Rend Your Hearts
Notes
Transcript
Joel 2:12-18
12 “Yet even now,” declares Yahweh, “Return to Me with all your heart And with fasting, weeping, and wailing; 13 And tear your heart and not your garments.” Now return to Yahweh your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting concerning evil. 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For Yahweh your God? 15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Set apart a fast as holy, call for a solemn assembly, 16 Gather the people, set apart the congregation as holy, Assemble the elders, Gather the infants and the nursing babies. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Pity Your people, O Yahweh, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’” Yahweh Will Spare His People 18 Then Yahweh will be zealous for His land And will spare His people.
Introduction
Introduction
Remember what we said JMAC said of this section last week:
“With an increased level of intensity, Joel utilized the metaphor of the locust plague and drought as a backdrop from which to launch an intensified call to repent in view of the coming invasion of Judah and the Day of the Lord, present and future.”
***Symphony analogy***
Parts of a song, music...
Return to Me
Return to Me
Joel 2:12 ““Yet even now,” declares Yahweh, “Return to Me with all your heart And with fasting, weeping, and wailing;”
“Yet even now” - very close to the “but God statement in Ephesians
Eph 2:1-7 “And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
The hope of salvation is still offered to the people, it is attainable even in the midst of what is happening
“Return to Me” - images of the prodigal son may enter our mind here, but they would be slightly out of context…however, this idea of God’s peopole coming backl to Him is not something we are reading into the text. God is explicitly saying that He desires His chosen people to return to Him in true repentance. He was “waiting with open arms.”
If we are truly saved of God, then there is no time in which God is unattainable to us in forgiveness and repentance. Christ is seated and ready to intercede on our behalf to the Father who hold us safe in His hands.
“fasting, weeping, wailing” - this is not merely an outward show or or us throwing a “pity party” for ourselves. This signifies true repententance from the very core of our being as we weep over the sin which we have transgressed a Holy God. Not sorry for the earthly consequence, but for Whom we sinned against.
Repentance and faith are distasteful to the unregenerate; they would sooner repeat a thousand formal prayers than shed a solitary tear of true repentance.
The Necessity Of Regeneration, Volume 54, Sermon #3121 - John 3:7
Charles Spurgeon
There are three areas that our attention can be drawn to in this verse. Not that this speaks directly to all three, but they are all worth mentioaning while we are here.
Salvation, Continuing Repentance, Sanctification
Salvation
Salvation
When we look at the doctrine of salvation, soteriology, we see a few simple truths.
Everyone is guilty before a Holy God
There is absolutly no way that we can pay for our sins with anything but eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire
God has had a plan of salvation before time began
True repentance from sin is not merely intellectual ascent or outward sorrow, it require the involvement of the Spirit and a true turning fromour sin to God with the spiritual gifts of faith and belief
Continuing Repentance
Continuing Repentance
Even though we are saved from the penalty of sin we are not yet saved from its presence
Christians will still sin and fall, but never fully to lose the salvation which has been gifted to them
Christians will recognize through conviction and the Word of God that they have sinned and will continue to repent their entire lives, confessing and turning from the smallest of sins as they mature in the faith
Sanctification
Sanctification
One of the works of the Spirit is sto conform Christians to the image of the Son
To be “set apart” from common everyday use
What the Holy Spirit does to us, after we are saved, and continues to do to us as we are obedient to Him and the Bible.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
1 Peter 1:2 “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”
This is the process through daily living, continuing repentance, tials and tests that show our true calling as those chosen by God
Truly no one will be ultimatly and fully sanctified until “glorification” occurs when “we see Him as He is”
Glorification
Glorification
The final stage of salvation that will be complete when we see Jesus.
Restores our bodies and minds so that we will never again experience pain, death, sickness, or struggle with sin.
Rom 8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (NIV)
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
These are all outputs and benefits of returning to God, and the manner in which we do it is so important.
To often today we are seeing an “wasy believism” that is not the true Gospel of Christ. So many are decived because “they made a choice” and “asked Jesus into their heart.” This is not salvation…
Salvation is compared to the dead being brought to life, it is compared to surrending to a king after counting the cost, it is compared to marriage…truly is simple enough in its call that a child can respond at the prompting of the Spirit, yet so complex in nature that 10,000 theologians over 10,000 lifetimes could not fully grasp it.
So what then does this salvation and true repentance look like?
Rend (Tear)
Rend (Tear)
Joel 2:13 “And tear your heart and not your garments.” Now return to Yahweh your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting concerning evil.”
The key verse of this entire section, and probably the most significant in the entire book.
This is the what the true repentance looks like. The difference between merely crying and feeling sorry for your circumstances and earthly consequences, and actully responding to God in faith and belif and true repentance.
The outward sign of the sackcloth and wailing is present, but is the inward sorrow over sin is not, then it is merely all a show.
Jos 7:6 “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.”
Psalm 51
Man is born with his back toward God. When he truly repents, he turns right around and faces God. Repentance is a change of mind…. Repentance is the tear in the eye of faith.
