness of the blessing of God. In this way they were to startle the nations to attention, arouse their inquiry, and draw them like a magnet to Jerusalem and to the Lord" (Peters)

Ø Supreme example: Queen of Sheba (1 Kgs 10)

Ø Isaiah 2:2-3 - Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us concerning his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Ø Israel set apart as a special nation

Ø Israel given the law

Ø Israel placed in strategic land

Ø YetIsrael failed in their mission--they failed to be salt and light and God set them aside

Ø Temporarily in their place God has given Israel's function to the church

Ø CHURCH = Centrifugal method - going out

§ YetOT and NT missions not completely different

Ø We share the same God & Savior

Ø We live in the same fallen world

Ø We share the same message

Ø We share the same hope & purpose

§ So we can approach the OT confident that it can instruct and encourage us even in a topic like missions

TURN TO BOOK OF JOEL

§ Joel was missionary to his own people

Ø We think of missions as cross-cultural/international

Ø We think of outreach as local

Ø Those are extrabiblical categories

Ø Missions is making disciples­—both locally and abroad

Ø Our nation and culture has shifted to the point that other cultures are coming here to do missions

Ø The mission field is just as much outside our doors as it is outside our town, our state, or our borders

§ We know very little about Joel

Ø Don't know what he did before becoming a prophet

Ø Don't know where he's from, though it seems like he lived in or around Jerusalem

Ø We don't know when he lived and prophesied

Ø Scholars date it anywhere from 9th - 6th century B.C.

Ø Though his message was originally addressed to his own people

Ø Though he was speaking during a time that was markedly different than ours

Ø Though God's economy and program of redemption was not as fully realized as it is now

Ø We still see Joel as a herald of the gospel

Ø Why did he preach what he did?

Ø His reasons are the same as ours

TRANSITION

§ So we can look at a book like Joel and answer the question: WHY DO MISSIONS?

§ Why send out people into the remote areas?

§ Why give money and resources to missionaries in our city and abroad?

§ We get the answers to those questions even from the book of Joel

1. THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE (1:2-20)

1:2 Something unprecedented has happened

1:3 Charged to rehearse it for future generations

1:4 Event finally announced—locusts

· 4x words for locust

· 3x "consume"

· 3x "what remains"

· Emphasis on complete devastation

Locust invasions are not unheard of even in recent history

In 1926 and 1927, small swarms of the African migratory locusts were spotted in an area 50 by 120 miles on the plains of the river Niger near Timbuktu. The next year swarms invaded Senegal and Sierra Leone. By 1930,...swarms reached Khartoum, more than 2000 miles to the east of Timbuktu, then turned south, spreading across Ethiopia, Kenya, the Belgian Congo, and in 1932, striking into the lush farm land of Angola and Rhodesia. Before the plague finally sputtered out fourteen years after it began, it affected five-million square miles of Africa, an area nearly double the size of the United States.

Daniel DaCruz

More recently:

· 2012 - Invasion in Herald, CA

· August 2015 - CNN reported "millions of locusts descending on farmlands in southern Russia, devouring entire fields of crops and causing officials to declare a state of emergency"

1:5-7 Drunkards weep: Luxuries of life are gone

1:8-9 Priests mourn

1:9 Grain/drink offerings cut off

1:10 Grain/wine/oil essential elements of daily offerings

· Part of priest's livelihood

· Threat to religious life

· Covenant keeping was halted!

· Devastating reality for the people

POINT: Elements of worship gone

ILLUSTRATION: Situation akin to a financial disaster where no one could afford to give toward ministry, which means ministry effectively halted.

1:11 Farmers ashamed—wheat/barley destroyed

1:12 Fruit trees dried up

POINT: Essentials of life gone

TRANSITION:Yet the real shock comes next when Joel unveils the true CAUSE of the disaster

1:13 Priests called to lament and intercede

REASON: The covenant is at stake!

Israel is on the verge of defaulting on their covenant obligations

1:14 People are to urgently gather together

1:15 WHY? The Day of the Lord is near!

