Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a lesson from the book of Joel.
Yep! Times were good during the early reign of Joash, the young king of Judah. There were grain, wine, oil, grapes and apples in abundance, and also herds of cattle and sheep. The people of God lived in security and prosperity. But after the High Priest Jehoioda died, things began to go downhill. Baal priests and other bad characters now came out of their holes. Joash and his people fell under their bewitching influence, broke their covenant with God, and opted for a life of ease and luxury. Enter Joel, God's man for the hour, with his soul-shaking message to these fat, affluent, and spiritually unfaithful people. Almost overnight, the abundance of the land was decimated. Joel’s thundering message was, “Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.” In other words God snatched back his own wine and oil which was being used for the worship of Baal, and he sent legions of insects and locusts to devour and destroy the corn and grapes—with the Lord himself at the head of this formidable army.
Now, such images can sound a little archaic and antiquated, right? We console ourselves, and we think, "God wouldn’t do such a thing nowadays." Besides, we’re not idol-worshipers. Or are we? Who and what gets most of our time? Or takes up most of our thinking? When the Spirit whispers, "Turn off the Food Network and spend extra time in my Word," do we? Think of the blessings of abundance God has given. Are we as equally generous, giving others the ‘shirt off our back,’ feeding the poor, or helping someone who is homeless? Is our idea of sacrifice opting for a less expensive vacation, or not dining out as often, or limiting the number of hours spent at our computer? If handed a financial windfall, do we give most of it away to kingdom causes, or does it end up widening the comfort-margins of our family life? Sorry, but that’s the way we’re wired. We’re not unlike the people during the time of Joel.
This is why Joel’s message is as current as it was then, and the second chapter of Joel reads, “‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’” Wow! This is a wonderful thing – God is not required to speak to us or to send us His warnings. But if He is speaking to us, it means He has not forsaken us! And what is He saying? Turn from your ways, turn back to me, and I will bless you. In drawing us back to His heart, God will even restore “the years the locust have eaten.” Amazing!
The book of Joel is so rich and the message is so important for Christians in our culture. Ken and I found in reading through the Bible this year that God's Word is so relevant, so up-to-date, so current and if you’d like to discover just how current, then please join Ken and me and lots of other radio friends in reading through the Bible in 2014. You can download the chronological reading schedule on my radio page at joniandfriends.org and get started with us in the New Year. Also, while you’re on my radio page, sign up with the group that has committed to doing this Bible reading together in 2014. In so doing you’ll receive regular emails from me with comments and commentary on the passages we’re reading—all of which will help us stay connected, stay encouraged as we read together. So we look forward to hearing from you, friend, and I hope that you’ll join us on this marvelous journey down the paths of God's Word in 2014.
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