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Joel 2:2-3

Lesson # Joel 2:2-3 Study Material - Joel 2:2-3 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Joel 2:2-3 2 A day [yowm] of darkness [choshek] and of gloominess [aphelah] , a day [yowm] of clouds [anan] and of thick darkness [araphel] , as the morning [shachar] spread [paras] upon the mountains [har] : a great [rab] people [am] and a strong [atsuwm] ; there hath not been [hayah] ever [owlam] the like, neither shall be any more [yacaph] after [achar] it, even to the years [shaneh] of many [dowr] generations [dowr] . 3 A fire [esh] devoureth [akal] before [paniym] them; and behind [achar] them a flame [lehabah] burneth [lahat] : the land [erets] is as the garden [gan] of Eden [Eden] before [paniym] them, and behind [achar] them a desolate [shamamah] wilderness [midbar] ; yea, and nothing shall escape [paleytah] them. KJV-Interlinear 2 A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations. 3 A fire consumes before them, And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them. NASB Extraordinary judgments in history are rare things, and seldom happen. Extraordinary judgments in each of our lives are rare things, and seldom happen. These are both instances of Gods patience. But Gods patience does not last forever. Sooner or later God will call a halt to the bad activities that are taking place in order to restore order in the individuals life or in history. This can mean an unusual event in history which beings some form of tyranny to an end or it could mean the death or even a severe disaster of the individuals life. Something which is far and above anything that one can possibly imagine. The purpose of major disasters is to put an end to the evil which is running rampant, to call attention to the seriousness of the situation and that some changes in the ways of thinking of people are needed, and ultimately bring people back to God and a more sensible life - the spiritual life. The world is greater than any of us. The world is far greater than all of us collectively put together. Mankind cannot control the world, so with this little bit of knowledge, then man (one would reason) should look for help in controlling his environment of life. That help must come from a power that is greater than the world obviously. Deceptive philosophies, and false beliefs will not help mankind out of his situation. Only the truth and power of the one true God is available to help man. Here Joel describes the immensity of the enemy. The enemy in this case is the army of locusts. In the future (the Tribulation) that army will be the largest assembled army ever. And it will assemble in the Middle East for that last great battle of human history. The description of the terror and vastness of the enemy before the attack and the intense sorrow and loss after the attack are described. In history this can be some world event. In the individual life, this can be the overwhelming forces, barriers, and circumstances that devastate ones life. 'The day of darkness and gloom' are the foreboding and impending threat of disaster. The 'clouds and thick blackness' are the execution and experience of the disaster, whether it lasts minutes, days, or years in ones life. The enemy in opposition to us is like an army which covers the morning sky. The light (the promise of a future, the promise of a good life), this is all smothered by the ominous threat of the world which can destroy anyone who stands out in the open, on their own. Recall that anyone who turns their back against God (through indifference, apathy, antagonism, or whatever) is in effect elected to face life alone. The army is awesome. It spreads across the sky blacking out all hope. Look at any horizon some morning and compare yourself standing there, to the immensity of the horizon which stretches for miles and miles. The sky is huge and you are small. Such an onslaught comes only once in the life. It is too overwhelming for any person to survive. Once is quite enough for the enemy to thoroughly destroy the person. Before it, is its advance bombardment of fire. The life, the garden which God provides any and all. The garden which has great potential with all its prosperity and happiness, is inundated with the advance fire of an advancing army of problems and circumstances we face in life. What is left in its wake? Disaster, destruction, nothing! Four synonyms are used for emphasis, signifying intense, impenetrable darkness, Zeph. 1:15, Ezek. 34:12. Three of the words are used in Deut. 4:11 of the darkness which enveloped Sinai when the Lord descended upon it in fire. The fourth word is applied in Ex. 10:22 to the plague of darkness. The suddenness of the rising of the morning light, which covers the mountain tops first, followed by its immediate disappearance, represents the suddenness of the disaster which overwhelms its victim. The intensity of the darkness represents the power of the enemy over which there is no escape, when one is dealing with life apart from God. We live in this world. It is the Devils world, which simply means that it is the policy of Satan which is trying to rule the world. That leaves us all at risk and exposed to his policies. Satan's policies are not good for us, never have been, never have been intended to be good for mankind. Our only defense against Satan, is Bible doctrine and spiritual growth. Through this (spiritual growth) Satan (and the worlds false philosophies) have no power because we are not dealing with them direct from our own inner resources, but with Gods resources. Reject God, for whatever reason (you just don't believe all of this stuff), and you will need to come up with something better. Or, face life on your own. Remember that the ultimate checkmate is your death. Now if someone out there has found a remedy (which excludes Christ) eliminating their death, then I (and many others) would love to hear of it. But of course that remedy doesn't exist and never will. So you're still faced with coming up with something better. Perhaps you don't agree with the interpretation of the scriptures. Well then you have to come up with a better interpretation. But again, you are betting your life on it. That seems a little risky to me. All folks who say they have a better interpretation are just not interested in the Bible or they are into some scam, and saying that they have something better is just a veil for their negative attitude. Our last verse in this passage reminds us that 'nothing' And that means just that, 'nothing' escapes the enemies in this world, 'nothing.' So if you are not interested in the Bible, then you will face tremendous loss. Just because it has not happened yet in your life, doesn't mean that God has somehow missed you. He is patient, but not for long. Can you see into all of the tomorrow's and next weeks of your life? Then again, why risk your life through stubbornness and defiance against God, when it is so easy to be a winner in the spiritual life? End of lesson. Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.

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