9 - Return: Dwelling with God

Return: Dwelling with God

Joel 3:16-21

Joel 3:16–21 ESV

16 The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. 17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. 18 “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. 19 “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. 21 I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.”

1. Introduction – Today we wrap up our study through the book of Joel.

a. And Joel ends his prophecy by painting a picture of the future…not the immediate future, but the forever kind of future.

i. A future when earth is restored…where evil is vanquished and God dwells with his people.

1. It’s an incredible picture…one that is reminiscent of the closing chapters of Revelation.

b. This section of Joel is written to lift the spirits of a downtrodden people.

i. It was written in order to lift their gaze.

1. To take their eyes off of their navels…off of their present circumstances…and point them towards the glorious future that God has in store for those who truly repent.

a. Hear God’s Word – Joel 3:16-21

c. Here’s what we’re going to do today. First, we are going to walk through the text.

i. We’ll try to figure out what it says and how it ties in and concludes what has been written before.

1. After we look at what the passage says, we’ll look at what it means.

i. What do we learn from this passage? What points of theology can we glean?

1. What do we learn about God from this passage? What do we learn about the future?

2. And finally, we’ll see how this passage applies to us today, how it can encourage us in the situations we find ourselves in.

2. Explaining the Passage – As we explore what the text says, I want us to keep in mind that Joel is wrapping up his prophecy.

a. He is tying up loose ends – so there’s going to be a lot of repetition in the language and images.

i. And the images at the end contrast starkly with the images at the beginning of the book.

1. What was once a scene of desolation and destruction in Judah, becomes a scene of prosperity and abundance.

a. What were once scenes of judgment on God’s people become scenes of blessings.

2. Where the nations were once used by God…God now destroys them for their wickedness.

b. We’ll start where we left off last week. Starting in vv.15-16, we have all the telltale signs of a theophany…of God showing up.

i. The sun and moon darken…the starts no longer shine…the heavens and earth shake…God is showing up…and when God shows up crazy things happen.

1. However, the last time we saw theophany in Joel, God was coming to judge his own wayward people.

a. And that’s something to keep in mind…when God judges…he starts with his own.

i. He gives warning after warning…remember God is slow to anger…

1. But God does judge sin…he calls his own back to himself…and after the repentant have responded…God shows his power to the nations.

c. The sun, moon and starts go black…the heavens and earth shake…

i. But the Lord is a refuge and fortress for his people.

1. No longer is God’s judgment coming against them…God is a hiding place, a safe place for his people.

a. And as we move into v.17, the relationship between God and his people gets even stronger…look at what it says.

i. God will live in Zion…on his holy mountain.

2. Jerusalem shall be holy…not because of what the people have done, but because God dwells there.

a. And strangers…it could say foreigners or aliens…will never pass through it again.

ii. Joel’s original audience heard this and probably took it literally…no foreign nationals will enter God’s Holy City.

1. However, we understand and interpret it differently…being Gentiles ourselves…but our interpretation doesn’t break with the intent of the original.

a. Since the whole world has been blessed through Jesus…since we know the body of Christ is made up of people from all nationalities…

i. The word ‘stranger’ or ‘foreigner or ‘alien’ means no one outside the family of God…no one outside the repentant will ever enter God’s holy city.

d. And as we move into v.18, we see the complete restoration of all things…However this scene is about more than agricultural abundance.

i. The agricultural abundance is a sign that God has made all things new…that the devastation caused by the locust swarm has bene completely reversed.

1. Look at the 3 items mentioned in v.18.

a. First, wine. Remember back in chapter 1 when the vineyards were stripped bare?

i. Remember back in chapter 1 when the drunkards couldn’t get their fill?

1. Remember when there was no wine to offer as a drink offering to God?

b. Now, there is new wine. So much so that the mountains will be streaming with it.

i. In stark contrast to the bare vineyards of previous chapters, the vineyards and the winepress will be overflowing.

ii. Next, Joel writes that the hills will flow with milk.

1. Remember how the cattle couldn’t find pasture to graze in??? We’ll here the cattle numbers are so great…and they are in such great health that milk is just flowing over the hills.

a. Isn’t this God restoring the Promised Land to what it once was?

i. Remember the story of the spies? 12 spies were sent in ahead of time to scope out the Promised Land.

1. 10 spies came back and said the cities were too big, the walls were too high and the people too strong.

b. But Joshua and Caleb came back and said the land was ripe for the picking.

i. And specifically, they said it was a land flowing with what??? Milk and honey.

iii. Now let’s not take the image too literally and realize that it is an expression of fertility and sustainability.

1. Same thing here in Joel 3 – milk isn’t literally flowing in streams…but it is being produced in abundance.

a. And not only wine and milk…but water will flow in abundance.

i. Remember a few weeks back we talked about the relationship between righteousness and water.

