Restoration
Text: Joel 2:18-27
Introduction
1. Illustration: God does not hold our old sins against us, nor does He act like forgiveness is a favor to us, even though it is. When President Lincoln was asked how he would treat the rebellious southerners when they were defeated, he said, "I will treat them as if they had never been away.
2. In a world obsessed with getting even and holding on to a grudge, I am glad that we serve a God who consistently looks to forgive and forget.
3. One of the many benefits of the atonement of Christ is something called "justification," and the best way I've heard this described is "just as if I'd never sinned."
4. Not only does God forgive our sins, but he also restores what our sin robs from us.
5. God wants to...
A. God Wants To Restore Us
B. God Wants To Restore Our Blessings
C. God Wants To Restore What The Devil Stole From Us
6. Let's stand together as we read Joel 2:18-27.
Proposition: God's grace not only forgives our sin, it also restores the negative aspects of our sin.
Transition: The first thing that God wants to do is...
I. God Wants To Restore You (18-20).
A. The Lord Will Pity His People
1. It's human nature to hold on to hurt, however, it is not God's nature. When he forgives he treats it as if it never happened.
2. In v. 18 the text turns from what God wants his people to do to what he is going to do. It says, "Then the LORD will pity his people and jealously guard the honor of his land."
A. The verb ("pity") looks inward toward the people rather than outward toward other interests.
B. Yahweh directs his compassion and pity on his suffering people, just as Pharaoh's daughter did on the crying baby Moses.
C. Verse 18 is a literary pivot in the book. Up to now, the problem has been presented and the response of the people has been called for.
D. Now God's response unfolds. It is not introduced here, however, since the possibility ("who knows?") of restoration was laid out in 2:14.
E. Now that possibility is reality ("the LORD will"). The same structure is found in the Flood story, which built up to the climax of God's remembering Noah (Baker, The NIV Application Commentary – Joel, Obadiah, Malachi: From biblical text...to contemporary life, 75).
3. Then the Lord says, "The LORD will reply, “Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy your needs. You will no longer be an object of mockery among the surrounding nations."
A. God's promises expand in Joel 2:19, eradicating the problem and not simply making up for the loss of agricultural produce (1:10).
B. The uncertainty of God's "perhaps" of 2:14 now becomes the certainty of his "yes, I will."
C. In Hosea, God promises to respond to Israelite faithfulness by having the earth provide grain, wine, and oil (Hos. 2:21-22).
D. This happens "in that day," the Day of the Lord. God here responds (using the same verb, ?nh) through the same three agricultural products.
E. For Joel, these events following the Judean response to God fulfill Hosea's prophecy (Baker, 76).
4. Then the Lord vows, "I will drive away these armies from the north. I will send them into the parched wastelands. Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea, and those at the rear into the Mediterranean. The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.” Surely the LORD has done great things!"
A. The locust army, now identified by its place of geographical origin ("army from the north,", will be driven away from the land, reversing the closeness of the coming at the Day of the Lord.
B. As Yahweh previously drove the plague of locusts away, so he now does with the encroaching army.
C. Since their arrival results in a dry and destroyed land, it is only appropriate that this be the locust's final destination, a "tit-for-tat" type of conclusion.
D. The huge size of the swarming army is indicated by its finally reaching between two seas.
E. From the perspective of those already settled within the land, these are "eastern" (Dead Sea) and "western" (Mediterranean Sea) respectively.
F. Their removal results in the death of the ousted locusts, killed by water and lack of food in the desert.
G. A rising "stench" often results from decaying organic material passages in the context of death in battle, continuing the military metaphor for the locusts (Baker, 76).
H. You have to love how this verse ends "surely the Lord has done great things!"
B. Come Back
1. Illustration: In a remote Swiss village stands a beautiful church - Mountain Valley Cathedral. It has high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows, but what makes it special is the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region. People would come from far off lands just to hear the lovely tunes of this organ. One something went wrong with the pipe organ. It releases the wrong tones and sounds of disharmony. Musicians and experts from around the world had tried to repair it. No one could find the fault. It was made unique, customized and no one really knows how to fit it. They gave up. After some time, one old man came. "Why wasn’t the pipe organ used?" "It’s not playing right," says the church staff. "Let me try." Since it has been lying there, the staff reluctantly agreed to let the old man try his hand at it. For two days the old man worked in almost total silence. The church worker was, in fact, getting a bit nervous.
