The Eschatological Day Of The Lord -- Part 1
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The Sistine Chapel is one of the true jewels of world art. After spending four years painting it, Michelangelo finished his masterpiece in 1512, and the chapel went into daily use. In those days the only light source came from candles. As candles burned year after year, the soot began to rise to the ceiling, obscuring the paintings. After over 400 years of soot, grime, and dust collecting on the ceiling, the original art had to be restored. So a team of restorative artists worked on the Sistine Chapel from 1984-1999 until the monochrome colors were restored to their original beauty.
Prior to the restoration process, many in the art community thought that Michelangelo was a genius at composition. After all, how did he think to have Adam’s hand stretching out, yearning to find the finger of God, which was already reaching out for him? But it was also widely-believed that Michelangelo’s coloration was mediocre. It was too dark, monochromatic, and blah. And yet when they restored those frescoes to their original state, everyone could see the beautiful, fresh, and even spring-like colors—pale pink, apple green, vivid yellow, and sky blue against a background of warm pearly grey. When the maker’s true brilliance and goodness were revealed, people had to change their assumptions about Michelangelo.
In a similar way, for many us, over the years the soot, grime, and dust of daily life have obscured our vision of God’s goodness. God’s character seems blah, mediocre, and maybe even dark. We no longer feel and deeply believe that through Christ we have a good Father. However, by calling us to repentance, God begins a work of restoration so we can see the true colors of his brilliant goodness.
The people in Joel’s day certainly had an obscured vision of God that left them spiritually lethargic. Hence, God’s call to them through the Prophet Joel to return to him in repentance.
Let’s read about the eschatological day of the Lord in Joel 2:18-27:
18 Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And will have compassion for His people.
19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine, and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a disgrace among the nations.
20 “But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land, Its advance guard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will ascend and its odor of decay will come up, Because it has done great things.”
21 Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice, For the Lord has done great things.
22 Do not fear, animals of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has produced its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
23 So shout for joy, you sons of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has brought down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.
25 “Then I will compensate you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust— My great army which I sent among you.
26 “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied, And you will praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame.
27 “So you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.
Joel 2:18-27 teaches us that God restores all who return to him in wholehearted repentance.
I. The Blessings of Restoration (2:18-20)
First, let’s examine the blessings of restoration.
In the previous section of Joel’s prophecy, he had exhorted the people to return to God in repentance. They had done so. Therefore, in verse 18, Joel said, “The the Lord will be zealous for His land, And will have compassion for His people.”
Instead of telling the people what to do, Joel tells the people what God has done. When God’s people, under the direction of their leaders, return to the Lord in wholehearted repentance, he blesses them with full restoration. Joel mentions four specific blessings of restoration.
A. The Lord Will Answer Your Prayer (2:19a)
First, the Lord will answer your prayer.
In verse 19a, Joel wrote, “The Lord will answer and say to His people.” Undoubtedly, during the devastation of the locust invasion, the people had called out to God. Joel had been sent by God to tell the people that they needed to repent of their sin of spiritual complacency. Finally, they did so, and the Lord answered their prayer.
Often you and I can experience some kind of difficulty, sickness or maybe a disruption to our lives. In such times, we should always check whether we have sinned against God or maybe become spiritually lethargic. If we find that we have, then we must repent of our sin or spiritual complacency. When we do we will find that the Lord will answer us. He has promised to always listen to us even if we do not feel like He is.
B. The Lord Will Satisfy Your Desires (2:19b)
Second, the Lord will satisfy your desires.
Through the prophet, God tells us the next part of verse 19: “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them.”
Do you remember the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand? Mark tells us in Mark 4:42 that “They all ate and were satisfied.” After everyone ate, there were baskets of bread and fish left over. Jesus has the power to satisfy your physical needs but this is also a metaphor that Jesus has the power to satisfy your spiritual needs. We must turn to Him and away from ourselves.
C. The Lord Will Remove Your Disgrace (2:19c)
Third, the Lord will remove your reproach.
Verse 19 goes on to say, “And I will never again make you a disgrace among the nations.”
When the people and land were devastated by the locust, the surrounding nations mocked them and said “Where is their God.”
To the world, they looked like they were disgraced. God restored His people and by doing so took away their disgrace.
A great example of this principle is found in the experience of Chuck Colson. At one time, the second most powerful person in the world, after President Richard Nixon, he was publicly disgraced when he was convicted in the Watergate scandal. During prison, he repented of his sin and came to faith in Jesus Christ. He went on to found Prison Fellowship, and earned the respect and love of a far greater number of people than he ever had while working in the White House.
We can often work hard to hide from our sin which has caused us disgrace. Instead, Joel tells us to repent and turn back to God and that disgrace will go.
D. The Lord Will Destroy Your Enemies (2:20)
And fourth, God will not only take away our disgrace but He will destroy your enemies.
