Introduction to the Book of Joel
(Song) A Shelter in the Time of Storm
I don’t know about you, but I am truly grateful for the truth of that song. With all of the turbulence in our world today, what a comfort to have God as our Rock and our Refuge!
Welcome to The Voice of Hope. This program is produced and sponsored on this station by Heralds of Hope. Our mission is to “use media to make disciples of Jesus Christ to accomplish the Great Commission in our lifetime.” I’m your host and Bible teacher, J. Mark Horst. Thanks for tuning in today.
If you’re tuning in for the first time, we give you a special welcome. What you hear today will be a bit different than our normal programming, but we hope it will be a blessing to you. If you’re new to the program, be sure to tune in next week to get a better understanding of what our program normally sounds like.
For those who tune in regularly, you may recall that I closed last week’s program with an overview of what we’d share today. I mentioned that we’re beginning a new study from the Old Testament book of Joel. So, later in the program I plan to introduce that study. I also said we’d give you an update on some of the exciting things that are happening at Heralds of Hope, the parent organization for The Voice of Hope. But before I do that, here are the men with a song of challenge that speaks to the reason that Heralds of Hope exists.
(Song) My House is Full, But My Field is Empty
That’s a sobering question. Who will go and work in the fields? In John 4:35, Jesus said, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” He also said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” At Heralds of Hope, we take these commands seriously and we know that some of you listening take them seriously too.
As you look around and see all the turmoil and strife in our world, what’s your response? For some people, it’s fear. It motivates them to become what we call “preppers.” They’re building bunkers or “safe houses” in rural or mountainous areas, hoarding food, stockpiling guns, and ammunition, and preparing for doomsday. They hope to be able to protect themselves from the coming collapse of civilization.
Other people respond with cynicism. They believe that no matter what they do, it won’t actually make any difference. So why bother spending time, money, or energy trying to improve the quality of their lives or their neighbors’ lives. They withdraw into their own world, selfishly pursuing ways to gratify their desires for pleasure with the mantra, “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
And then there’s another group; those who actually have hope. They don’t deny there’s a lot of trouble in the world. Just like everyone else, they see the violence, the wars, the corruption of governments, the crime, the injustice, and all of that. But they believe they have a solution to those problems. And that solution is the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, to restore broken human beings to wholeness.
From their own experience they know that the Gospel brings peace and conquers fear. They know that they’re not going to change the whole world, but rather than becoming cynical, they invest in the lives of other people. They’ve seen individuals, and families, and communities transformed by the love of Jesus. That strengthens their hope and motivates them to more action.
At Heralds of Hope, we’re part of this group who have hope. The apostle Paul gives the reason for our hope in Romans 5:1-5. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
So, the first step to finding genuine, lasting hope is to be, in Paul’s words, “justified by faith. And the first step to being justified by faith is, again, according to the apostle Paul, found in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” The Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and applies it to the hearts of those who hear it. Then, they must decide what they will do with that knowledge. But how will they hear the Word if no one tells them?
Proclaiming the Word of God is what Heralds of Hope has been doing for the past 54 years. We currently broadcast our Bible teaching programs in 23 major languages via radio and internet. Not all 23 languages are fully supported by designated donations. So, we have a Summer Funding project going on right now. For each dollar contributed to this appeal – up to 80 thousand dollars, several generous donors have pledged to give 2 dollars toward our final goal of 240 thousand dollars. We are so grateful for their generosity.
These donations will be used to pay for several unfunded or underfunded broadcasts among those 23 languages. The letter we sent out stated that any funds received in excess of the current need will be designated for the growth of prospective broadcast opportunities. We have several projects we’re working on including Dari, for Afghanis, Farsi, for Iranians, and several more. Your gift for international broadcasting will enable us to move forward more quickly with these projects.
We’re blown away by what God is doing because, in less than two weeks after the summer appeal went live, we’ve already reached the goal. Praise God! Does that mean you can’t be a part of what God is doing? Absolutely not! Your gift will be applied to the development of programming in the new languages that I just mentioned a moment ago: Dari, Farsi, and others. We believe your generous outpouring of support is God’s way of confirming the direction our team has taken. Thank you so much and God bless you!
If you wonder whether or not our programs are effective, here’s a response from a listener in India. He listens to our Telugu language program, Living Hope. He writes.
