Tuesday 20 May 2014
- Bible Book:
- Joel
“You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.” (v. 27)
Background
The book of Joel arises out of a crisis: the people aresuffering a plague of locusts and a drought. It is unclear when andwhy these events came about, although it seems to have some moralsignificance. Some failure on the part of the people has led tothis experience.
These verses form part of Joel's vision in which God begins theprocess of restoration. Joel promises the people that the rain willfall and that they shall experience an abundant harvest. This is abold promise, and one in which the people can only hope. Yet Joel'swords encourage confidence in God: the God who acts in the contextof a relationship with Israel to bring about restoration.
The plague also has a greater meaning: it is understood as therealisation of the Day of Yahweh. The experience of God's judgementor of God's blessing would have been understood as an experience ofGod's final judgement and God's ultimate purpose being realisedwithin human experience. If the plague is God's judgement, then therestoration on the Day of Yahweh described in Joel's vision is theconsummation of God's love.
In Joel's vision the Day of Yahweh has three aspects:
- God is concerned with the whole of creation and restoration ofthe body as well as the spirit, and so there will be plenty toeat
- the people will know that God is in their midst
- it will be a day of glory when the shame the people have beenexperiencing shall be no more.
God's promise echoes that made to Noah after the flood (
To Ponder
- How have you experienced God's restoring spirit in yourlife?
- Does Joel's vision of the Day of Yahweh have any relevance foryou? If so, how?
- What gives you confidence that God is with you?