Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20091227.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Joel: Call To Revere Almighty God
Part II: Call To Repent In View Of God's Future, Overwhelming Judgments
(Joel 2:1-17)
  1. Introduction
    1. As we noted in our last message in this series, a great need exists today for man to revere the Almighty God of Scripture so as to repent and escape His discipline and receive His forgiveness and blessing.
    2. One way for that to occur is for people to focus on the overwhelming, terrifying judgment God will bring in the future Tribulation Period, and Joel 2:1-17 provides us with an application to that end as follows:
  2. Call To Repent In View Of God's Future, Overwhelming Judgments, Joel 2:1-17.
    1. The locust invasion of Joel 1:1-20 typifies the invasion of a future human army, one to occur in the seven-year Great Tribulation after the Church is removed from the earth in the "rapture" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and before Christ's Messianic Kingdom, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Joel 2:1-11.
    2. We know this Joel 2 invasion occurs in the Great Tribulation since it is part of the "day of the Lord" (Joel 2:1), an Ancient Near Eastern expression depicting a warrior-king who leads his army to defeat his foes ( Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1415 et al.), which time Scripture presents God as taking that Warrior-King role in the Great Tribulation and Christ's kingdom, J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come , 1972, p. 174.
    3. Accordingly, Joel 2:1-11 describes a terrifying picture of an invading army in the future Great Tribulation era that God will allow to invade Israel in judgment for sin (as follows):
      1. The invasion will be accompanied by darkness, gloominess and dark clouds, signs seen in Scripture to accompany God's presence in judgment and destruction, Joel 2:2; Ibid., B.K.C., O.T., p. 1416.
      2. The invading army of Gentiles God will allow to come into Israel (Joel 2:11) is described in terrifying detail as an army of humanly unstoppable force and resolve that destroys everything in its path, 2:3-9.
      3. With this invasion will occur traumatic signs in stellar space (Joel 2:10b,c), clarifying the fact that the invasion is being permitted by God as His judgment to motivate His sinful people to repent!
    4. Even at that terrifying time, God will reach out to His people in mercy as Joel 2:12-17 describes:
      1. Even at this time of seeming unalterable destruction by an invading force in God's wrath (Joel 2:12a), God will urge His people, Israel to turn to Him, to rend their hearts and not just their garments in true repentance, accompanied by the typical cultural practices of fasting, weeping and mourning, 2:12b-13a.
      2. Motivation to heed this call is provided in Joel 2:13b-14:
        1. Even in this terrible Great Tribulation, God will be gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, willing to relent of the calamity He initially designs for the sinner, Joel 2:13b. This theme of God's grace is timeless, appearing as far back as Exodus 34:4-7 when Moses was at Sinai!
        2. Thus, the people of Israel will be expected to trust that even in the Great Tribulation era, God will relent of His intended judgment, and leave a blessing of agricultural renewal that would equip Israel to return to offering unto Him their temple grain and drink offerings, Joel 2:14.
      3. Joel prophetically called Israel in this future era to repent as an entire nation, Joel 2:15-17:
        1. He called her to sound the trumpet in Zion, the temple mount of Jerusalem, to gather the whole nation together for a fast, a solemn assembly that was holy unto the Lord, Joel 2:15-16a.
        2. With the entire nation assembled, including its elders, children, infants, bridegrooms and brides (Joel 2:16b) before the officiating priests at the temple in Jerusalem (Joel 2:17a), Joel called the priests to lead the nation to weep in the temple courts in true repentance unto the Lord (Joel 2:17b).
        3. With this weeping, the appeal was to be made to (1) call on God to spare His people, Israel, (2) not to give the nation over to being reproached in defeat that the Gentiles might rule over them (3) and this lest the Gentile nations disrespect Israel's God for His letting them be mistreated, Joel 2:17c,d,e.
Lesson: In the Great Tribulation era to come, God will allow Israel to face a terrifying invasion by an overwhelming Gentile army that she might truly repent of her sin as a nation to receive His blessing!

Application: May we learn from this end time prophecy, one we will not experience due to God's gracious pretribulation rapture of us in the Church era, that WE in OUR era MUST REVERE God and TRULY REPENT as needed to escape His sure, overwhelming discipline for OUR sin! (Hebrews 12:29)