Then on the third day - at noon – suddenly the music came. The pipe organ gives off the best music after so many years. The people in the village heard the beautiful music. They came to the church to see. This old man was playing at the organ. After he finished, one man asked, "How did you fix it? How did you manage to restore this magnificent instrument when even the world’s experts could not?" The old man said, "It was I who built this organ fifty years ago. I created it, and now I have restored it."
2. God is telling His people to humble themselves before Him and He will restore us.
A.
Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
B. God is saying to us, "I know what you have done; you can hide it from others but not from me!"
C. Your secret sins are not secrets to me!
D. You can fool your family, friends and neighbors, but you cannot fool me.
E. I know what you have done, but I am calling you to come to me and be forgiven.
F. I will take your sins and throw them as far as the east is from the west.
G. I will take your sins and throw them into the sea of forgetfulness and remember them no more.
H. It will be like it never happened. I will restore you and heal you.
I. You are the most important thing to me and I want to bring you back.
Transition: Not only does God want to restore you, but...
II. God Wants To Restore Your Blessings (21-24).
A. The Rain He Sends
1. Not only does God want to restore you, but he also wants to restore your blessings. This foreign concept to us. Generally when we forgive someone is rare enough, however, to have them give us stuff on top of the forgiveness is unheard of. Yet that is the character of the God we serve.
2. We can see this in vv. 21-22 where it says, "Don’t be afraid, my people. Be glad now and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things. 22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field, for the wilderness pastures will soon be green. The trees will again be filled with fruit; fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more."
A. THE VERBAL FORMS in verses 21-22 revert to imperative-like forms in a call to praise, not directed only to people who suffered but also to inanimate creation and animals, who are also directly affected.
B. Rather than terror, God's people re-experience the gladness and joy they lost. Why? Because of the mighty acts of Yahweh, exemplified in verse 22 by the restoration of pasture, fruit trees, and most specifically the fig tree and grape vine.
C. The latter two "loaded down", a play on this same word elsewhere used of the "forces" or "army" of the locusts; the one is overturned and replaced by the other, both physically and semantically.
D. Subsequently the people, those previously summoned to fear, weep, and pray in Zion, now join the rest of creation in celebration.
E. The basis of their rejoicing is God himself, and secondarily his actions on their behalf. These include his acts in nature, now not in removing the locusts but in relieving from drought (Baker, 77-78).
3. Then God tells His people, "Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the LORD your God! For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring."
A. Yahweh provides rain by causing it to come down ("sends"). For many of us, rain is only a bother, but for farmers in a dry climate, it is the difference between plentiful crops and starvation.
B. Since rain is vital for their society, Israel has several terms for different types and periods of rain.
C. The more general term is more specifically identified as "autumn rains" and "spring rains."
D. These two types of rain indicates the resumption of all rains. That resumption is indeed cause for celebration (Baker, 78).
4. As a result of the rains returning God says, "The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain, and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil."
A. After the locusts are expelled (v. 20) and the trees start to bear (v. 22) because the rains have returned (v. 23), other crops are prepared for consumption and storing away.
B. Two places of production are mentioned for the first time in the prophecy, since previously they lay unused as a result of the lack of raw material.
C. The "threshing floor" is where the wheat and barley are processed, removing the edible kernel from the waste chaff through the process of winnowing.
D. The previously unused site will now be filled, probably by the farmers who previously were without any work, though the subject is unspecified.
E. The presses for processing raw material for their liquid content, such as grapes, resulting in wine, and olives, resulting in oil, will now overflow like a river that overflows after God's rain. The locusts previously destroyed all of these, but God makes them good in abundance (Baker, 79).
5. God not only restores His people but also returns His blessings on them!
B. Provision
1. Illustration: D. M. Lloyd Jones writes, "If you are anxious to obtain some benefits from the Queen of England, the first thing you have to discuss is, 'How can I get into Buckingham Palace? What have I to do to get admission? Then how do I approach this great personage?' It is too obvious in that realm, and yet we pay no attention to this when seeking blessings from God. We go to God and expect to get all we ask for at once. But that is not possible. All blessings come through Jesus Christ, and we must first be at peace with God (Romans 5)."
