Wednesday, December 13 , 2023 PM

Everyone It is a pleasure to be with you again tonight

I am Once again in between trips and I will be gone

Next week as well. It's going to start a very busy travel season for me

But that's that's okay As Allows other people to get to their families and their

Christmases For tonight we're going to be in the book of Joel and The verse

I was going to center on tonight is Joel 2 25 It's a beautiful verse filled with Promise I'm going to read it should sound very familiar to many of us

Joel chapter 2 verse 25 says I Will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts has eaten the hopper the destroyer and the cutter

My great army which I sent among you Let's pray

Lord God in heaven as we open your word tonight Please give us understanding

Please help us to see what you have said through the prophets and how later prophets

Have taken that and expanded it help us to Understand your word so that it doesn't just stay words.

It's Changes us your word Should change us

Change us into the image of your son in Christ Jesus name we pray Amen book of Joel Book of Joel is very simple.

It is three chapters Notice I said it was simple or short not easy

Or simplistic, but I think it's pretty pretty straightforward

Chapter one talks about a locust swarm chapter two takes that locust swarm that day of the

Lord and Expands it the imagery of the locusts is to a army that's getting ready to invade and Then chapter three talks about the ultimate restoration and future of Israel that's tied to the judgment of God's enemies and if you want to look at the eschatological or the very last day

The Salvation of God's people and the judgment of God's enemies are wrapped up together

So as we look in the past and look at things called the day of the Lord know that that's looking forward to a final one, but let's

Let's get into Joel first We want to ask the question where does

Joel 225 actually fit this verse is used and in my opinion misused to Justify all sorts of Material blessings that people should have if they go through tough times

Don't worry. The Lord will restore the years of locusts of Eden and then you'll get double back It's it's it's it's a little little more than that We always want to keep things in context and we want to understand why the author is using the imagery that is using it's a little difficult for us to Understand how incredibly devastating a locust swarm is who here has ever seen a

Plague of locusts you have tell me about it

A giant cloud Felt like we were living in Egypt talking about a swarm of grasshoppers

Sorts that came through and just took everything out. So everything green was really gone

Right So, there we go in a kind of a microcosm

These sort of things do happen the last giant mass locust swarm in North America but 1874 1875

There have been smaller ones since them but a massive swarm Destroyed what we think was about two million acres.

That's like Maryland to Maine So take what happened that summer amplify it by a thousand and It covers the entire countryside and when you are an agrarian economy

That is Absolutely devastating every green thing is gone. I'm a city boy.

I've never seen a plague of locusts but when you depend on Your crops and your animals depend on your crops and your army depends on that food you are helpless

So the ancient world feared Feared the swarm of locusts.

It was a plague that God sent on to you know, Egypt it was it is

Horribly awfully devastating and when you look at Joel chapter 1 You see the the word of the

Lord that came to Joel the son of Bethuel and just as a note We're not exactly sure when

Joel was written. There's no King mentioned Either Israelite or pagan

I mean sometimes you say oh well in the fourth year of King Cyrus Or in the second year of King Hezekiah or towards the end of you sighs rain things like that We don't we don't have that.

We don't know when this when this plague of locusts happened. We know it happened every so often There's a number of different theories it could be because There's no

King mentioned. Maybe it's really early But Joel quotes a lot of Old Testament prophecy quotes

Isaiah references Jeremiah Ezekiel Even possibly

Micah and even Zechariah Zechariah is supposed to post -exile So says okay, it could be he could be talking about the

Assyrians. It could be could be talking about the Babylonians Israel is not mentioned

Judah and Jerusalem Yeah are mentioned a lot just okay, maybe it's it's after the you know

Maybe it's after the exile. It couldn't be during the exile because they're talking about some temple worship So the temple is an operation, but there's no date so there's some debate about the timeline on when this was because you quote so many prophets and Because there's no

King mentioned and because the the temple is is is somehow an operation I'd say maybe during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah after the temple the new temples we built the second temple era possibly

Giant locust worm comes through that actually does describe

What the Babylonians did? When they sacked the temple, you know that during the first temple era, so it's a little difficult to pen down but even though the date is unknown the the principles that it teaches are timeless and I hope that we can

Jump into that So halfway through chapter 1 he says

You have a call to repentance Put on sackcloth and lamento priests whale of ministers of the altar

Go in pass the night in sackcloth of ministers of my God because grain offering and drink offerings are withheld from the house of God The locusts have come through and destroyed so much.

