Today we cover the prophecy of Joel. It is three chapters about the coming Day of the Lord, God's promises of restoration, and a particularly interesting prophecy about God sending his Holy Spirit upon all flesh. After reviewing Psalm 138, Acts 2, reminds us of the fulfillment of that prophecy from Joel. Because of that, we look for the fulfillment of other prophecies in the Old Testament today.
The Bible proves itself true. Although every generation has been inclined to find excuses to disregard its warnings, a sober approach to the scriptures, renders a circumspect disposition. It would be wise to read our present moment in light of the prophecies we find therein!
Joel 1
This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel:
Hear this, O elders;
and give ear, all who dwell in the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your fathers?
Tell it to your children;
let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.
What the devouring locust has left,
the swarming locust has eaten;
what the swarming locust has left,
the young locust has eaten;
and what the young locust has left,
the destroying locust has eaten.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;
wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been cut off from your mouth.
For a nation has invaded My land,
powerful and without number;
its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
It has laid waste My grapevine
and splintered My fig tree.
It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away;
the branches have turned white.
Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth,
grieving for the husband of her youth.
Grain and drink offerings have been cut off
from the house of the LORD;
the priests are in mourning,
those who minister before the LORD.
The field is ruined;
the land mourns.
For the grain is destroyed,
the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.
Be dismayed, O farmers,
wail, O vinedressers,
over the wheat and barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
The grapevine is dried up,
and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate, palm, and apple—
all the trees of the orchard—are withered.
Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.
Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
wail, O ministers of the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God,
because the grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
Consecrate a fast;
proclaim a solemn assembly!
Gather the elders
and all the residents of the land
to the house of the LORD your God,
and cry out to the LORD.
Alas for the day!
For the Day of the LORD is near,
and it will come
as destruction from the Almighty.
Has not the food been cut off
before our very eyes—
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods;
the storehouses are in ruins;
the granaries are broken down,
for the grain has withered away.
How the cattle groan!
The herds wander in confusion
because they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
To You, O LORD, I call,
for fire has consumed the open pastures
and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.
Even the beasts of the field pant for You,
for the streams of water have dried up,
and fire has consumed the open pastures.
Joel 2
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion;
sound the alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
for the Day of the LORD is coming;
indeed, it is near—
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like the dawn overspreading the mountains
a great and strong army appears,
such as never was of old,
nor will ever be in ages to come.
Before them a fire devours,
and behind them a flame scorches.
The land before them is like the Garden of Eden,
but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland—
surely nothing will escape them.
Their appearance is like that of horses,
and they gallop like swift steeds.
With a sound like that of chariots
they bound over the mountaintops,
like the crackling of fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army deployed for battle.
Nations writhe in horror before them;
every face turns pale.
They charge like mighty men;
they scale the walls like men of war.
Each one marches in formation,
not swerving from the course.
They do not jostle one another;
each proceeds in his path.
They burst through the defenses,
never breaking ranks.
They storm the city;
they run along the wall;
they climb into houses,
entering through windows like thieves.
Before them the earth quakes;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and moon grow dark,
and the stars lose their brightness.
The LORD raises His voice
in the presence of His army.
Indeed, His camp is very large,
for mighty are those who obey His command.
For the Day of the LORD is great and very dreadful.
Who can endure it?
“Yet even now,”
declares the LORD,
“return to Me with all your heart,
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
So rend your hearts and not your garments,
and return to the LORD your God.
For He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
And He relents from sending disaster.
Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave a blessing behind Him—
grain and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion,
consecrate a fast,
proclaim a sacred assembly.
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
assemble the aged, gather the children,
even those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
Let the priests who minister before the LORD
weep between the portico and the altar,
saying, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
and do not make Your heritage a reproach,
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
Then the LORD became jealous for His land,
and He spared His people.
And the LORD answered His people:
“Behold, I will send you
grain, new wine, and oil,
and by them you will be satisfied.
I will never again make you
a reproach among the nations.
The northern army I will drive away from you,
banishing it to a barren and desolate land,
its front ranks into the Eastern Sea,
and its rear guard into the Western Sea.
And its stench will rise;
its foul odor will ascend.
For He has done great things.
Do not be afraid, O land;
rejoice and be glad,
for the LORD has done great things.
Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field,
for the open pastures have turned green,
the trees bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and vine yield their best.
Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the LORD your God,
for He has given you the autumn rains
for your vindication.
He sends you showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The threshing floors will be full of grain,
and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—
the swarming locust, the young locust,
the destroying locust, and the devouring locust —
My great army that I sent against you.
You will have plenty to eat,
until you are satisfied.
You will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has worked wonders for you.
My people will never again
be put to shame.
Then you will know that I am present in Israel
and that I am the LORD your God,
and there is no other.
My people will never again
be put to shame.
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 menservants and maidservants,
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and awesome 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 promised,
among the remnant called by the LORD.
Joel 3
“Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity,
I will gather all the nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will enter into judgment against them
concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel,
whom they have scattered among the nations
as they divided up My land.
They cast lots for My people;
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink.
Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads.
For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.
Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads.
I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.”
Indeed, the LORD has spoken.
Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war;
rouse the mighty men;
let all the men of war
advance and attack!
Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’
Come quickly, all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves.
Bring down Your mighty ones,
O LORD.
Let the nations be roused
and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the nations on every side.
Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,
for the winepress is full;
the wine vats overflow
because their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision!
For the Day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will no longer shine.
The LORD will roar from Zion
and raise His voice from Jerusalem;
heaven and earth will tremble.
But the LORD will be a refuge for His people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.
Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy,
never again to be overrun by foreigners.
And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and the hills will flow with milk.
All the streams of Judah will run with water,
and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD
to water the Valley of Acacias.
Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
But Judah will be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
For I will avenge their blood,
which I have not yet avenged.”
For the LORD dwells in Zion.
Psalm 138
I give You thanks with all my heart;
before the gods I sing Your praises.
I bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness;
You have exalted Your name
and Your word above all else.
On the day I called, You answered me;
You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.
All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD,
when they hear the words of Your mouth.
They will sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
Though the LORD is on high,
He attends to the lowly;
but the proud He knows from afar.
If I walk in the midst of trouble,
You preserve me from the anger of my foes;
You extend Your hand,
and Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will fulfill
His purpose for me.
O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—
do not abandon the works of Your hands.
Acts 2
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
And when this sound rang out, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking his own language.
Astounded and amazed, they asked, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? How is it then that each of us hears them in his own native language?
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Astounded and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words.
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out My Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on My menservants and maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
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 glorious Day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.’
Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.
He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.
But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.
David says about Him:
‘I saw the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will dwell in hope,
because You will not abandon my soul to Hades,
nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’
Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne.
Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay.
God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet.” ’
Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”
Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
A sense of awe came over everyone, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need.
With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
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