Gather

“Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, and those who nurse from breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his room, and the bride out of her room.”

Everyone is to be gathered in that whole nation assembly. The prophet is instructed that the priest sanctify the people and assemble the leaders with them. This event is for everyone and all the nation must be gathered together in solidarity with what they are doing. The old must be there, since they should know better than to descend into the dissolute lifestyle that the nation has imbibed. They are doubly to blame for the state of the nation, for they have age and wisdom on their side. The leaders also and especially the religious leaders, have gone so badly astray that they have let the people go to ruin. They will be judged more severely for their remiss attitudes.

Even the children and nursing babies must be there that they might witness the mercy of God in the repentance of His people. This is a state of national mourning and repentance and must be inclusive of every soul. The wrath of God is over the whole society including the beasts of the field. God holds them all culpable and will not exonerate any without repentance.

Those who have events or go to, even weddings, men and women, must leave them and attend this event. Everyone leaves their pleasures to attend to this pressing state of sorrow. It is inappropriate to enjoy the finer things on life, when all is lost for the people of God. Too many enjoy the fruits of sinful lives and do not mourn the state of the church and its weak and ineffectual state in our world. We countenance sin and cover over the judgment that awaits with feasting and enjoyment for ourselves.

Solemn

“Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly.”

The warning must go out. The people must hear the final deal. They must know the danger they are in and not walk blindfolded into the wrath of God. There must be the public proclamation of the gospel so that all can have the opportunity to hear. It must be loud and strong like the trumpet sounding a clear note of attention so that no one misses their opportunity to repent and turn from their wickedness.

“For if the trumpet gave an uncertain sound, who would prepare himself for war?”

1 Corinthians 14:8

The trumpet calls the people a solemn and sacred gathering. This is the most serious of assemblies to gather the hearts of the people to the Lord. There is to be fasting, to focus the mind on the seriousness of this situation for the whole Israelites nation. This is a public and national expression of guilt and confession of sin, that it may be forgiven and covered over by the mercy of God.

In our day, surely the trumpet sounds an uncertain sound. We pray that God will raise up those who will proclaim the gospel in all its power and glory to a dying culture. We are on the same road as these Israelites in the prophet Joel’s day, and stand at a precipice of doom, though we don’t know it, for we are anaesthetised to our need and our danger. Beloved, let us all awaken and share the good news of Jesus Christ to the dying world and rescue many from the darkness. Let us be bold and courageous for the sake of Christ and the people who will perish without Him.

Offering

“Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to the Lord, your God.”

The prophet Joel seems to interject an element of doubt about the offer of mercy. This is to ensure that the repentance of the people is right and good and to encourage them to seek the Lord now at this time of the offer of mercy. They need to act now and secure their salvation and not put it off or wallow in self-pity any longer. They are in an extremely dangerous place and are on the brink of starvation and famine, and yet they are wavering. Their souls are teetering on the brink of eternity and they procrastinate!

The prophet encourages them that God will leave them a blessing and not punishment. God seeks to dwell and commune with His people through the offerings at the temple and they may yet enjoy that privilege with Him. The punishment seems so certain, but there is yet time to turn and heal their land.

“…for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you, in a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 6:2

Tear your heart

“Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.”

The Lord requires true repentance. We can be good at the outward show of penitence, yet remain unrepentant. The people of Joel’s day were so far from the Lord that they couldn’t seem to reach a place of sincerity and the Lord is telling them that He sees through their outward show. Torn clothing was a sign of deep sorrow, but easy to imitate for an audience! God requires more than that.

Torn hearts are the real sign of repentance. We must be devastated about our sin so that we never countenance it again. It is too easy to presume on forgiveness and that overall we are doing well, but we harbour sin, especially sins that cannot be seen. The heart sins are what really bring us down and separate us from the Lord.

Petty jealousies and hatred’s towards others and sins that we think are acceptable and understandable are in no way acceptable to the Lord. God will not tolerate any sin in His people because He knows that it takes us away for Him and makes us more and more world-orientated. We need the Lord and only Him and all the rest will be added to us as we need it.

The Lord gives us time and opportunity to turn and we must take it seriously. He is slow to anger, but we must not presume on that. His lovingkindness is beyond our understanding, and we must honour Him and not take His patience for granted. The people have gone a long way down the road of perdition, but God waits for them to turn and He will pardon them, even at this late time.

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55:7

Even now

“Yet even now,” says the Lord, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”

Even now at the last minute, the offer of mercy still stands. The day of the Lord is almost upon the people, but there is still opportunity to repent. They must turn with all their heart and mean what they say and stick to it. There must be no wavering as they realise their sinfulness and turn away from it. They testify to their truthfulness and sincerity with weeping, fasting and great mourning. Are we also on the threshold of judgment? Still God calls to us to repent and come to Him and He will freely pardon us.

The pathway to peace is free and the forgiveness is full, but we must be sincere. There must be no turning back and looking back like the wife of Lot, in the Old testament, who turned in regret at leaving Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt. We do not regret leaving our sin, but leave it feely and fully with glad hearts that we are redeemed people and can have the liberty of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in us, to help us fight temptation and the fear of failure.

How will we know we are sincere? We do not turn back. We do not go back to our old ways and find ourselves imbibing the way of sinfulness again. Repentance is so difficult for us, for our hearts hold us fast in the hardness of the moral disease of sin and don’t want to let go of our pleasures.

We falsely think we will be miserable in following the Lord and our enemy tells us that God is a spoil sport and we know better than He does, what is good for us. We cannot see that God has greater and better things stored up for His people, even in this life! There are better things for the Christian and every “loss” is a gain in the kingdom of God. Our problem is we do not actually hate our sin, but want to cling onto it. Only Christ within can break this bond…

Awesome

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“The Lord thunders his voice before his army; for his forces are very great; for he is strong who obeys his command; for the day of the Lord is great and very awesome, and who can endure it?”

