Tag Archives: Joel 1-3

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2023 Bible Study — Let Us Mourn, Fast, and Pray

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joel 1-3.

Joel prophesies at a time when Israel was experiencing, or had just experienced, a plague of locusts which were completely destroying their crops.  In response, Joel calls on the people of Israel to fast and pray, repenting of their sins and turning to God.  As we face economic hard times we should take Joel’s advice.  If we do so, turning to God and mourning the opportunities we lost to our sinfulness, He will repay us for what we lost.  More importantly, in response to our seeking Him, He will pour out His Spirit upon us.  If we truly turn to Him, He will perform marvelous wonders among us; the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, the dead shall be raised, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  The young will prophesy and see visions, the old will dream dreams.  So, let us mourn, fast, and pray while committing ourselves to turn to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2022 Bible Study — Return To The Lord With Fasting and Mourning And He Will Pour Out His Spirit Upon The People

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joel 1-3.

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

There are two aspects to today’s passage, I hope I can write about them in a manner which connects them the way they are connected in the passage.  Unlike other prophets Joel does not specify the sins from which the people should turn in the face of disaster, but he does call on them to turn to God.  He calls on us to turn to God with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  I believe that God’s people are once again in a situation which calls for them to turn to God with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  If we do we will experience the promise which God gave through Joel.  He will pour out His Spirit upon the people and all who call upon His name will be saved.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2021 Bible Study — The Day Of The Lord Is Near

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joel 1-3.

The prophet Joel describes a terrible plague of locusts which came upon the land of Israel.  He says that this disaster warns that the day of the Lord is near, a day of gloom and darkness.  However, Joel also says that God calls us to return to Him with all of our heart.  If we respond to the dark times by turning to God, by gathering together and confessing our sins, He will relent and lift the judgement He was preparing to pour out upon us.  Instead of pouring out death and destruction upon us, God will pour out His Spirit.  The day of the Lord will still come, we will see the death and destruction, but those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

I am convinced that we live in a time when Joel’s message should ring fresh in our ears.  Look at what is happening around us.  Gather and pray, fast and mourn, the day of the Lord is near.  We can either call on His name and be saved, or suffer the dire things which He has in store for those who refuse to heed His warnings.  But God will pour out His Spirit upon those who turn to Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2020 Bible Study Let Us Turn To God with Prayer, Fasting, and Mourning

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 19 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joel 1-3.

Joel is the only Old Testament prophet whose sole focus is on a natural disaster.  His description suggests that there were four waves of locusts which completely devastated the food supply of Israel.  The prophet called for the people of Israel to turn to God and dedicate their hearts to Him in the face of a natural disaster.  A call which we should echo and heed when we see similar disasters. Right now, the people of the western United States, where they are experiencing devastating forest fires, should turn to God with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  The rest of the world which is facing the devastation caused in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic should do likewise.  This is not a time for ritualistic mourning, but rather for deep soul searching.  Let us repent of our sins and beg God to pour out His Spirit upon us in the manner which Joel describes.  A dark time is coming, but those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2019 Bible Study — Come Together In Prayer and Fasting

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joel 1-3.

I have said this before, the Book of Joel is unique.  It is the only one of the prophets who does not prophesy about a foreign nation invading Israel (or Judah).  Instead the inspiration for Joel’s prophecy was a locust swarm which overwhelmed the nation.  Or perhaps, the locust swarm was similar to the insect invasions we sometimes see today where an invasive species appears in one location and spreads out from there.  I am not sure, but perhaps the locusts had swarmed over one portion the land and the people had reason to believe that they would spread from there to completely wipe out the crops throughout the land.  In any case, whether the locusts had devastated the whole land or just a portion, Joel uses this as an opportunity to call the people to repentance, prayer, and fasting.  Christians in the United States do not gather for times of prayer and fasting nearly enough.  I know that I do not do either nearly as much as I should.  

From time to time, I wonder why we do not see God’s miracles more today.  I think the Book of Joel provides an answer to that question.  We will see God’s miracles when He pours out His Spirit on us.  God will pour out His Spirit upon us when we pray and fast in mourning for the sins we have committed and that we see around us.  Let us come to the Lord in prayer and fasting in order to prepare our hearts for His Spirit.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2018 Bible Study — Setting Aside Our Personal Interests To Come Together and Serve God

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joel 1-3.

    The Book of Joel is unique in two ways. Joel is the only prophet whose message is solely about a natural disaster. He is also the only prophet whose message is a call to repent after a disaster rather than before. Here we have a good lesson on what we should do when hard times strike. We tend to think of calls to righteousness being about avoiding disasters which will result from our sinfulness, but sometimes disaster strikes to call us to righteousness. I just realized that I missed an important point which Joel makes. In addition to calling people to return to God in prayer and fasting, he called them to unity. He called on the people to pray and fast in unity, to put aside their individual interests to join with everyone else.

    Joel gives us the promise that, if we come together to turn to God after disaster strikes, God will do great things for and among us. First, He will make things better in a way that more than makes up for what we lost in the disaster. Then He will pour out His Spirit upon all of the people, men and women, young and old, rich and poor. Joel tells us that all of this is important because the disaster is a reminder that the great and terrible day of the Lord is coming. On that day, only those who call on the name of the Lord will be spared.
    I think we need to look at the timeline as Joel tells us it should work.

