Sin's Painful Price

REFLECTIVE TEXT: Romans 5:6-8

Romans 5:6–8 ESV

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

SERMON TEXT: Joel 1:1-2:17

Reading...

Joel 1:1–4 ESV

1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: 2 Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation. 4 What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.

Joel 1:13–16 ESV

13 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. 14 Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. 15 Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes. 16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

Joel 2:12–14 ESV

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?

INTRODUCTION / TRANSITION

Do you know pain?

That’s not a terribly pleasant question to ponder. The simple answer is YES or NO. But that’s not where our mind stop is it?

We are not only thinking of “the” pain (aka our fiery trial) that causes us to tamp down a shout of YES to the question...

…our flesh is ready to compare our pain with others to show ourselves superior in the injured department.

I don’t doubt that there are stories, accounts, testimonies in this room that could put us all in quite a state.

Have you caused pain?

It’s an equally unpleasant question that few of us want to face up to.

we likely diminish the pain we have caused in others but magnify the pain others have caused us.

We judge ourselves by our intentions. We judge others by their actions and words.

We are all sinners. We have all caused pain as a result of our sin. We have all been on the receiving end of pain because of OUR sin and the sin of OTHERS.

The reading from this morning has already been a bit heavy. Old Testament Prophets, especially the minor ones, have that reputation. We’re going to see the pain and cost of sin on Israel before long before Christ came. Spoiler alert…it still painful and costs more than you can afford today.

BACKGROUND FOR MINOR PROPHETS

Daniel–Malachi Preaching from Joel

They were not originators of new teaching but rather were called to challenge the commitment of the people to God’s covenantal requirements in the Mosaic law. They guarded the relationship between God and his people and applied both the blessings and the curses of the covenant set out in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 4 and 27–28. This is what Joel is doing here: he is acting as covenant enforcer among the people.

While the ministry of earlier prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, was oral, not written, later prophets started to minister God’s word by writing as well as speaking their messages

Joel doesn’t stand alone. To be properly assessed it must be looked at with the other prophets in order to grasp the breadth of teaching and context.

BACKGROUND FOR JOEL

Little is known about our author.

His name means Yahweh is God

Pronounced “Yoe-ell”

The date this book was written is unclear. Our best Biblical Scholars can make a case for any time between the ninth to sixth century B.C.

Its message , however is valid for all time because this is a word from the Lord for His people.

We are reminded, even in today’s passage, of the omnipotent God who controls all the forces of nature - including insect plagues.

We also are forced to deal with the unpopular reality and the inconvenient truth that rebellion against God brings divine judgment. There is a direct connection between sin and its consequences.

Joel’s minor prophet status in no way diminishes the magnitude or the seriousness of the Word of the Lord through Him!

Joel reminds us that God will hold his own people accountable for their sins. They cannot gloat over the sins of others, for judgment begins with the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). However, when his people are persecuted, he will vindicate them.

We’ll take 4 messages to work through Joel:

Sin's Painful Price (Joel 1:1-2:17)

Healing & Wholeness from God (2:18-27)

The Day of the Lord (2:28-3:17)

Hope for God's People (3:18-21)

>>>PRAYER HERE

LET’S LOOK AT HOW WE GOT HERE!

(Here = Locusts plagues, Day of the Lord held up)

The New American Commentary: Hosea, Joel I. Judgment on Israel: Locust Plague (1:2–20)

Joel began his message with the locust plague. His message might be summarized as follows: “What you have seen in the locusts is the day of the Lord that you have often heard the prophets foretell. It has begun not with the Gentiles but with us, the chosen people. We must realize that we are not exempt from judgment, and we must repent.”

As we look through Joel there are several timeless messages for us to glean from the text.

THIS DEMANDS OUR ATTENTION!

vv 1-3

LISTEN UP LEADERS (in communities, homes)

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

GOD’S JUDGMENT IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

THE DEVASTATION IS EVERYWHERE!

vv 4-20

Gospel Transformation Bible: English Standard Version Study Notes for Joel

While we should be careful not to interpret every hardship or trial as discipline from the Lord—the mistake of the Pharisees in John 9—we should not forget that God may chastise us as he knows is best for the sake of our souls. Through the revelation that comes through his prophet Joel, it is clear that this plague comes as judgment upon God’s people (see Joel 2:12–13)

vv 4-12

Cutting Locusts,

Swarming Locusts,

Hopping Locusts,

Destroying Locusts

They’ve destroyed all that society held precious and dear. Too dear at times.

The vineyards are gone

The wine is gone

Fig trees, Fruit Trees

Grain, Wheat, Barley

Things for enjoyment were gone.

Can you imagine what it would have been like to have lived through this?

I think we can imagine it better now than this time last year

Recent days have given us a glimpse of how quickly a pandemic scare can affect supply lines in our modern society and squeeze many of us with more than just inconvenience.

Think of the way it affects our mental health as individuals and a society

To the Drunkards: “Wake up and weep!” (Joel 1:5–7)

Except for pointing out the insincerity of some of the worshipers (2:12–13), drunkenness is the only sin that Joel actually names in his book.

