Cry out!

Migratory Locust (from Pestproducts.com)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joel 1-3; Psalm 125

TO CHEW ON: "Consecrate a fast,

Call a sacred assembly;

Gather the elders

And all the inhabitants of the Lord your God,

And cry out to the Lord." Joel 1:14

Not much is known about the prophet Joel except that his father's name was Pethuel and that he prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah. And we know too that he wrote against the backdrop of overwhelming devastation.

Waves of locusts had swept over the land. In a matter of hours the countryside had been stripped of all greenery. They had even eaten the bark off the fig trees (Joel 1:7). Drought added to the ruination so that the planted seed shriveled under clods, the seed grain was dried up (Joel 1:17), and orchards of every kind withered under the fire of the unrelenting sun (Joel 1:12).

Joel responded by calling the people, especially the priests and leaders, back to God. This was not for lackadaisical prayer, but for desperate pleading, fasting, and repentant praying: "...lament you priests, wail you who minister before the altar, come lie all night in sackcloth...consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; ...cry to the Lord" (Joel 1:13-14).

I have never gone through such a devastating time as Joel describes, though I can think of modern equivalents: acts-of-God-type tragedies perhaps, such as an earthquake, tornado, or personal trials like a house burning down or loved ones killed in an accident.

At such times you and I may feel like questioning God's goodness. We may be tempted to lash out in anger and confusion, and allow the event to make us bitter.

Or we could cry out to God. I can imagine myself, pouring out my grief and puzzlement, pleading for the trial to cease, begging for God's help to bear up and live through the practical and difficult day-to-day aspects of it. I hope I would view it too, as discipline, causing me to examine my life for areas where I needed to repent so that the tragedy would mature me and draw me closer to Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, it's easy for me to tell others to go to You in desperate times. But I wonder, would I do that with the vulnerability and humility that Joel describes? Please prepare me now for whatever I have yet to face, knowing that nothing can touch my life without Your permission, and that You are big enough to see me through it all. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 125

The Bible Project VIDEO: Joel (Read Scripture Series)







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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Roar

"Last Judgment" by Peter Von Cornelius

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joel 3:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "But the Lord also will roar from Zion,

And utter His voice from Jerusalem;

The heavens and earth will shake;

but the Lord will be a shelter for His people,

And the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:16

Here, as we come to the last part of Joel's prophecy we see another side of God as He gathers the nations for judgment. Like prophets tend to do, Joel has leaped ahead in time. He goes from talking about God's punishment of Judah (his audience) to a time in the future.

Yesterday he spoke of a time ("...afterward...") when God would pour out His Spirit on everyone. Today we see another event connected to that time ("For behold in those days and at that time..." [referring back to Joel 2:28-30]). It's a gathering of nations for judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Where is this place?

Jerry Cook, writer of my Bible's study notes on Joel, says, "In Jewish tradition this is thought to be part of the Kidron Valley between the temple and the Mount of Olives. 'Jehoshaphat' means 'Yahweh is Judge.' This, therefore, may be a symbolic place of judgment and decision rather than an actual place in Joel's mind" (New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1167).

Joel sees the nations gathering there for God's verdict on their roles in history and specifically their relationships to Israel.

God shows Himself a ferocious judge. He will "roar." [Sha'ag a word used to describe the roar of a lion or the rumble of thunder. A word study in my Bible says that though sha'ag is used occasionally to describe angry, growling men, most of the time it describes the roaring God does as He goes to battle—here against Israel's enemies.]

These days God is rarely depicted as roaring, fierce, and terrible. We are familiar with the Good Shepherd image of Him, or the unconditionally loving friend, or the dispenser of unlimited grace. And He is those things. But He is also a God who roars. I sometimes wish that I could live one day with the Israelites as they gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai and experienced this roaring, flinty-fierce side of God. I'm sure it would smarten me up in my own often casual approach to Him.

It would also probably give me new eyes with which to see my unsaved family members, neighbors and friends. A comment in my Bible describes a possible reaction to Joel's image of the Valley of Decision: (Joel 3:9-16): "Cry out to God, and ask Him to give you spiritual eyes to see the multitudes of people still in the valley of decision" (New Spirit Filled Bible, p. 1169).

PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive me for my so-often casual approach to You. Help me to see You accurately and order my life in a way that acknowledges Your holiness and justice as well as Your love and grace. Amen.


MORE: "Worthy" sung by Paul Wilbur



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Power to restore—present and past

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joel 2:18-32

TO CHEW ON: “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…
Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:
I am the LORD your God
And there is no other:
My people shall never be put to shame.” Joel 2:25,27


The hinge word “Then” begins our reading (Joel 2:18) and promises a new direction. If Israel will repent in the way we read about yesterday, God will bring about many changes.

He will remove the enemy army - Joel 2:20
We’ve just read about that army, in Israel’s case an army of locusts (Joel 1:4, 6-7; 2:4,5). My Bible’s notes explain that the advance of a swarm of locusts is stopped by a wind that drives them into the sea. Their decaying remains smell bad.

God will restore natural cycles of rain needed to replenish foliage - Joel 2:24.
Soon there is a bumper crop.

God will restore the years that the locusts have eaten - Joel 2:25
This promise reminds me of Job. After “locusts” swarmed all over his life (Job 1:13-2:8) and he endured a season of illness and education, we read “And the LORD restored Job’s losses… Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before (Job: 42:10).

• Maybe our “locust’ trial is our fault—comes as a consequence of our sin and rebellion like it did with Israel. I have heard so many stories of, for example, drug addicts who have lost everything as a result of addiction.

(Yes, our society now considers addiction an illness which needs compassion and “harm reduction” measures. But at some point, the addict did make a decision to pop a pill, smoke a joint, inject a needle. Yes, they need compassion but also a change of heart on their part, a healing of hurts, and an openness to God’s deliverance for Him to restore those locust-ravished years.)

Or maybe our rebellion was greed and unwise spending, or involvement with the wrong crowd, or a relationship, entered into during a time of rebellion, that has turned toxic, or…

• Or maybe our “locust’ trial is a spiritual battle of the variety Job went through. We may not have a clue about what’s at stake spiritually (as Job didn’t). It could be manifesting in business, health, relationships, etc.

Whatever it is, our reading today gives hope. God has the power to provide  what we need for today and to repair the past.

He does it for us and for  His glory:

“Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:
I am the LORD your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame” - Job 12:27

PRAYER: Dear Father, I pray for all who need locust years restored. Please do Your work in hearts and circumstances. We long for fortunes to be turned and old hurts healed as a glorious testimony to Your reality, power, and love. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The work of intercession

Image: Pixabay

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joel 2:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Let the priests who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, 'Spare your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, "Where is their God?"'" Joel 2:17

The scene in Judah that Joel paints is hellish. Locusts advance like an army:
"With a noise like chariots
      Over mountaintops they leap,
      Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
      Like a strong people set in battle array" Joel 2:5.

The people are terrified:
"Before them the people writhe in pain;
      All faces are drained of color" - Joel 2:6.

The only appropriate response is repentance (Joel 2:12-13) and intercession.

When Joel said to the priests, "weep between the porch and the altar," he was referring to the space between the porch of the temple and the altar of burnt offering. This was right in front of the door of the Holy Place where God's presence lived. The priests were to mediate and intercede with God for the people there.

Intercession is the noun we get from the verb intercede, which means:
1. To plead or petition in behalf of another or others.
2. To come between parties in a dispute; mediate.

We can see that interceding is exactly what the priests were doing when they entered the temple, physically stationing themselves between God and the people, and there pleading for them.

Intercession has several parts to it.
    ▪    It involves identification, as we recognize another's hurt and distress.
    ▪    It often involves agony. I have heard intercessors describe how, during times of deep intercession, they are overcome with pain and the sense that they are actually participating in the situation for which they are praying; weeping is not uncommon.
    ▪    Intercession is also praying with authority, as the intercessor claims God's promises for the person or situation for which they are praying.


Look at these intercessors in action:

• Moses interceded for Israel: Exodus 32:11, Deuteronomy 9:25-29

• Moses prayed for his sister Miriam: Numbers 12:13

• Samuel prayed for Israel: 1 Samuel 7:5-6

• David interceded for the people who were suffering and dying for a sin he had committed - 1 Chronicles 21:16-17.

