Joel 2:23-32, Psalm 65, Jeremiah 14:7-10, Jeremiah 14:19-22, Psalm 84:1-7, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 2 Timothy 4:16-18, Luke 18:9-14
A). THE YEARS THAT THE LOCUST HAS EATEN.
Joel 2:23-32.
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, pre-conversion 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). The LORD Himself called for nothing less than national repentance, rending of hearts, fasting, weeping and mourning (Joel 2:12-14). 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).
When they thus humbled themselves and fasted and wept and mourned and cried to the LORD, ‘then would the LORD be jealous for His land and pity His people’ (Joel 2:18). The LORD would ‘no more make you a reproach among the heathen’ (Joel 2:19). The locust has done his ‘great things’ (end of Joel 2:20); now the LORD would do His ‘great things’ (Joel 2:21b).
Israel is called to rejoice in the LORD their God (Joel 2:23a). We pray for seasonable weather, and that is just what the children of Zion had restored to them: “the former rain moderately, the rain, the former rain and the latter rain” (Joel 2:23b). In the words of Elijah, ‘I hear the sound of an abundance of rain’ (cf. 1 Kings 18:41).
Now the pastures of the wilderness would spring, and the trees and the vines would be fruitful (Joel 2:22). The floors would be full of wheat, and the vats overflowing with wine and oil (Joel 2:24). The LORD would restore the years that the locust had eaten: “my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25).
Now the people of the LORD were vindicated, along with His great name (Joel 2:26-27). With the twice repeated “My people shall never be ashamed,” even the groaning of creation (cf. Romans 8:22) was abated.
As they stood in amazement at what God had done - the pouring out of an abundance of rain - the prophet spoke of a future date, when He would pour out His Spirit upon “all flesh,” and when their descendants would prophesy (Joel 2:28-29).
It is arguable whether Joel understood that his prophecy of the coming of the Spirit hinted at the inclusion of the Gentiles. It is doubtful whether even the Apostle Peter grasped that at first when it was fulfilled at Pentecost: he needed a trip into a centurion’s house before he would figure that one out (Acts 10:34; Acts 10:47). But there is a strong indication of changes in the social structure, anticipating the Apostle Paul’s ‘all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28).
The idea of prophets’ dreams and visions was explained to Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ siblings, by the LORD Himself (Numbers 12:6). Moses himself was content that the Spirit had been poured upon the seventy (plus two) elders in their day, counselling Joshua not to forbid the two from prophesying in the camp. ‘Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them,’ he longed (Numbers 11:29).
After all the promised blessings of these few paragraphs, it is a little startling to be confronted with the apocalyptic words of Joel 2:30-31. These, among others, are portents of the ‘coming of the Son of man’ (Matthew 24:29-30). The age of the Spirit (which began at Pentecost) has thrust all true believers into a position of spiritual leadership in the world, prophesying to our own generation of the ‘judgment to come’ (cf. Acts 24:25a).
It is perhaps significant that Peter broke off his quotation of Joel 2:32 at “whoever calls on the LORD shall be saved” (cf. Acts 2:16-21). When interrupted, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ (Acts 2:37), he quoted “as many as the Lord our God shall call” at the end of his recorded speech (cf. Acts 2:38-39). Anyway, Peter was perfectly clear that ‘this’ outpouring of the Spirit was ‘that spoken by the prophet Joel’ (Acts 2:16).
In Christ, God restores to us what would have been had we not allowed sin an entrance. Ultimately the full restoration lies ahead, even for us, but meantime we have the ‘guarantee of our inheritance’ (Ephesians 1:14). The Holy Spirit, and all the rich blessings which come with His presence in our lives.
B). THE CROWNING OF THE YEAR.
Psalm 65:1-13.
1. God in the Place of Sacrifice (Psalm 65:1-4).
PSALM 65:1. “Praise waits for thee, O God.” Praise is not entertainment, but the grateful response of a thankful people to our gracious God. In some church gatherings you can just feel it: an awesome, adoring silence in the sanctuary. This is the prayerful eager anticipation of a people waiting for the solemn announcement: ‘Let us worship God.’
