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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Monday, July 12, 2021
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Israel after Solomon (35): Joel Bible Verse:Joel 2:12, 28-32 (excerpts) (ESV) "[Verses 1-11 describe the destruction of Jerusalem.] Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; * * * “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, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”" Message:
Habakkuk may be a cipher, but Joel is a total mystery. Not only do we not know who he was, we have no idea when he lived, when the book was written, or even if the three chapters were written by the same person. Scholars place his life as early as 850 B.C., which would make him the first of the writing prophets, and as late a 350 B.C., which would make him the last (and would make Joel the final book in the Old Testament)(See chart.).
Monkey writing, Egerton ms.
The book of Joel has only three chapters and, by all appearances, they were written at different times. One might really characterize it as three short books combined together. A prophetic scroll written by a great minor prophet named Joel (Ch. 2); an early “local” prophecy warning of a plague of locusts, possibly by the same author (Ch. 1); and a third chapter, amended onto the first two after the fall of Judah.
Chapter 3 describes the repopulation of Judah and Jerusalem, and the defeat of its enemies. Much of the language of Ch. 3 is identical or strikingly similar to other prophetic writings, and likely is quoting them, or simply repeating them without attribution.
It is Ch. 2 that looms so large in the Christian world, for it is a great prophetic statement that will be quoted repeatedly in the New Testament, by Christ Himself in the Gospels, by Paul in Romans, and repeatedly in Acts.
Today's passage begins with language that goes all the way back to Moses and David, a reminder that God is gracious and merciful. Joel then predicts a time when God will “pour out [His] Spirit on all flesh.” How can we see this as anything except the Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Christ after His ascension?
The link between Joel's prophecy and the age we now live in — the “Church Age” — is bolstered by the mention of male and female servants, for this sounds more like Christianity than Judaism. Christianity is the religion of the obedient slave. We must always remember Christ's first public words, the Beatitudes, beginning: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:2-12)
Just as remarkable and unique is Joel's account of the Day of the Lord, for his words are echoed by both John, in Revelation, and by Christ Himself, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (See Matthew 24:29-31.)
Meditation : Prayer : All through this day, O Lord, by the power of your quickening Spirit, let me touch the lives of others for good, whether through the word I speak, the prayer I speak, or the life I live........Amen |
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