· Joel unveils the reason for his message

· The Day of the Lord is coming

· Destruction from the Almighty—play on words

1:16 Food cut off

1:17 Drought has taken toll

1:18 Herds and flocks in distress

1:19 Fire has sprung up because of drought

1:20 No water—Ps 42:1 transformed

APPLICATION

· So Joel has observed the destruction of a contemporary event in his nation and pointed his people to the truths that undergird the event

· TRUTH #1: Life is Uncertain

Ø No one awoke expecting a locust invasion

Ø That's how life is—uncertain and dangerous

Ø We live in a sin cursed world

Ø Massive events like flooding in SC, an earthquake in Haiti, or a Tsunami in Thailand

Ø Individual events like a miscarriage of a child, a cancer diagnosis; a loss of a job

Ø All tragedies and troubles point to the same fundamental reality: LIFE IS UNCERTAIN!

· TRUTH #2: God is Sovereign over everything

Ø One of Joel's main points is to connect the "natural" disaster of a locust plague with the sovereign hand of God

Ø This disaster was no accident—God is not pacing the halls wondering what to do

Ø This holds a valuable lesson for us in terms of missions and evangelism

Ø We do a great disservice to the lost when we try to separate God completely from tragedy

Ø We want to try to exonerate God from any kind of responsibility so they aren't turned off from our message

Ø But what we then communicate is that we have an impotent God who obviously can't control the world he created

Ø That's doesn't engender faith in anyone

Ø Joel's message reminds us that even when we don't understand the WHY of an event—what it's purpose is—it still points us back to a God who is sovereign and working all events according to his purposes

TRANSITION

And that's exactly where Joel goes in his message

In the wake of national disaster he seizes on the opportunity afforded by the locusts to point the people to an even greater reality.

And that brings us to our second point

2. THE CERTAINTY OF JUDGMENT (2:1-11)

Luke 13:1-5 - Jesus seizes on contemporary event

Joel goes from looking at the immediate present to describing a future threat...

2:1 Sound alarm...DOL is NEAR

Sudden locust invasion perfectly illustrated imminence

2:2 Darkness/gloom/clouds/thick darkness

Theophany language from Deut 4:11

God is coming personally to earth

Not hear alone...coming with an army

Unclear if he's still talking about locusts or is describing a human army

He wants his readers focused on horror of locusts as they think about a human army coming

2:3 Army is consuming fire...emphasizes destruction

No escape/hopelessness

2:4 Appear as war horses

2:5 Noise like chariots

Boundless...nothing can stop them

2:6 Effects on people...anguish/terror

2:7-8 Unstoppable

Staccato emphasizes drama

2:9 Impending doom...they're hear!

2:10 Supernatural phenomena accompany event

Locusts obscuring sunlight foreshadows real event

2:11 God is commanding general

Ends in ominous statement:

"Day of the Lord is great and very awesome"

Rhetorical Question:

"Who can endure it?

Answer is obvious: NO ONE! (cf. 2:3)

APPLICATION

· Joel wants to impress two fundamental truths:

· TRUTH #1: Judgment is coming

Ø There will be no warning

Ø It will come swiftly

Ø It is certain

· TRUTH #2: No one will survive

Ø It will consume everything like the locusts did

Ø No one will be able to endure it

Ø Heb 9:27- "It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment"

· That's why we do missions!

3. NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE (2:12-17)

· That last question undoubtedly loomed in the minds of his listeners...who can endure it?

· If those who undergo the judgment are hopeless, then there's only one thing to do: REPENT

2:12 "Yet even now" — turning point of message

"Return to me" — Word for repent

BUT HOW? 2 Modes...

1. "With all your heart" — inward return

2. "Fasting/mourning/weeping" — outward return

Repentance, when genuine, begins in the heart and spreads to every area of life

2:13 Priority of internal attitude — "rend heart..."

Return to me — but why?

God's nature — gracious/compassionate slow to anger/loyal covenant love relenting of calamity

2 Pet 3:9 - "The Lord is not slow about His promises, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance"

2:14 "Who knows" —human perspective of uncertainty

Acknowledges God is sovereign over judgment

"Human repentance does not control God. People cannot force God to show them his forgiveness. They can only appeal to him for mercy in not meting out against them what they very well deserve. They may hope for his compassion, but they cannot command it." (Stuart)

ILLUSTRATION

Luke 18:9-17 - Publican's prayer reveals heart of true repentance

He knows he has nothing to offer

He can only beat his chest in anguish, abhor himself, and plead for God's mercy and hope

"Leave a blessing...grain/drink offering"

Locusts had rendered Judah unable to fulfill their covenant obligations

Joel suggests God might just provide the very means for Israel to reinstate fellowship with him

**We have in this statement an anticipation of Christ**

· a nation separated from God

· helpless to do what God requires

· but a hope that God might just provide for them what they cannot provide for themselves

· Rom 5:8 - "But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

· Rom 5:10 - "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son

· Reconciliation provided by God not man

So what is Judah to do?