2. When we return to being at peace with God we experience abundant blessings from God.
A. Philippians 4:19 (NLT)
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
B. Think of all the things that our sin robs us of...joy, peace, love, self-esteem.
C. When we think of the blessings of God we tend to think of money and possessions, but the blessings of God are much more.
D. God knows what we need as far as material things, but He knows that those things mean nothing without inner blessings.
E. God not only wants to return material blessings, but more so He wants to restore spiritual blessings.
F. He wants you to experience joy again.
G. He wants you to experience peace again.
H. He wants you to be able to look at yourself in the mirror again!
I. Without those things, material blessings don't matter.
Transition: But wait, God isn't through yet...
III. God Wants To Restore What The Devil Stole From You (25-27).
A. Give You Back What You Lost
1. The devil is a liar and a thief, and God wants to restore to you everything that Satan stole from you.
2. Look at v. 25, "The LORD says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you."
A. Being human often means bearing loss never to be regained (the years that the swarming locust has eaten), and yet the Lord, the bringer of the calamity, is also the Lord of mercy and abundant grace who is fully able to restore: I will give you back (Lane T. Dennis, ed., ESV Study Bible, The: English Standard Version, Under: "Joel 2").
B. YAHWEH AGAIN SPEAKS directly to his people, promising his covenant faithfulness.
C. Referring back to the devastating locust horde, Yahweh repeats each destructive locust type found in Joel 1:4.
D. He also acknowledges that they are his own great "army", sent by him just as are the grain, new wine, and oil.
E. This acknowledgment has not yet been specifically mentioned. Now he "will repay," restoring the situation to its state prior to the devastation. He brings both woe and prosperity (Baker, 79).
F. Despite an act of God brought upon His people by their sin, He restored their land and all that was lost.
G. Ask God to restore their land all that was lost. Ask God to restore every place in your life that has been broken or made barren by sin, and praise Him for His righteousness (New Spirit Filled Life Study Bible, 1087).
3. Then God assures them, "Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the LORD your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people be disgraced. 27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other. Never again will my people be disgraced."
A. Instead of locusts eating, the people will now eat—and not just for subsistence, but to satisfy.
B. As a result of his deliverance, people "will praise" Yahweh's name and reputation, lifting it high, in contrast to those demeaning it, bringing it to scorn.
C. This contrast is also brought out in the verb translated "miracles" (pl'), which is in the causative stem in Hebrew, indicating an outward focus.
D. It is not just that Yahweh does mighty acts, but that those wonders inspire others with awe and reverence, not the scorn and derision they intended.
E. Shame and humiliation are reversed forever, reminding the hearers that the power of Yahweh is in reality stronger and more enduring than any seemingly unparalleled and permanent threat.
F. The assurance of no further shame is sufficiently important that it is repeated in both verses 26 and 27 (Baker, 80).
4. God not only wants to restore a little bit, he wants to restore you completely!
B. Robber And A Thief
1. Illustration: And a lot of times when we think that the thief comes to steal us generally think that he comes to take some tangible things from us. You know something’s that we can feel something’s we can see. And when we think that, the enemy comes to kill we may generally think that he comes to kill our body or to but sickness upon us. But I want you to think a little deeper today. Yes all those things are true the devil comes to take all that he can. Your passions your health and he comes to destroy everything that he comes in contact.
2. God wants to give back to you what the devil has taken from you.
A. John 10:10 (NLT)
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
B. Jesus is clear that His purpose and Satan's purpose are diametrically opposed to one another.
C. Satan's purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.
D. Jesus came to life, and not just ordinary life, he came to give you a rich and satisfying life.
E. We like to think that Satan snuck in while we weren't watching, but the truth is we let him have everything he stole from us.
F. We chose to let him steal from us because we chose him over God.
G. And yet God wants to restore everything that the devil took from us.
H. He wants to return our joy, peace and self-esteem.
I. He wants give us back everything and then some.
Conclusion
1. In a world obsessed with getting even and holding on to a grudge, I am glad that we serve a God who consistently looks to forgive and forget.
2. Not only does God forgive our sins, but he also restores what our sin robs from us.
3. God wants to...
A. God Wants To Restore Us
B. God Wants To Restore Our Blessings
C. God Wants To Restore What The Devil Stole From Us
4. Are you ready to be restored?
