The Impending Day of the Lord, Part 2
Notes
Transcript
The book of Joel, likely the earliest Old Testament writing prophet, addresses the aftermath of a locust plague, drought, and possible fire that greatly impacted the nation and people of Israel. Joel interprets these events as a contemporary “day of the Lord,” a time for judgment, encouraging people to heed God's message and turn back to Him in full dependence—even though no specific sins are cited.
Last week we focused on the first 11 verses. The focus this week will be on the last 6. Let’s read the entire passage so we can see how it fits into the overall passage.
Follow along as I read Joel 2:1-17
1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming; Indeed, it is near,
2 A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.
3 A fire consumes before them, And behind them a flame devours. The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run.
5 With a noise as of chariots They leap about on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people drawn up for battle.
6 Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.
7 They run like warriors, They climb the wall like soldiers; And each of them marches in line, Nor do they lose their way.
8 They do not crowd each other, Every warrior of them marches in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks.
9 They storm the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon become dark, And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The Lord utters His voice before His army; His camp is indeed very great, For mighty is one who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning;
13 And tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in mercy And relenting of catastrophe.
14 Who knows, He might turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him, Resulting in a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God.
15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Have the groom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Spare Your people, Lord, And do not make Your inheritance a disgrace, With the nations jeering at them. Why should those among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
James Montgomery Boice, in his commentary on Joel, recounts the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755, which destroyed much of the city, killed 60,000 people, and produced massive tidal waves and fires. This event was especially shocking after a long period of European peace and optimism, influenced by Leibnitz’s philosophy that this is “the best of all possible worlds.” The disaster challenged assumptions about God’s goodness and power. Similarly, in Joel’s time, the Israelites believed nothing bad could happen to them as God’s people, yet they faced destruction through a locust plague. Joel’s message called for genuine repentance and a return to God, warning of the approaching day of the Lord.
I. The Alarm Sounds (2:1)
Alarms are like reminders. We need to be reminded of things often and reminders about the coming day of the Lord are important.
In 2 Peter, Peter writes:
12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you.
Even though you already know them.
I don’t know about you but I have to have an alarm clock to wake up in the morning, at least most mornings. If I don’t set an alarm then the cats will start to wake me up. I know I have to feed them but they like to remind us every morning and evening.
We know the day of the Lord is coming. We know there will be contemporary days of the Lord and these will serve as reminders of the future judgment so that we can repent and be ready.
II. The Army Invades (2:2-11)
Next we looked at the invading army.
Joel refers to "a day of darkness and gloom" in verse 2, a metaphor for the day of the Lord as one of judgment. Verses 2–10 describe an invading army; scholars debate if this is literal or symbolic of a locust plague, or both the locust and army. This imagery conveys the seriousness of the coming day, urging repentance and readiness; which is precisely what the book of Revelation does for us today.
The key point is God's control over these events. Verse 1 places the action in Israel, specifically Jerusalem ("My holy mountain"), indicating that the temple itself will be affected. Robertson observes that even if Jerusalem is penetrated by enemies, Joel affirms the Lord’s involvement and authority throughout.
The question is: how should the people of God respond to the impending day of the Lord? That brings us to our next point.
III. The Admonition Invites (2:12-17)
Now let’s notice that the admonition invites.
This is the goal of Joel’s writing: to call people to repentance. So, in the next few verses Joel described true repentance.
A. An Analysis of True Repentance (2:12-13a)
First, let’s look at an analysis of true repentance.
God says to return to Him with all your heart. True repentance is always a heart matter. A heart matter will always affect the mind and will of the person. Genuine contrition will always result in outward actions, which may include fasting, weeping and mourning.
True repentance is not just saying we are repenting; it involves a genuine change of heart. Charles Haddon Spurgeon tells of a woman who went to see her minister, affecting to be a great sinner in whom he should take an interest. He suspected that her confession was not genuine. So he said to her, “Well, if you are a sinner, of course you have broken God’s laws; let us read the Ten Commandments and see which you have broken.” He began to read, “ ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Did you ever break that?” he asked.
“Oh, no,” she said, “not that I know of.”
“ ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.’ Did you ever break that?”
“Never, sir,” she said.
“Then ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.’ ” The woman was very particular on that point. She could not think that she had ever offended by taking God’s name in vain.
“ ‘Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ ” She never worked on Sunday.
“ ‘Honor thy father and thy mother.’ ” She did that. So it was with the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth commandments. In the end it turned out that what her minister suspected was true. She did not really consider herself to be a sinner, and she was only “repenting” as a pious and praiseworthy thing to do.
