The Bible says in Joel 1:14, “Sanctify ye
a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of
the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD.” In the
verses leading up to this one the book of Joel is telling the Israelites that
judgment is coming because of how many sins they had committed and how far they
had gone away from the Lord. And because they had not
returned to the Lord. Believers must always guard their hearts and make
sure that they turn to the Lord on a regular basis. This verse, Joel 1:14,
tells the Israelites what needs to be done to fix their terrible spiritual
condition. First it says, “Sanctify ye a fast.” “To
sanctify” means to make holy, or to separate, or to set apart. Turning to the
Lord involves making a conscious decision to turn away from sin. “A fast”
involved a time of not eating any food. This symbolized the person’s desire to emphasize
his spiritual needs as opposed to his physical needs. Turning to the Lord has
to be a priority in someone’s life, or it will not happen.
Notice in Joel 1:14 that God said to
gather “all the inhabitants of the land.” The reason that judgment was coming
on the entire nation of
The Bible says in Joel 1:15, “Alas for the
day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a
destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” The phrase “the day
of the LORD” is a key phrase in Bible prophecy. We see it used here in the Old
Testament in reference to what would happen to the nation of
The Bible says in Joel 1:15-20, “Is not the
meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?[17]
The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns
are broken down; for the corn is withered.[18] How do the beasts groan!
the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the
flocks of sheep are made desolate.[19] O LORD,
to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness,
and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.[20] The beasts of
the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the
fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.” Once again in
these verses the Israelites are being told how terrible the judgment will be
that is coming upon them unless they repent soon. That is also the message of
the Gospel of Christ. Yes, the word Gospel means “good news,” but anyone who
does not accept the good news will have only bad news. The bad news concerning
your eternal destiny is that there is a holy God who
will judge sin, and you are a sinner, and there is a hell. Some terrible things
are in your future unless you turn to Christ who loves you. Look at the
negative words used to describe the future of the Israelites: “meat cut
off,” “seed
is rotten,” “garners
are laid desolate,” “barns are broken down,”
“the corn is withered,” “the beasts groan,” “cattle are perplexed,” “sheep are made
desolate,” “waters
are dried up, and the fire hath devoured.”
Joel 1:19 shows us the proper response
that a person should have once they are told that judgment is coming. It says,
“O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured
the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the
field.” Fire in judgment symbolizes the fires of hell. Jesus taught that
there is a hell. Jesus said in Luke 16:22-23, “And it came to pass, that the
beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man
also died, and was buried;[23] And in hell he
lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
The Bible says in Joel 2:1-2, “Blow ye the
trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it
is nigh at hand;[2] A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds
and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people
and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more
after it, even to the years of many generations.” This is the
second time that Joel uses the phrase “the day of the Lord.” The last chapter
of the Old Testament refers to this event. It says in Malachi 4:5, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:” Acts also refers to this event and says in Acts 2:20, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:” The word “darkness” is used to describe the “day of the
Lord” to symbolize the doom and destruction and judgment that will come in that
day. It will be a day when God’s dealings with the earth will change. Right now
we are in the age of grace when Jesus’ blessings fall on everyone. It is a time
when light and truth shine down from the Father of Lights. But the Father is
also Judge. And the day of judgment is coming when the
light will be replaced by darkness. It will be the greatest judgment ever
brought upon the earth. That is why it says in Joel 2:2, “there hath not been ever the like,
neither shall be any more after it.”
The Bible says in Joel 2:3-9, “A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and
behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.[4]
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so
shall they run.[5] Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains
shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth
the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.[6] Before their
face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.[7]
They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and
they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:[8]
Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and
when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.[9] They shall
run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up
upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.”
This description of war and destruction through war depicts what happened to
The Bible says in Joel 2:10-17, “The earth
shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall
be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:[11] And the LORD
shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is
strong that executeth his word: for the day of the
LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?[12] Therefore
also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all
your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:[13]
And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God:
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.[14] Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing
behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?[15]
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:[16]
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his
chamber, and the bride out of her closet.[17] Let the priests, the
ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say,
Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage
to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say
among the people, Where is their God?” The first two verses
of this passage tell us two important details about the day of the Lord. The
first is that there will be great darkness over the earth, perhaps because of
clouds or smoke that will be in the atmosphere. The second detail is that the
army of the Lord shall come. As we saw in the passage from revelation chapter 19,
this army will be led by Jesus. Notice the phrase in Joel 2:11 that talks about
the strength of the army of the Lord. It says, “for he is
strong that executeth his word.” Strength comes from the Word of God. There are different
types of strength. Spiritual strength is the most important type. It comes from
the Lord Jesus and from His Word. It says in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of His might.”
After telling us in Joel 2:10-11 that
the day of the Lord is coming as a day of judgment on the earth, the Word of
God gives us several verses telling us that we can turn to the Lord and He will
still be merciful to us. It says about the Lord in Joel 2:13, “he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.” Of course,
there is a condition to obtaining the mercy of Christ. It is given in Joel
2:12-13, “Therefore also now, saith the LORD,
turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with
weeping, and with mourning:[13] And rend your
heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God.” The key
phrase is “with all your heart.” Turn to the Lord Jesus with such a
desire and He will meet you and receive you.
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Copyright; 2014 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved