Study 1 - Urgent situation

Read Joel 1.

V1                             Joel wants to get straight into delivering his urgent message. His introduction is short, telling us only who his father was and not when he prophesied. Yet he puts first things first. He makes it plain that he was not speaking from himself – “The word of the Lord that came to Joel.”[1]

Vv2-20

There are two sections to notice.
vv2-14 – Joel calls people to express sorrow.
vv15-20 – Joel expresses his own sorrow.

V2-3                        He asks a rhetorical question – that is one that does not expect an answer. But perhaps the answer might have come back from many, “No, we have not seen the like of this before!”

Just maybe, there are some of us who have been asking the same question in these days of Covid-19 pandemic. In which case, we might read the following verses with that in mind. I am not suggesting the corona virus is a judgment of God but I am mindful that nothing happens in this world without his knowledge or will. Thus we read and ponder.

“It may take significant prayer and discernment to know whether our trials are for our discipline or for our development, but we can always be sure the sovereign Lord is accomplishing his good purposes, not only in the world at large but in our life – as he was ultimately doing for Israel here (cf. 2.25-27 and Rom 8.28).”[2]

Vv4-20                  These verses describe a devastating event. Not only are the ravages of locusts described but there was drought and fire (vv10-12, 19-20). Joel saw the urgent situation as a visitation of judgment from the Lord because of the people’s sin. But what was happening was only a hint of what was to come (v15).

Consider: what do you feel as you read the words of v4? What emotion is stirred when you read vv4-14? Are you moved to pray for your country, for the Christian church, for yourself?

There are 17 imperatives (commands) in vv2-14. It does not matter if you cannot spot them all. What impression do all those imperatives give? Try to identify from the words following each command why it was given.

Consider: do you ever read your Bible and have a sense of urgency? Do we hear the voice of God telling us what do, what we should say, how we are to live? Are we hearing “the word of the Lord”? Have we not an urgent message for people to hear today - a message of not only judgment to come but also of salvation in Jesus?

Did you notice “the day of the Lord” in chapter 1?[3]

Michael S Bostock, June 2020.

[1] All scripture quotations will be from New International Version, 1984 unless otherwise stated.

[2] ESV Gospel Transformation Bible, Crossway, 2013.

[3] 1.15.