Clear and present danger. When there’s danger, the alarm usually sounds—more than once. Sydney has a CBD emergency warning system. There are 98 speakers throughout the city and 13 messaging signs at key transport hubs.
The system is designed to manage lots of people needing to be moved in the event of a serious emergency like a terrorist attack. There are also detailed plans in place to transport people home, keep them safe while waiting to return to work, and even plans to temporarily accommodate them.
Whenever there’s the prospect of danger, it’s good to be forewarned and its essential to be prepared. As we move through the Book of Joel the sirens echoing down the streets of Judah. In WWII movies the sirens sound in London and people rushed into air raid shelters and down into the subway.
How frightening when the prophet warns that the day of the Lord is near. The locusts and the agricultural disaster were a foretaste of the bigger destruction to come. “Alas for that day! (Joel 1.15). For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty”.
Clear and present danger. The sirens are blaring but will they fall on deaf ears? And the sirens are booming even today. Are you deaf to their sounds? Do you ignore God acting in history? Do you scoff rather than submit?
“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill” (Joel 2.1).
Now the volume of the trumpet is so loud in Joel 2 we’re at the top of dial. Joel 2:1-11 leaves behind the sounds of tens of thousands of locust wings in exchange for horrid images of human destruction. Then verses 12 to 17 invites us to respond to the warning in the most appropriate way. So there are two parts to verses 1 to 17:
The day of the Lord—a day to be feared (v. 1–11)
The day of the Lord—a day to prepare for (v.12–17)
Warning signs are intended to keep us out of trouble. You go down to the beach and you see the sign which says swim between the flags. So hopefully you swim between the flags. Warning signs are there for our protection. Signs like these: stingers in the water (slide)—the dangers of being too close to a cliff edge (slide). The sign that says there are sharks in the water (slide).
When I see these signs images come to mind. The pain of dangerous stingers. The moments of terror as I free fall over a cliff. I can’t even bring myself to imagine the fear of being mauled by a shark. These signs are intended to change my behaviour.
Joel describes the terror of the coming day of the Lord in a way that’s meant to change behaviour. Look with me at verse 2,
Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.
“Houston, we have a problem”. Judah have lost God’s favour. They have brought upon themselves the covenant curses. The sounds of Deuteronomy,
“The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him” (Dt 28.26).
“The lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth … they will lay siege to all the cities throughout the land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. The will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord God is giving you” (Dt 28.52).
Do you remember our little African saying from last week? “God is good all the time … all the time God is good”. For many years God has been warning his people. He warns about the dangers of living in his presence. He warns that he is the source of curse as well as the source of blessing. And even now, God sends Joel to warn Judah that the army is coming and judgement is around the corner.
Did you pick up the description in verse 2? Darkness, gloom, clouds and blackness. This is the day of the Lord.
A day not unlike the plagues which brought Pharaoh and the Egyptian people to their knees. In those days a plague of locusts ravished the land before Moses waved his hand and total darkness covered the land for three days (Ex. 10–11). Joel 1—locusts. Joel 2—darkness and blackness. God shows no favouritism. Judah has no right to claim exemption. What’s good for Pharaoh is good for anyone who persists in unrighteousness.
In verse 3 the advancing army moves with the intensity of a forest fire. “Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste—nothing escapes them”. The metaphors keep rolling.
This large and mighty army are likened to war horses and chariots—verse 4. “With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountain tops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle”.
The sound of the advancing chariots are so loud they sound like crackling of fire as it rages over the mountain tops. I’ve been close to a raging bush fire and the sound is deafening and the result is total annihilation. Fertile ground now a desert waste.
The huge army that Joel describes is unstoppable and as it comes into sight people will be paralysed with fear. Dread will be in their eyes as the warriors advance upon them.
They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers (verse 7). They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defences without breaking ranks. They rush upon the city; they run along the wall. They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows.
There is something different about this army. It is compact, unstoppable, ferocious, powerful, untiring and brutal. This army invokes fear in a world full of warriors. A fear that flows into the heavenly realm. Verse 10:
Before them (this army) the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?
It is now clear that God is leading this army against Jerusalem. Normally the Lord fights for His people, but here Joel sees Him leading an army against them. God is the one directing the soldiers with His voice. This army is not some random, rogue nation but the Lord himself descending upon his people.
Yet even as God amasses his army he is merciful. It’s not beware of the stingers—it’s not beware of the cliff—it’s not beware of the sharks. The sign Joel holds up reads, “beware of the dreadful day of the Lord”. And so the question at the end of verse 11 is compelling, “Who can endure it”?