2. But when God comes in power…when he dwells in his holy city…water will flow like mad.

a. And in a semi-arid climate like Israel…the steady flow of water would be a welcomed promise.

e. Contrast the agricultural abundance with the complete and utter destruction of Egypt and Edom in v.19.

i. Agriculturally speaking, these 2 nations usually had abundant crops…but when God judges the nations who opposed his people…their abundance will be destroyed.

1. Egypt was so fertile that Israel’s forefathers escaped there when Canaan had a drought.

a. Now…the point isn’t only about the agricultural abundance…the point is theological.

i. Israel’s God will show himself to be more powerful that Egypt gods…then Edom’s gods.

b. In the future, people will not seek out Egypt’s god for advice or for rescue…they will not retreat to Edom’s gods for refuge…Israel’s God will prove himself more powerful.

f. And in vv.20-21, Joel closes out his prophecy by reminding the people of the status of their relationship with God.

i. Judah and Jerusalem – not necessarily literal and physical places, would be inhabited forever – stark contrast to the desolation of Egypt and Edom.

1. The roles will be reversed…the weak will become strong and the strong will be destroyed.

a. And v.21 is a little tricky to understand…but here’s now we’ll interpret it.

i. In this verse, God through the prophet Joel, is speaking about his people who won’t be alive to see this vindication.

1. Those whom the Egyptians killed, the Edomites killed…the Romans killed, martyrs of our day…

a. Will their deaths be avenged on the day of the Lord?

ii. It’s like Revelation 6, when the 5th seal is broken and the voices of the martyrs are heard crying out from under the altar.

1. They are concerned about the same thing…will their lives and their deaths be vindicated?

a. And the answer comes in Revelation and here in Joel…all of God’s people will be vindicated.

3. Meaning – So there are a number of teaching points we could hit on this morning…but I’m going to quickly only focus on 1…because its that good!

a. I want us to talk about the dwelling of God.

i. In v.17, and 21…the section is bookended about God dwelling in Zion…a point the author wants to drive home.

1. What that means is that on the day of the Lord, after God’s people are rescued and the unrighteous are condemned…God will dwell with his people.

a. It’s an incredible thought. A concept that can be traced from the beginning of the Bible right through to its end.

b. Think about it…in the Garden of Eden, God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.

i. When Israel was wondering in the wilderness…God was with them.

1. A cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

a. God inhabited the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle…he quite literally tabernacled…took up residence among his people.

i. Later God dwelt with his people by inhabiting the Holy of Holies in the Temple that Solomon had built.

ii. In Jesus…the word of God became flesh and dwelt among us…again the word is tabernacled…took up residence among his people.

1. In Jesus is Emmanuel…God incarnate…God with us. This is something we’ll start reminding ourselves of next Sunday as we make our way into Advent.

c. In Acts 2, after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension back to the Father, we are told that on the day of Pentecost – God once against dwelt with his people.

i. Only now his presence was universally available through the Holy Spirit.

1. Something we enjoy to this very day when we come to God through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf.

a. At the end of the Bible, in the closing chapters of Revelation, we hear this sweet sound, “The dwelling place of God is with humanity!”

i. He will wipe tears, there will be no more death, no mourning, no crying or pain. An incredible thought…something for foreign to us today.

ii. And as if it couldn’t get any better than that – Revelation 22:4 says This, “They will see God’s face!” Wow!

1. A request that was denied to Moses will be granted to all of God’s redeemed.

a. So God dwelling in Zion – God dwelling with his people isn’t a new concept…

i. God has always done it in some form or another.

1. But what Joel writes here at the end of his prophecy is echoed by John at the end of his prophecy…

b. On the day of the Lord, after the righteous have been vindicated and blessed and the unrighteous condemned…

i. God will once against dwell with his people…like he did with Adam and Eve…it will be a return to an Eden-like state.

4. Application – the book of Joel was written to a desperate and fragile nations.

a. It was written so the people would get their eyes off their present circumstances and look beyond them to the bright future God has in store for his people.

i. Don’t we need that message of hope today? We need to be remaindered that there’s more to life and more to this world than COVID-19.

1. Joel was written to a group that experienced unimaginable devastation.

a. Everything they knew was taken away from them.

ii. Even their usual practices of worship were taken away…we can relate to that, can’t we?

1. But what the people of Joel’s day were told…and what we need to remember is that it is only temporary.

a. The people in Joel’s day were called to repent of their waywardness in order to enjoy immediate blessing and future restoration.

iii. Who knows what God is doing through our present circumstances???

1. Maybe it was a wakeup call for churches to adapt to the times and use current technology to reach more people?

a. Maybe this is happening so we won’t take gathering together for granted?

i. Maybe this is happening so we can expand our definition of church and what it looks like to be part of a church?

1. Maybe it was given to us evaluate and reevaluate what we do and how we do things.

a. Who know!

b. What I do know is that God’s people have a glorious future in store.

i. Sure, our public worship may be derailed for a little while…but there will be a time when it will never stop!

1. While things right now are weird and confusing…there will come a time when the world is made right…when worship never stops…and there will be a time when God will dwell among his people.