“in Sion” speaks not only of mount Sion, nor only of Jerusalem, but of the tabernacle that was located there in David’s days, and the temple that Solomon later built. It spoke of the place of sacrifice, where God met with man. It speaks today of the places where the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is remembered, especially around the communion table, but also in the preaching of the Word, and the praising of His name.
“and unto thee shall the vow be performed.” We may never fully repay our debt of gratitude to God, but God ‘inhabits’ the praises of His people (cf. Psalm 22:3). God looks upon the sacrifice of Jesus, and accepts our praises.
PSALM 65:2. It is in the nature of God that He hears and answers prayer. All other ‘gods’ ultimately fail their devotees. Yet “all flesh” (Psalm 65:2), “all the ends of the earth” (Psalm 65:5), “they also that dwell in the uttermost parts” (Psalm 65:8) are encouraged to bring their prayers to the only true and living God.
PSALM 65:3. Sin, of course, is an obstacle to prayer. Nevertheless, through the sacrifice of Jesus, our “transgressions” are “purged away.” He who was without sin bore our sins and ‘became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). God has accepted THIS sacrifice, and hears our prayers.
PSALM 65:4. Blessed are we if we are chosen by God to ‘boldly approach the throne of grace’ (cf. Hebrews 4:16). This is not about places of worship, but dwelling in ‘the secret place of the Most High’ (cf. Psalm 91:1); worshipping God through our Lord Jesus Christ in the here and now, and thereafter possessing our prepared place in the house of many mansions above (cf. John 14:2).
2. God Performing Wonders in the World (Psalm 65:5-8).
PSALM 65:5a. It is in “awesome deeds” that “the God of our salvation” hears and answers our prayers “in righteousness.” Righteousness and salvation are knit together by the One who is both ‘just’ and ‘the justifier of him that believes in Jesus’ (cf. Romans 3:26).
PSALM 65:5b. The Psalmist foresees God as “the confidence” of “all the earth,” including “them that are afar off upon the sea.” Not just those who live in distant isles, but even ‘those that go down to the sea in ships’ (cf. Psalm 107:23).
PSALM 65:6-7. “By His strength” God establishes the mountains, being “girded with power.” The relative stability of the mountain ranges is contrasted with the roaring of the seas – which God “stills.” Picture Jesus in a storm tossed boat with His disciples: He rebuked the wind and commanded the sea, ‘Peace be STILL’ (cf. Mark 4:39) - and the wind and the sea obeyed Him. God stills also “the tumult of the people” - the turmoil of the nations.
PSALM 65:8. “They also that dwell in the uttermost parts” are awestruck at His wonders. The sunrise and the sunset rejoice in His glory. God’s creation brings joy to all and sundry, the whole world from east to west.
3. God in the Harvest. Psalm 65:9-13.
PSALM 65:9. We have a picture here of God as the gardener (cf. John 15:1), watering what He has planted from the abundant “river of God,” preparing “corn” (staple foods) for the consumption of man. This is why we give thanks to God whenever we eat.
PSALM 65:10. He waters the ridges, levels the furrows, and fills them with rain, blessing it to spring forth with a crop. Mr Spurgeon, in his ‘Treasury of David,’ likens this to the operations of the Holy Spirit within us, ‘beating down high thoughts, filling our lowly desires, softening the soul, and causing every holy thing to increase and spread.’
PSALM 65:11-12. The “crowning of the year” is a good harvest. The “paths” of God flow with abundance. The benefits overflow into “the pastures of the wilderness,” and “the little hills” are surrounded with the sound of rejoicing.
PSALM 65:13a. “The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with corn.” All this from the overflow of God’s blessing of rain.
PSALM 65:13b. “They shout for joy, they also sing.” The whole of creation joins us in our harvest celebration.
C). PRAY NOT FOR THIS PEOPLE!
Jeremiah 14:7-10, Jeremiah 14:19-22.
A series of droughts affected Judah during the reign of King Jehoiakim. The watercourses were empty, the ground was chapped, and there was no grass for the livestock. Nobles and their children, ploughmen, and both domestic and wild animals were sorely afflicted (Jeremiah 14:1-6).
As a good intercessor, Jeremiah prayed to the LORD for the people.
JEREMIAH 14:7. “O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.”