The language here does not just apply to this present judgment that the people of God are going through in the days of Joel, but it synonymous with the last great Day of the Lord. The enemies of the Lord will surely gather against Him, but will not stand. The power of the Lord is demonstrated in the thundering of His voice as He announces the presence of His great army, the redeemed people of the Lord. The Word of the Lord stands supreme over everything and every scenario. He had the first word in the building of the earth and He will have the last word in the destruction of His handiwork.

Those who obey the Lord are strong, because they obey the Word of the Lord which does not fail. This Day of reckoning is coming soon and no one who stands against the Lord shall in any way prevail. The rhetorical question adds power to the statements. “Who shall endure it?” The answer is certain and obvious, for we are talking about the mighty God, the maker of heavens and earth, and the sovereign God over everything and every being that exists. No one can endure who challenges Him and His eternal majesty.

The Scripture stands supreme over the created order, the passage of time and the Iife of every human that has ever existed. No one can stand against Him, and His word will finally and totally prevail. All who refuse Him will be judged and all who love Him will be exalted. Why wait for the thundering of His voice, for He yet calls out to us in love.

“Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

Tremble

“The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.”

This is a further indication of this event being the judgment of God as it affects the daylight, the sun and moon and the stars. This arrival of the locusts is a precursor for judgment and is reminiscent of the last great day. It spells out terror as in the opening of the sixth seal.

“I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.”

Revelation 6:12

It is a sign of the end times and the coming of a certain day of judgment that will bring total disaster for those under its dominion. It is a frightening time with earthquakes, heavenly disturbances, lack of light and even the stars do not shine. It will bring terror to the people of earth and the coming Day of the Lord.

The Lord never leaves us without knowledge. He speaks to us in His Word and gives warning to the unbeliever and comfort to His people. We rejoice to know such a God and His great love for us. He will not let the present sinful situation be prolonged, but will come again in righteousness, justice and mercy.

We should tremble before Him and find salvation in the only Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ lest we find ourselves trembling on that terrible day, unforgiven and with no refuge from the judgment. He still reaches out in mercy to those who will repent and believe.

Thieves

“They rush on the city. They run on the wall. They climb up into the houses. They enter in at the windows like thieves.”

The strategy of this army is very straightforward. They conquer through their great number and their ability to infiltrate every nook and cranny of the invaded city. The locust rush on the city and hit it like a mighty flood and spill over into all the houses and windows. They fly in and over run the whole environment, stripping it of anything they can eat and rendering it useless for human habitation.

These marauders cannot be kept out with armaments or systems of defence that humans have come up with. The locusts are triumphant in their conquest and climb into the very lives of the people like thieves. They are unstoppable and take to themselves everything of value that will sustain their life and consume all green vegetation.

These insects will sweep over the city and strip it completely bare. They leave nothing of value, and take all that will be useful in the lives of its inhabitants. They are the ultimate thieves, for they leave nothing behind them, only devastation and desert.

“… they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.”

Jeremiah 46:23

The armies of total destruction are described as a hoard of locusts who strip away all life support. They are the judgment of the Lord and do His bidding.

March

“Neither does one jostle another; they march everyone in his path, and they burst through the defences, and don’t break ranks.”

Iron discipline in the inner beings of these mighty insects, causes their progress to be swift and certain.

They never break ranks or get in the way of each other, for each knows its place in the scheme of the army. Every one has their place and their task in the great army, and they all carry out their tasks with ruthless success. They march in unison and overcome the defences that are set up against them, because of their discipline and persistence. They never step out of line and never set themselves against each other.

We can learn much from their iron discipline and their ability to march straight and true to the purpose of the whole body of insects. They do not interfere with each other’s progress and keep to the purpose set out for them as individuals in the huge group.

We are the body of Christ and should also be concerned to carry out our tasks in the will of God and for His glory and not our own. We work together as the body of Christ and are cared for an individuals and as part of that glorious body of the Lord Jesus as our head and Lord. This army of locust is successful because it is obedient to the corporate purpose, and we also will conquer sin in the name of Christ and for his glory and our eternal good.

“… that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;”

Colossians 1:10-12

Climb

“They run like mighty men. They climb the wall like warriors. They each march in his line, and they don’t swerve off course.”

This army is strong and completely disciplined. They are swift and relentless. Like warriors who can run like the wind with great power and speed, they arrive over the mountains and hit the cities with such overwhelming might. They are not kept out by the city walls, but scale them so easily and over-run the buildings. They are like super-trained athletes that never give up and nothing stops their ceaseless advances.

Ever member of this army is supremely suited to their task. They keep in line with military precision and never deviate from the inner orders within them. They know exactly what to do and do it ruthlessly and with speed and persistence. They have no leader but the inner voice of instinct drives them forward bravely.

“The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks.”

Proverbs 30:27

These insects know exactly what they are doing and keep to the inner disciple with great precision. It is what makes them feared and consistent in what they do. Like the locusts in Egypt, they infiltrate every house and steal everything they can find. They can scale every wall and no amount of protection can keep them out.

“Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.'” He turned, and went out from Pharaoh.”

Exodus 10:6

This is a plague of plagues, and a sight to behold.

Perhaps we can learn from the locusts and learn from their military discipline that they show in these great events. Maybe we can learn from the inner working of the Spirit within us and be obedient to His promptings and give our all to our Lord and God. This is what He expects from us and we give it willingly.

Daughters of the Kingdom

Women who glorify God