The question begs the answer that no-one can endure the day of the Lord. The day when this army strikes. This army is invincible and its arrival is inevitable. Surely Judah would be better off not knowing. For who will survive the day of the Lord?
The day of the Lord—a day to prepare for. History records that an army did eventually invade and destroy Judah and Jerusalem. But not the army of the proportions described in Joel 2.
Indeed, the cosmic disturbances described in Joel 2.10 are found throughout the Bible. It’s like they are well spaced out warnings signs. In the books of Judges, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark and Revelation. They each describe the day of the Lord as an event which will shake the heavens.
The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, stars will fall from the sky and heavenly bodies will be shaken. Listen to what one commentator says (slide):
Here we find one of the great principles of God's dealing with man throughout his history: God only inflicts punishment after great provocation, and when He does so, it is meant to draw man back from further and more severe visitations of the wrath of God (Dillard)
God is patient and he wishes that no-one would perish. But he will not wait forever. And when the day of the Lord comes, it will be with the horror described in Joel 2.
Who will endure this great and terrible day? Implied answer—no-one.
Did you notice the sudden change in tone in verse 12.
“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Verse 11—God’s judgement; wedged up hard against God’s judgement in verse 12—God’s mercy. They are not incompatible. They are not a contradiction. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, abounding in love.
First, verses 12 to 14, personal repentance. How can Joel’s people survive the day of the Lord? Verse 12 , “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning”. Verse 13, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God”.
Even now, with the Lord’s army close at hand, there is time to repent. But repentance must be wholehearted and genuine. Fast, weep, mourn. God won’t be fooled by token gestures. It was customary when mourning to rip garments. And now hearts must be torn in repentance. Don’t play games, don’t give the Lord your garments because he doesn’t want your clothes he wants your heart.
But there remains uncertainty. Judah cannot demand God’s compassion. Judah cannot force God to show them his forgiveness. They can only appeal to him for mercy, that he will not dish out what they very well deserve. Yet Judah can count upon God being gracious, compassionate, patient, loyal to them and willing to withhold his punishment.
Second, in verses 15 to 17, there is a call to national repentance. Joel calls the nation to assemble and repent together. Everyone is to attend this sacred assembly. Even newlyweds and babies. And the elders and the priests are to lead this outpouring of grief. Let the people say, verse 17, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword amongst the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God”? The people pleading before God. “Lord save us for the foreign nations might conclude that you are unable or unwilling to defend us from our enemy. Lord, save us for your names sake”.
Let’s spend a moment thinking a little more about what Joel 2 means for us.
One. The day of the Lord described in Joel 2 is yet to come. It amazes me how people ignore warning signs on Lennox Head beach. Even when there are strong rips and the possibility of sharks. What has to happen for people to listen to the warning?
The day of the Lord is coming. Listen to the warn. Read the signs. Listen to Isaiah 13.9–11.
Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
These words resonate with Joel 2.10. God is a God who keeps his word. The northern tribes of Israel were punished by Assyria. The locust plague was real and then the Babylonians marched upon Judah and tore the place to bits.
In Matt 24 and Mk 13, Jesus refers to the cosmic dislocation spoken about by prophets such as Isaiah and Joel. And Jesus says that history will come to an end and creation will be shaken and people will mourn on the great and terrible day of the Lord. Then Paul says in Acts 17, “For God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice with the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17.31).
The day of the Lord is coming so listen to the warnings. To ignore them is to invite the judgement of God. On 8 July, 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (slide).
"The wrath of God is like great waters that are restrained for the present; but they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped the more rapid and mighty is its course when once it is let loose. It is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the meantime is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should only withdraw His hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it".
Will you endure the day of the Lord?
Two. The gospel prepares us for the day of the Lord. Do you not realise that God’s kindness in delaying this day gives you time to repent? This is Paul’s point in Rom 2.4, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness … not realising that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance”?
In the past God overlooked ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. God won’t be hoodwinked. He wants your heart not your garments or your traditions or your good works. The Lord wants your heart. He wants you to submit to his Son’s loving rule. “The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it”?
You will endure this day by committing yourself to the Lord Jesus. Your hope on that day will rest upon Jesus. What you do now matters. So don’t delay and make sure that you return to the Lord through Jesus.
Three. Is not the day of the Lord a good reason to share Jesus with others? Or as our vision statement says, to “enable faith”. The day of the Lord is near and God calls you and I to, like Joel, sound the gospel call. History does have meaning and in these last days people will scoff and ignore this coming day. But there is a day of judgement, there will be a time for the destruction of the ungodly.
We need to be talking about Jesus. God is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Pet 3.9) through faith in his Son.
