Based on Joel 2:1-17a (New King James Version)
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array. Before them the people writhe in pain; all faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it? ‘Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will 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 sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them.”
The book of Joel is short, but very applicable to us, especially in these moments that we are living through because the Bible in its entirety has many purposes like telling us what happened in the past and leaving written the experiences and consequences of those that were affected and how that relates to us individually today, and principally, the way that God uses it to be able to speak to us as a group and individually. Quite simply, the Word of God was fulfilled before, is being fulfilled now, and it will be fulfilled in the future. The Word of God was, is, and shall ever be; without exceptions, no matter how much many try to do things against it, whether they try to make it vanish, or taking from certain places within it, or cutting it in pieces, or trying to disfigure or change Its meaning with supposed better translations and actualization. No matter what people try to do, God will fulfill His plans with or without man’s acceptance. The big question is: “How will the Word of God be fulfilled in your life?” And, “will you experience His judgment or His grace?”
The people of Israel in general that were taken out of Egypt quite possibly thought that their sin and rebellion was not going to be taken into account, despite the great miracles that God did to free them from the hand of Pharaoh. But in reality, and history tells us, that their rebellion and their evil ways brought judgment upon them, as it is written: “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-11.
Joel’s message was very similar to those of the other prophets, which consisted of foretelling the evil that would come if there wasn’t a definite change of heart. Many things can be believed that Joel prophesied of, and especially considering when it was believed that the book was written. The prophet Joel gave his message to the people of Judah approximately 835 years before Christ, before the Babylonian conquest. He foretold of a plague of locusts, which we don’t know if it happened or not. But, we need to keep something in mind, that the visions and message that the prophets had many times were either literal or figurative, more or less explaining the events that would come to pass. One thing is certain, and unfortunately, something even more horrible did happen than what a plague of locusts could have been, and that was the Babylonian conquest. The people of Judah did not repent as they should have and great devastation did come about, something they never imagined. They misunderstood God’s mercy as unfulfilled prophecies. They never thought that they would see such a horrendous day where God’s Word spoken through Joel and other prophets like him would be fulfilled, prophets that God used to speak to them time after time, year after year, that they should change from their ways, repent from their sins, and turn to their God. Historically speaking, the Babylonian tactic of attack was incredibly swift and overpowering, like that of swarms of locusts, men that were quite skilled and agile that knew how to ride horses like others were not able to, and they used weapons of fire. Everything that their army would touch was left in flames and ashes, and everyone they found in their way would be killed. They left nothing as they passed through, only bodies and a completely devastated and consumed land.
Having read this, should we commit the mistake of believing that we are the exception? Should we think that God’s grace would invalidate His holiness and the expectations He has for those that say that are His people? I don’t think it would be very wise to commit such mistakes and assume so erroneously. Many things could happen to us that would devastate us as a group or individually, whether it be because of the sin of many, or because of individual sin, or simply because we live in a fallen world. Both the righteous and the unjust will be affected. The issue is that God’s judgment is coming. Unfortunately, we will see even worse days than what we are seeing now if we as a group do not look for the Living God with our hearts. So then, will you be of those that are partly responsible for God’s judgment that is coming, or of those that repented, looking for divine mercy and grace? Lord bless! John