There's nothing for the worship of God. There's no grain. There's no oil The the vines are destroyed

Grain and oil and wine for the drink offerings They can't have worship.

So they consecrate a fast Repent cry out to the

Lord Alas for the day verse chapter verse 15 for the day of the Lord is near it's coming and he finishes that out

This chapter 1 with saying even the animals are groaning because of this horrible plague that's coming through Then we get in Joel 2 so we have locusts the

Joel chapter 2 starts talking about another horde of Locusts of sorts that's coming through and this one is much much worse

The way Joel describes it this army that's using using his words

Sound an alarm Let the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the

Lord is near Another reference to the day of the Lord. We've had one. Here's another one Darkness gloom clouds thick darkness blackness is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people

They're like has never been before and never will be again after them throughout all the years and generations

That's apocalyptic language. It's used a couple of times There's a good reference

Matthew Matthew 24 Talks about that Where you have a great tribulation such has never been before and never will be again

That's used in Matthew with to a Jewish audience. It's not used in Luke, which is not really a Jewish audience So there could be some

Jewish idiom in there. They're saying these people are Bad, they are mean they are scary

Fire devours before them and behind them a flame burns. They leave nothing but devastation

The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them is a desolate wilderness. They leave nothing talk about scorched earth

Their appearance is like the appearance of horses Obviously, this is poetic language.

This is metaphor It means that they are fierce Horses in that time were used for war

You know the mules or the donkeys were in more of beasts of burden

But horses were fierce Like the rumbling of chariots they leap upon the tops of mountains

Crackling a flame of fire devouring the stubble a powerful army drawn up for battle all the faces all their faces will grow

Pale like warriors they charge scale the wall. They march each in his own way. They don't swerve from their past Are we talking about locusts?

Are we talking about soldiers? Appears to be we're talking about soldiers now maybe you could say they're still locusts because they

They you know, they burst through weapons to be burst through weapons are not halted He can't exactly fire an arrow at these things.

They leap upon the city. They'd run upon the walls They climb into the house that they entered the windows like a thief. They're everywhere

It's a perfect description of an invading army verse 10 the earthquakes before them

The heavens tremble the Sun and moon are darkened the stars withdraw the shining There's that imagery of the

Sun moon and stars becoming dark The Lord utters his voice before what

His army who's in control of this army who's coming in? Is this a surprise to God?

He sent him They're his he's the one that's actually leading this army.

He's the one that's in control now You could have a foreign king We saw this with With Nebuchadnezzar You know,

I will whistle and Nebuchadnezzar will come at my beckon call. So it was Sennacherib You know people being led, you know by the nose of rain that I was being pulled pulled to the side.

This is God controlling this army and bringing about the day of the

Lord to his people Who have been in violation of the

Covenant Plagues and death Invading armies and shame and exile.

These are all things that you read about in Deuteronomy. This was promised so this was this is not something that that should have been a surprise, but it's

It's still horrible even even consider but that's exactly what's happening.

God is the one Leading this army for the day of the

Lord is great and very awesome who can endure it and That's the first half of chapter 2

So where does 225 fit I will restore to you the years

The locusts have eaten my great army, which

I sent among you We like to quote the first part of that verse.

We like to say I will repair to you Will repay to you that the years of locusts have eaten.

I will restore to you the years of locusts. It's a message of hope We forget that it was

God who sent His great army among them.

God was in control of that Why? So what is the response?

What was the response in chapter? Chapter 1 that was called for when the locusts came came through The call was to repent

Worship Now the locusts have come through they've destroyed all the oil that they've destroyed all the grain

They've just they've destroyed the the drink offerings. How would they worship? The question is asked here as well

We have an army and we're still called to repent now

When we read this the repentance that God wants verse 12 yet even now declares the

Lord Return to me with all your heart Fasting weeping with mourning and Rend your

Hearts and not your garments so they could bring all of their grain offerings

They could they could they could have a thousand thousand rams And if their heart wasn't in it

God didn't accept it It's like he's saying even if all the oil and the grain and the bread even if all that stuff is gone

You returning to me with all your heart Tear in your heart and not your garments

He says it's enough. The external worship was always meant to be a

Reflection of what was inside What was the call circumcise your hearts?