• Hezekiah prayed for those ill Passover celebrants who had failed to follow the prescribed way to prepare for the feast - 2 Chronicles 30:18-20.

• Jesus prayed for Peter before his denial fiasco (or it might have been much worse): Luke 22:31-32.

• Paul prayed for the Ephesians: Ephesians 1:15-21.

• Jesus is interceding for us right now:

“Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword… Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” - Romans 8:34-37. (emphasis added).

E. M. Bounds, who wrote much about prayer says: “How enthroned, magnificent, and royal the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ at his Father’s right hand in heaven! The benefits of his intercession flow to us through our intercessions. Our intercession ought to catch by contagion, and by necessity the inspiration and largeness of Christ’s great work at his Father’s right hand. His business and his life are to pray. Our business and our lives ought to be to pray, and to pray without ceasing” - E. M. Bounds, The Complete Work of E. M. Bounds, Kindle Location 2529 (emphasis added).

For whom are you and I burdened to intercede? Who will we love and work for with intercession in our families, our churches, our cities, our countries, indeed in the world, today?

PRAYER: Dear God, impress on me again how urgent intercession is. Help me to be one of those "priests...who weep between the porch and the altar" for my world. Amen.

MORE: Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, traditionally a day of fasting and the first day of Lent in Western Christianity.

Here is the collect prayer that begins the day's liturgy:

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cry to the Lord!

Locust  (Image from Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Joel 1:1-20

TO CHEW ON: “Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the LORD your God,
And cry out to the LORD.” Joel 1:14


In the next days we’ll be reading the entire book of Joel. So a little background is in order.

Joel was a prophet to Judah. The introduction to the book in my study Bible dates his ministry during the reign of Joash when, under the high priest Jehoiada, the worship of God had been restored (2 Kings 11:1-21; 2 Chronicles 23:16).

The catalyst event to writing the prophecy was a locust plague so bad there was nothing left. Fig trees were ruined, offering grains cut off, wine (grapes) dried up, oil (olives) failed, vine, pomegranate, apple all withered - Joel 1:7-12.

Joel interpreted this as the judgment of God. He did not pick that idea out of the blue, for Moses had warned in one of his Deuteronomy sermons of just such a curse as a consequence of disobedience - Deuteronomy 28:15, 42.

And so Joel summoned the priests, elders, and people to radical repentance: “… lament, Wail… Come, lie all night in sackcloth, consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders…. And cry out to the LORD” - Joel 1:13,14.

Might we do something similar when the bottom falls out of life for us, personally, for our family, our city, our country? We probably won’t experience a literal locust plague but some modern events are just as devastating: fires (who can forget the horror of last summer’s  wildfire in Fort McMurray), hurricanes, earthquakes, ice storms, vehicle accidents, cancer diagnoses, the death of a loved one…

Or we may be grieved by the moral locust plague that is destroying our society’s foundations. It's an attack:

• On the family (new definitions of marriage, fluid sexual identity, pornography). 
• On life (abortion, legal euthanasia, homelessness). 
• On law and order (rampant rebellion, disorder, and violence under the guise of “free speech,” drug permissiveness and addiction, a lax judiciary which is often more lenient toward the perpetrator than the victim),
• On thought and speech (as political correctness which claims to understand the motivation behind actions and to silence speech that would challenge society’s changing mores).

I’m not saying that when tragedy strikes we’re necessarily to blame or that we should take that responsibility on ourselves. It may not be our fault.  But let’s let our understandable panic, desperation, confusion, lack of solutions, even despair draw us to God and prayer with the fervor of Joel in his summons to the locust victims of his day.

Charlie Hall’s song “Holy Visitation” (sung here by Rita Springer) is a modern invitation to such a passionate encounter with God over these things.




PRAYER: “O LORD, to You I cry out"...for my country and this generation.”Amen. (Joel 1:19)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pour it out, pour it out, pour it out!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joel 2:18-32

TO CHEW ON: "And it shall come to pass afterward

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

Your old men shall dream dreams

Your young men shall see visions

And also on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days." Joel 2:28-29

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting,"  writes Luke in Acts 2."Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire and one sat upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" Acts 2:2-4.