“I live in a very small village. I have a physical weakness and need healing. Yet, I look forward to your radio broadcasts because they impart joy to me that I cannot fully express in words. There are more people who are interested in listening to the broadcasts around my house, so we all, about 5 families, eagerly look forward to the time of the broadcast. And as we begin to listen, our hearts are filled with joy and peace. And the fifteen minutes pass just like a moment, and we think, ‘oh, it’s over, we wish we could listen a little longer.’ Thanks for broadcasting a blessed, fruitful exposition of the Word of God.”
And here’s one more from a listener in Nepal.
“I’m a single lady with four children. My husband died seven years ago, and if I hadn’t received Jesus at that time, I would not be alive today. We didn’t have any finances to raise my children, and society and my relatives were against me. I was about to give up on life. I heard about God’s love and cried bitterly. I embraced the truth and was advised to listen to your radio program. The programs were continually speaking to me and encouraging me through God’s word. Today, all the members of my community have become Christians. This is thanks to the radio program that helped me become a believer and follow his path. Thank you very much.”
Isn’t it amazing that you and I have the privilege of working with God to share the Good News of His love? After all, God could accomplish the task without us if He wanted to. But no, He included us in His plan to reach the world with the message of salvation. Now, I want you to understand something very important. If you are a partner with us in the work of sharing the Gospel, these expressions of thanks really belong to you. Without your prayers and financial support there’s no way we could reach people like these who lives have been transformed by the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. And now they’re sharing that Good News with others.
Another facet of ministry we engage in because of your partnership is Bible distribution. And some exciting things are happening there, too. You know, for us who live in the western world, purchasing a Bible isn’t a big deal. Most of us have multiple copies of the Scripture in our homes. But being able to purchase a Bible in many other parts of the world IS a big deal.
For those who live in countries that are hostile to the Gospel, copies of the Scripture may not be available – at any price. China is the largest Bible printer in the world, but it’s difficult for a Chinese person to get a copy of the Scriptures, especially in their language. Almost all of those Bibles printed in China are shipped out of the country. In North Korea, being found with a copy of the Scripture is a direct ticket to a labor camp or perhaps even the firing squad.
In other countries, if the Bible is available, many people can’t afford a copy. In 2021 a couple of our staff visited the African country of Malawi to observe our Bible distribution efforts firsthand and see how the process could be improved. One of the things they learned while they were there was how difficult it is for the average wage earner to purchase a Bible. Here’s what they were told, “giving a free Bible to a person in Malawi is comparable to someone in the US giving another person a free iPhone!” Amazing, isn’t it?
And then, there’s a unique situation we discovered through Equipping the Saints, an organization we’ve partnered with in earlier Bible distribution efforts. Guinea Bissau is a small country in West Africa. The majority religions are Islam and traditional beliefs that include the worship of ancestors and nature. The official language is Portuguese, but the common language is Portuguese-Creole. You can purchase a New Testament from Amazon in this dialect.
But purchasing a copy of the complete Scriptures inside the country of Guinea Bissau is another matter, we’re told. They’re just not available. And even if they were, most people couldn’t afford one. So, when we learned about this opportunity, we agreed to help print and ship a 20-foot container of Bibles, 18,000 copies. For a country with a population of just over one and a half million, that seems like a drop in the bucket, but at least it’s a start. And we’re hoping soon to have one of our team visit Guinea Bissau to see the distribution firsthand.
Can you imagine what it would be like to have someone hand you a Bible for the first time in your life? No, I know you can’t, neither can I. But we can at least try to imagine. Because you donated money for Bibles, a 70-year-old man and his wife in Zambia danced with joy at receiving their very first Bible ever! In that same country a 55-year-old man acknowledged it was the first Bible they ever had in their home. His six children had never seen a Bible. Now, they have Bibles and can read together. What a tremendous privilege we have to place copies of God’s Word into people’s hands in a language they can understand.
Introduction to new series – Joel: The Day of the Lord
Now, as promised, let’s begin our introduction to the Old Testament book of Joel.
The Old Testament book of Joel lies between Hosea and Amos, among what we call the “minor prophets.” The term minor is used as an adjective, but it has more to do with their length than the content of their message. Since all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable, we ignore parts of it to our own disadvantage and even loss.
