The Day of the Lord is Near





The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
Joel 2:11

https://anchor.fm/mike-sprott/episodes/The-Day-of-the-Lord---Joel-eampme

As we read through Joel it becomes very apparent God’s judgment is something to take seriously. The prophet Joel appears to prophesy of two great times of judgment from God.

  1. The “Day of the Lord” by locust on the land of Israel.  
  2. The “Day of the Lord” in His direct wrath upon the nations.  

The time of the locust judgment was a time in the past when the land was damaged by a locust swarm. Currently, there’s a locust swarm in Somalia. This was sadly a regular occurrence in Israel. God used this little insect to judge His people for their disobedience. It was a call to repentance for their rejection of God during that time (1:8-14). The locust judgment was like a big spanking on the people for not humbly seeking the Lord. They needed repentance and faith in Him (1:13-14).

In Joel, God uses one of these occurrences as an illustration of His greater judgment to come on the whole world (2:1-2; 2:11; 3:30-31). The nations surrounding Israel have always been her adversaries. The whole world has been opposed to the nation of Israel. 

God will not put up with this forever. A great and terrible day is coming when God will judge the nations. The locust judgment of Israel in the past serves as a vivid illustration of God’s great wrath to come. 

Deserved Wrath

In Joel, it is hard at times to distinguish when the locust judgment is being explained and when the great judgment to come is being explained. This only helps to make the main point more vivid. 

God is a just and wrathful god! He will not let the guilty go unpunished.  

For us, some 3000 years later, what are we supposed to do with this revelation of God? Well, I think we need to see the world through God’s just wrath to come. I think way too often we feel it is our job to bring about the eradication of injustices. Our great cry is, “That’s not fair!”  But Joel calls us to see things through God’s perspective. 

We are all part of the nations and people groups that deserve His Judgment. We too, our nation included, will one day face the great and terrible day of the Lord. This should bring a humble fear of God to our hearts!  We should see our neighbors as facing the great “locust” judgment to come. 

We need God to save us. We need God’s deliverance. Each person needs rescuing from the just judgment of God.

Undeserved Rescue

Thankfully in Joel there are offers of hope for the ones who repent. If a person turns from their sin by grace and they trust in God, they will be saved according to God’s divine character (2:13-14). This is good news for the repentant Jew and Gentile.  

The great truth of the Bible is that God provided a propitiation, an appeasement, for His wrath. Jesus Christ the Righteous. God judged His Son to provide hope for those who would repent and trust in Christ. 

This is our message to the world who stands in the crosshairs of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 

No, we don’t try to scare people from their sin. We call on people to see what they deserve and then realize there is hope in Jesus Christ. Yes, hell and the day of the Lord are coming, but there is a loving, provision of God for all who turn to Jesus for salvation.  


Father, thank You for Your Son. He is our only hope. He is the one who took the wrath we deserve. He is the righteous one from Israel. Father, we know a day of judgment is coming. A day when Israel will finally be restored, and she will trust in the Messiah she has rejected. Till then, please help us to be a light in this world. Help us to offer the hope of the Gospel to others. Give us boldness and courage to announce that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. 

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