Joel 2:32 “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;…”
Joel was a prophet of God who lived and prophesied in obscurity in Southern Judah. He lived in Jerusalem as he mentions Jerusalem and Judah in his writings. His name means “Yahweh is God”. He is the son of a man named Pethuel, which means "the open-heartedness or sincerity of God." Joel is considered by scholars to be one of the ‘minor’ prophets of the Old Testament.
The book of Joel is broken into two distinct sections: Joel 1:2 thru 2:17, where the prophet speaks and Joel 2:18 thru its conclusion , where God speaks. Judah has been devastated by locust sent by God Himself due to their national disobedience. Israel has been worshipping God in show only and not from their hearts, tearing their robes and calling out to God with their prayers, all the while not living Godly lives. Joel points out in 2:12-13 that God wants them to tear their hearts, rather than their robes in true repentance, for God looks at the heart of a man and not that which is external. Joel is warning the Israelites to repent or a day of judgment shall surely come upon them. If they repent the judgment will befall their enemies alone and not themselves. Joel seems to be tying this ‘day of judgment’ with the end times ‘Day of the Lord’, when time shall cease and God’s White Throne Judgment will take place. God may use natural disasters or some other means to chastise His people as a way to get their attention and we may very well be seeing some of that today.
It’s no different today as in Old Testament times when people stray and, in love, God seeks to bring them back into line. That is how much our God loves us. We have the tendency to take God and His blessings for granted. Our faith turns into nothing more than empty rituals and forms done out of duty rather than desire. The moral decay that has taken place in our nation is indicative of our inattention to the things of God. Our Heavenly Father is fair and just; His loving kindness towards us is matchless. He gives us chance upon chance to ‘right our ship’, so to speak, and once again seek His face in obedience. We should take heed of Joel’s words to the nation of Israel for the same undoubtedly applies to us today. His patience is lasting; however, there is coming a day when it will be too late to repent and be forgiven for our indifference to the things of God. Joel’s message is for believers in God, not the heathen. And it’s for us today, for in reality, we are no different than the Israelites in Joel’s day. Making God’s grace a cheap and valueless thing is a sin. Yet God patiently waits for us to recognize and acknowledge Him once again not just as our Savior, but also as our Lord.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!
