Desolate: Joel's Call to Repent
Joel: Desolation to Salvation • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro
As Bro. Brad filled in for me last week and finished up our series through Ephesians, I did not want to jump back into the Gospel of Mark just yet. So, tonight, turn in your Bibles to the book of Joel. Joel is in the Old Testament after Hosea and before Amos. As you are turning there, I do want to give you some information regarding this book of the Bible. Joel is writing about at locust plague that has swept through the land and left everything in ruin. There was not plants or water. It was awful. Then, Joel speaks of this locust attack as part of the Day of the Lord and he uses this locust attack to talk about the future coming Day of the Lord.
“This physical disaster gives Joel the illustration for God’s judgment. As the locusts were a judgment on sin, God’s future judgments during the Day of the Lord will far exceed them.” -John MacArthur
So tonight, we are going to be focusing in on Joel chapter 1 and be sure to pay attention to the absolute disaster the locust bring. Notice, how severe this locust plague is.
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 Hear this, you elders;
give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.
4 What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
and wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has come up against my land,
powerful and beyond number;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vine
and splintered my fig tree;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
their branches are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
for the bridegroom of her youth.
9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
The priests mourn,
the ministers of the Lord.
10 The fields are destroyed,
the ground mourns,
because the grain is destroyed,
the wine dries up,
the oil languishes.
11 Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up
from the children of man.
13 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, pass the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
Because grain offering and drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 The seed shrivels under the clods;
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
because the grain has dried up.
18 How the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.
19 To you, O Lord, I call.
For fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flame has burned
all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field pant for you
because the water brooks are dried up,
and fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness.
Pray.
First, we see that Joel is the writer of this book of the Bible, and he writes during quite a time. A locust plague is taking place in the middle of a drought. Think about how fun that would be. It is hot and there is no rain. Then, on top of that, locusts are going to invade and destroy everything. Joel writes this book in order for the Day of the Lord to be articulated and allow for the reader to understand what will take place on the day. We will come to understand this phrase in the coming weeks. However for now, think of the Day of the Lord in this way: “The Day of the Lord is a daw when judgment is poured our on sinners that subsequently leads to blessings on the repentant, and reaffirmation of God’s covenant with his people.”
We will see how during this time, God will execute His judgment while also protecting those who are His.
Joel sets up to talk about this coming period, the Day of the Lord, by speaking about the severity of this locust plague. This brings us to our first point:
We must hear the Word of God and remember our desperation apart from Christ.
We must hear the Word of God and remember our desperation apart from Christ.
Look back with me at verses 2-4.
2 Hear this, you elders;
give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.
4 What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.
Notice what Joel says in these verses, he calls for those reading to hear! This is a call to us as well. We are to hear what Joel is about to say within these verses. This is a call to grab our attention to listen to what the prophet has to say.
He begins by addressing the elders. The elders in this verse are the older generation. Joel is seeking to reveal the absolute severity of this locust plague. He calls for the elders to think back on their life. He questions them saying, “Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?” Joel is calling them to reflect upon their life and considered if there has ever been such a situation take place within their lifetimes. After they considered such a thing, Joel points them to remember this locust plague so much so that they are drawn to tell their children who will tell their children in order that this event will be remembered for generations. In the past, Israel was called to remember events such as Moses leading the exodus of God’s chosen people out of Egyptian slavery. The Israelites were to remember how God acted to bring about judgment upon the Egyptians. It was a story of God bringing about deliverance. As God brought judgment such as locusts upon the Egyptians, it is interesting because now God was bringing judgment upon the Israelites with a locust plague much like the one enacted upon the Egyptians.
This plague was so bad that it had literal stages of severity. Notice verse 4.
4 What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.
There are stages to this locust plague. First, the cutting locust came. Whatever they left, the swarming locust came along and devoured. Then, what the swarming locust devoured, the hopping locusts got. Whatever they left, the destroying locust ate. All in all, devastation was taking place. Everything was being ruined and overtaken by these locusts. Everything was destroyed.
This was a severe take over by the locust that was coming to devastate everything. In doing so, Joel was declaring God’s Word and called for the people to listen! We are called to hear the Word of God as well. Understand that this is the Old Testament before Christ came. Now, we live in the time period following Christ’s coming to the earth, death, and resurrection. We now have the written Word of God, the Bible. We are called to read the Word, understand the Word, and share the Word just as Joel calls for these elders to do from generation to generation. Understand that as a Christian, you and I are called to make the Gospel known. Not only that, but one day many of you will have families. As you do, understand that Scripture calls for you as a Christian to raise your children in the instruction of the Lord. In order to do that, you must have an understanding of the Word in order for you to make it known to your children then to their children.
Not only was everything destroyed, Joel goes on to call out the drunkards, farmers, and a all inhabitants.
First, Joel calls out the drunkard in verses 5-7
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
and wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has come up against my land,
powerful and beyond number;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vine
and splintered my fig tree;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
their branches are made white.