First, he took his place beside the people as undeserving. But second, he called upon the LORD to “do it” for the sake of His own holy name (cf. Ezekiel 36:21-23).
Third, Jeremiah addressed the LORD as their only hope, and Saviour:
JEREMIAH 14:8. “O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?”
The LORD, after all, has always been our help ‘hitherto’ (cf. 1 Samuel 7:12) – so why not now? Why does He seem like “a stranger” in His own land?
JEREMIAH 14:9. “Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.”
We know He has the power to save, so why does He seem so distant? Yet He is here, in the midst of us, and we are “called” by His name. If He does not deliver us, surely it reflects badly on His name?
So Jeremiah pleads on behalf of the people: “leave us not.”
JEREMIAH 14:10. “Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them: He will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.”
The LORD goes on to instruct Jeremiah, ‘Pray not for this people for their good’ (Jeremiah 14:11).
The weeping prophet laments; the people appear to repent; a plea is made to the honour of the LORD’s glory, and an appeal made to the covenant; and a comparison made acknowledging that it is the LORD alone who can send rain, and that therefore they “will wait upon thee” (JEREMIAH 14:19-22).
But it is all to no avail. It is too late. There does come a point when judgment is inevitable (Jeremiah 15:1-2). So the LORD will appoint destroyers to destroy them (Jeremiah 15:3-4).
The only comfort would be that beyond the exile lay the restoration. The covenant remained intact for future generations. The Christ did at last come, and ushered in an age of grace. ‘How shall WE escape if we neglect SO great salvation?’ (cf. Hebrews 2:3).
D). HAPPY ARE THOSE WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN THEE.
Psalm 84:1-7.
At the end of the celebration of Passover, in Jewish homes scattered throughout the world, the parting toast is, ‘Next year in Jerusalem!’ The sentiment echoes a common consciousness, a restlessness if you will, which is forever drawing God’s people back towards their roots in the land of their fathers.
The Psalmist was one of those who had been familiar with the days of worship in the tabernacle in the holy land. Immediately prior to the building of the Temple by Solomon, the tabernacle had been situated in the City of David, just below the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It has been suggested that Psalm 84 was written by King David when he left Jerusalem during the rebellion led by his son Absalom.
“How lovely is your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts,” he intoned (Psalm 84:1). Not that God dwells in tents or buildings: but nevertheless our soul is only ever satisfied (as Augustine of Hippo is often quoted as saying) when it finds its rest in the LORD (Psalm 84:2). In fact, our ultimate rest is only found in Jesus, the Word who became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled!) among us (John 1:14).
The Psalmist compares his soul to the sparrow, and to the swallow, little birds that are forever flitting around seeking a home (Psalm 84:3). Not that either of these could ever safely nest on the altar of sacrifice (!) - but his soul has found its rest in the altars (plural) of the LORD of hosts. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22), and his rest and ours is found first in the altar of burnt offering, where the sacrifice is presented (representing to us the Cross of Calvary) and next in the altar of incense, where the risen Lord Jesus lifts our prayers, mingled with His, up to the LORD.
The Psalmist calls the LORD of hosts, “my King and my God” (Psalm 84:3). The Christian faith is deeply personal, a relationship rather than a religion. Blessed are those who abide in Christ, and He in them (John 15:4; John 15:7): THEY “shall ever be praising Him” (Psalm 84:4), and ‘shall have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming’ (1 John 2:28). “Selah.” Think on this.
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways” (Psalm 84:5). So reads the Hebrew, without adding any extra words into the translation. The word for “ways” here speaks of a prepared way, as for when a ruling monarch is approaching on their royal tour (cf. Isaiah 40:3-4; Matthew 3:1-3).
So what kind of person is able to say, ‘my strength is in the LORD’ (cf. Psalm 84:5) or ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:13)? It is a person whose heart has been prepared by the Holy Spirit, that they may ‘repent’ (meaning ‘change their mind about God’)! The light of God has shined into their hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6), and they are made new people in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Not only are we made new people, but now we are enabled to “walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11) upon the path of righteousness. We have a new purpose, a new direction in our lives. ‘This is the way, walk ye in it,’ says the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 30:21).
