Words of WarningProphecy from Joel

Adapted from aJerry Watts sermon

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Judgment Is ComingJoel 1:1-15

Judgement Is ComingWe’re winding up our look at the 3:16s of the Bible & I saved this one for last. Joel 3:16 NIV The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth

and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for

the people of Israel. Here’s the catch, I’m going to spend the next 5 sermons getting to it. We’ll start

with Joel 1:1-15.

Joel 1:1 NIV The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in

your days or in the days of your forefathers? 3 Tell it to your children, and

let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

4 What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts

have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other

locusts have eaten. 5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!

Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been

snatched from your lips.

6 A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. 7 It has laid

waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it

away, leaving their branches white.

8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the husband of her youth.

9 Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD. The

priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. 10 The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the

grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. 11 Despair, you farmers,

wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest

of the field is destroyed.

12 The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is

withered away. 13 Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in

sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink

offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD

your God, and cry out to the LORD.15 Alas for that day! For the day of the

LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

One of the forgotten, if not dismissed, truths from God’s word is that this world is on a collision course with Almighty God. While it is true that God is a god of love, grace, and even mercy, what people of

today may well need is a reminder of the truth that God is a God of justice &

judgment.

Today we begin a walk through the prophecy of Joel. Not a great deal is

known about Joel, but we would do well to know a great deal about what Joel wrote.

Why? Because of the first verse in this prophecy, “The word of the Lord that came

to Joel son Pethuel.” Even though we have little knowledge of Joel & less of

Pethuel, it is in our best interest to hear from the one whose words Joel is

recording.

The 63 verses in this prophetic book serve to caution and to call all people to have a clear view of God’s coming judgment. At the end of every message in this book is an invitation to miss the judgment of God

but it takes ACTION.

The prophet Amos echoes this message. Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,

and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, Amos 6:1a,b NIV

We are going to consider God’s impending judgment in 4 thoughts:

1. The Coming of Judgment

2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever

happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers?

Notice the first two words of verse 2, “Hear this.” Almost every translation and

paraphrase says the same thing. However, this phrase is more like a “listen up” or “pay attention” as it carries with it the idea and the message is important.

Judgment is coming & you want to know it so that you can be prepared. He identifies

both the leaders and the people to say, “Listen up.” If it were today, there might have been a ‘tone’ (like the emergency broadcast system) to get our attention.

The discernmentOf the many ways there are to discern

things, asking rhetorical questions is very effective. Can you hear the inference in

the tone of the question of “Has anything like this every happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers?” Considering whom it is asking this question, our minds and souls should be stirred to understand exactly what it is that Almighty God has in

mind.

But here is the startling truth; Obviously God has something in mind which is

unlike anything seen before. Remember of some of the atrocities which this

generation & their forefathers had witnessed and then think that God will top

all of these, we should discern that judgment is on the way.

The disclosure3 Tell it to your children, and let your

children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

To read verse 3 is to understand that, as holders of the truth, we should disclose

the truth. Truth is not truth simply when we ‘like it’, but it is truth-no matter what!

Part of the sad situation of the 21st century “Americanize church” is that we

have discarded the truth of God in relation to His judgment. His right judgment is

based on justice.

Amos 5:24 NIV Let justice roll like water and righteousness, like an unfailing

stream.Not only had we better know (discern) and

tell (disclose) that God’s judgment is coming, but we might want to know what it

will be like! Look at the;

The devastation4 What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts

have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other

locusts have eaten. God compares His judgment to four types of locust. Let me say that the picture of the

locusts is a picture of total destruction.

Some think these insects are illustrating armies of humans going across the land, while others think the prophet is speaking

of the 4 stages of a locust’s life, and others think its four different types of bugs.

Such are the arguments which make for meaningless talk and a great deal of

debate, but let’s not miss the truth; the land will be destroyed and it will be the

judgment of God on the wicked land & the wickedness of the land.

2. The Contents of JudgmentWhat is it that we see in this judgment? What is it that makes up this judgment?

Just like we pick up a package of food and read the ingredients, it is desirable that we

looks at the elements of this:5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!

Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been

snatched from your lips.

The absence of a godly embraceThe word drunkards has a double edge here. Those accustomed to drinking too much must now lament the unavailability of wine. It also may hint that the people in

general have become religiously inebriated and are unresponsive to the

Lord. They are, as it were, drunkards from a spiritual standpoint. Joel addresses the first of three groups particularly affected

by the locust plague.

In 1:5 he describes the effects on the drunkards, who no longer have a ready supply of intoxicating wine; in 11,12 he

describes the effects on the farmers, who have watched their labors come to naught because of the insect infestation; and in

13,14 he describes the effects on the priests, who are no longer able to offer

grain sacrifices and libations in the temple. (NETnotes)

The aggressiveness of a godless enemy 6 A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a

lion, the fangs of a lioness. Give some thought to this picture. For a

person who is under the judgment of God we see several frightening word pictures; invaded, powerful, without number, teeth,

and even fangs.

Every one of these pictures paints a portrait of an enemy which is unrelenting,

vicious, and evil. We can see the beginnings of this picture today in America. Now that God has been

removed from daily life, many others are stepping to the fore front to attack this land in numerous and ungodly ways.

We can talk of the radical Muslims who killed 3000 people just because they were

Americans, we can name Al-Qaeda as one who preys on Americans, and we can even name social and political groups in this land who pervert justice to have their

way. However, the great attack is occurring on a local scale by people who know better. It is getting more pervasive

every day.

The affects of a great engagementThere is no way to do ‘battle’ without casualties and costs. When a country goes to war, a couple goes through

divorce, or a church has a fight, the total costs and the casualties are not known for

a long time. When God sends His judgment the battle which will be waged

will be directed at anything which is perceived to be good.

