June 2, 2014 (Monday)
The Book of Joel leaves scholars in doubt as to its date and whether he did his work in Judah or Israel. Apparently there had been a plague of locusts followed by famine. Joel interprets that as a judgment of God upon the nation for its sin, but also sees it as a sign of worse things to come in the future, when human armies descend like a plague of locusts as a judgment of God upon them for their persistent idolatry and flagrant sin. Joel looks beyond the painful judgment to a better day: “”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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls” (Joel 2:28-32 NIV). Sound familiar? It should. It was quoted by Peter on the Day of Pentecost when he told the assembled crowd that Joel had predicted the events of that day.
Joel – A devotional thought
Our God is filled with love and mercy for His people. Though he chastizes us for our sins, he also offers forgiveness when we confess and forsake them.