Dwight L. Moody
“now return” - only afater true repentace has occured can we make good on the call in v12 of “return to me” and hear God say “now return to me.” it is a naunce and not emphtic in the text, but it is a truth. The call for salvation goes out to the entire world, but few will answer it. They will reject God in their sin and suffer punishment. But those whom are His, those whom the Spirit convicts and calls, they will be regenerated and given new life, given the gifts of faith and belif, and they will be able to “now, return to Yawhe your God.” They will know God and His personal name, and receive all the benefits of being an adopted child of that true God.
This reality is only possible because of who God is. Here in v13 we see 5 attributes of God support this very act of forgiveness.
gracious
gracious
gracious, the quality of showing favor and mercy. The term is usually applied to a person of superior position and power who is kindly disposed toward a person of inferior position and power-The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary
Gen 39:4 “So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended on him; and he appointed him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he gave in his hand.”
Ruth 2:10 “Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, though I am a foreigner?””
Esther 2:17 “And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she advanced in favor and lovingkindness before him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.”
Esther 5:2 “Now it happened that when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she advanced in favor in his eyes; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and reached out and touched the top of the scepter.”
Psalm 145:8-9 “Yahweh is gracious and compassionate; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. Yahweh is good to all, And His compassions are over all His works.”
compasionate
compasionate
An aspect of God’s nature which is reflected in his sympathetic understanding of human weakness and his restoration of those in trouble.-Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies
2Co 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,”
Psalm 103:13-14 “As a father has compassion on his children, So Yahweh has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our form; He remembers that we are but dust.”
Dan 9:9 ““To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;”
We are called to mirror this compassion, explicitly
Col 3:12 “So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;”
slow to anger
slow to anger
lit. “long of nose”
The idiom for anger in the Old Testament translated literally is “the nose burns” or “the nose becomes hot.” The Hebrew idiom for “patient,” or “slow to anger” is literally “long of nose.” The nose is symbolic of anger because an angry person breathes heavily or noisily. The Hebrew idiom for slow to anger is frequently applied to God to describe His great mercy and kindness .-Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Gen 30:2 “Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?””
Ex 4:14 “Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can certainly speak. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you. And he will see you and be glad in his heart.”
Psalm 86:15 “But You, O Lord, are a God compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”
Psalm 103:8 “Yahweh is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.”
Rev 2:21 “‘And I gave her time to repent, and she does not wish to repent of her sexual immorality.”
You can’t exhort yourself into patience. You can’t beat yourself into patience. You can’t say, “I should be patient,” and beat yourself. You can only repent yourself into patience. You have to see that he was slow to anger with you, and that’ll make you slow to anger with anyone else.
Timothy Keller
abounding in loving kindness
abounding in loving kindness
loving-kindness, an attribute of God, according to one traditional translation of the Hebrew word khesed. That word, which can probably not be rendered faithfully in English, contains the idea of love, devotion, loyalty, and covenant faithfulness- The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary
Ex 34:6 “Then Yahweh passed by in front of him and called out, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;”
Neh 9:32 ““So now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness, Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You, Which has found us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.”
also translated as mercy, compassion, steadfast love, kindness, great knidness, fatithful love
Relent
Relent
The word “relented” does not mean that God changed His mind but that He embarked on another course of action.
John D. Hannah
Joel 2:14 “Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For Yahweh your God?”
Within this verse we must understand that the two verses before it denote how we must come to God…contritely. We do not stand boldy before the throne of grace and proclaim our innocence based off of some earthly or religious understanding in theology or sacramental worship.
“Although the character of God encourages repentance, there can be no presumption by man that his actions obligate God: God remains sovereign”-The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible
We come as the sinner, as the prodigal son, as the leper, as the one who has no right to be forgiven but has forsaken all other avenues of hope. As the woman with an issue of blood who knows that if she but touch the hem of His robe, she will be healed. We come as the friends lowering their paralyzed sinful companion into the house where Jesus is, not that they demand, but they have run out of all other options. They know there is not anything leftin this world that can satisfy the needs that they have. Even if they do not fully understand the extent of the issue. Many came to Jesus looking for physical healing and found themselves walking and leaping away saved from their sins. God can and does most certaintly use the physcial world to bring us to a place where we need Him. His Spirit reveals to us our true needs, the need to be saved.
This phrase “turn and relent” shows the outcome of a blessing; of God giving the His people to ability to once again worship Him in the prescribed fashion with drink and meat offerings. The livliehood and basic existence is tied to and shown in their ability to worship God in the prescribed manner. It’s not merely that they can live, they can live while worshipping. We were created for worship and the very fact that we are sustained from day to day shows God’s grace in His compassion to allow us to do both.
The Refrain, the chorus of the repentance...
The Refrain, the chorus of the repentance...
Joel 2:15-17 “Blow a trumpet in Zion, Set apart a fast as holy, call for a solemn assembly, Gather the people, set apart the congregation as holy, Assemble the elders, Gather the infants and the nursing babies. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Pity Your people, O Yahweh, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’””
Resolution
Resolution
Joel 2:18 “Then Yahweh will be zealous for His land And will spare His people.”
Corporate Repentance verses Individual
Dan 9
So What?
So What?