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The Lord Will Judge
1At that time I, the Lord, will make Judah and Jerusalem prosperous again. 2Then in Judgment Valley I will bring together the nations that scattered my people Israel everywhere in the world, and I will bring charges against those nations. They divided up my land 3and gambled to see who would get my people; they sold boys and girls to pay for prostitutes and wine.
4 You people of Tyre and Sidon and you Philistines, why are you doing this? Are you trying to get even with me? I'll strike back before you know what's happened. 5You've taken my prized possessions, including my silver and gold, and carried them off to your temples. 6You have dragged the people of Judah and Jerusalem from their land and sold them to the Greeks.
7But I'll make the people of Judah determined to come home, and what happened to them will happen to you. 8I'll hand over your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, who live far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Judgment in Judgment Valley
9Say to the nations:
“Get ready for war!
Be eager to fight.
Line up for battle
and prepare to attack.
10 Make swords out of plows
and spears out of garden tools.
Strengthen every weakling.”
11Hurry, all you nations!
Come quickly.
Ask the Lord to bring
his warriors along.
12You must come now
to Judgment Valley,
where the Lord will judge
the surrounding nations.
13 They are a field of ripe crops.
Bring in the harvest!
They are grapes piled high.
Start trampling them now!
If our enemy's sins were wine,
every jar would overflow.
14Crowds fill Decision Valley.
The judgment day of the Lord
will soon be here—
15no light from the sun or moon,
and stars no longer shine.
16 From the heart of Jerusalem
the Lord roars like a lion,
shaking the earth and sky.
But the Lord is a fortress,
a place of safety
for his people Israel.
God Will Bless
17I am the Lord your God.
And you will know I live on Zion,
my sacred hill,
because Jerusalem will be sacred,
untouched by foreign troops.
18On that day, fruitful vineyards
will cover the mountains.
And your cattle and goats
that graze on the hills
will produce a lot of milk.
Streams in Judah
will never run dry;
a stream from my house
will flow in Acacia Valley.
19Egypt and Edom were cruel
and brutal to Judah,
without a reason.
Now their countries will become
a barren desert,
20but Judah and Jerusalem
will always have people.
21I, the Lord, live on Mount Zion.
I will punish the guilty
and defend the innocent.
Reflect
In addition to the three things mentioned in Joel 2:28-32 concerning the coming of the day of the Lord (the outpouring of God’s Spirit, signs and wonders, and salvation for those who turn to the Lord) there are three more things that will happen on the day of the Lord. The nations will be summoned for judgment (vv 1-8, 12), the nations will be sentenced for their sins (vv 13-16a), and there will be security for God’s people (vv 16b-21).
For unbelievers, the day of the Lord is dreadful (2:31). God will strike them back (vv 4-8), there will be no light from the sun and moon (v 15), and their countries will become barren (v 19). As if that’s not bad enough, they will incur the full wrath of God – something worse than the ferocity of a lion because even the earth and sky tremble when God roars (v 16).
For believers, the day of the Lord is joyful (2:23). There will be safety (v 16b), God will dwell among them (v 17), nature will become an ally (v 18), while the land of their enemies will become a desert (v 19). S.F.Winward in A Guide to the Prophets eloquently says, “The land and city, creation and community, the life of the countryside and the life of the town, all that is of value in the natural and social environment, will be transformed and conserved in the new age.”
And so Joel’s message concludes. It opened with hopelessness (death and destruction) and ends with hope (fullness of life). There will be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21-22). Sorrow and pain will pass away and everything will be new (Revelation 21:4-5). And more. The exclamation point on Joel’s prophecy is that righteousness wins through and the Lord will live with his people forever (vv 20-21).
Respond
Lord, thank you that your Story, while helping us make sense of the present also promises us that the best is yet to come. Amen.
Lawson Murray
Lawson is the President of Scripture Union Canada and the Managing Editor of theStory™. Lawson takes every opportunity to enthusiastically invite people of all ages to connect with Jesus and His Story. He says, “We have been given the greatest story ever - God's Story! Should we not, with all our might and energy immerse ourselves in it? I believe we should. For without the Story we really have nothing to offer the millions who hunger and thirst for something more. But, with God’s Story we have what everyone needs!” Publications: Bible Engagement Blog; Children’s Ministry Basics Blog, Bible Engagement Basics; Bible Beginners