In this episode, we delve into the profound message of Joel Chapter 2, where the prophet calls the people of Zion to repentance in the face of impending divine judgment. Through vivid imagery, we are reminded of the consequences of straying from God and the urgency of returning to Him with sincerity and heart. Allen J. Huth shares insightful reflections from his own Bible reading journals, showing a personal journey of understanding and faith. We explore God’s messages of hope and restoration as He promises to bless those who heed the call to return. Joel’s prophecy not only highlights
Welcome to ADDBIBLE, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in Joel chapter 2. We’ll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of the 32 verses of Joel chapter 2. Joel 2
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Blow a trumpet in Zion. Sound an alarm on my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is near. A day of darkness and gloom. A day of clouds and thick darkness. Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people. Their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses, they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. Before them peoples are in anguish. All faces grow pale. Like warriors they charge. Like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way. They do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another. Each marches in his path. They burst through the weapons and are not halted. They leap upon the city. They run upon the walls. They climb up into the houses. They enter through the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord utters His voice before His army, for His camp is exceedingly great. He who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome. Who can endure it? Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion. Consecrate a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the people. Consecrate the congregation. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
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Between the vestibule and the altar, let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
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Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. The Lord answered and said to his people,
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Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied, and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
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I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rearguard into the western sea. A stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.” Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things. Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green, the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and vine give their full yield. Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given the early rain for your vindication. He has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain as before.” The threshing floors shall be full of grain. The vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
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I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
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And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
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Back in 1991, when I was 36 years old, I read Joel 1 through 3 all on the same day, and I wrote in my Bible reading journal, God allows destruction, which is the natural course of events, from a sin nature and a land cursed by sin. He alone stands in the way of nature or us destroying ourselves. Obedience to God causes His blessings. Ignoring Him allows the natural course of destruction. Ten years later, at 46 years old in 2001, I also read Joel all on the same day. And in my Bible reading journal, I wrote… Joel is like most prophetic books. It’s bad when people disobey and walk away from God. Blessings are lost. Pain is found. God is always there begging us to return to him. And the last part of that I was referring to chapter 2 verses 12 through 13. In 2011, at 56 years old, I also read Joel all on the same day as I was reading the whole Bible and I was reading Old and New Testament on the same day. Concerning chapter 2, I wrote, “‘Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sound an alarm on my holy mountain. Warn people. He who executes his word is powerful.'” And I was referring to verse 11. “‘I want to be one who executes your word, Lord.'” And then I referred to verse 12, return to me with all your heart. That’s always what God wants us. God brings judgment, but he also brings relief. And I was referring to verses 18 through 21. He can also restore anything lost and then bless once again. And I was referring to verses 25 through 29. God pours out his spirit on all flesh, both male and female. And I was referring to verses 28 and 29. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And that’s verse 32. And that ends my personal Bible reading journals on Joel chapter 2. Chapter 2 starts with, Blow a trumpet in Zion. Sound an alarm on my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble. For the day of the Lord is coming. It is near. Verse 2 Verse 3 Verse 4. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of mountains like the crackling of a flame of fire, devouring the stubble like a powerful army drawn up for battle. Verse 7, The description of this army is like the locusts that come across a field devouring everything in its path. joel paints a devastating picture but he also calls them back to repentance verse eleven says the lord utters his voice before his army for his camp is exceedingly great he who executes his word is powerful for the day of the lord is great and very awesome who can endure it Verse 12, Verse 13, Verse 15, And then God illustrates His grace once again. Verse 18, Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. He promises that he will restore the grain, the wine, and the oil that was destroyed in chapter 1 by the locusts. Verse 25 says, And then he shares that great promise in verses 28 and 29. and it shall come to pass afterward that i will pour out my spirit on all flesh your sons and your daughters shall prophesy your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions even on the male and female servants in those days i will pour out my spirit god’s restoration his blessing is complete it is comprehensive it’s on everybody sons daughters old men young men male and female Verse 32 says it this way, In Joel chapter 2, Joel gives people a choice. He paints a devastating picture of destruction. But he also calls people to return to the Lord to avoid that destruction. It is the same for you and me today. Our sinfulness, our disobedience, our carelessness toward God gives us a path of undeniable destruction before the Lord. But before it’s too late, we read books like the book of Joel, where the Lord cries out to us, return to me and I will return to you. If you do, verse 32 guarantees that you will be saved from the destruction caused by your sin. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But you must call on the name of the Lord. Verse 27 says, You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. There’s no other way of escaping the judgment of God. We must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. If you haven’t done it, will you do it today? Father, in Joel chapter 2, you remind us that you are the one that sent the locusts on the land that devastated the land. You are still the one poised to judge your people. But you are also the one that calls out to us, return to me and I will return to you. You are the one that reminds us, I am the Lord your God and there is none else. You are the one that gives every one of us a choice to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Thank you for your warnings. Thank you for the way of escape. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for restoration. And thank you for your salvation. Thank you that you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. We give you the praise and the glory. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. It’s not too late to get your copy of the writings of the Old Testament historical books to follow along with this AdBible program. The book contains our studies on Job, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. We’ll be in those books for the next several weeks. The book has comments on every chapter, applications for your life, and a place for you to record your thoughts on each chapter of each book for future reference. Visit EzraProject.net and order the writings of the Old Testament historical books today so you can get more out of these radio programs and more out of your Bible.