However, this was a serious sin that the prophets often condemned (Hosea 7:5; Amos 4:1). Perhaps the drunkards represented all the careless people in the land whose only interest was sinful pleasure.

To The Farmers: “Despair and wail!” (Joel 1:8–12)

Season to season, the locusts ate whatever was produced, and the drought kept the soil from producing anything more. In verses 18–20, Joel includes the flocks and herds and their pastures.

The farmers were grieving on the same level as a young woman whose fiancé had died.

vv 13-20

Worship Gatherings were affected.

Elements needed for worship were gone - Sacrifices and Ceremonies had to be suspended.

To the Priests: who were already mourning and lamenting, “Call a Fast” (Joel 1:13-20)

There is a call to repentance

The proper response to God’s judgment is contrite repentance.

Psalm 51:17 ESV

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Humble yourselves (Sackcloth was an outward humiliation)

Lament

Wail at the place of sacrifice

Don’t rest comfortably

Things aren’t right at God’s House

(In addition to the annual fast) Fast

We will gather to lament and sit weeping together

Joel, Amos, and Obadiah, A 12-Week Study Gospel Glimpses

Repentance is a change of heart and mind over one’s attitude toward God or one’s actions; it is a turning away from sin and a turning toward God. Accordingly, repentance involves more than just an external confession of guilt or expression of regret; rather, this inward change of heart and mind must result in a grieving over the wrong committed, a hating of the offense, and an earnest desire for the mercy and forgiveness of God. Such repentance necessarily results in changed behavior

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

…(v15 READ IT)

Joel 1:15 ESV

15 Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

“wait…what?”

#YouAintSeenNothingYet

He resumes the assessment of the current damage:

food supply is affected

no joy or gladness at the house of the Lord

ground is dry

storehouses empty

cattle and sheep (sacrificial animals are suffering)

like a fire devours all moisture - the brooks are dried up

WOW!

-------

Judah is really going through it here!

Let’s get back to your pain…what you’ve experienced and what you have caused. My pain. Our pain.

I want you to imagine for a moment that you are apolitical. You have no axe to grind against a party or case to make for another...

Can you see with your eyes that our nation, even this global system is under the siege of darkness, and greed, and malice, and selfishness?

Can you see the corruption at every level that are destroying institutions and people and causes that were meant to “love thy neighbor as thyself”?

We are in trouble...and it is escalating!

the all-out assault on anything holy

darkness is being called light, and light is cast out as darkness

the name of our God is a flippant expression of disgust

the infanticide that has been plaguing our nation for too many years with abortion mills literally surrounded by churches

racial disunity and prejudice rampant in our local churches in the South.

Hirelings, Charlatans and False Prophets have most of the bandwidth of the so-called “Christian” airwaves

An American church that continues to produce anemic, ignorant, adrenaline-junkies and biblically illiterate churchgoers as opposed to biblical disciples who are advancing the Kingdom of God

church congregations where a small percentage give generously…sacrificially as unto the Lord?

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil,

a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers.

THIS DEVASTATION IS EVERYWHERE!

THIS DEMANDS OUR ATTENTION!

Like locust swarms, sin can impact every facet our society. Sinners are in positions of authority and leadership and can build broken systems, too.

AND YET…THIS IS NOT ALL THERE IS. Sin’s painful price has a culmination - and Joel is one of the first prophets to call it what it is…

THE DAY OF THE LORD IS COMING

(Joel 2:1-17)

“The Day of the Lord”

First, it is used to refer to a day of judgment for Israel, and this may well have been a surprise to the people, who had positive anticipation of such a day (cf. comment on 1:15).

Second, it can refer to a special visitation when God’s saving power on behalf of his people is demonstrated

We see here the phrase is referring to both an imminent day of deliverance and such a day in the distant future.

It’s the concept of “THE NOW AND THE NOT YET”

On the positive side:

We can see the goodness of God now in the people of God around us, the beauty of creation and the incredible wonder of God’s creation...and yet we know that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9)

On the negative side:

The last time the earth saw the wrath of God poured out, was on Golgotha’s hill outside the city of Jerusalem. Where the whole earth went dark as there, on that fateful hill, the King of Glory was crucified on a 3 Roman cross with a convicted criminal on his left and right hand.

The whole earth convulsed, the cosmic light switch was turned off, some graves spit out the corpses

There is a Day of the LORD coming that will far outweigh what they have already gone through.

Notice:

(v2) darkness & gloom & clouds

like blackness spread across the mountains

there has never been any like them, there won’t be after them

(v3) fire goes before and behind them

they leave desolation in their wake

(v4) they look and run like horses with chariots

(v5, 7) they are like a powerful army of warriors & soldiers

(v6) everyone who sees them coming grows pale

(vv7-8) like a well-disciplined military unit, nothing gets in their way. They scale walls, burst through weapons

(v9) they leap over walls, climb into houses, bust through the windows like a thief

(v10) the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, you can’t see the sun, moon, or stars,

Wow! Whew! and WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

Is this another locust invasion?

It could be…the language here (English & Hebrew) is poetry…it describes this invading force, “like” an army...

Is this an invading army coming soon?

It could be…it’s not as probable.

