#1135 Joel 2 Part 2 Repentance To Restoration

 

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

and he relents over disaster.

14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,

and leave a blessing behind him,

a grain offering and a drink offering

for the Lord your God?

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion;

consecrate a fast;

call a solemn assembly;

16 gather the people.

Consecrate the congregation;

assemble the elders;

gather the children,

even nursing infants.

Let the bridegroom leave his room,

and the bride her chamber.

17 Between the vestibule and the altar

let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep

and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,

and make not your heritage a reproach,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’”

The Lord Had Pity

18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land

and had pity on his people.

19 The Lord answered and said to his people,

“Behold, I am sending to you

grain, wine, and oil,

and you will be satisfied;

and I will no more make you

a reproach among the nations.

20 “I will remove the northerner far from you,

and drive him into a parched and desolate land,

his vanguard into the eastern sea,

and his rear guard into the western sea;

the stench and foul smell of him will rise,

for he has done great things.

21 “Fear not, O land;

be glad and rejoice,

for the Lord has done great things!

22 Fear not, you beasts of the field,

for the pastures of the wilderness are green;

the tree bears its fruit;

the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,

and rejoice in the Lord your God,

for he has given the early rain for your vindication;

he has poured down for you abundant rain,

the early and the latter rain, as before.

24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;

the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 I will restore to you the years

that the swarming locust has eaten,

the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,

my great army, which I sent among you.

26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

and praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has dealt wondrously with you.

And my people shall never again be put to shame.

27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,

and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.

And my people shall never again be put to shame. Joel 2: 12-27

Joel 2: 12-27 Call to Repentance

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), Ephesians 2: 1-5

12-17 Yet even now - The call was out there even as the enemy approached, remember how slowly the glory of God was in departing from the temple, how long He held out His hand to a rebellious people? They did not want God, and they had defiled His holy place, so He left, but what fills the void of such a vacuum is heinous, yet here is another call from another prophet, repent and be saved, turn from your wicked ways.

Ezekiel 10

12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. 13But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.… Hebrews 3: 12-14

S Lewis Johnson applies the sense of urgency in the phrase "yet now" - Incidentally, my good Christian friend, the time for repentance is always now. It should never be put off. The more we put off repentance for sin that we have committed the less likely we are to repent. For the more we put off repentance the harder becomes our heart. And so repentance is something that is always to be carried out now. Dr. Chafer at the seminary use to tell us in the theological classroom that, “Men, it is necessary to keep short accounts with God.” You don’t get in the habit of sinning half a dozen times and then when the number gets to six repenting or waiting till the end of the day in order to confess failure before God. Repentance is always an immediate duty as soon as the knowledge of sin comes, and short accounts are to be kept. (Judah's Repentance and God's Repentance) - Precept Austin

And rend your hearts and not your garments - No outward show will suffice for God, for men are known to be actors for the sake of other men. Throw out your rituals, put aside your masks, beg that God grant you such repentance as befits the presence of the Almighty. Men had torn their clothes as a sign of anguish and mourning in the past, men whose hearts were equally ripped apart, yet others, seeing that God heard them, would settle for the outer appearance and make theatre, as if God could not tell the difference. 

…12Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.” 13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men. 14Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”… Isaiah 29: 12-14

…26But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for the words that you heard, 27because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and because you have humbled yourself before Me and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares the LORD. 28‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.’ ” So they brought her answer back to the king.… 2 Chronicles 34: 26-28

…28A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God. Romans 2: 28-29

Who knows whether He will not turn and relent - The wrath of God is coming on all wickedness, for He must forever banish sin, yet the mercy of God is great, so repent while it is still today, repent even if there is no tomorrow, for there is eternity. Turning to God with nothing but our sin is everyone's reality, turning to Him not as a last hope, but your only hope is reality again. No one is justified by works of the law, no one is justified by deeds of the flesh, but it is the broken and contrite that He does not turn away.

…21“What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.” 22David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’ 23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”… 2 Samuel 12: 21-23

Let the bridegroom leave his room - Priest were not holy because of their title, infants or the mother's nursing them were not exempt from this, there was no business that excluded a man from coming.

Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber - Under normal circumstances a bridegroom was exempt from the assemblies, but this was not a normal circumstance! Moses describes the exemptions...

Deuteronomy 20:7; ‘And who is the man that is engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would marry her.’

Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep - These should be the greatest intercessors, and the time of desiring such a position for it's social or other benefits, will leave many an empty chair in the times of God's judgment. What minister are you that does not confront sin? What sort of shepherd leaves the wolves alone that they may address the sheep? 

…47So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people. 48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted. 49But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.… Numbers 16: 47-49

18-27 I will no more make you a reproach among the nations - Like Hosea buying back Gomer, so the Lord is merciful to us. They are called His people, yet they are an embarrassment as such, for they do all the things He hates. Why does He make them a reproach? God is just and His hatred of sin is not based, as those who are respecters of persons, like those who love titles or think much of their heritage, "we are Abraham's children", no, He chastens even those He loves. He will punish sin, and He will preserve sinners only in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

…19I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ 20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’… Luke 15: 19-21

I will remove the northerner far from you - It does not give the name of which northerner, but we know this to be the direction from which they (armies like Assyria and Babylon) come attacking Jerusalem. Given the nature of the language before, in no longer being a reproach, it probably seeks a much later interpretation. Nonetheless, we see a foreshadowing in the Old Testament in the attack of Assyria against Jerusalem. Sennacherib and his army talked a lot of smack, even ignorantly accusing Israel of angering their God by taking down the high places, which they should have done long before, but so it goes with the pagan mind trying to assess the only true God. Men are always trying to compare God with things they make with their own hands, or ascribing to Him the attributes they imagine for Him in their minds, but when they came for Jerusalem, one angel killed 185,000 Assyrians. Sennacherib went away. In the end times there will come armies against Israel, but they will only achieve unto their appointed place, and Christ return will be their appointed end.

…3Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. 4On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south. 5You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.… Zechariah 14: 3-5

I will restore to you the years - It is the end of the time of the gentiles, the restoration of the people who have been so long trodden down.

…5They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame. 6I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them. 7Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.… Zechariah 10: 5-7

Gilliland - These glowing promises are His word and cannot fail. Here He undertakes to give full compensation for the losses recently incurred. The same God who commissioned the locusts to come, now that His people have repented, will reimburse, with a full payment, all the costs involved. It is reminiscent of the book of Job where, after his heart-rending losses, his fortunes are doubled as the story ends. In speaking of the "years" consumed by the locusts the Lord refers to the harvests which the insects devoured, and the reference to "years" shows that the locust invasions covered more than one season. The horror of this devastation is recalled by the mention, from Joel 1:4, of the four different nouns for the locusts (in a different order). The invaders are further identified as Jehovah's great army, sent by Him on a mission. That mission has been accomplished and now the same Lord will further advance His purpose for His people. - Precept Austin

And my people shall never again be put to shame - This has a Millennial bend, for we know this time to be the time of the gentiles from the captivity even till now, yet this looks forward to a final resting in the kingship of Messiah. Israel today is still not at rest, far from the looks of "never again", and they still bare the shame of sin, both that of individuals and as a people. They have yet to look on Him Whom they pierced and mourn for Him as for an only Son.