Wednesday, May 09 2012
Joel 3
Verse of the Day:V16 “The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”
1. The Horror (V1-8)
V3 “And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.”
It was a horror to know that the people of Israel would trade their son for a prostitute and their daughter for wine to fulfil the lust of their flesh. They had become so evil and lustful that the Almighty God had to judge them for their sins and wickedness, and allowed their children to be sold to the Sabeans, who lived far away from the land of Israel.
V8 “And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.”
2. The Harvest (V9-15)
V13 “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.”
At the Day of Judgment or when the harvest is ripe, the Almighty God shall judge the multitudes, all the people on the face of this earth, whether they have make the ultimate decision to repent their sins and wickedness, and turn to the true and living God, or they have decided to continue in their great wickedness and stubbornly rebel against the Lord.
V14 “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
3. The Hope (V16-21)
V16 “The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”
At the Day of judgment, unless the Lord is our hope and strength, we shall be condemned into the fiery pits of hell, because of our sins and wickedness. Indeed only those who hope in God and His strength shall dwell and reign together with Him in heaven forever.
V17 “So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that You are my hope and strength in the Day of Judgment.