Not just embody in verse 13 return to the

Lord. Why because he is gracious Merciful Slow to anger and abundant and steadfast love that's from out of exodus and who knows

Whether he will not return and relent and leave a blessing behind him a grain and a drink offering who knows he may

He may relent of his disaster and he may not Our job is to repent

With our whole heart we start to see some repetitions

Blow a trumpet in Zion consecrate a fast call the solemn assembly Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests and ministers of the

Lord weep So the priests are once again called into the temple once again, they're called to lead

This this this solemn assembly and this repentance just like in chapter 1 locusts day of the

Lord repent and turn to me Locusts great army his great army day of the

Lord Repent and turn to me and do it with your whole heart so what is the response that God has halfway through chapter 2 as We start to get closer to Joel 2 25 the

Lord became jealous for his land and at pity on his people and you start to see a

Pattern develop within this second section. It's it's really interesting to kind of map that out

So verse verse 18 Talks about the mercy of God The Lord became jealous of his land had pity on his people and he answers him verse 19.

What does he send grain? Wine and oil why for worship so that they can be with him and be

His people truly his people again, and they will be what? Satisfied and I will no longer make you reproach among the nations

So he has their you know, the presence of God you have worship and their shame is taken away

He then he removes the foreign army that verse 20 and then they can rejoice in the

Lord. So it's another praise And then again verse 22 the beasts of the field and the pastures and the trees all that becomes green and fruitful

Because he's sending the early rains and the late rains. So we have verse 18 is praise

Verse 19 is blessing for their worship and satisfaction and honor over shame

He repeats it again rejoice in the Lord praise The beasts of the field and pastures

Fruitful early rains and then the threshing floor of grain and vats of wine and oil in verse 24 more blessing for worship

So you start to see the patterns Verse 25 is right in that Why is he restoring the years the locusts of Eden?

What is he going to restore? Wine and oil and grain so that they can be satisfied

Satisfied with what just filling their stomachs. I mean they're hungry Their animals are hungry.

They're scared They've had their cities surrounded if this is after the exile, they've lost their status among all the nations

They've been brought to open shame They've been brought back like God promised

But now they're rebuilding their their their nation if indeed it is during during that point so he

Restores The years these locusts have eaten so that they can

Be with the Lord. He doesn't

Say that God didn't set doesn't set people free just so they can serve themselves When he set the

Israelites free in Egypt, he said let my people go that they may Serve me in the wilderness

There was a purpose into being set free from bondage and there is a purpose in the restoration that God gives

Because those years that the locust ate perhaps in your life This was judgment for these covenant -breaking people.

This was horror. This was a horror show and God says I Am going to bring back my people and I'm going to restore them so that they can

Worship me and be satisfied That's the immediate context on the people

Israel against this Horrible foreign invasion whichever one it was whether it was the

Syria or Babylon whether it was the Greeks Antiochus Epiphanes Could have been

Rome and this flows right into Verse 27 which sets up the most famous section of Joel chapter 2 something that we're all familiar with And it was it

Michael had preached on a couple of months ago 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 once again never be put to shame and If so come to pass afterward that I will

Pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters will prophesy

Old men shall dream dreams young men shall see visions and the male and female servants in those days

I will pour out my servant my spirit on all flesh whether it's male or female whether you're old or young Whether you're your servant or not, it's on all flesh.

It's there's no longer going to be a respecter of persons And when Peter starts quoting this like oh

The Lord is going to dwell within his people and among his people and not just in a temple far away

Not gonna have this barrier between he's gonna have real close fellowship so when

God says I'll restore to you the years the locust of Eden and he's gonna dwell among his people and then gives this

Prophecy that he's actually going to be you know, pouring out his spirit and then he shows them the wonders of heavens on earth and the blood and fire and columns of smoke and the

Sun turned to Darkness the moon to blood and before the great and awesome day of the Lord, which so what we've had

What how many times are the stars fallen here like three or four times? Something has happened.

I mean the whole world is turned upside down because something new is occurring That's what's he's talking about here.

Something really really new is happening And so this is a paradigm shift and that's what acts 2 tells us so if you want to have the blessing of God What's a greater blessing than his presence?

What's a greater curse than his withdrawal? And I'm trying not trying to over spiritualize a text

But the greatest blessing that he listened he has oil and wine and grain and yes It was used in in worship and they could be satisfied and they can also eat and yes

They can have blessings where they're not going to be put to open shame. And yes, there's no longer be a byword among the nations

Oh, where is your God and God will vindicate himself and vindicate his people. That's true, but he saved the best blessing for last

Which is himself and that blessing is yours

What does Peter say This is that which was spoken of by the

Prophet Joel Huge paradigm shifts that promises to you.

