As the Book of Joel closes, the themes of judgment and hope become ever more pronounced. This episode unravels the scripture’s potent narrative, illustrating God’s consistent call for His people’s return and subsequent blessing. Furthermore, delve into the essential question of why constant devotional practice matters, unpacking the transformative ‘Triple I Doctrine’ – the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. A listening experience designed to enrich your spiritual walk and illuminate the path of faith.
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.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we finish the book of Joel with chapter 3. I’m going to read the 21 verses of Joel, chapter 3. For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land. and have cast lots for my people and have traded a boy for a prostitute and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it what are you to me o Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of phylicia Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily, for you have taken my silver and my gold and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. Behold, I will stir them up from the place to whom you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head.” I will sell your sons and daughters into the hand of the people of Judah and they will sell them to the Sabians to a nation far away for the Lord has spoken. Proclaim this among the nations. consecrate for war stir up the mighty men let all the men of war draw near let them come up beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears let the weak say i am a warrior hasten and come all you surrounding nations and gather yourselves there bring down your warriors o lord Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil 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 the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining. 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 will never again pass through it. And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the valley of Shittim. Egypt shall become a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion. In 1991, I read all of Joel in one day, and I wrote several things, but I’ll just highlight one part of what I wrote that day. I wrote, 10 years later in 2001, I read Joel all on the same day. And I wrote in my journal, God is always there begging us to return to him, and when we return, he returns his blessings. Why do we walk away and suffer so? And another 10 years later, in 2011, I read Joel all on the same day, and I wrote concerning chapter 3, God alone judges all the nations. In the end, Israel will stand as others fall away. Joel finishes off his book with hope for Israel. He also reminds all nations that have come against Israel that he will judge them, but Israel shall stand. Let’s look at the first opening verses of chapter 3. For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah… Certainly throughout the Old Testament, God judges His own people. But he also preserves them and restores them. And Jerusalem, Israel, the nation of the Jews, will be there in the end. But he also judges all the nations that come up against Israel. In chapter 3, he mentions Tyre and Sidon and Philistia. He also mentions Egypt and Edom. And the last verse of the chapter says, I will avenge their blood. Blood I have not avenged. If he judged all the nations that came against Israel in the past, don’t you think he would do the same today? He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He reminds us in verse 14, Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. Yes, every nation that has come against Israel shall be judged. And the chapter ends with great hope for Jerusalem. Verses like 16. 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. Verse 17. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. and Jerusalem shall be holy. Verse 18, And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord, and water the valley of Shittim. Though the book of Joel opens with devastation from the locusts who have destroyed the produce of the land, the book finishes with overflowing blessings from the Lord. In between, Joel gave Jerusalem a choice, return to the Lord and he will return to you. That choice is the same for us today. We started, Joel, by looking at chapter 1 and saying that some of you might have been suffering economic judgment. You were encouraged to return to the Lord so that He could return His blessings to you. That choice was theirs. That choice is ours today. Unfortunately, those in Jerusalem did not make that choice. Jerusalem was eventually destroyed and the people were carted off in captivity to the nation of Babylon. My prayer… is that that will not happen to you. Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for this short book of Joel, the prophet who proclaimed your word in Jerusalem. People were suffering economically, and you reminded them why. You brought the locusts. You destroyed the land. You wanted their attention. You wanted them to return to you. And you remind us in the book of Joel, that you are a God slow to anger. You are a God who calls people back to you, a God who will restore if we will just return to you. May it be so for AdBible listeners today. May you be our refuge and a stronghold to each one of us. May you dwell within us like you promised to dwell in Jerusalem. And will you make us holy? like you say you will make Jerusalem holy once again. Thank you for your expressions of love in the book of Joel. We give you thanks and praise. Amen. Thank you for listening to AdBible. Though the Bible can be read at the speed I’m speaking in about 78 hours, surveys show we don’t read it. How many of you have ever read the Bible cover to cover? How many have tried and failed? I want to encourage you to try it again. I want to share with you what I call the Triple I Doctrine and some powerful reasons to stay in your Bible daily. I begin with a verse from 2 Peter 1.21. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. That’s how we got the Bible. The Holy Spirit moved holy men of God to write it, all of it. Because he did, we can now look at the Triple I Doctrine, the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. But what do these terms mean? Inspired means God-breathed. 2 Timothy 3.16 says, What does infallible mean? It means no potential or ability to err. Totally reliable. It cannot contradict itself. And Hebrews 6.18 says, And the last one is inerrant. What does that mean? It means it’s technically correct. It’s free from falsehood and deceit. Wholly true. It’s doctrine. It’s history. It’s science. It’s geography. And Matthew 5.18 says, For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. And Revelation 22, 18 and 19 say, For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. So the Triple I Doctrine is reason enough to be in God’s Word each day. But in case you need more encouragement, here are three more thoughts. First, improve your spiritual maturity. According to Barna Research, of the seven dimensions in which Americans were asked to rate their faith maturity, Bible knowledge ranked dead last. So if you want to improve your spiritual maturity, stay in God’s Word daily. Number two is develop a dynamic relationship with God. Dr. Woodrow Kroll, former president of Back to the Bible, wrote a book called Taking Back the Good Book. He said, When people tire of reading the Bible, it’s because they read it for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way. They read the Bible to gain knowledge, store facts, or pick up a few principles to live by. When you see the Bible as a means to a dynamic relationship with God, you can’t get enough of it because you can’t get enough of Him. And the third thought is to be transformed. Don’t read the Bible to be informed. Read it to be transformed. And I’m going to share a fun little story with you about being transformed by the Word of God. It’s about an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early, sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, Papa, I try to read the Bible, just like you, but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do? The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water. The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, You’ll have to move a little faster next time and send him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, I don’t want a bucket of water. I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough. And he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather, the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, See, Papa, it’s useless. So you think it’s useless, the old man said. Look at the basket. The boy looked at the basket, and for the first time, he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out. So read the Bible so you can improve your spiritual maturity, develop a dynamic relationship with God, and be transformed, not informed. The Bible came to us from the Holy Spirit, directed by holy men of God. The triple I doctrine reminds us it’s inspired, God-breathed, infallible, without error, and inerrant, technically correct, and wholly true. Read it to grow spiritually, develop a dynamic relationship with God, and be transformed.