Is this imagery for the final Day of the Lord?

It could be…there is cosmic imagery used in verse 10.

While may not be able to pin down with absolute authority whether this is locusts or apocalyptic end-times imagery…the fact remains - Judah had seen a lot. But there was more coming.

Remember last week we quoted this verse:

After Moses has laid out the path to Israel’s blessing - through obedience; he lays out the path to devastating pain & suffering - disobedience.

Deuteronomy 28:15 ESV

15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

Locusts are terrible…devastating…but they are not the worst thing.

AIDS is terrible...Coronavirus is devastating…but they are not the worst thing.

Joel 2:11 ESV

11 The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

THE LORD SPEAKS!

who can withstand this terrible day of the Lord?

WITH ALL THE VIRTUE SIGNALING AT EVERY TURN IN OUR OWN DAY

WITH THE DEAFENING CALL FROM THE MILITANT Theological Liberals (these are people who deny the authority of Scriptures)

WITH political extremists ALL SCREAMING AT US to get on the RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY! (which is based on “their truth” by the way)…I have a message for you:

I’D RATHER BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF GOD!

Joel called for God’s people to come back to God too!

Joel 2:12–17 ESV

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. 17 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?’ ”

BE SO MOVED BY THIS DEVASTATION!

BE SO FOCUSED WITH YOUR ATTENTION…THAT YOUR WHOLE FAMILY TAKES NOTE WITH YOU!

RECOGNIZE THE FAMINE IN THE LAND…THE FAMINE AND ABJECT POVERTY IN OUR BLOATED & WEALTHY TRAPPINGS...

Revelation 3:17 ESV

17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Revelation 3:19–20 ESV

19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

MAYBE WE COULD KNEEL WITH THE PURITANS…WITH HEARTS BROKEN AND CRY:

“Convince me that I cannot be my own God, or make myself happy,

nor my own Christ to restore my joy,

nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, rule me.

Help me to see that grace does this by providential affliction,

for when my credit is good thou dost cast me lower,

when riches are my idol thou dost wing them away,

when pleasure is my all thou dost turn it into bitterness.

Take away my roving eye, curious ear, greedy appetite, lustful heart;

Show me that none of these things

can heal a wounded conscience,

or support a tottering frame,

or uphold a departing spirit.

Then take me to the cross and leave me there.”

With all we see around us. We must never forget that mercy is still foremost in God’s attitude to his covenantal people.

The invitation is given to return in penitence to him and find him to be gracious and compassionate.

I pray this morning, in the stillness of the coming moments that you will ask the Lord to remind us of Sin’s painful cost…

so that there might be a revival in our discipline

so that we might live with the Day of the Lord in view…and have an urgency about our walking in His Spirit as we live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission!

Jeremiah 23:9 ESV

9 Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and because of his holy words.

We often think of our sins as not much more than violations of some heavenly traffic law. So we wonder why God gets so upset about them. But sin is much more than that. It’s the rejection of God himself and his right to exercise authority over those to whom he gives life.

Your sin…my sin…this world’s sin from the highest moralist to the death-row murderer - the Bible tells us

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Every one of us will be held accountable to God. The Bible warns

John 3:18 ESV

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Our sin sent Jesus Christ to a cross; there He was lifted up to die. There upon that cross, the sins of everyone who would believe in Him were transferred to Him. The great exchange of the cross—the worst about me laid upon Him, the best about Him now to be laid upon me as He shed His blood upon that cross.

He reconciled sinful man to Holy God. There is no other way for us to have a relationship with an infinitely holy God except through the blood of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And by his sin-bearing, substitutionary death upon that cross, He took sinful man in one hand, and holy God in the other hand and brought the two together through His death. By that death He satisfied the righteous anger of God and appeased His wrath towards all who would believe in Him.

Sin brings pain. Pain is its offspring.

You’ve experienced pain. You’ve caused pain.

I have sinned. You have sinned.

This demands our attention!

There is destruction everywhere!

The Day of the LORD necessitates our joy unspeakable and full of glory…be juxtaposed with a heart that breaks over what grieves God.

One modern-day lyricist wrote:

I’ve got faith in the bank and money in my heart I’ve got a calloused place where your ring used to be, my love I’ve traded naked and unashamed For a better place to hide For a righteous mask, a suit of fig leaves and lies

CH1: I thought the cattle on a thousand hills Was not enough to pay my bills And I fell in love with those who proved me wrong And now I want a broken heart

Ch2: I cannot look you in the eye So I check the knots on my disguise ‘Cause I fell in love with fashion in the dark And now I want a broken heart

INVITATION:

How would you respond if Joel were talking to you this morning?

Would you look up from your cultural intoxication and try to see things Biblically?

Would you disciple others…investing in equipping children to have a Biblical Worldview?

Will you be sensitive to your own sin…recognize the pain that it brings, and repentant before the Lord?

I’m keenly aware that some are not yet walking with Jesus as a child of God…Christ has taken all the guilt and shame and the ultimate price for your sin on the cross…Remember: the worst about you was laid upon Him, the best about Him can now to be laid upon you because of as He shed His blood upon that cross.