So when you talk about the years that the locusts have eaten remember those locusts were sent by God to Discipline his people and bring them back, but those same people

We we would wander again like sheep. We just would what do we need? We need the complete and total presence of God that comes with the spirit within us

Causing us to walk in his statutes having the law of God written on our heart talk about the ultimate blessing

Talk about ultimate security talk about never again being put to open shame Although, you know, maybe in this life we endure that but not ultimately

Not at the end and not forever I Mean and not at the end, but it's it's it's forever.

We can't be put into shame forever We're gonna be in the presence of God forever ultimate blessing forever so Isn't it?

incredible That the way Joel 2 ends and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the

Lord shall be saved For a Mount Zion and Jerusalem There shall be those who escape and the

Lord said among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls He's talking about the remnant

So we like to say whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved and Joel qualifies that it's a remnant

There are people are going to escape there are survivors Because this is a horrible awful terrible thing that is going to happen to these people and they're going to be survivors

There's always a remnant the remnant is spoken of in in Isaiah and Jeremiah and Micah God promises he will preserve the people always does whoever calls upon the name of the

Lord will be saved Yes, Peter quotes this entire section, but you know where else this this

Phrase whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved is used If we want to use we want to have scripture interpret scripture.

We want to have the New Testament interpret the old Turn to Romans chapter 10 starting verse 11

For scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, but the same

Lord is Lord of all bestowing his riches On all who call on him for whoever calls on the name of the

Lord will be saved And he goes into the wonderful doxology of that that has brought so many people into the mission field

How will they call on him and who they have not believed how the people in him who they have not heard? How will they hear when someone has been preaching and on and on how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news?

And the good news is if you call upon the name of the Lord you will be saved and you will have his riches

What are the ultimate riches? What is the ultimate blessing? Himself and that's how the

New Testament reads Joel. Yes Locust swarm.

Yes Army invading army. Yes, the promise of the

Spirit is to those people In in time this is in the last days and Peter applies it and Paul applies it to us

And then you have Restore future and then judgment, so That's how three ends up and we won't

Spend too much time on on three just know that the ultimate restoration and salvation of his people

Israel in this case Judah and Jerusalem Are wrapped up in the judgment of the nations around them the

Valley of Jehoshaphat Or the Valley of Decision Joseph had if you look on the map, you're not going to find it like Joseph at Valley It means to me it

Joseph. That means the Lord decides the Lord judges That's why it's also called the Valley of Decision, you know to two verses later.

It just means that The judgment of God's enemies is intertwined with the salvation of God's people

That's why when you have that ultimate blessing the Spirit of the Lord in you

Even if you Are not top of the heap here on earth ultimately in the end you will not be put to open shame and you will have a very safe and a very blessed place in the presence of the

Lord That's what it means To have the

Spirit of the Lord in you and that's what I think Peter was trying to bring out when he references

Joel 2 and it's poured out on all flesh Not just on a few particular people and if you want to talk about the years that the locusts have eaten

I understand the Intent you want to give people comfort and peace put it in context and don't forget to mention that sometimes the locust swarms are the ones that God sentenced and sometimes

You can repent and return with your whole heart and The swarm still comes

But it's under his control And you can trust him for the outcome

Because our ultimate blessing isn't here. It's at the end.

So that's that's what I wanted to bring tonight Focus on The restoration and blessing that God gives which is himself and I think that that you'll be very consistent with the intent of Joel 2 and Acts 2

Romans 10 and The Bible as a whole Which is all it was intended to bring us into a closer

Fellowship with our Lord. It's the whole reason you reconciled us to have fellowship and peace this people

So that we may love and serve him are there any

Any questions or any any comments on? Things we've discussed tonight

Okay Let me close this in a word of prayer and then we'll will be dismissed

Lord God in heaven. Thank you so much for The blessings of your word

The promises that are in there and just reading this one book shows us that you do exactly what you promised to do

When your people broke the covenant you promised certain things would happen and it did And you promised that those who would return with their whole heart and call upon you would be saved and they were

You promised that you would spend your spirit on all flesh And those who believed repent

They receive your spirit and you promised

That those who are yours none snatches them out of your hand and you will raise them up on the last day

We can look at all the promises in the past See how they are fulfilled over and over and over you keep your promises and We know you'll keep that one too and we pray in the holy name of Jesus Christ.