Confusion, amazement, perplexity, marvelling, cynicism. These were some of the reactions of the onlooking crowd when they saw that first general outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Peter, though, knew exactly what was happening. He explained: "This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel." And then he quoted the prophecy in our focus verse today (Acts 2:17-21).

Joel's prophecy takes an abrupt positive turn in Joel 2:18. After repentance "THEN..." God pities, returns the land to productivity, changes the nation's reputation, "restores the years that the locust has eaten" and promises to "afterward" pour out His spirit in a lavish way.

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came on only certain individuals to enable them to do the job God had for them to do. But Joel speaks of a new time when God says, "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh..."

My Bible's footnotes on Joel point us to some of the significances of this event:

"Pour out" signifies great abundance, like deluges of rain on a parched land.

"All flesh" means every human category: gender, age, class. "Whatever Spirit-anointed ministry is available to sons is equally available to daughters" - Jerry Cook, notes on Joel, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1166.

"Menservants and maidservants" are slaves. "This was absolutely unprecedented. In the Old Testament there is not even one instance of a slave functioning as a prophet" New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1166.

This lavish Holy Spirit outpouring wasn't a one-time Pentecost event. Peter tells his listeners, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" Acts 2:39.

"I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten," prophesies Joel. "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh...whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved..." What welcome words to the beleaguered Hebrews in Joel's time.

And they still have relevance to us today. Whether our locust years are a time of actual physical desolation or prodigal wandering, God can restore those stolen years and then make every day fresh and abundant with the Holy Spirit's presence.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to live in the extravagance of  Your Spirit's fullness. Amen.

MORE: "Holy Visitation" by Charlie Hall, sung by Rita Springer

Charlie Hall has put the words of Joel 2 to music in the powerful song "Holy Visitation." Sung here by Rita Springer, it invokes the Spirit's coming... "Pour it out, pour it out, pour it out / Over Your sons and Your daughters..."

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

The Day

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joel 2:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "For the Lord gives voice before His army,

for His camp is very great;

For strong is the One who executes His word.

For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible;

Who can endure it?" Joel 2:11

Have you noticed how, in the Bible, writers see all aspects of life through the lens of God at work? Not only plentiful rain and good crops are seen to come from Him, but also natural disasters and plagues? In our reading today Joel predicts one of these: a plague of locusts. It is sent to discipline and punish the wayward Israelites with the purpose of turning them back to God.

In poetic language Joel paints a picture of this army and then, in verse 11, merges the prediction of the imminent plague with a future "day of the Lord." A footnote in my Bible explains it as "...that future day when the Lord Himself shall lead His armies against the nations and accomplish His judgments; a day when even the natural universe recoils" Jerry Cook, notes on Joel,  New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1164.

The "day of the Lord" or "the last day" or "the great day" appears often in the Bible. It is:

• A day when God will execute kings (Psalm 110:5).

• A day when the proud will be humbled (Isaiah 2:12).

• A day when heaven and earth will shake (Isaiah 13:13).

• Called a "day of Jacob's trouble" — meaning persecution of the Jews? — "But he (Jacob) will be saved out of it" (Jeremiah 30:7).

• A day when the normal means of escape (like paying money) won't work (Ezekiel 7:19).

• A day when even the cycles of day and night are overcome by disaster (Joel 2:31).

• A day that is near (Zephaniah 1:14).

• A day that is hot (Malachi 4:1).

• A day of judgment that is earned (Romans 2:5).

• A day that we live to avoid. Joel advises:

"'Now therefore,' says the Lord,

'Turn to me with all your heart

....rend your heart, and not your garments;

Return to the Lord your God

For He is gracious and merciful

Slow to anger and of great kindness;

And He relents from doing harm" - vs. 12-13.

We don't need to fear the "day of the Lord." We can believe in Jesus and trust Him and His blood to plead our case before God. We can commit ourselves to Him, knowing that He will keep what we have entrusted to Him (our very lives) until that Day. As Paul puts it: "...for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" - 2 Timothy 1:12.

