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"Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her."
(Joel 3:17)
The minor prophets are often overlooked books for many reasons. Many people don't understand them or their relevance. They don't understand the context in which they are found and get lost in the imagery. But let's step back for a second. The book of Joel has a lot of this imagery since it is written as a series of poems, but the overall themes and truths are not unfamiliar to us.
- Sin has brought brokenness, and we need to repent of sin.
- A day of the Lord is coming where judgement will be executed and the enemies of God thwarted.
- God can and will restore all that is broken, both physically and spiritually.
Today we will finish by focusing on chapter 3. The first part of chapter 3 speaks about how God will gather and judge the nations who come against Israel. Look at verses 1-16. In chapter 2, God confronts and does away with the invading locusts. In chapter 3, God confronts the evil of all nations. Now look at verses 17-21. In chapter 2, God restores the land after the locust swarm. In chapter 3, God restores all creation when He comes again.
These are amazing promises that speak to the justice, power, and faithfulness of the Lord. The book ends with such great hope: "The Lord dwells in Zion." That's the end of the story: God will dwell among His people. Hallelujah!
If you are in Christ, this reality is already partially fulfilled in you. Through Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Just as we see in Joel, the pattern of repentance and then restoration is also our story. We who are in Christ once repented of our sin and chose to follow Jesus. By doing so, Christ has restored us, and now the Spirit dwells within us! So what do we do with that?
One thing that we ought to do is to help others get ready for this "day of the Lord". Verse 14 says, "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Joel makes a point of emphasizing how many people will stand before the Lord to be judged on this great and terrible Day of the Lord: ALL people! We who are in Christ are ready to face this day, for when it comes our time to answer for our lives, we have an advocate in Jesus Christ who will stand in our place. So many do not.
May we be a people who are blessed to be filled with the Spirit of God and use that blessing to bring others to Him, to make them ready to make the most important decision of their lives: to follow Jesus.
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