An Outline of the Book of Joel[1]
I. The Locust Plague (1:1-20)
II. The Day of the LORD (2:1-17)
III. The LORD's Answer (2:18-3:21)
I. THE LOCUST PLAGUE (1:1-20)
• The elders of Judah are called upon to witness an event that had never happened in the land before. So momentous would be this occurrence that their great-grandchildren still would be speaking about it in the future. God would send a locust swarm to the land (1:1-4).
What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; and what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; and what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten (1:4).
• God calls Judah to wake up out of its drunken stupor because the merciless insect army is on the move (1:5-7). The locusts are going to cause the people to mourn, and the farmers will despair as famine overtakes the land (1:8-12).
• Because the terrible judgment is very near, God calls the priests to put on sackcloth,mourn, declare a holy fast, and cry out to the LORD (1:13-15).
II. THE DAY OF THE LORD (2:1-17)
• The trumpet should be blown in Zion, for the day of darkness and gloom is near. The large and mighty army of locusts will cast a dark shadow over the land and nothing will escape them. With an appearance like horses and a noise like chariots, they will charge like warriors and rush upon the cities like thieves (2:1-9). The earth shakes and the sky tremble before the locusts, and the sun, moon, and stars will be darkened (2:10). This event will be the Day of the LORD, because He has decreed this event and will thunder as the head of this insect army (2:11).
• Once again, the LORD calls upon the people to return to Him with all their hearts with fasting, weeping, and mourning. What they need to do is to rend their hearts instead of rending their clothes, and perhaps He might turn and have pity upon them. For this reason, Zion needs to declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly, and be consecrated (2:12-17). In short, true repentance is necessary.
III. THE LORD'S ANSWER (2:18-3:21)
• If the people repent, God will taken pity on them, give then the sustenance that they need, and never again make them an object of scorn to the nations (2:18-19). Additionally, he will drive the locusts away from the land of Judah (2:20). God possesses the power to work in this way, and He can bless the land with abundant showers and crops (2:21-27).
• In the far future, the great Day of the LORD will come in which He would do many things:
1) God would pour out His Spirit on all people, and the people would prophecy and dream dreams (2:28-29). This giving of the Holy Spirit occurred on the Day of Pentecost as evidenced by Peter's sermon (Acts 2:14-21).
2) Wonders in the heavens and upon the earth would include things such as blood, fire, billows of smoke, and a darkening of the sun and moon (2:30-31). These phenomena likely are aspects of God's judgment.
3) Whoever calls upon the name of the LORD will be saved (2:32).
• In the last days, God will restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, and will gather all the nations of the earth together to be judged at the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which means the "God judges." They will be repaid for the evil that they have wrought against God's people (3:1-8). The whole world will know that the LORD is God, and that He is a stronghold for Israel (3:9-16).
• Jerusalem will become holy, and never will be invaded again. The land of Israel will become more fertile than ever before, and a fountain will flow out of the LORD's Temple (3:17-18; cf. Ezek. 47). Egypt and Edom, however will be a wasteland because of their violence against God's people, but pardoned Judah will be inhabited forever (3:19-21). The LORD dwells in Zion! (3:21b).
No comments:
Post a Comment