  1. Disaster strikes.
  2. people come together to return to God with prayer and fasting, setting aside their own interests.
  3. God makes things as good or better than they were before the disaster (at least part of this results from people putting aside their own interests to come together).
  4. God pours out His Spirit on the people, causing them to make the world a better place.
  5. People are inspired/drawn to call on the name of the Lord (and work to make the world a better place by sharing God’s love).
  6. Sometime later, the terrible day of the Lord arrives.
  7. Those who call on the name of the Lord are spared.

Our focus should be on steps 2 through 5.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2017 Bible Study — Turning To God In Time Of Disaster

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joel 1-3.

    As I read the beginning of this passage it made me think of the devastation in Puerto Rico from the two hurricanes which hit it this month. The passage describes a devastation which the people of Israel could see coming, but which they were powerless to stop or escape. As I think about the response which Joel called for from the people I want to add in the other areas devastated by hurricanes this year, the parts of south Asia devastated by flooding, and the areas of Mexico struck by earthquakes. Joel called on the people who suffered the disaster he described to turn to God and give Him their hearts. Looking at the world today, I believe that God is calling us to come together and mourn before Him. This is not just a message for those who have suffered these devastating disasters. This is for all of us. Let us tear our hearts and plead with God for forgiveness. I believe that if we humble ourselves before God, He will give us the resources to restore things better than before.

    And it is for all of us. If those of us who did not bear the brunt of these disasters do not tear our hearts in prayer and fasting before God, we will be counted among the enemy nations recorded at the end of this passage. Those who are counted among the “enemy nations” in this instance will be held accountable for the suffering which went on in many of these lands before these tragedies struck. If the people of these lands turn to God and call out to Him in repentance, He will restore them and punish those responsible for their previous suffering. We have a choice, we can take this warning and seek God, or we will be counted among the enemies of God’s people. Seeking God is not just a mental, emotional, and/or spiritual exercise. It involves our material and physical selves as well. What that involves will be different for different people. For some of us, it will involve contributing from our material resources to restore those who were in the path of these disasters. For others of us, it will involve travelling to the devastated areas and helping them rebuild. For some it will involve both. It may involve other activities as well. Each of us will have to listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling us is our part in the activities of the Body of Christ.

Daily Bible Study

September 22, 2016 Bible Study — Calling People to Prayer and Fasting

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. Later this month it will be my wife’s and my 16th anniversary. To celebrate this event I have decided to wish my wife Happy Anniversary for 16 days.

Happy Anniversary, Alanna–Day 15
Thank you for being my wife.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Joel 1-3.

    The prophet Joel wrote in response to a natural disaster. He does not tell them they had it coming. He does not claim it happened because of their sin. However, he does call on them to repent of their sins and turn to God. He calls on them to mourn, and pray, and fast. This is how we should respond to disasters, natural or otherwise. I remember that shortly after 9/11 one or more prominent preachers blamed the attack on the sins of this country. That is not how we should act. No, after a disaster we should call people to repent, mourn, and pray, but not condemn them. Those preachers, with their condemnation of the sin of this country, implied that they themselves were righteous. When we call people to repentance we need to acknowledge our own sins as well.

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner condemned, unclean.

Daily Bible Study

December 9, 2015 Bible Study — The God Who Is, Who Was, And Who Is To Come

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 29:18

    People often say that you do not have to believe in God to be moral. However, each person who does not believe in God defines “moral” for themselves. It is only when we listen to what God says is moral that we have a standard to measure ourselves against. Living to that standard brings joy.

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Psalm 128

    If you fear God (and you should fear God, He is frightening) you will follow His ways. And if you follow God’s ways, you will find your life filled with joy. These are things which just naturally follow each other.

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Revelation 1

    In many ways verse 8 contains one of the best ways to understand who Jesus, and God, is: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”(I prefer the NIV phrasing). I am going to break that down a bit.

  • I am the Alpha and the Omega

    • God (and Jesus) began everything that is and was here before there was anything else. He set in motion everything which has happened. Not only will He still be here when it comes to an end, it is God who will bring it to an end.

  • who is

    • No matter when in history we live, or where in the universe we are, God is alive and present.

  • who was

    • No matter what event we might look back upon, no matter what point in history we think about, God was there and it happened the way it did because that was what God chose to happen.

  • who is to come

    • No matter what the future holds, God will be there. It will happen exactly according to God’s plan.

  • the Almighty

    • God has the power to make things come out exactly as He chooses and no one has the ability to change that in the least.

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Joel 1-3

    I always like reading the Book of Joel because unlike the other prophets his prophecy is inspired by a natural disaster, not an invading army.. It lends his words a different flavor. In the wake of disaster, Joel reminds us to repent and turn to God. Let us fast and pray, but don’t make a production out of it. We should do so out of a genuine desire to hear God’s will and change. If we come together as a people and choose to do as God desires, God will pour out His blessings upon us. If we come together in prayer and fasting, genuinely, God will fill us with His Spirit. But not just us, He will pour His Spirit upon those around us and He will cause them to pray and fast. Then He will pour out His Spirit upon those around them, until the whole earth is filled with His Spirit. All God wants is two or three of us to do His will. He will use those two or three to convey His Spirit to ever more people until the entire world is covered by His Spirit.