Joel 3
COMMENTARY:
: 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for MY people and for MY heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted MY land. (8199 “plead” [shaphat] means judge, rule, pass judgment, administer justice, to enter into a legal proceeding with another, or to enter into controversy.)
DEVOTION: The LORD considers all of HIS children special. HE knows that they are all sinners. HE knows they fail more than they succeed. HE knows that they will take HIS blessings and worship false gods. HE knows that HE has to judge HIS people by chastening them with other nations.
God is omniscient. HE knows everything. Nothing is hidden from HIM. Yet HE still loves HIS people and doesn’t want anyone else to hurt them and if they do HE will judge them.
We need to remember that the LORD is the one who will avenge anyone who hurts us. We need to leave judgment to HIM. We need to stop worrying about people who seem to get away with great sins and nothing happens.
The ones getting away with great sins really are not. Their day is coming. Yes, we would like it to be sooner rather than later but the LORD knows what is best. HE uses people to test our faith. Are you passing the test?
CHALLENGE: Those who are followers of the LORD are HIS people. HE cares for HIS people. If we have made a commitment to Jesus Christ we are HIS people. Remember this FACT!!!
: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
DEVOTION: Wrong thinking can get us into trouble. Many of us have not corrected our thinking since we have become believers. We are still ignorant of many of the instructions the LORD has give us regarding life. Many of us have not grown in the LORD for a while. So many claim Christ but don’t really understand the difference between those who are believers and those who are rejecting Christ.
The Bible states that those who are believers can do “all things through Christ who gives us strength.” This is a Biblical statement which makes it a true statement. Yet we can say it without believing it is true of us. Our strength comes from the LORD. HE is omnipotent which means that HE is all powerful. HE offers this strength to us. It is available. Most of us don’t use it because we don’t believe the Word of God.
Now we come to those who are outside of Christ or have rejected Christ which is most of those in our world. They think they are strong. They think they are stronger thinkers than believers. They think that they are more in tune with the world then Christians. Many even teach that Christians are just looking for a way to escape reality. Included in their thinking is the thought that they are even stronger than our God.
God tells the heathen to come to battle with HIM and tells them that they can even make a statement that they are “strong.”
Strength is relative. Some people have large muscles all over their bodies while others don’t. Here we have a human comparing his strength to the strength of God. He even thinks he can win against God because he doesn’t believe there really is a God.
CHALLENGE: God invites these individuals to come into the valley of decision to face HIM. Guess who wins!!!!
: 16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter HIS voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: BUT the LORD will be the hope of HIS people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (4268 “hope” [mahseh] means refuge, shelter, or trust.)
DEVOTION: The book of Joel is about the future. The children of Israel are in the future plans of God. At this present time they are on the sidelines while the church is the primary tool the LORD is using today.
However, when the church is taken there will be 144,000 Jewish virgin witnesses let loose on the earth. They are going to win a great multitude to the LORD. During their witness most will be martyred.
When the Tribulation ends there will be a battle between Satan’s forces led by the Antichrist and the returning Christ from heaven. There is a valley of decision talked about in this chapter. The decision was made before the foundation of the earth. Satan and his minions are defeated. The LORD Jesus Christ wins with the word of HIS mouth.
Joel is telling Israel that the LORD is not done with them yet. They are still in the future. They have a refuge they can trust in. They have strength to face whatever comes their way in the present.
All those who are followers of Christ will go through a cleansing time but in the end they will dwell with the LORD in Jerusalem.
At present, we need to witness to everyone we meet. Many Jewish individuals are coming to a saving knowledge of Christ today. There are many mission organizations reaching out to those in Israel and all over the world. They will become part of the church.
We cannot leave anyone without a witness that is present in our world. Some are afraid to witness but they can leave bulletins in doors with tracts in them. They can smile and tell others about what the LORD is doing in their lives. People know those who are genuine followers of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Be a genuine follower of the LORD!!! We have SOMEONE who can be a REFUGE in times of trouble. Our world needs HIS strength NOW!!!! We need shelter in a time of storm.
: 21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwells in Zion. (5352 “cleanse” [naqah] means leave unpunished, guiltless, clear, free, acquit, to hold innocent, forgive or to pardon.)
DEVOTION: Here we have the blood of the children of Israel declared innocent. The LORD is willing to give them a pardon for their sins. It has not happened as of the time of the writing of this prophetic message. It is something that will happen in the future.
How can God declare someone clean when they are sinners? How can the LORD give sinners hope? It seems impossible at times that the LORD can forgive people who have continually sinned. Yet HE promises to do this in the future.
HE is promising to dwell in Zion or Jerusalem in the future. We have learned that the LORD Jesus Christ is going to return as the Messiah at the end of the Tribulation to redeem HIS people. This is the time period that HE is talking about. HE is going to establish HIS kingdom with those who have been redeemed through HIS blood on the cross.
All the dirt of sin is cleaned up. The individual has his sins forgiven and given a clean slate. This is only possible through the work of the LORD. We can’t do it ourselves. Many people have tried to clean up their act but fail. We just don’t truly understand what the LORD has offered us through Christ.
The Psalmist asks the LORD to “create me a clean heart.” That is what is going to happen to those in the house of Israel who follow the LORD in the future. HE is doing it now in those who are HIS followers.
CHALLENGE: Those who have repented of their sins can understand that this happens at the point of salvation. We are clean!! We are forgiven!! We have hope!!!
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