Joel 3:1-8
“(1) "For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, (2) I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. (3) They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. (4) "Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; (5) Because you have taken My silver and My gold, And have carried into your temples My prized possessions. (6) Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem You have sold to the Greeks, That you may remove them far from their borders. (7) "Behold, I will raise them Out of the place to which you have sold them, And will return your retaliation upon your own head. (8) I will sell your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the people of Judah, And they will sell them to the Sabeans, To a people far off; For the LORD has spoken."
Throughout the study of this book, we have repeatedly stated that prophecy in general tends to have more than one fulfillment, and that some of the imagery presented may be symbolic. Concerning the locusts, there may have been an actual devastating invasion of these voracious insects that left the land of Israel in dire straits. It is also possible that the locusts were symbolic of invading armies of conquering empires that attacked the land of Israel. It is also possible, and most probable, that both are true. The devastation by the locusts may have been a preview of what was to come.
Verses one through three of chapter three state basis for God’s judgment. We have previously indicated that from verse one of chapter three to the end of the book is future from Joel’s point of view. The voice of God in verse two plainly says that He will enter into judgment on account of His people. No invading army, whether locusts or world-conquering empires, could possibly inflict damage on God’s people without God’s permission. God could have restrained Assyria and Babylon, and thereby prevented them from making war against Israel. However, Israel was guilty of turning from God.
Joel 2:12-13
“(12) "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." (13) So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm."
Those verses would not have been necessary had Israel not turned from God in the first place. But they had. The locusts and the world-conquering empires were instruments in God’s hand to bring His people back to Himself. God did not have to motivate Assyria or Babylon to invade Israel, He merely allowed them to do what they naturally wanted to do. God used those empires to chastise Israel.
However, those empires were also guilty of doing what they did. God did not cause them to attack and conquer, He simply allowed them to follow their own desires. They were still responsible for they did. And what they did was that they attacked God’s people. Because of what they have done, God will enter into judgment with them.
Verses four through eight of chapter three are presented in the form of a lawsuit. And, there is an important principle that we must remember: God’s judgment always matches the sin. The judgment of God is precisely matched to the nature of the sin against God.
Verses four through six are a presentation of the charges against the nations. Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia are the nations in closest proximity to Israel. Being so close to Israel, these three nations particularly should have known that Israel was not like them. Israel was a nation chosen by God to represent Him and His holiness to the world around them. However, instead of Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia being influence by Israel, they pressured Israel with their own worldly influences. At this point in Joel’s writing, the time for ignorance has expired. The basic premise of this event is similar to what we read in Acts, chapter seventeen, when the Apostle Paul spoke on Mars’ Hill.
Acts 17:29-31
“(29) Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. (30) Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, (31) because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
While we are right to say that God is long-suffering and full of mercy, the passage in Joel and Acts 17 along with many others indicate that God’s long suffering is not limitless. When the fullness of time (or iniquity – see Genesis 15:16) is complete, God acts. All that God does is right and holy and for His own glory. The conquering armies of Israel’s neighbors and their allies, symbolized by the invasion of the locusts, did what they naturally desired to do, and God allowed it to happen. Israel was devastated. The people were brought to a place of repentance. The locusts and the other enemies had accomplished God’s purpose of bringing His people back to Himself. However, the locusts and the neighboring enemies and conquering empires were guilty of sinning against God. They had retaliated against Him by attacking Israel.
Two points of indictment are charged in verses five and six. Conquering empires literally stole the precious metals from the treasury of the temple. And the people were taken captive and sold into slavery.
2 Kings 24:8-14
“(8) Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. (9) And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. (10) At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. (11) And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. (12) Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. (13) And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. (14) Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.”
Daniel 1:1-4
“(1) In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. (2) And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. (3) Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, (4) young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans."
Daniel 5:23-30
“(23) And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. (24) Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. (25) "And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. (26) This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; (27) TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; (28) PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." (29) Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. (30) That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.”
The conquering nations have committed these atrocities against God and His Temple and His people. From Assyria to Babylon to Greece to Rome, conquering empires scattered the defeated people of God. This was God’s chastisement of His people for their waywardness and wandering away from Him. This was done by the nations. They are guilty. God will not allow sin to go unpunished. He has entered into judgment with these nations and has level charges against them, describing their crimes.
Verses seven and eight is God’s promise of justice. As the nations have done to God’s people, so will God repay them for what they have done. God avenges. He avenges righteously and completely. He will judge righteously, and the punishment will match the offense. We find a parallel of this promise in the New Testament.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9
"(6) since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, (7) and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, (8) in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,"
There are two main ideas that we should understand about the final judgment of God:
1. It is God’s judgment, not man’s. Therefore it is perfect. None can argue against it.
2. It is final. There will be no appeals.
John was given a preview of this in the Revelation.
Revelation 20:11-15
“(11) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. (13) The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. (14) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Dear reader, God is serious about sin. He will not allow sin to go unpunished, whether you believe in Him or not. If you are a child of God, the penalty for your sin has been paid by Jesus on the cross. You may have wandered away from God. If you are facing unbearable struggles, it may very well be that God is calling you to turn back to Him. Do not delay. Repent. The Lord is rich in mercy, and He loves His people. Turn back to Him. Accept that He has used the events in your life to show you your need of Him. Leave vengeance to Him.
If you have never known the forgiveness of sin that is found only in Jesus, but you are feeling the weight of your sin bearing down upon you, do not harden your heart. Jesus Christ is the sinner’s only hope of salvation. Call upon the name of the Lord while it is today!