7 It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and

thrown it away, leaving their branches white.

This gives me a picture of the total annihilation of everything which God has designed to be good. The grapevine, fig

tree, branches and bark are all laid waste.

I am not giving a timeline of the end of time (Jesus return, resurrection of the

dead) we have not spoken of these end time events. Just don’t miss the fact that

judgment is coming from God. His judgment will be based on justice, truth &

right.

8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the husband of her youth.

A virgin betrothed was regarded as married. The Hebrew for “husband” is

“lord” or “possessor,” the husband being considered the master of the wife in the

East. “of her youth” — when the affections are strongest and when sorrow at

bereavement is consequently keenest. Suggesting the thought of what Zion’s

grief ought to be for her separation from Jehovah, the betrothed husband of her

early days. (JFB)

Joel doesn't minimize the suffering at all. He isn't like the dentist who says, "This may cause a bit of discomfort" when he really means "This is going to hurt and I am going to make you suffer." He deals

with the suffering in a real way and says, "Let's turn back to the LORD." (Guzik)

3. The Consequences of JudgmentFor those who are under God’s judgment,

let’s see how all of this impacts them. Verses 9-12 give us this picture.

It Destroys Their Provisions9 Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD. The

priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. 10 The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the

grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails.

Verse 10 tells us that everything mankind depends on for life will be destroyed.

Frustration will be at an all time high because nothing man can do will make

the land produce. All will be dried up and laid bare. We are big on ‘having plenty’,

but God’s judgment will bring about a lack of everything man needs to survive. The rat race of today will turn into a rat killing of global proportions as the human race

wars over things which are believed to be important.

It disrupts their plans11 Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the

barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed. 12 The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the joy of

mankind is withered away.

Verses 11,12 gives us a picture of a drought which perplexes the farmers.

They plan for a big harvest and for things to go on as normal while God’s judgment brings other plans. There will be a food

shortage which makes any food shortage of today pale in comparison.

God removes His hand of blessings and when HIS hand of blessing is removed

nothing will bloom or blossom, so all plans will be laid waste. Perhaps this picture is why Jesus told us to not make plans that

we couldn’t make good.

It dries up their personal joySurely the joy of mankind is withered

away. The last line of verse 12 is staggering. To think that laughter will be

gone as will peace, hope, happiness, and love. Think about it this way; today in

America more people have more ‘things’ than ever before. We are basically a

wealthy people. Yet, we are a miserable people.

Deep friendships are at a premium, lasting relationships are all but non-existent, and

the culprit is that in our search for happiness we have abandoned true inner

‘joy.’ Joy is a fruit of the Spirit!

Since more time has been placed on the “I” in this culture, the Holy Spirit has been summarily dismissed. In principle, this is

what happens with God’s judgment; joy is removed along with the Holy Spirit of God.

4. The Call of JudgmentLet’s read again verses 13-15. To read this is to understand that the coming judgment

requires a response from us.13 Put on sackcloth, O priests, and

mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the

grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

Four calls come to mind.REMEMBER

We must remember who God is and who we are.

We are God’s creation, His crown creation. If we have a relationship with

Him through His Son, we have cause to remember much more. Psalm 137 has a

picture of remembrance. 137:1 NIV By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when

we remembered Zion.

If you are a believer today, give thought not to the place but to the concept of

ZION. For years we have sung, “We’re marching to Zion, beautiful Zion. We’re

marching UPWARD to ZION, that beautiful city of God.” Zion is the place where we see, know, and fellowship with the Lord.

As a believer can you remember the time you were closest to Him?

Remember how far you have fallen.Is it today? Or is it in the past? Remember when your heart was hottest, when your fellowship was the closest, and faith was

the strongest. Revelation 2:5 NET Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds

you did at the first; if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place

— that is, if you do not repent.

REFLECTThis is a step that, many times, is

overlooked today. Why is it that I have fallen away from sweet fellowship with my

Heavenly Father? Is it because what someone else has done to me? Is it

because God loves me less, pursues me less, or am I simply less valuable to Him today than when we first met? Please do

not miss this truth: God went nowhere; He hasn’t moved away one step.

When you say, “God seems so far away,” who moved? What caused it and when

was it that you moved away? This requires an honest self-examination & self examinations can be painful particularly if done under the watchful eye of the Holy

Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

REPENTThe promise of judgment on this world

calls us to remember, reflect, and then (as is stated in Revelation 2 and displayed in Joel 1) repent. Look at all the words which display the need and action of repentance; sackcloth, lament, the altar, and offerings. The people were being called to become broken enough to have a change of mind,

direction, and heart.

If I am not as close to God today as I was yesterday, then it is my fault and I need to come before God and repent. The initial call of John the Baptist, Jesus, and even

Peter at Pentecost was “Repent.”

Without repentance there is no renewal, refreshing, &/or regeneration. There is no heaven on the horizon, there is no Zion to look for, & there is no hope for tomorrow.

Repentance is an essential ingredient & is a call of judgment.

RETURN14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred

assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD

your God, and cry out to the LORD.

Just like the Father in Luke 15 was praying, “Boy, come home” so the Heavenly Father invites us home.

15 Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction

from the Almighty.In verse 15 we read that the Day of the Lord is near (next weeks message), and

we need to be close to the Father.Judgment is coming, like it or not.

Revelation 20:12 NET And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing

before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened — the book of life. So the dead were judged

by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.

Judgment is calling, like it or not. It is calling sinners to come home, it is calling the lukewarm to get close to the fire of the Holy Spirit, and it is calling the carnal to

return before it’s too late.

What will you do?