Joel
When was Joel prophesying? No one knows for sure. Nevertheless, his brief prophecy displays God great desire to pour out His Spirit upon all people. The fact that neither Joel himself revealed nor Bible scholars determined the date the book (with assurance) makes it a book for all ages. Peter proved this on the day of Pentecost, when he quoted Joel 2:28-32 in his very first sermon (Acts 2:17-21). Paul reaffirmed it when he quoted Joel 2:32 in Romans 10:13.
Joel’s original prophecy came as God’s response to a natural disaster: a proverbial plague of locusts had marched through the land and decimated all living things. Joel describes the assault as though the bugs were soldiers of an invading nation.
Whenever such things occur, God says, God’s people have an opportunity to repent (1:13f) and cry out to the Lord. “Return to me with all your heart,” God says (2:12-13), “for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.”
As the people fast and pray and turn back to the Lord, the Lord makes a new promise, not just for the poor people who had lost their crops to locusts, but for God’s people of all times and places. Read Joel 2:18-27 for a description of God’s restoration, then read Joel 2:28-32 for God’s ultimate restoration through the outpouring of His Spirit!
This outpouring will lead to the final judgment of all nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which means “judgment.” This judgment is bookended by heavenly signs (2:31; 3:15), but the result is a renewed relationship between God and His people.
“Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all ages!”
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
SEPTEMBER 5 HOSEA 12-14
Hosea 12-14
In these final chapters of God’s prophetic word through Hosea, we hear the Lord pleading with His people. He addresses them by several different names, and it can be confusing. But whether He calls them Israel, Jacob, Ephraim, Gilead, or even Judah, God is crying out for His people to turn back to Him.
In Hosea 12, He reminds them of Jacob’s deceptive ways, and how Jacob struggled with God and found His favor. Act like your forbearer, Jacob, God seems to say! But the people have bitterly provoked Him instead (12:14).
But “I am the One who brought you out of Egypt,” God says twice in these chapters (12:9; 13:4). “You should acknowledge no savior but me!” Yet they piled their idolatries high, and stored up their guilt. God cannot ignore it! They will bear their guilt (13:16).
Nevertheless, there shines rays of hope! If only God’s people will “return to the Lord” (14:1)! They will say to Him, “Forgive all our sins” (14:2). They will turn from their idols (14:3). God will heal them (14:4)! God will ransom them from the power of the grave (13:14)! And God’s people will, once again, live in the shade of His glory (14:6).
Some of Hosea’s final words are very simple: “Who is wise? He will realize these things.” (14:9)
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
In these final chapters of God’s prophetic word through Hosea, we hear the Lord pleading with His people. He addresses them by several different names, and it can be confusing. But whether He calls them Israel, Jacob, Ephraim, Gilead, or even Judah, God is crying out for His people to turn back to Him.
In Hosea 12, He reminds them of Jacob’s deceptive ways, and how Jacob struggled with God and found His favor. Act like your forbearer, Jacob, God seems to say! But the people have bitterly provoked Him instead (12:14).
But “I am the One who brought you out of Egypt,” God says twice in these chapters (12:9; 13:4). “You should acknowledge no savior but me!” Yet they piled their idolatries high, and stored up their guilt. God cannot ignore it! They will bear their guilt (13:16).
Nevertheless, there shines rays of hope! If only God’s people will “return to the Lord” (14:1)! They will say to Him, “Forgive all our sins” (14:2). They will turn from their idols (14:3). God will heal them (14:4)! God will ransom them from the power of the grave (13:14)! And God’s people will, once again, live in the shade of His glory (14:6).
Some of Hosea’s final words are very simple: “Who is wise? He will realize these things.” (14:9)
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Thursday, September 4, 2014
SEPTEMBER 4 HOSEA 9-11
Hosea 9-11
Hosea’s prophecy is relentless. The punishments of unfaithful Israel will be overwhelming: economic disaster (9:2), exile (9:3, 6), destruction, desolation (9:6), barrenness (9:11-12), blight, fruitlessness (9:16), and rejection (9:17).
In Hosea 10, we hear more of Israel’s idolatry: the calf idols we talked about yesterday (10:5) and the high places, where Baal was worshipped (10:8).
