Judgment Upon the Nations
In Joel 3 we get a strong opening passage of judgment. God is upset with Philistia and Phoenicia
(Tyre and Sidon). There is an
interesting note about these lands in that they were the two nations that
benefitted the most from the fall of Jerusalem under the Babylonians (although
they themselves did eventually fall).
For me, this points us again to a post-exilic date of writing for Joel.
The reason that Philistia and Phoenicia are important is because
of what they did. Their sin was very
much two-fold. They profited from the
destruction of God’s people. Then they
affronted God Himself.
Let’s take the first grievance.
When Judah fell to the Babylonians, the people on the coast moved into
the region and began to use the land for their own purposes. They “squatted,” if you will. They saw that the Lord was dealing with His
people and they came in to take advantage.
This message really hits home, especially when I think back to the
prior prophets. Joel is not the only
prophet to condemn the nations for taking advantage of those who are undergoing
“correction.” Yet, this is a trait found
extraordinarily common among people. See
someone down? Jump in and take advantage
of it! We see it in business. We see it among kids. We see it in the potluck lines at our church.
{Okay,
I’m trying to be a little humorous on this one.} We see it when we drive. We see it in the grocery store. We see it all over. Someone stumbles even just a little bit and
there is always someone ready to pounce and take advantage.
We are inherently self-centered, aren’t we? We are incredibly focused on ourselves, our
desires, our wants, our needs. It’s
always us, us, us – or more accurately – me, me, me. This is the first reason that God will bring
the nations to judge as He speaks about Philistia and Phoenicia. We are self-centered and there will be recompense.
However, it is the second offense that I think is the more grievous
of the two. God takes our greed
personally. He is offended at our greed
because we are ultimately not taking from one another but from Him!
This thought caught me off guard a little today. I wasn’t prepared for this to come out of
Joel. But here’s what God is
saying. Just because we see someone
stumble in life does not mean we can lay claim to what they lose. We can only lay claim to what God gives us. If God takes it away from someone and gives
it to us, fine. But if God is punishing
someone and we come in and look for “squatters rights” when God did not give it
to us, then we are going against God.
God has the right to punish and restore without things ever leaving the
possession of the “punished.”
You see, God planned the Hebrew people to go into captivity. But He knew that they would repent. He knew that they would come back to the
land. The land was still the Hebrew
people’s land. It was still the Promised
Land. So when the people of the coast
move in to take advantage of the absence of the Hebrew people, they are laying claim
to something that is not theirs. How
many times does this happen in the world?
Who among us is not guilty of intentionally benefitting from someone
else’s misfortune without going to God and seeing if it is His will first? Who among us should not expect God to avenge
the people that we have taken advantage of in our life?
War Against God
So, what is the human response when God tries to correct us? Why, we declare war upon Him! What else can we do? None of us likes to be called into
account. None of us enjoys judgment. So we rebel.
We “beat our harvesting weapons into swords.” We take what God has given to us to proclaim
Him to the world and turn it upon Him.
We declare war and stop listening.
We marshal all of the people around us that we can in order to prove
ourselves right.
Here’s a word to the listening.
When we go to war against God, it ends poorly. We fall hard when we miss the opportunity to
humble ourselves and receive correction.
It doesn’t go well for us. Yet
how often do we find ourselves there anyway?
Restoration
At the end of the book of Joel we have a future promise. This promise ties in well with the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit that we read about yesterday. The Lord will restore and in that day it will
be clear that the Lord is supreme. The
provision of the Lord will be more than we could ever need.
Do you notice the mention of the fountain of the Lord running throughout
the land? It comes from the temple. This should remind us of the chapter at the
end of Ezekiel when Ezekiel sees a vision of the temple with water pouring out
of it and Ezekiel is told to go and measure the water. (See Ezekiel 47) Again it seems as though either Joel is
drawing from Ezekiel or Ezekiel and Joel are both drawing from an undisclosed
source.
In the end, we see the fruit of the world. In the end, those who dwell with the Lord in
the land of the Lord will know provision.
But those who dwell away from the Lord will know desolation and
violence. This message would be
especially important for the Hebrew people as they return to the land. As they return to a broken land that has not
been tended during their captivity – or worse, tended by squatters – they will
be comforted knowing that those who walk with the Lord will find
provision. Who wouldn’t be? It is a message we can all take to heart.
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