PRAYER: Dear God, Your judgments are fearful. Thank You for sending Jesus who took the blow of Your wrath toward sin for me. Help me to never lose sight that You are a God of judgment as well as a God of love. Amen.

MORE: Locust plagues.

Footnotes in my Bible explain some of the natural phenomenon that accompany a plague of locusts (All info from the New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, pages 1163 and 1164).

Joel 2:2: "like morning clouds spread over the mountains" refers to the bright reflection of the sun on the wings of the swarming locusts. Bright glimmers of light dancing off the wings of the myriad of locusts literally turn the sky to a yellow, fog-like texture...a day or more before the creatures actually arrive.

2:2: "a day of darkness" - swarms so thick the sky is turned black as night.

2:3: "a fire devours" - describes a literal fire which often accompanies locust swarms.

2:4: "like the appearance of horses" - The head of a locust looks a lot like a horse.

2:5: "Noise like chariots...noise of a flaming fire" - Locusts when running and flying have a clicking rattling sound. When they eat they can sound like a stubble field on fire.

More on locusts:
"Locust!"
"An Insect's Alter Ego"
"The Reach of the Desert Locust" - all from the Nasa Earth Observatory Site

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Intercession

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joel 2:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Let the priests who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, 'Spare your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. "Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?"'" Joel 2:17

The scene in Judah that Joel paints is hellish. Locusts advance like an army:

"With a noise like chariots
      Over mountaintops they leap,
      Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
      Like a strong people set in battle array" (vs. 5).

The people are terrified:

"Before them the people writhe in pain;
      All faces are drained of color" (vs. 6).

The only appropriate response is repentance (Joel 2:12-13) and intercession. When Joel says to the priests, "weep between the porch and the altar," he is referring to the space between the porch of the temple and the altar of burnt offering. This was right in front of the door of the Holy Place where God's presence lived. The priests were to mediate and intercede with God for the people there.

E. M. Bounds said of intercession, "Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still" - quoted in No Easy Road by Dick Eastman, p. 63.

S. D. Gordon explains why intercession is prayer's highest form. "Prayer is the word commonly used for all intercourse with God. But it should be kept in mind that this word covers and includes three forms of intercourse:
1. Communion — being on good terms with God, simply enjoying Him, loving Him, talking to Him.
2. Petition — a definite request of God for something I need.
3. Intercession — reaching out in prayer for others."
— quoted in No Easy Road by Dick Eastman, pages 63-64.

Intercession has several parts to it.

• It involves identification, as we recognize another's hurt and distress. 
• It often involves agony. I have heard intercessors describe how, during times of deep intercession, they are overcome with pain and the sense that they are actually participating in the situation for which they are praying; weeping is not uncommon. 
• Intercession is also praying with authority, as the intercessor claims God's promises for the person or situation for which they are praying.

Look at these intercessors in action:
- Moses for Israel: Exodus 32:11 and for his sister Miriam: Numbers 12:13
- Samuel for Israel: 1 Samuel 7:5-6
- Jesus for us: Luke 22:34
- Paul for the Ephesians: Ephesians 1:15-17

"Indeed, no force transmits human love more than intercessory prayer. No greater gift could man give society than bended knee. In the last analysis, when all history is written and we stand before God, we will know what really shaped this age. When we talk with God in eternity we will quickly learn everything of worth that was accomplished was connected to an intercessor's prayer." - Dick Eastman, No Easy Road, p. 73.

Who will you and I love in our families, our churches, our cities, our countries, indeed in the world, with our intercession today?

PRAYER: Dear God, impress on me again how important, no urgent intercession is. Help me to be one of those "priests...who weep between the porch and the altar" for my world. Amen.

MORE: More thoughts on intercessory prayer:

"A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray no matter how much trouble he causes me." -  Dietrich Bonhoeffer quoted in Prayer Powerpoints, compiled by Randall D. Roth,  p. 150

"Criticism of others nails them to the past. Prayer for them releases them into the future." Frank Laubach, quoted in Prayer Powerpoints,  p. 150.

"There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him." - William Law quoted in Prayer Powerpoints, p. 151.

 

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.