The only hope in these chapters is addressed to all God’s people, including those in Judah. Listen to these powerful and timeless words: “Sow for yourselves righteousness, and reap the fruit of unfailing love. Break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on you.” (10:12)
“Breaking up unplowed ground” is a picture of doing the things that will soften our hard hearts. When we allow the Lord to break our hearts over our sins (or our nation’s sins), we are opening a path for God’s grace and goodness to reach us. Could Hosea have been speaking to America or any other nation in the world today?
In chapter 11, God speaks in a way that seems designed to break people’s hearts. Read it, and feel the love and disappointment of God for his wayward people!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Hosea’s prophecy is relentless. The punishments of unfaithful Israel will be overwhelming: economic disaster (9:2), exile (9:3, 6), destruction, desolation (9:6), barrenness (9:11-12), blight, fruitlessness (9:16), and rejection (9:17).
In Hosea 10, we hear more of Israel’s idolatry: the calf idols we talked about yesterday (10:5) and the high places, where Baal was worshipped (10:8).
The only hope in these chapters is addressed to all God’s people, including those in Judah. Listen to these powerful and timeless words: “Sow for yourselves righteousness, and reap the fruit of unfailing love. Break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on you.” (10:12)
“Breaking up unplowed ground” is a picture of doing the things that will soften our hard hearts. When we allow the Lord to break our hearts over our sins (or our nation’s sins), we are opening a path for God’s grace and goodness to reach us. Could Hosea have been speaking to America or any other nation in the world today?
In chapter 11, God speaks in a way that seems designed to break people’s hearts. Read it, and feel the love and disappointment of God for his wayward people!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
SEPTEMBER 3 HOSEA 7-8
Hosea 7-8
Solomon died. And when he died, his son, Rehoboam, could not hold the nation together. Almost as soon as the Ten Northern Tribes (Israel) split away from the Two Southern Tribes (Judah), Jeroboam, the king of Israel, set up idols for the people to worship. He didn’t, of course, want them to travel to Jerusalem anymore, as the law of the Lord had instructed, for Jerusalem was in Judah, which was now another country. These idols would have to do.
So, what did these idols look like? Believe it or not, they were reproductions of the “golden calf” Aaron had allowed them to make at the foot of Mount Sinai, the same “golden calf” that caused Moses to break the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the same “golden calf” that led to some of God’s strictest judgments.
God put up with this idolatry for over 200 years. Finally, enough was enough!
The sins and judgments Hosea proclaims in Hosea 7-8 are related to this first and ongoing idolatry, and to Israel’s continuous sinning and their stubborn refusal to repent. “None of them calls on me,” says the Lord (7:7). [They] do not return to the Lord...or search for Him (7:10). “Throw out your calf idol!” Hosea says (8:5); for “it will be broken in pieces!” (8:6)
Sadly, this would not happen. “Israel sowed the wind, and reaped the whirlwind” (8:7)
How long will the Lord put up with the idols of our nation and our culture? It’s high time for the kind of repentance that will bring revival!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Solomon died. And when he died, his son, Rehoboam, could not hold the nation together. Almost as soon as the Ten Northern Tribes (Israel) split away from the Two Southern Tribes (Judah), Jeroboam, the king of Israel, set up idols for the people to worship. He didn’t, of course, want them to travel to Jerusalem anymore, as the law of the Lord had instructed, for Jerusalem was in Judah, which was now another country. These idols would have to do.
So, what did these idols look like? Believe it or not, they were reproductions of the “golden calf” Aaron had allowed them to make at the foot of Mount Sinai, the same “golden calf” that caused Moses to break the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the same “golden calf” that led to some of God’s strictest judgments.
God put up with this idolatry for over 200 years. Finally, enough was enough!
The sins and judgments Hosea proclaims in Hosea 7-8 are related to this first and ongoing idolatry, and to Israel’s continuous sinning and their stubborn refusal to repent. “None of them calls on me,” says the Lord (7:7). [They] do not return to the Lord...or search for Him (7:10). “Throw out your calf idol!” Hosea says (8:5); for “it will be broken in pieces!” (8:6)
Sadly, this would not happen. “Israel sowed the wind, and reaped the whirlwind” (8:7)
How long will the Lord put up with the idols of our nation and our culture? It’s high time for the kind of repentance that will bring revival!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
SEPTEMBER 2 HOSEA 4-6
Hosea 4-6
Now, for the rest of Hosea, remember this: Hosea lived his prophecies personally. God told him to marry, love and pursue an adulterous wife, so that he would know first-hand something of what God feels for his wayward people.
