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JOEL. PROPHET OF THE COMING DAY OF THE LORD. JOEL: THE PROPHET. Nothing known about him except his father’s name: Pethuel “Joel” means “The Lord is God” Probably a resident of Judah, since his message is primarily to Judah & Jerusalem. JOEL: TIMEFRAME.
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JOEL PROPHET OF THE COMING DAY OF THE LORD
JOEL: THE PROPHET • Nothing known about him except his father’s name: Pethuel • “Joel” means “The Lord is God” • Probably a resident of Judah, since his message is primarily to Judah & Jerusalem
JOEL: TIMEFRAME • Unlike Hosea (& most prophets) he gives no time references • Various suggestions range from 800 BC to 300 BC • References to Israel’s scattering & Greece as slave trader suggest a post-exilic date • Message suggested by a devastating locust plague that swept over Judah, but there were many of these
JOEL: MESSAGE • A memorable locust plague serves as a symbol of God’s coming judgment on Judah & Jerusalem • Judah is guilty of religious apathy & must repent to avoid judgment; fasting & mourning are in order • The nations have been guilty of oppressing Judah & selling her people into slavery; God will judge them for their sins after He has punished Judah
JOEL: THE “DAY OF THE LORD” • Mentioned often in Joel (1:15, 2:1-2, 2:28-32, 3:14, etc.) • “Day of the Lord” = the day when God acts, either to judge or to deliver. In Joel, it is both • The locust plague is a foretaste of the “Day of the Lord.” So is the coming “day” of judgment on Judah & on the nations • 2:28-32 foretells the fulfillment of the “Day” when God pours out His Spirit on all flesh. Fulfilled on Pentecost (Acts 2) • NT writers speak of the final judgment as the ultimate “Day of the Lord” (e.g., 1 Thess. 5:1-5) • When we are right with God, we want the Day of the Lord; when we aren’t, we dread it
JOEL: KEY VERSE “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “ return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Joel 2:12-13
JOEL: LESSONS FOR TODAY • 1. God always ___________ before He ________________. • 2. Our sins require sincere _________ on our part, but God is willing to ___________. • 3. A ___________ of repentance isn’t the same as _________ repentance. • 4. Those who oppose God’s _____________ become God’s _____________. • 5. The coming of God’s ______________ at Pentecost shows that all who call on the name of the Lord will be ________________.