Joel calls out for the drunkard to mourn. The drunkard was a glutton meaning that he or she was using the fruit of the land in excess. Oftentimes, people would celebrate a good harvest by overindulging on the produce of the harvest. However, now, Joel calls for them to weep because there is no harvest. The harvest has been utterly decimated by the locust plague. The locusts have come in and destroyed everything. The drunkard is one that is only concerned about his or her pleasure and not about God. God has now allowed for the locusts to come and destroy everything. In doing so, the wine has been snatched away. Joel even describes the locusts as a nation because there were so many of them and they came bringing about destruction upon the land. Everything is laid waste as these locust have come like a lion and lioness. The land is devastated. There is not fruit as the trees are made white meaning bare without produce.
Next, Joel calls out the general inhabitants of the land to lament. He calls for them to mourn as an engaged women would the lost of her fiance.
8 Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
for the bridegroom of her youth.
9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
The priests mourn,
the ministers of the Lord.
10 The fields are destroyed,
the ground mourns,
because the grain is destroyed,
the wine dries up,
the oil languishes.
Now, Joel calls for the general inhabitant of the land to lament. That means for the inhabitants to mourn. He even gives us a comparative statement. We are to mourn like a young lady that is soon to be married yet loses her fiance. Joel is painting the picture of a young lady that is engaged to a young man. Then, before they can get married, the young man died and they were unable to be married. Marriage is supposed to be a celebration; however, in this case, it is a day of mourning as the soon to be husband has died. The devastation of the land caused by these locusts is causing that much agony.
The land and the fields are destroyed and notice that Joel points out that the drink and grain offering are cut off. Joel is beginning to point to the Day of the Lord. He is using this locust plague that has taken place as a teaching tool for God chosen people. The cutting of drink and grain offerings signifies God’s rejection of His people. Again, Joel is making his connection to the future event that is the Day of the Lord. The locust have come and decimated everything. The Israelites were to make daily offerings; however, because of the locust plague everything was gone and they were unable to do so. How much worse could things get. They have nothing and now their nothingness reveals God’s rejection of them. Everything is hopeless.
It doesn’t stop there. Look back at verses 11-12
11 Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up
from the children of man.
Now, Joel calls out for the farmers to weep and wail. Everything is dried up. The farmer has worked hard all for nothing. All of his work was in vain as the land lays in desolation because of these locusts. This would cause despair and hopelessness as well. Everything is laid in ruins. Nothing is left.
Lastly, Joel calls out the priests to mourn and wail.
14 Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
Again God’s rejection is in view here as the offerings are cut off from the house of God.
Everything is utterly devastated. Where is the hope? Where is the peace? Why would God allow this to happen?
This locust plague is used by Joel to illustrate the Day of the Lord for Israel. God is allowing for this to happen in order that Israel will repent of their sin and look to Him for salvation. While no specific sin is mentioned, “Israel is believed to have been living indifferent to God during this time and become callous to God.” -John MacArthur
How fitting for our current culture! We live in a culture that is highly indifferent toward God. No only is our culture indifferent toward God. Our culture is outright hostile toward God. That is why we see things such as homosexuality becoming prominent. Other sins such as racism are prominent. Transgenderism is prominent along with adultery. Each of these are sinful and reflect our culture’s lack of reverence for God.
Not only that but this passage of Scripture calls for us to consider our lives before Christ. Before Christ, we were like the devastated land that was ruined by the locust. We were desolate because of our sin before God. Ephesians 2:1 tells us that we were dead in our sins and trespasses. We could do nothing to honor God. Just as the land was desolate and without fruit, so our lives without Christ are desolate as we do not produce the fruit of the Spirit. We are enslaved to sin. The land was hopeless as there was no harvest, so our lives without Christ were desolate and without hope. We stood before God condemned because of our sin and all seemed hopeless. We were enslaved to sin and completely dead because of our sin-fallen nature. We needed a Savior much like the land did. This leads us to our next point.
As we recognize our desolate condition before God, we are called to repent of sin.
As we recognize our desolate condition before God, we are called to repent of sin.
Look back with me at verses 15-20
15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 The seed shrivels under the clods;
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
because the grain has dried up.
18 How the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.
19 To you, O Lord, I call.
For fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flame has burned
all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field pant for you
because the water brooks are dried up,
and fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness.
Here, we see Joel calls for the people to call to the Lord and repent. As desolation and hopelessness has taken over, who do they look to? All joy and gladness are gone as the locusts have overtaken everything. The drought has ruined everything. Starvation will settle in. Joel makes a statement that will be our closing focus for tonight.
Joel says, “To you, O Lord, I call.”
This is significant. Oftentimes during this time, people would cry out to Baal, a fake fertility god, to produce crops so they could eat. However, Joel recognizes that God alone is the Creator. Therefore, Joel says to you, O Lord, I call. Joel knew who to cry out to.
As we were desolate in our sin just as the land was desolate due to the locust, there is One person we can call out to. As our sin had left a stain, there is One person we can call out to in order for our sins to be forgiven.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are all born with a sin nature which gains us physical death along with spiritual death. However, there is a free gift that is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He bore our sin on the cross. We who had no hope because of our sin now have hope because of Jesus’s death upon the cross. Jesus became sin for us in order that we could be forgiven and saved. All we have to do is call upon the name of the Lord.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus has the power to save. Our sin had left us hopeless but in Christ we have hope. Sin came and ravaged humanity. Sin spread to all of humanity, but God gave up His one and only Son to save us from sin. That is the Gospel that has the power to save. We have the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus laid down His life to save you from your desolate life in sin.
Let’s pray.