B. The Incentives for True Repentance (2:13b-14)
Second, notice the incentives for true repentance.
Why should we repent? If we already have forgiveness for our sins then what is the purpose in repentance?
Joel 2:13 reads:
13 And tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in mercy And relenting of catastrophe.
This is a beautiful image of a gracious, merciful God.
Too many people have the image of God as a judge, sitting on His throne, staring at us, just waiting for us to make a mistake so that He can then judge us and condemn people to hell. Part of the reason people have this image, instead of the biblical image like this passage, is because we as Christians sit in judgment over others and try to condemn them to hell.
But that is not God. God constantly gives warnings to His people, and pleads with them to repent and return to Him because “He is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and relenting of catastrophe.”
Voddie Baucham said:
“Do you know it was His mercy that woke you up this morning? Because His judgment should have killed you last night.”
But time and again the Bible tells us to repent to turn away from our sins and return to God. So the prophet wrote:
14 Who knows, He might turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him, Resulting in a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God.
“Who knows” tells us that God is sovereign and has the freedom to act.
He has already pronounced judgment against the nation but if they repented and returned to Him, His grace and compassion can allow Him to show mercy.
The key is, we cannot force the issue or make God do what we wish. However, because He is gracious and righteous, God will be merciful to whom He chooses to show mercy.
15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I show compassion.”
We cannot change God, we cannot do things in order to get God to do what we want.
I watched a Wiccan priestess do an incantation. She walked around in a certain pattern and said specific words in some language. We were in training as we were introduced to the Wiccan religion. Once her incantation was complete, she addressed all of us and explained what she had just done. I really don’t remember what it was that the incantation was actually supposed to accomplish. What I do remember, and it has stuck with me all these years is when she said that a spell in Wiccan is the exact same as when a Christian prays. Both are supposed to manipulate their deity to do what the person wants.
This is a total misunderstanding of a Christian prayer. I know some who call themselves Christian think this way but it is patently false.
I think people have this idea that when they stand before God, it will be like going to court here. You have a judge who will hear every side, who will then make a determination and if you plead with Him just the right way, your judgment will be reversed.
By the time you stand in front of God, it is too late.
2 for He says, “At a favorable time I listened to you, And on a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation”—
Today is the day for repentance.
C. The Steps to True Repentance (2:15-17)
And third, notice the steps to true repentance.
Here in this portion of Joel’s text is the call to the entire assembly of God’s people. Seven commands in staccato fashion are given to the people of God in verses 15-16a:
(1) Blow a trumpet in Zion
(2) Consecrate a fast
(3) Proclaim a solemn assembly
(4) Gather the people
(5) Sanctify the congregation
(6) Assemble the elders
(7) Gather the children and the nursing infants
Interestingly, none of these commands tells the people to deal with the invading army. Rather, the commands essentially call the people to a religious assembly where they are to cry out to the Lord seeking his forgiveness. And notice that everyone is to attend. Joel wrote in verse 16b:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Have the groom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
Everyone, no matter what you are doing or participating in must come to the assembly to repent, even the newlyweds and nursing moms.
Finally, Joel wrote about the ministers leading the people in repentance. He wrote in verse 17:
17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Spare Your people, Lord, And do not make Your inheritance a disgrace, With the nations jeering at them. Why should those among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
The priests, those who minister for God, are to lead the people in repenting.
“Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, ‘Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, “Where is their God?” ’ ”
Dwight Lyman Moody said:
Man is born with his back toward God. When he truly repents, he turns right around and faces God. Repentance is a change of mind…. Repentance is the tear in the eye of faith.
Dwight Lyman Moody (Evangelist)
Repentance is realizing you are going away from God and turning so that you are once again heading toward God.
We really need this today. Violence, hatred, trauma mixed in with weather disasters, along with the media manipulating information, and our own elected governmental respresentatives are working to turn us against each other. They want us to fight with each other, blame each other. Why?
If you are busy pointing your finger at someone else and telling them they are wrong, you are not busy pointing toward God and helping them to understand who He is and how He wants that person to be in His family.
You can’t be angry with a person and then start telling them about a merciful, loving God. Who is going to listen to you?
Joel wanted the people of God to pay attention to what God was saying to them through the locust invasion.
I want to encourage you to pay attention to what God is saying to you through whatever difficulty, trial, or disaster you may be experiencing right now.
I want you to look past these tragedies that have happened recently and see that God wants you to repent, He wants us to repent and return to Him.
Let’s pray.
