Joel 2:12-32

Repentance, Return, and Redemption

Last week we ended with a reminder that obedience is better than sacrifice, and that we need to pay attention to what God is saying and showing us. The trumpets were blowing. Wake up, for the Day of the Lord is coming. I believe the trumpets are blowing in the world right now. As believers, we need to wake up and pay attention to the next part of this message that Joel has from the Lord.

Vs 12-14 Even now— this is the Lord’s declaration—turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, so you can offer grain and wine to the Lord your God.

Turn to Me! This is the declaration of the Lord. Even as the Day of the Lord approaches, God still wants to extend His amazing mercy to those who repent and return. We find over and over throughout Scripture, evidence of God extending mercy when the hearts of the people repented and returned. In this paragraph, God gives His people, and us, a look at what real repentance looks like. First, He says turn to me. In order to truly repent, we must stop the direction we are going in, and turn to God. The Hebrew word for turn is shub, which means to turn back – to return. We must turn from our sin and turn toward the Lord. Second, our return must be with all our heart. The phrase all our heart in Hebrew is kol lebab or with all our inmost being. True repentance is sincere. It is from the very depths of our being. Finally, the Lord says returning and repentance comes with fasting, weeping and mourning. It requires action and emotion. It’s not just about saying your sorry and moving on. It’s about real emotion marked by action. If we don’t mourn our sin, we are not repenting. And if repentance isn’t followed up by action, it’s not true repentance. Then the Lord doubles down – tear your hearts, not just your clothes. Remember – obedience is better than sacrifice. The Hebrew word for tear is kriah and refers to the act of tearing one’s clothes. Kriah is an ancient tradition that is a striking expression of grief and anger. If we are truly ready to repent, our hearts should be torn. Our grief over our sin should be so overwhelming our hearts are ripped in two. Blessed are they that mourn for they will be comforted. One of the most beautiful pictures of God is this next phrase: For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster. God is gracious. He is compassionate. He is slow to anger, rich in faithful love and will relent if we return. Not only that, He will accept our offerings and bless us.

Vs 15-17 Blow the horn in Zion! Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly. Gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the groom leave his bedroom, and the bride her honeymoon chamber. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say: “Have pity on Your people, Lord, and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace, an object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

Blow the shofar. Let the sound of it stir us out of our slumber. Let it awaken us to really look at our lives. What do we need to confess? What do we need to repent of? It’s time for us to gather together, look deep in our hearts and lives, and see what we need to get right with God. In this next section we see how serious God is about repentance. Gather everyone – the aged, the children, even the babies. Stop what you are doing no matter what – even coming back from a honeymoon. It’s time to get serious about returning to God. Joel goes further to call on the leaders (the priests) to step up to the plate. Our leaders need to be the ones guiding us to the altar by their example of heartfelt repentance. Right now, I hear questions from people about the church. Where are they? Why have they not spoken up against injustice? Where is their mercy and grace? Where is their God? There is a need for the churches repentance and return to the Lord. Then God, in His infinite mercy, will pour out His grace and blessings on us that will overflow on the communities around us. Then they will see God in us.

Vs 18-27  Then the Lord became jealous for His land and spared His people. The Lord answered His people: Look, I am about to send you grain, new wine, and olive oil. You will be satiated with them, and I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations. I will drive the northerner far from you and banish him to a dry and desolate land, his front ranks into the Dead Sea, and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise; yes, his rotten smell will rise, for he has done catastrophic things. Don’t be afraid, land; rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. Don’t be afraid, wild animals, for the wilderness pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches. Children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, because He gives you the autumn rain for your vindication. He showers for you, both autumn and spring rain as before. The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil. I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust ate, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you. You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. You will praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. My people will never again be put to shame. You will know that I am present in Israel and that I am Yahweh your God, and there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.

When we truly repent, God will pour out His blessings. He will even repay us for all that was taken from us. We will be a shining light to the nations and God will do mighty things through us. His judgment will turn from us to the evil in the land and He will drive it out. Often, we question why evil is allowed to reign. Could it be because God is dealing with His people first, waiting for us to repent and return? I don’t know this for sure, but, if I’m reading Joel correctly, I think this could be true. After all, James reminds us “Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment.” We can also look at the example of how God dealt with Israel and I see this pattern. They turn away from God and worship other gods. Then the judgment of God falls on them. They repent and return and God restores them and blesses them. Now I see this same pattern in today’s church, for I believe the church of today has committed some intentional and some unintentional sins against God. We have followed other “gods” and wonder why people aren’t coming and why our churches are splitting.

Some of the more obvious gods I see are, church political activism, following societal norms instead of Scripture, prideful exclusivity, and nationalism. (I am speaking of my own country at this time, but I am sure other countries are dealing with similar issues). Scripture has something to say about each of these. Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” We are not to be conformed to the society around us. Their “truth” is not God’s truth. Their “ways” are not God’s ways. We should be walking in the way of the Lord, following His truth. 1 Corinthians 4:20 reminds us, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” In other words, “though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit. We do not need to rely on the power of man or the power of an office. We need to be obedient to Christ and follow in His steps. Finally, Proverbs 16:18 reminds us, “pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” If we let our pride get in the way, we will not even see our need for repentance and return. But, when we do repent with all our hearts, God’s blessings and grace will flow down upon us. Then our focus will be on the things of God. Our hearts will desire to do what God wants us to do. Our eyes will see things as God sees them. There is a song by Brandon Heath that illustrates this perfectly. It is called Give Me Your Eyes. The chorus goes like this: Give me Your eyes for just one second Give me Your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missin’ Give Your love for humanity Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted The ones that are far beyond my reach Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten Give me Your eyes so I can see. When we have the eyes of God, then we can say as Paul did in Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” When we repent and return, we will have a right perspective, be empowered and have the beautiful feet that spreads the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The God will:

Vs 28-32 After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. I will even pour out My Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days. I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls.

God will pour out His Spirit on all humanity. In Joel’s day, the Holy Spirit was poured out on a selective basis – on certain people at certain times for a certain purpose. The Spirit of God fell on Joseph and he was able to interpret dreams. Even Pharaoh recognized this: Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit in him?”  God filled Bezalel, with his Spirit to build the tabernacle, “The Lord also spoke to Moses: “Look, I have appointed by name Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every craft.” Joshua was filled with the Spirit of God, “The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. And, David was filled with God’s Spirit, “So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward.” But now, the Spirit of God is poured out on all humanity. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out and now empowers all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. I love the word for saved here. It is malat and it means to slip away or escape. When we call on the Name of the Lord, we will slip away from the evil one. We will escape the wrath of God. We will be rescued and redeemed. And this is the wonderful message of Joel. He called on God’s people to repent and return so God could pour out His blessings on them. And Joel is calling us once again. Yes, the Day of the Lord is coming, but, if we listen to the sound of the trumpet, rise from our slumber and answer the call of God to repent and return, we will slip away from the evil one and escape the wrath of God. And then we will find God’s amazing redemption in Christ Jesus our Lord.