Joel 2:20 reads:
20 “But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land, Its advance guard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will ascend and its odor of decay will come up, Because it has done great things.”
In the context this refers to God removing the locust from the land. It also refers to the future when the Babylonians invaded Judah centuries later. God eventually restored Israel from Babylon.
The enemies you and I face today are not primarily human enemies; our enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil. They are our enemies because they are enemies of God. As we return to God in wholehearted repentance, he destroys our enemies so that we are enabled to continue walking in obedience to God.
II. The Recipients of Restoration (2:21-23)
Second, notice the recipients of restoration.
A. The Land Will Be Restored (2:21)
First, the land will be restored.
The land was the first to suffer when they locust attacked. Verse 21 tells us that God restored the land and it no longer needed to fear because God “has done great things.”
B.The Beasts of the Field Will Be Restored (2:22)
Second, the beasts of the field will be restored.
Because God restored the land, the animals, who lost their food, no longer needed to fear. Their food had been replenished and they once again had plenty to eat.
C. The Children of Zion Will Be Restored (2:23)
And third, the children of Zion will be restored.
God Himself will restore His people. Let’s read verse 23 again.
23 So shout for joy, you sons of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has brought down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before.
I am not a big fan of rain. It seems to rain when I have the chance to ride my bike. I don’t mind the rain on days I cannot go for a ride.
However, rain is essential to the earth; it is essential for the farmers. Without the rain, crops will fail. It doesn’t matter how good the soil is, how good anything is if it doesn’t rain then the crops won’t grow. And if you are farming in a semi-arid place like Israel, the rain becomes more important.
There is a little change in this verse. The latter two said not to fear. This one starts with, “So shout for joy.”
When God sends His rain in our lives, His restoration of our lives from sin, we are called to shout for joy, to celebrate what God has done for us.
III. The Climax of Restoration (2:24-27)
So third, let’s look at the climax of restoration.
What God has done in restoration is amazing. The barren land will start producing crops again. The beasts of the field will have plenty to eat again. And God’s people will also be restored and will rejoice.
Could it get any better? Amazingly, yes it does!
A. The Restoration of Lost Time (2:24-25)
First, notice the restoration of lost time.
In verse 24 God says that “The threshing floors will be full of grains, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.”
We tend to shy away in thinking that God blesses us in material ways. But this verse says He will give material blessings. However, He doesn’t stop there.
Verse 25 says, “Then I will compensate you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust - My great army which I sent among you.”
God loves to restore what has been lost. And one of the greatest things that we have lost is time. Think about the time you have lost.
If we look back on our lives, we will see a lot of wasted time; a lot of time in rebellion, a lot of time doing things we knew were wrong. We can see times we rebelled from our parents, refused to make peace with someone in our lives. And if we look hard enough we will see the times that we simply refused to yield to God.
But God says that He “will compensate you for the years that the swarming locust have eaten.”
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
When we repent and turn back to God, we will be compensated for the time we were in opposition to Him.
B. The Response of the Repentant (2:26-27)
And second, notice the response of the repentant.
The last two verses describe the response of the repentant to the work of restoration done by the Lord.
1. You shall satisfy yourself with His blessings (2:26a)
First, you shall satisfy yourself with his blessings.
God says in verse 26a, “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.” You will come to cherish the blessings of God in the supply of your daily bread. You will realize that even your daily bread is a gift from a gracious God.
2. You shall praise the name of the Lord (2:26b)
Second, you shall praise the name of the Lord.
God says in 26b, “you will praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you.”
When you are around someone who has been blessed by God and they know these blessings come from God, they won’t quit talking about God. They don’t try to brag about what they have but the keep bragging about what God has done for them and what He wants to do for you.
3. You shall know God personally (2:27a)
Third, you shall know God personally.
The first part of verse 27 says, “So you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God.”
When you have repented and turned to God, God will be in the very midst of your life. You will know He is there as you experience His restoration in your life. The Bible teaches that we can know God on a personal level; not just know that He is God but that He is your God.
4. You shall never again be put to shame (2:26c; 2:27b)
And fourth, you shall never again be put to shame.
At the end of verse 26 and 27, God says “My people will never be put to shame.”
When we repent and turn back to God, we do not have to live in shame. Have you ever wondered why Satan always throws your past in your face? He wants your focus to be on your failings. He wants you to think that you have failed.
When God looks at you, He is looking at His son, and He sees you just as He has created you, perfect and without blemish.
It does not matter what you have done, when you repent and turn back to God, everything has changed and you never again have to be ashamed.
Joel wrote these words of God to the people of God. Even more specifically, These words of God through the prophet are meant for God’s people who have strayed from God; for those people who have become spiritually complacent. These words should remind us that we should not come to God’s house and spend time then leave. We come to worship, we come to glorify and we come because we love God.
Ask yourself, why am I here?
Let’s pray.