In these chapters, Hosea prophesies in earnest. Throughout, though he is speaking condemnation upon Israel, Judah is never far from his mind. Israel is about to be judged, Judah take warning!
In chapter 4, Hosea reads out the indictment against Israel: There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land (4:1). People and priests alike have gone after false gods. Over and over again, Hosea charges them with a “spirit of prostitution!” In chapter 5, Hosea pronounces God’s judgment on Israel; she will be “laid waste” and “torn to pieces” (59, 14). Chapter 6 begins with what sounds like repentance, but soon we discover that it is not. It is only the outward appearance of repentance. In response, God says: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and an acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” (6:6)
And so it is today. God wants so much more than rote religious exercises and entertaining comfortable worship services. God wants a continual acknowledgement of His presence, His love, and His mercy!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Now, for the rest of Hosea, remember this: Hosea lived his prophecies personally. God told him to marry, love and pursue an adulterous wife, so that he would know first-hand something of what God feels for his wayward people.
In these chapters, Hosea prophesies in earnest. Throughout, though he is speaking condemnation upon Israel, Judah is never far from his mind. Israel is about to be judged, Judah take warning!
In chapter 4, Hosea reads out the indictment against Israel: There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land (4:1). People and priests alike have gone after false gods. Over and over again, Hosea charges them with a “spirit of prostitution!” In chapter 5, Hosea pronounces God’s judgment on Israel; she will be “laid waste” and “torn to pieces” (59, 14). Chapter 6 begins with what sounds like repentance, but soon we discover that it is not. It is only the outward appearance of repentance. In response, God says: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and an acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” (6:6)
And so it is today. God wants so much more than rote religious exercises and entertaining comfortable worship services. God wants a continual acknowledgement of His presence, His love, and His mercy!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Monday, September 1, 2014
SEPTEMBER 1 HOSEA 1-3
MINOR PROPHETS: HOSEA 1-3
Just remember, as we begin Hosea: there is nothing “minor,” in the sense of “unimportant,” about the Minor Prophets. These twelve prophetic books are called “minor” simply because they are shorter than the writings of the four Major Prophets. I say, “four,” because, as your remember, two of the five books were written by the same author: Jeremiah.
For Hosea, we back up to the time just before Israel, the Northern Kingdom, fell: before 721 BC.
Hosea’s prophetic career hinges on God’s strange command, “Go, take yourself an adulterous wife...” (1:20). Other versions use even stronger words than “adulterous” for this prospective wife: “whoring, promiscuous, and prostituted,” to name a few. Was this the woman Hosea wanted to marry? I think she was. For, if this woman is to picture God’s people, she must have been as loved by Hosea as Israel and Judah were loved by the Lord.
Early on in the marriage, God gave Hosea and Gomer (That’s her name!) children, and told Hosea what to name them. Each name is symbolic of the division that has grown between God and his people. The very children that should hold this family together predict its troubles. In chapter 2, Hosea poetically applies all this to the nation of Israel.
In chapter 3, we learn that Gomer has indeed run from Hosea and become an adulteress. The Lord tells Hosea to “love her again,” not because he has stopped loving her, but because she literally needs redemption. His wayward wife has become a slave. The only way out is for her to buy her back. “Love her as I love Israel,” the Lord says. And so he does. Acting out the saving love of God, Hosea redeems his wife, beaten, used up and unfaithful though she was.
Here we have another picture of Jesus in the Old Testament, purchasing us wayward souls through the price of His own blood. Praise His holy Name!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Just remember, as we begin Hosea: there is nothing “minor,” in the sense of “unimportant,” about the Minor Prophets. These twelve prophetic books are called “minor” simply because they are shorter than the writings of the four Major Prophets. I say, “four,” because, as your remember, two of the five books were written by the same author: Jeremiah.
