“Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly;
 Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.”
Joel 1:14, NKJV

The name ‘Joel’ means Yahweh Is God. Joel was a prophet at a time of great devastation to the entire land of Judah. An enormous plague of locusts had stripped the countryside of all vegetation, destroyed the pastures of both sheep and cattle, even removed the bark from the fig trees. In only a few hours, what was once a beautiful, lush land had become a place of desolation and destruction. The plague of locusts Joel wrote about was greater than anyone had ever seen. NET Bible’s commentary explains the time as: “a locust invasion in Palestine that was of unprecedented proportions. The locusts had devastated the country’s agrarian economy, with the unwelcome consequences extending to every important aspect of commercial, religious, and national life.”

Maybe my personal life’s occurrences earlier this week are just a coincidence? However, on Monday, I read WPXI’s article about how cicadas swarming southwest Pennsylvania this year will be an increase from the previous years. The article states, “it’ll be louder than usual”.  And, Tuesday, my Bible JUST HAPPENED to open to Joel where for whatever reason I already had a pen placed there?

In my opening verse, Joel is commanding the leaders to call for a fast which is a sacred assembly, a gathering designed for prayer and repentance, for crying out to God for His mercy. Joel presents a vivid picture of the consequences of sin and shows us how to respond with true repentance. The kind of repentance that leads to holiness is not merely an outward show, but an inward, sincere, heartrending brokenness over sin. When sin occurs corporately, as it did in Israel, God calls upon leaders to gather the people in a solemn assembly in which they fast, pray, and cry out for His mercy and forgiveness. As we see sin in the church and in the nation, we would do well to heed Joel’s exhortations and cry out to God corporately for our generation. Fasting and prayer are meant to seek God’s answer for difficult situations. In order to stop corporate sin in the church or in a nation, people must pray! God says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2Chron. 7:14)

The first section of Joel deals with the present judgment of God, a call to repentance, and a promise of restoration. It had been prophesied by Moses’ in his sermon to Israel: “Locust shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.” (Deut. 28: 38-46)

The second section explains that this plague, horrible as it may be, is nothing compared to the judgment of God that is coming. This will be a time when not only Judah but all the nations of the world, will be called before God. It will be a time when the sounds of the locust will be muted as “the Lord also will roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake” Terrifying heavenly portents will take place. “The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood”. This will be none other than “the great and awesome day of the Lord”

However, we must not overlook the most remarkable section of the short prophecy. Through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Joel looks ahead to a time when God will pour out His Spirit “on all flesh”. This will be a prelude to the devastation and judgment of the Day of the Lord. It will be a time when all believers will experience the indwelling of the Spirit of God and will form a prophetic community on Earth. It will be a time when prophecy will come from young and old alike; when both men and women will prophesy. Salvation will not just be the unique blessing on Judah. It will be a time when “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Joel is talking about the inauguration of the age of the church – a time when all people, everywhere, can call on the name of the Lord, be saved from their sins, and become participants in the Kingdom of God. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the church becomes the body of Christ in the world. The redemptive purposes of God are therefore extended and made available through every Spirit-Filled believer.

This is the time in which we now live. We have the wonderful privilege of not only experiencing salvation but also of being those who bring the Good News to all who will listen. What Joel was to ravaged Judah, the church is to a ravaged world. Like every true prophet of God, Joel does not stop with the prediction of doomsday. He clearly announces the day of God’s grace. This year’s National Day of Prayer theme is “LOVE ONE ANOTHER”. We “love one another” by sharing God’s grace and simply living out a consecrated, holy life spoken by Joel, by being “good news” to our neighbors.

Published by Barron Greenwalt

2019 National Day of Prayer

REFERENCES:

“CICADAS PENNSYLVANIA: Cicadas to swarm southwestern Pennsylvania”, WPXI

NET Bible (Joel 1:3), http://classic.net.bible.org/bible.php?book=Joe&chapter=1#9