Sorry, accidental send. Continuing…
Joel 2:18-3:21
Dear RTB’ers,
One item that I failed to mention yesterday was that yesterday’s passage was all about Israel, with nothing said about its neighbors or its enemies. The devastation, the call to repentance, God’s reply – they were all about Israel. Today however, we are only two verses into our reading when we see a different picture, Israel in the larger context: … I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. (v. 2:19b) Today’s passage continues with the Lord’s restoration of the land that the locusts have destroyed, but then verse 2:28 begins a time frame centuries into that future (that Peter quotes at Pentecost) and even into times that we have not yet seen.
That future is paramount in chapter 3, beginning with its first verse: For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem… (v. 3:1). The chapter continues with the Lord’s judgment upon those nations who have defiled Israel and ends with the glory of the Lord radiating from Jerusalem: The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. … Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. (vv. 3:16-17, 20)
We have a future to look forward to!
Blessings!
Fred