365 Reflections

Joel 2 is a fascinating chapter. In the previous post, we explored how the three-legged experience of the Christian is unpacked: Repent, Believe, and Receive. But there are three more intriguing verses at the end of the chapter as well. Joel 2:30–32 (ESV) “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. On the heels of announcing what Peter described as fulfilled in Pentecost, there is another stage of God's working among men mentioned here that we have yet to experience. Joel declares an ultimate day of the Lord where the cosmic realities will quake, the moon will turn from white to b...

The world is dark, run by evil forces in the heavenly realms. We are born sinners, enslaved to the passions of our flesh along with everyone else. Paul makes that clear in Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. The answer is simple: Repent - turn to God for mercy and grace. Joel calls on the nation of Israel to do just that as they watch the invading army decimate the Northern Kingdom.  Joel 2:15–17 (ESV) Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegro...

The prophet Joel sets the record straight about the day of the Lord very clearly in chapter 2.  Joel 2:1–2 (ESV) Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. Trumpets were blown to announce the outbreak of war. That is what the day of the Lord would bring. Only, instead of a locust plague, an army descends upon the nation. Joel 2:6–9 (ESV) Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. 7 Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. 8 They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. 9 ...

We begin a study in the book of Joel. Historians believe he prophesied during the reign of Joash in Judah. Joash was trained by the priest Jehoiada. A national disaster was striking Israel - locusts were eating away the produce of the land in several waves.  Joel 1:4 (ESV) What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. This tragedy, Joel proclaims, prefigured the Day of the Lord. Now, at that time in Israel, many believed the Day of the Lord would lead to Israel's rebound from her subjection to the nations. But Joel brings the bad news - it will be a day of judgment on the chosen nation.  In his first address to the nation, the Prophet Joel addressed four different groups.  First, he calls the elders of the nation to bear witness that what they experienced was something never before seen.  Joel 1:1–2 (ESV) The word of the LORD ...

Hosea 14:1–2 (ESV) Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Hosea outlines the path back to God in the final chapter of this book. What is first on the list? Confession of sin. Notice the line, "take with you words and return". Words are imperative for the worshipper. Words are the expression of the heart. A heart that seeks God will speak of God. There is no such thing as a silent Christian.  Moreover, they are to verbally renounce their false hope.  Hosea 14:3 (ESV) Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.” They were to renounce their vain hope that Assyria would help them. Imagine this, Assyria was intent on destroying them, and the people were so blinded by their idolat...

Some have a serious problem with God's actions and judgment in the Old Testament. The reason is that they do not bother to read it closely enough. Consider what Hosea says about the Tribe of Ephraim (a synonym for the Northern Kingdom in many cases) at the peak of her idolatry and immoral behavior.  Hosea 13:1–2 (ESV) When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. 2 And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” They were in the human-killing business. Should God let it continue? Should God not put a stop to it? Honest engagement with the Bible demands an understanding of the evil humans are capable of before we put God on trial for how He chooses to handle it.  Now look at verse one. For there we find the root of the evil.  Hosea 13:1 (ESV) he w...

In Hosea 12, the prophet walks us through the history of Jacob, from whom the 12 tribes of Israel descend. If you know the story, Jacob is not the most admirable man.  Hosea 12:3–6 (ESV) In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. 4 He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us— 5 the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is his memorial name: 6 “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.” I find hope in this verse despite the dire situation in which Israel found herself. For though they descended from a schemer, we must remember that Jacob schemed because it seemed as if the whole world was against him. Only his mother favored him. Everyone else sought to push him down (Isaac), steal from him (Laban), or kill him (Esau). But Jacob won in life because he wrestled with God and listened to His voice.  Now the...

How often do we forget what God has done for us? Think of this: what is the Bible but a collection of God's acts among His people from times past and a guarantee of God's acts on behalf of His people in times to come? Thus, Hosea outlines that Israel's forgetfulness led to their idolatry and shame.  Hosea 11:1–2 (ESV) When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. God called Israel out of Egypt. God made a way for them to respond by delivering them through His mighty power. The call and the deliverance work together. What a picture of salvation! Who enables the response to His call but the One who calls! How can anyone respond to the Lord's Word without the Lord making the way for them to do so? The problem with Israel is that the deliverance did not lead to lasting obedience. The more they called, the more they drifted, forg...

The 10th chapter of Hosea reveals the internal division within Israel's heart, as reflected in her actions. She was religious on the outside, presenting worshipful presentations, but it wasn't of God, and her heart was deceitful.  Hosea 10:1–2 (ESV) Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars. 2 Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars. Many prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Psalmists, referred to Israel as a vine, the planting of the Lord, abundantly provided for and prepared for bearing fruit. But Israel failed to produce anything other than sin. Here God stipulates the root of the problem: her "heart is false". They did not love the Lord, AND worse, they deceived themselves into believing they were fine.  God then calls them out regarding their commitment. Hose...