March 5, 2021 at 12:21 pm | Posted in Biblical Days, Joel | 3 Comments
Tags: commentary on Joel, Joash, Joel, Joel 1, Joel 2, Joel 3, Sunday School lessons on Joel, the Day of the Lord, the prophet Joel
Lord, please bless each and every one of us now. I pray that we and our families would receive the gifts of good health, stable finances, peace with our neighbors, and joy like a river in our souls. If it brings glory to You, or helps to sanctify us, in Your good providence, then I pray you would take anything away from us that would make us self-centered or world-centered rather than Savior-centered and God-centered. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
The prophet Joel ministered around 800 B.C. in Judah during the reign of King Joash (835-796 B.C.). Joash became king at age seven. He had to learn on the job, mentored by the priest Jehoiada. Two of the biggest problems in Joel’s day were a locust plague and a drought. Joel prophesied concerning the “Day of the Lord.” Generally speaking, in the Bible there are three “Days of the Lord:” the one that’s here now; the one that’s just around the corner; and the ultimate Day of the Lord.
The immediate Day of the Lord:
Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
Joel 1:2-4
Locusts ate the food staples, bread and grapes, but this was a picture of another Day of the Lord that was just around the corner: the Assyrian invasion.
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;
Joel 2:1
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?
Joel 2:11
God would use His people’s enemies.
The ultimate Day of the Lord will be what is known as the Tribulation. It will be preceded by a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Joel 2:28-32
There will be judgment against the enemies of the Jews.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Joel 3:14
The “decision” in that verse is not referring to the decision of individuals as to whether or not to trust Christ for eternal salvation. It is a reference to Christ executing His decision to punish the gentile nations. Then, there will be blessings for Jerusalem:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
Joel 3:18
For God’s people to be RESTORED, God’s people must be CLEANSED.
But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.
Joel 3:20-21
This is a good prayer to pray:
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?
Joel 2:17
God keeps His promises for His Own sake, and He uses His people to bring glory to His Own name.
September 16, 2009 at 7:24 am | Posted in Biblical Don'ts, Biblical Parenting, Joel | 8 Comments
Tags: babies in church, children in church, children's church, God's glory, Joel 2, senior citizens, solemn assembly, teenagers in church, the prophet Joel
The prophet Joel had a message from God, and it was not restricted to certain age groups. In Joel 2:15-16, God convened the most serious kind of church service there was, and nobody was to be left out. From senior citizens, to children, to little babies, to young adults of marrying age, He wanted everybody present.
Joel didn’t even kowtow to the religious leaders of his day.
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?
Joel 2:17
When God’s people go astray, they need to be cleansed before they are restored. This is because God loves His people, but His chief concern is for His Own name. God alone is worthy of praise and worship, and for Him to seek glory for any other – even His beloved creations – would be a form of idolatry.
Let us pray that we never send a message to our children, or to any group of our church family, that our comfort, our convenience, or our own concerns are to be sought above God’s Own glory.
August 3, 2009 at 9:13 am | Posted in Biblical Parenting, Joel | 10 Comments
Tags: children in the Bible, children's church, Christian parenting, Ephesians 1, Ephesians 6, Galatians 3, Joel 2, needlepoint, parenting principles, teenagers
Rollerblading for senior citizens? “Teen” night on the Weather Channel? A bouncy water slide for widows’ ministry? Needlepoint-and-prayer meeting for toddlers? Let’s face it, some activities are not for everyone. Some activities are limited by interest, physical ability, and even age. But is the main reason for church attendance – the hearing of the preaching of the Word of God – one of those activities?
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:… Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Ephesians 1:1; 6:1
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.
Joel 2:16
It sure looks like, from the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, that all different types of people, children of all ages, and adults, all met together and heard the preaching of the Word of God together as a matter of regular practice. The wisdom of man says that a person’s need is to be rescued from boredom, for which specialized entertainment is the solution. The wisdom of God says that a person’s need is to be rescued from sin, for which instruction, training, and exhortation from the Word of God is the solution.
The Deep End 
The Days of Our Lord
March 5, 2021 at 12:21 pm | Posted in Biblical Days, Joel | 3 CommentsTags: commentary on Joel, Joash, Joel, Joel 1, Joel 2, Joel 3, Sunday School lessons on Joel, the Day of the Lord, the prophet Joel
Lord, please bless each and every one of us now. I pray that we and our families would receive the gifts of good health, stable finances, peace with our neighbors, and joy like a river in our souls. If it brings glory to You, or helps to sanctify us, in Your good providence, then I pray you would take anything away from us that would make us self-centered or world-centered rather than Savior-centered and God-centered. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
The prophet Joel ministered around 800 B.C. in Judah during the reign of King Joash (835-796 B.C.). Joash became king at age seven. He had to learn on the job, mentored by the priest Jehoiada. Two of the biggest problems in Joel’s day were a locust plague and a drought. Joel prophesied concerning the “Day of the Lord.” Generally speaking, in the Bible there are three “Days of the Lord:” the one that’s here now; the one that’s just around the corner; and the ultimate Day of the Lord.
The immediate Day of the Lord:
Joel 1:2-4
Locusts ate the food staples, bread and grapes, but this was a picture of another Day of the Lord that was just around the corner: the Assyrian invasion.
Joel 2:1
Joel 2:11
God would use His people’s enemies.
The ultimate Day of the Lord will be what is known as the Tribulation. It will be preceded by a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Joel 2:28-32
There will be judgment against the enemies of the Jews.
Joel 3:14
The “decision” in that verse is not referring to the decision of individuals as to whether or not to trust Christ for eternal salvation. It is a reference to Christ executing His decision to punish the gentile nations. Then, there will be blessings for Jerusalem:
Joel 3:18
For God’s people to be RESTORED, God’s people must be CLEANSED.
Joel 3:20-21
This is a good prayer to pray:
Joel 2:17
God keeps His promises for His Own sake, and He uses His people to bring glory to His Own name.