Ash Wednesday. All Years. Series

Joel 2:1-2, Joel 2:12-17, Isaiah 58:1-12, Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21, 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, Matthew 6:1-6, Matthew 6:16-21.

A). A CALL TO WHOLEHEARTED REPENTANCE.

Joel 2:1-2, Joel 2:12-17.

An old elder once said to me that his only regret was 'the years that the locust has eaten' (Joel 2:25). However, there is no point in bemoaning what may have been, but rather our eyes should be on the here and now, and in the prospects beyond. In Christ Jesus our wasted years are restored; and our failures, even as Christians, are forgiven.

The locusts, and their like, had eaten away many years of Israel’s history (Joel 1:4), with devastating results. Not only was the land wasted for the farmers and winemakers, but also the offerings of the LORD were cut off (Joel 1:9-12). Joy was ‘withered away from the sons of men’ (Joel 1:12)!

Joel’s reaction to all this was to speak into the ear of government and church leadership, calling for a national fast and a public day of prayer and humiliation before the LORD (Joel 1:14; Joel 2:15).

Some of Joel's language seems to suggest another event: that of an army invading from the north. But whether the threat is from nature or man, the LORD Himself called for nothing less than a wholehearted return to Himself. The reaction should be the same: national repentance, rending of hearts, fasting, weeping, and mourning (Joel 2:12-14).

Part of this repentance is not to question that we deserve the wrath of God against us, but to acknowledge it, and to take the stance of the king of Nineveh in Jonah's day, and of Joel here: Who knows but that He might turn from the intended destruction with which He so vividly threatens us (Joel 2:14)?

The ministers of the LORD were enjoined to join Joel in this initiative by weeping and saying, “Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: why should they say among the people, ‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:17).

The turning point comes just one verse later: ‘Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity His people’ (Joel 2:18). This is what will happen when they humble themselves and fast and weep and mourn, and cry to the LORD. Not moaning that they do not deserve this judgment, but acknowledging His justice, and appealing to His mercy.

Then the years that the locusts have eaten away are restored (Joel 2:25), the vats are full, rejoicing is restored, the rains come in their due season, there is plenty - and the people who worship the LORD are vindicated along with His great name. Even the groaning of creation (Romans 8:22) is abated.

We cannot change the past: but in Christ, God restores to us what would have been had we not allowed sin an entrance.

B). THE NATURE OF TRUE FASTING.

Isaiah 58:1-12.

Surprisingly, the only place where the law of Moses commands fasting is in the “affliction of soul” associated with the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31; Leviticus 23:27-32; Numbers 29:7). This is apt, as it immediately associates fasting with repentance and forgiveness. The danger is that even a public solemn fast can be entered into glibly, as a matter of form and ritual, and without sincerity.

There are of course plenty of examples of individuals fasting. Moses famously fasted forty days and forty nights when he received the ten commandments (Exodus 34:28). Elijah similarly went in the strength of the food which he had eaten forty days and forty nights when he visited Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8). Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he also fasted forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-2).

David fasted when his child was struck with sickness (2 Samuel 12:16). Ezra the priest fasted on behalf of the people (Ezra 10:6). Daniel fasted on one occasion for “three whole weeks” (Daniel 10:3). Saul of Tarsus fasted three days as he awaited his instructions from the Lord after his conversion (Acts 9:9). Cornelius was fasting just before the commencement of the mission to the Gentiles (Acts 10:30).

It is also significant that the leadership of the church was in the habit of fasting. Paul and Barnabas were sent on their mission from Antioch with prayer and fasting (Acts 13:2-3). Likewise Paul and Barnabas themselves used prayer with fasting when appointing elders in the churches (Acts 14:23).

On occasion the whole company of God's people would fast. There were times of national repentance (1 Samuel 7:6); national mourning (2 Samuel 1:12); and national emergency (Judges 20:26). It would be good if the leaders of nations would take notice of this today!

Religious fasting is clearly commanded by the LORD in the book of Joel (Joel 1:14; Joel 2:12). After the destruction of Jerusalem the dispersed Jews set aside certain fast days for the duration of the exile (Zechariah 7:1-7). Jesus appears to take it for granted that His followers will also fast, but warns against hypocrisy (Matthew 6:16-18).