Joel 2:18-32 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Joel 2:18-32. Let’s go!
Joel 2:18-32 (NIV)
18 Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people.
19 The LORD will reply to them: ‘I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.
20 ‘I will drive the northern army far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land, with its front columns going into the eastern sea and those in the rear into the western sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise.’ Surely he has done great things.
21 Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things.
22 Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 ‘I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm– my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
28 ‘And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
On verses 18-32: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6). We see that here in these verses. After urging his people to humble themselves through repentance, fasting and praying together (v12-17), Joel now describes what God will do for His people when they humble themselves that way:
– He will have pity on his people (v18)
– He will send them new grain, wine and oil that fully satisfies (v19, v24)
– He will drive out and defeat their enemies (v20)
– Instead of living in fear, the people will rejoice and be glad because of what God has done (v21-22)
– He will enable the land to bear fruit again (v22), causing autumn and spring rains to fall again (v23)
– He will repay His people for the years that the locusts have eaten (v25)
– He will give them everything they need and take away their shame (v26, 27b)
– He will restore His rightful place among His people and take away their shame (v27)
– He will pour out His Spirit on His people, causing His people to prophesy and dream God-inspired dreams (v28-29)
– He will undo creation before creating a new heaven and earth, saving those who have called on His name (v30-32).
When I read these verses, I see a picture of the 3 stages of God’s work in our lives. It’s a picture that’s both poetic and prophetic at the same time.
Stage One: God sends us His Son Jesus. It is Jesus who gives us bread that truly satisfies, who drives out and defeats our enemy, who takes away our shame, and who makes a relationship with God possible once again (v19-27).
Stage Two: God sends us His Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to dream God’s dreams and chase God’s vision for our lives (v28-29). (Peter recognized this as well. In Acts 2:14-21 on the day of Pentecost, Peter sees the pouring out of God’s Spirit on His church as the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29.)
Stage Three: Jesus will return. On that “day of the Lord” sometime in the future, God will allow His Son Jesus to return to earth, to undo all of creation, to create a new heaven and a new earth and only those who call on Him will be saved (v30-32).
Praise God! As we move from the beginning of chapter 1 to the end of chapter 2 of Joel, we see the people going from despair and desperation to being delivered and empowered. When we humble ourselves before God and place our trust in Jesus, we go on a similar journey as well: from despair to hope, from desperation to fulfillment, from weakness to strength.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, that for those who trust in You, weeping remains for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). The wisest thing we can do is to humble ourselves before You. For You oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