The book of Joel is often neglected by Bible teachers. Why is that? One of the main reasons is because its message is prophetic. Some people are uncomfortable with prophetic portions of Scripture and others just ignore them outright! Some teach that Joel’s prophecy will be fulfilled by the Church, rather than God’s ancient chosen people. They say that because Israel was unfaithful to the covenant God made with Abraham, they were replaced by the Church. But you need to disregard or allegorize too many other Scriptures to reach that conclusion.
We need to remember that the covenant God made with Abraham didn’t depend on Abraham’s faithfulness. Go back and read the account in Genesis chapter fifteen. You’ll see that God put Abraham into a deep sleep and then passed between the pieces of the covenant sacrifices by Himself. That wasn’t normal. Normally, both parties to the covenant passed between the pieces. God made the covenant based on His sovereign purposes and His power to fulfil the promises of the covenant. God doesn’t make promises He doesn’t intend to keep!
Another reason for the neglect of this book is that certain phrases have been cherry-picked from the text and applied in ways that the author never intended. Phrases like “the former and latter rain, I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten,” and more. So, rather than deal with the abuse of Scripture, it’s easier to ignore it.
As I understand it, the book of Joel gives us a timeline of Israel’s prophetic history from the Babylonian captivity to the Millennial Kingdom. If we’re mistaken about the role for Israel in God’s program for humanity, we will be susceptible to theological error and to the false teaching about prophecy today.
If you’re a regular listener to The Voice of Hope, you’ve heard me teach the importance of background and context in accurately interpreting and applying the Scripture. We need to learn what we can about the author, when the book was written, why the author wrote it, what the original readers would have understood the book to mean, and so on.
Hopefully, I can strike a balance in giving you some important background for this book. I don’t want to get so deep in the weeds that some of you tune me out. On the other hand, it’s important that we have some of the highlights.
Joel’s name means, Yahweh is God, but we know almost nothing about his family. All we have is the name of his dad, Pethuel, which means Persuaded of God. We assume he wasn’t part of the priesthood because of his familiarity with shepherding and agriculture, but I wouldn’t debate that too strenuously.
What about Joel’s time in history? One interesting fact is that Joel doesn’t mention the name of any king in either Israel or Judah. What do we make of this? Well, there was a period of time in Judah, between the kings Ahaziah and Joash, where wicked Queen Athaliah ruled the kingdom. We also know from the book of Amos, that Joel’s writings existed when Amos prophesied during the time of Joash and Uzziah. So, Joel must’ve written before that time.
Joel also mentions the Temple four times in his writing. That indicates that it must’ve still been standing. Along with that, he doesn’t mention anything about the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom in 722 BC or the Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586 BC. Those events most likely occurred long after he wrote his prophecy. In light of that we can assume that he wrote prior to Joash’s coronation in 835 BC.
Why did Joel write this prophecy? Well, the short answer is that he was one of the “holy men of God [who] spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,” according to Second Peter 1:21. But let’s look further. If you read these three chapters you can miss the overarching theme, The Day of the Lord. We will conduct our study with that as our theme. So, Joel wrote to warn his readers about God’s coming judgment of their sin.
Isn’t this the message of the entire Bible? God’s judgment fell on Adam and Eve because of their sin. They were kicked out of Eden and the earth was cursed beneath their feet. But God promised Eve a “seed” that would crush the head of the serpent, Satan. The angel that came to Mary told her that her son should be called, Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. Joel was in a long line of prophets who were revealing God’s plan for the coming of the Savior! Keep this in mind as we study this together.
The judgment Joel warned about would come in the form of a locust plague on the land of Judah. It seems like there is reference to both a literal locust plague, much like one of the ten plagues in Egypt, and also a reference to the invading armies of surrounding nations that would swarm over the region like locusts and strip the land of its resources.
In light of these predictions, Joel urged his readers to repent of their sins and cast themselves upon God’s mercy. As we work our way through the text, we’ll see more clearly what those sins were and why God was bringing judgment on His people. He also outlined the path to repentance and assured his readers of God’s forgiveness.
And last, but certainly not least, we’ll look at God’s program for Israel as Joel outlines it, in their near future and then in the distant future.
I hope you can be with me for an inspiring journey through the book of Joel, beginning next time we’re together for The Voice of Hope.