2:15-16 Have everyone gather together to corporately repent

2:17 Priests to intercede for people — nothing to offer God except prayer and penitence

APPLICATION

· This is the essence of the gospel

· Rock of Ages: "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling, naked come to thee for dress, helpless look to thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die!"

· As missionaries, we plead with our friends, our neighbors, our families, our culture, our leaders—judgment is coming! So repent, before it's too late!

· We plead with people to see their helpless state

· We point to the judgment to come as the supreme motive to repent

· Acts 17:30-31 - "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring that all people everything should repent—because he has fixed a day in which he will judgment the world in righteousness."

· Paul called his ministry a "ministry of reconciliation"

· 2 Cor 5:20 - "We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God"

· Then he explains that God has made the way of reconciliation

· 2 Cor 5:21 - "He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"

· Joel is taking the OT version of that to Judah

Ø Return to God before judgment comes

Ø God may just provide the very things you need to be reconciled to God

4. HOPE OF RESTORATION (2:18-32)

Zech 1:3 - "Return to me...that I may return to you"

Joel uncovers what God would do for his people if they would only return to him with repentant hearts...

2:18 "Pity on his people" — lit. "jealous for..."

How?

Abundance/Productivity

grain/new wine/oil (2:19) full threshing floors (2:24) vats overflowing with oil/wine (2:24) plenty to eat (2:26)

Satisfaction

"plenty to eat/be satisfied" (2:26) You'll be satisfied with them" (2:19)

Security

locusts driven away (2:20) never again a reproach to nations (2:18) never be put to shame (2:26)

Fertility

Pastures/wilderness turn green (2:22) Trees bear fruit (2:22) Early and late rains fall (2:23)

Assurance of Covenant

You will know God is present Know he is their God and they are his people (2:27)

What's all this talking about? PHYSICAL BLESSING

This is where we have to be careful

· Israel's covenant relationship with God was fundamentally different than what we have in the New Covenant

· What Joel describes is a return to the way things shouldbe for Israel

· When Israel was in right relationship with God it meant productivity, satisfaction, security, fertility, etc.

· The Mosaic Covenant set out that expectation (Lev 26/Deut 28)

· NT Christians don't have these assurances

· Physical prosperity ≠ divine blessing/approval

· Poverty/sckness ≠ divine judgment/disapproval

· There are those who try to distort that and lead people astray

ILLUSTRATION

Creflo Dollar tweeted on October 8: "Jesus bled and died for us so that we can lay claim to the promise of financial prosperity."

#prosperityinChrist #WealthyLiving #AbundantLife

· Instead, Peter tells us to rejoice in persecution and suffering because it proves the genuineness of our faith which is "more precious" than any costly stone or jewel (1 Pet 1:3)

· Spiritual maturity > financial prosperity

· Paul told Timothy to discipline himself to godliness because it's profit is far greater than the profit of physical discipline

· Spiritual maturity > health

So what are we talking about here?

· The underlying principle of Joel's promise is the hope of restoration

· Under the Old Covenant that meant physical blessing and prosperity—remember centripetal method of missions

· Under the New Covenant the physical isn't a guarante but the promise still remains—restoration of your relationship with God

· God will restore you to himself

2:28 Outpouring of Spirit

Indiscriminately- sex/age/social status don't matter

Obvious- accompanied by prophesy/dreams/visions

Moved from present to the future

Moved from physical to the spiritual

2:30 Connects this event with the celestial phenomena that will accompany the Lord's return

Supernatural darkness

"Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes"

2:11 - "great/awesome DOL" meant hopelessness

2:31 Whoever calls on name of Lord will be delivered

Hope of deliverance from judgment

1 Thess 1:9-10 - "For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."

1 John 4:17 - "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world."

CONCLUSION

· So why do we do missions?

· ...because life is uncertain and you have no guarantees of a long and happy life...Ps 90—number our days!

· ...because judgment is coming without warning and no one will be able to endure

· ...because repentance is necessary to escape the wrath to come

· ...because God promises to restore the penitent and to deliver him from the wrath to come