Joel Chapter Three

Read Today's Passage

From "you're doomed" to "turn and perhaps you will be saved from tragedy" to "calling all available fighting men!" What a trip in just a few pages. God calls on His faithful people to come to His side, to fight alongside Him and to follow Him. What a turn-around from the beginning of Joel. And then to cap it all off, He declares that after that day, the land of Jerusalem and Judea will forever be filled with His people. So the question becomes, how far into the future does Joel's prophecy go? Is it an end-times Jesus-is-coming-back-so-you'd-better-make-things-right prophecy? Or did this already happen in Israel?

Hmmm...

Joel Chapter Two

Read Today's Passage

Just a couple of observations about today's passage:

• I wonder why it was that a lot of God's judgment (whether played out in life, or alluded to in prophecies) involved locusts. Sure, they pretty much destroy everything in their path, but was there more to it than that?
• I like that Israel is being given a chance to change God's mind here (though that gets into another deeper discussion) by offering not sacrifices and actions, but a change in heart so that the other nations will not curse and disbelieve God.
• Apocalyptic prophecy. Gotta love it, even though we have no real chance of completely understanding it. But it is comforting to know that Israel was promised that God would be there completely if they would only change their hearts and line back up with Him...
  

Joel Chapter One

Read Today's Passage

Joel really gets me thinking. When Israel was invaded and ransacked, the people went to God , mourning and lamenting. They fasted, prayed and cried out to God. I am sure they wondered why, but overall they probably asked Him to save them and to help them (it was Israel's way, after all).

If America were to suffer today what Israel had suffered then, how would we respond? Would we cry out to God, or would we cry out at God? Would we spend more energy cursing Him and demanding answers, or would we focus most of our attention on please for help, mercy and salvation?

Hmmm...