The Day of the Lord

Our next stop on our journey through the minor prophets is the book of Joel, which is a very interesting book for a number of reasons. First, It is difficult to place Joel accurately in the timeline of Israel’s history. Some suggest it is pre-exile and others suggest it is post-exile. Personally, I think the book is written to pre-exile Judah, the southern kingdom. The language of the text and the theme of the day of the Lord that runs throughout the book seems to fit best if there is a very near day of the Lord coming for Judah.

Joel is a prophetic book, so it deals with things like judgment on the nation for violating their covenant with God, calls to repentance and a return to faithful worship, and hope for renewal and restoration. What we will see today is how Joel develops the theme of the day of the Lord and how that plays into what we see today.

The common Jewish understanding of the day of the Lord was a day when God would come and vindicate Israel and bring judgment on their enemies. But what we have seen thus far in Hosea and Amos is that while there is an aspect of that which is true, Israel is not exempt from these judgments. Judah, the southern kingdom, survives for more than a century longer than Israel to the north because they were more faithful to the covenant, but they too faced exile by the Babylonians. In my opinion, Joel is writing to the southern kingdom to warn them of this coming exile.

There are actually three days of the Lord that Joel writes about: one that is already past, one that is in the near future, and one that is in the distant future. When we read the prophets and we encounter the phrase “the day of the Lord,” we need to be sure we can identify which day of the Lord it refers to.

Three days of the Lord in Joel:

A recent locust plague (ch. 1)

A near future day of the Lord (ch. 2:1-17)

A distant day of the Lord ( ch. 3)

The first day of the Lord refers to a recent locust plague. Joel 1:4 states,

Joel 1:4 NASB95

What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.

There is debate as to whether this locust plague refers to a literal locust plague or is figurative of past destruction, perhaps from foreign enemies. Interpreting this as a literal locust plague seems to fit best. This is followed by a call to the leadership to wake up and pay attention, to mourn and respond with repentance. The famine they are experiencing has resulted from widespread devastation as wave after wave of insect has consumed everything. This is what locusts do. They consume everything in their path. Then Joel ties this recent locust plague to a near day of the Lord in which an army will come against the people of God.

Joel 2:1–11 NASB95

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; Surely it is near, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the 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. A fire consumes before them And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run. With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle. Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale. They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like soldiers; And they each march in line, Nor do they deviate from their paths. They do not crowd each other, They march everyone in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks. They rush on the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief. Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. The Lord utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very great, For strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?

This is followed by another call to return to the Lord, which we will visit in a moment. This day of the Lord described in chapter two is in the near future for the people in Joel’s day, but in the past for us. We are reading a prophecy that has already taken place. If Joel is correctly placed prior to Judah’s exile, It is likely that the literal locust plague of chapter one is the past day of the Lord, which foreshadows the coming day of the Lord when Babylon will overtake Jerusalem and deport its inhabitants.

The third day of the Lord is presented in chapter three, where the judgment of the Lord comes not against one nation, but all nations. We still await that day.

Joel 3:9–17 NASB95

Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up! Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.” Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. The Lord roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth tremble. But the Lord is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more.

So judgment will come against all nations as prophesied here and spelled out for us in the New Testament, particularly the book of Revelation.

The book of Joel deals with the theme of the day of the Lord, a time where God’s judgment comes against a nation or several nations. But God’s announcement of judgment is never without mercy.

Let’s turn our attention back to chapter two.

Joel 2:12–17 NASB95

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God? Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’ ”

Verse twelve shows us a theme in which we have seen before. God calls the people under judgment to return to Him even in the midst of it. He begins by saying how. Return with all your heart. Look at verse thirteen. It says to rend your heart and not your garments. In other words, it is not enough to play the part. Returning to the Lord is not merely external. Coming to church, going to Bible studies, putting money in the offering plate, or any other religious activity you can think of without the heart behind it is worthless. It’s as worthless as buying flowers on Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day but neglecting your wife’s needs emotionally, physically and spiritually every other day of the year. Relationship requires genuine investment and commitment. Otherwise, the other person will see right through you for what you really are: a fake.

This was the problem with the people in Hosea and Amos, remember? They were outwardly very religious but their moral standards had plummeted to despicable lows. This reminds me of where we are at as a nation today. In Israel’s society, wealth and economic prosperity was thought to be the favor of God. Yet it is clear that God cares far more about the heart and character of a person. We must not confuse economic prosperity with the favor of God. Even during the Trump years, while we saw much economic prosperity, the moral fabric of the country was in decline. The favor of the Lord is not seen in in outward things, but the inner character of His people, which will manifest itself outwardly.

Return requires the whole person, not just the external.

Verses thirteen and fourteen remind us of the character of God, which should instill in us confidence that when we do seek Him, He will be found. When you stray from God, He always leaves room for you to return. He will always make things right. You don’t have to run from Him. Instead, you can walk with Him. This is the most freeing thing knowing that you don’t stand in judgment before an angry God. Rather, you find peace and pardon in recognition of your faults and come to Him for renewal.

Renewal requires leadership.

Our nation is in turmoil and if we expect to see a return, we must admit we have strayed and return to the Lord. And that begins with the leadership. The final verses are a call to action. Gather the people, the elders, the children, infants, young married people, and the priests.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 calls us to pray for our leaders.

1 Timothy 2:1–2 NASB95

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

Notice there are no qualifiers for praying for your government. You don’t have to like them or agree with them, but you are called to pray for them. Do you pray for Joe Biden? Kamala Harris? Nancy Pelosi? Greg Abbot, Ken Paxton, Ted Cruz, Jon Cornyn? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? We should. If there is any hope for us as a nation, we must continually cover our leaders in prayer and use our influence to cast votes for godly leadership.

As goes the leadership, so goes the organization. I covet your prayers as I seek the Lord’s will for this church. As we walk through the revitalization process with the state convention’s help, my prayer is we will discover just how God intends to get us to fulfill our mission. My commitment to you is to remain humble and diligent in seeking the Lord above all else. I pray you will do the same.

Renewal requires your commitment.

While we earnestly pray for our leadership, we cannot wait for them to seek the Lord before we do. We must be vigilant in examining ourselves and allowing the Bible to examine us to reveal areas in our lives that do not line up with God’s truth. When those things become apparent to us, we have to choose to act on them. Sometimes we don’t know how, but that is why God gave us each other. When you can’t figure out how to move forward, band together. I promise there is someone in this church who can help you in your next step.

There is a day of the Lord that is yet to come. May we be vigilant in seeking Him above all else.