The following audio messages are a part of our End Times Bible Prophecy Series, taught by Pastor Bob Lawrenz, recorded at Whitestone Christian Fellowship.
The book of Joel is a call to God’s people to repent and turn to Him (Joel 1:13-14, 2:12) so that they can experience forgiveness and restoration (Joel 2:25-27) in light of the promise of a future spiritual blessing of salvation (Joel 3:17-19) and of a coming judgment (Joel 3:1-16).
God’s people have experienced a ravaging by great swarms of locusts—the crops have been ruined (Joel 1:10-12). In light of this, Joel admonishes the people to fast and repent (Joel 1:13-14) with all their heart because the Lord is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Joel 2:13). The Lord is “jealous for his land” and will “take pity on his people” (Joel 2:18), therefore, if they do repent, their enemies will be pushed back (Joel 2:20) and the land will experience blessing once again (Joel 2:22-25) ultimately resulting in the people knowing the power and love of God (Joel 2:27).
Joel also points people to the coming of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28), the future experience of salvation (Joel 2:32), and the dawning of the “Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:30, 3:1-16). Nations will be judged (3:1-16) and God’s people and Jerusalem will be blessed and protected forever (Joel 3:17, 20).
The book of Joel is a call to God’s people to repent and turn to Him (Joel 1:13-14, 2:12) so that they can experience forgiveness and restoration (Joel 2:25-27) in light of the promise of a future spiritual blessing of salvation (Joel 3:17-19) and of a coming judgment (Joel 3:1-16).
God’s people have experienced a ravaging by great swarms of locusts—the crops have been ruined (Joel 1:10-12). In light of this, Joel admonishes the people to fast and repent (Joel 1:13-14) with all their heart because the Lord is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Joel 2:13). The Lord is “jealous for his land” and will “take pity on his people” (Joel 2:18), therefore, if they do repent, their enemies will be pushed back (Joel 2:20) and the land will experience blessing once again (Joel 2:22-25) ultimately resulting in the people knowing the power and love of God (Joel 2:27).
Joel also points people to the coming of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28), the future experience of salvation (Joel 2:32), and the dawning of the “Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:30, 3:1-16). Nations will be judged (3:1-16) and God’s people and Jerusalem will be blessed and protected forever (Joel 3:17, 20).
Leading Themes
- Repentance The book of Joel contains some beautiful invitations to repentance. “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, fo He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing…” (Joel 2:12-14).
- The Day of the Lord The eschatological Day of the Lord is “that time during which God will deal with Israel and the nations through judgment and deliverance.” Joel tells us that it is “dreadful” and that “it will come like destruction from the Almighty” (Joel 1:15). It is “close at hand—a day of darkness and gloom” such as the world has never experienced (Joel 2:1-3). The earth will be shaken, the stars will no longer shine, and it cannot be endured by anyone (Joel 2:10-11). The way to escape this is through true repentance (Joel 2:12-14)
- The Promise of the Holy Spirit and Salvation Peter quotes the book of Joel in his speech to the large crowd at Pentecost (Acts 2:17-20) citing the coming of the Holy Spirit as a fulfillment of the words of Joel’s prophecy. “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32) looks forward to the day wherein we are now living. Peter went on to say that this “gift of the Holy Spirit (was)…a promise for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39).
- Restoration God is a god of restoration. The land has been ravaged by locusts and the people are experiencing ruin. “Surely the joy of mankind is withered away,” Joel summarizes (Joel 1:12). But God extends an invitation and promises “to take pity on his people” (Joel 2:18) by “sending…grain, new wine, and oil” (Joel 2:19), protecting them, taking away fear, and most notable, “repaying…what the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25).