For Hosea, we back up to the time just before Israel, the Northern Kingdom, fell: before 721 BC.
Hosea’s prophetic career hinges on God’s strange command, “Go, take yourself an adulterous wife...” (1:20). Other versions use even stronger words than “adulterous” for this prospective wife: “whoring, promiscuous, and prostituted,” to name a few. Was this the woman Hosea wanted to marry? I think she was. For, if this woman is to picture God’s people, she must have been as loved by Hosea as Israel and Judah were loved by the Lord.
Early on in the marriage, God gave Hosea and Gomer (That’s her name!) children, and told Hosea what to name them. Each name is symbolic of the division that has grown between God and his people. The very children that should hold this family together predict its troubles. In chapter 2, Hosea poetically applies all this to the nation of Israel.
In chapter 3, we learn that Gomer has indeed run from Hosea and become an adulteress. The Lord tells Hosea to “love her again,” not because he has stopped loving her, but because she literally needs redemption. His wayward wife has become a slave. The only way out is for her to buy her back. “Love her as I love Israel,” the Lord says. And so he does. Acting out the saving love of God, Hosea redeems his wife, beaten, used up and unfaithful though she was.
Here we have another picture of Jesus in the Old Testament, purchasing us wayward souls through the price of His own blood. Praise His holy Name!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
Sunday, August 31, 2014
AUGUST 31 DANIEL 7-12
Daniel 7-12
The final six chapters of Daniel are very tricky; even Daniel didn’t get them. As you read these dreams and visions, take note of how Daniel was doing:
Daniel was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through his mind disturbed him. (7:18)
While Daniel was watching, trying to understand one vision, there before him stood one who looked like a man. Terrified, Daniel fell on his face! (8:15-17)
After another vision, Daniel was exhausted and lay ill for several days; he was appalled at what he saw. (8:27)
As a result of his visions, Daniel turned to God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, with fasting in sackcloth and ashes. (9:3f)
These messages were so troubling, he mourned and neither ate nor drank for three weeks. (10:2-3)
In the midst of one vision, Daniel uses words like “terror” and “trembling. (10:10) He was “speechless” and in “anguish.” (10:15-16)
In the end, Daniel says, “I heard, but did not understand.” (12:8)
So, when you read these incredible prophecies, don’t be worried if they confuse and trouble you, just as they did Daniel. Many have presumed to know the secrets of these dreams and visions, and many have come up with end-times time-tables that have led people astray and turned out false. This is not to say that they are worthless or untrue, not at all. But they must be interpreted with wisdom and care.
When looking for the specific meanings for these prophecies, be sure to check more than one Bible-believing commentary.
I still love Daniel, but back when I read these last six chapters to my newborn son, much of it went over his head! And mine, too!
Tomorrow we begin September and the Minor Prophets!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
The final six chapters of Daniel are very tricky; even Daniel didn’t get them. As you read these dreams and visions, take note of how Daniel was doing:
Daniel was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through his mind disturbed him. (7:18)
While Daniel was watching, trying to understand one vision, there before him stood one who looked like a man. Terrified, Daniel fell on his face! (8:15-17)
After another vision, Daniel was exhausted and lay ill for several days; he was appalled at what he saw. (8:27)
As a result of his visions, Daniel turned to God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, with fasting in sackcloth and ashes. (9:3f)
These messages were so troubling, he mourned and neither ate nor drank for three weeks. (10:2-3)
In the midst of one vision, Daniel uses words like “terror” and “trembling. (10:10) He was “speechless” and in “anguish.” (10:15-16)
In the end, Daniel says, “I heard, but did not understand.” (12:8)
So, when you read these incredible prophecies, don’t be worried if they confuse and trouble you, just as they did Daniel. Many have presumed to know the secrets of these dreams and visions, and many have come up with end-times time-tables that have led people astray and turned out false. This is not to say that they are worthless or untrue, not at all. But they must be interpreted with wisdom and care.
When looking for the specific meanings for these prophecies, be sure to check more than one Bible-believing commentary.
I still love Daniel, but back when I read these last six chapters to my newborn son, much of it went over his head! And mine, too!
Tomorrow we begin September and the Minor Prophets!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
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