When we are walking in God’s way, it is the LORD who leads us (Genesis 24:27). When we face trials in “the valley of tears” (Psalm 84:6), we can be assured that the LORD knows our way, and will not only bring us through, but will bring us out better (Psalm 23:4; Job 23:10). In all these things we are made ‘more than conquerors through Him that loved us’ (Romans 8:37-39).
The pilgrimage of this life may well be for us a vale of tears, but nevertheless we go on from strength to strength, and will at last appear before God (Psalm 84:7; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18). ‘In this world you shall have tribulation,’ said Jesus, ‘but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33).
E). A GARLAND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
2 Timothy 4:6-8; 2 Timothy 4:16-18.
Against a background of false teachers, and hypocritical hearers who will not endure sound teaching, Paul exhorted Timothy to urgently preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2). The young minister was to do this both when it seemed comfortable and seasonable (to the preacher) to do so, and when it seemed incredibly difficult (as when Paul made his “first defence” before Nero with no-one to stand by him, 2 Timothy 4:16). Timothy was to watch, to endure, to do the work of an evangelist, to make full proof of his ministry (2 Timothy 4:5).
“For,” says Paul - an important little word not to be missed - you are to do this because I am now ready to be “poured out” (2 Timothy 4:6). You do your work because I am drawing to the close of mine. My life has indeed been poured out, and is being poured out as a libation to the Lord - but there will come a time, and that right soon, when I will have nothing left to give.
It is like the drink-offering which King David made to the LORD - every last drop was poured out upon the ground, and that without fail (2 Samuel 23:16).
“And” says the Apostle, “the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6). The word for “departure” here is not the same as that used by Jesus in His conversation with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. There, Jesus’ departure, decease, or death that He was to accomplish at Jerusalem was spoken of as an ‘exodus’ (Luke 9:31).
Here Paul speaks of his “release” (2 Timothy 4:6). The old soldier is about to break camp. The Apostle is about to be loosed from his earthly chain, and his little ship is about to set sail for another shore.
Paul could say, confidently and honestly, that what he had earlier instructed his protégé to do (1 Timothy 6:12), he had not shrunk from himself. He had “fought the good fight” with all his might (2 Timothy 4:7). Timothy had been encouraged to make his stand for the Apostolic faith, the ‘good deposit’ - and the old Apostle had set the example before him.
Throughout his ministry and service, the Apostle Paul did not consider himself to have ‘arrived’ (as we might say), but was constantly casting the past into oblivion and stretching forward to whatever lay in store in the future. He was pursuing the mark, dashing for the goal-line, running towards the tape at the end of the race. He was pursuing the prize - ever onward, ever upward - the heavenly reward of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus ((Philippians 3:13-14).
Even now as the old soldier drew towards the end of his course, he caught a glimpse of the laurel wreath, the garland with which he was to be crowned. It was a crown of justice and righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8). Before this the “mouth of the lion was closed” (2 Timothy 4:17): whether this represents Nero, the counsel for the prosecution, or some other human opponent - or perhaps even the devil himself (1 Peter 5:8).
Meantime, Paul was able to find in his heart a spirit of forgiveness (2 Timothy 4:16). Like Jesus before him (Luke 23:34). And like Stephen, for whose execution a lifetime ago a young Saul of Tarsus (= Paul, in his pre-conversion days) had watched the coats of those who had stoned the fledgling church’s first martyr (Acts 7:57-60).
For a moment, evil may appear to prevail in the lives of the faithful servants of the Lord (2 Timothy 4:18). Yet Paul knew that the One who had entrusted him with the good deposit of the gospel, was well able Himself to keep that which Paul in his turn had committed back to Him, against the great and awful day of the Lord (2 Timothy 1:12). The Apostle’s assurance reached beyond himself, to “all who love the Lord’s appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
“I have finished the course,” declares Timothy’s teacher (2 Timothy 4:7). You run your course as I have run mine. This applies not only to Timothy, but to every one of us.
F). A PHARISEE AND THE SINNER.
Luke 18:9-14.
Jesus had just told His disciples a parable to encourage them to importunity in prayer (Luke 18:1). Now He turned back to the Pharisees (cf. Luke 17:20-21) to warn them, and those like them, against despising others and approaching God in a self-righteous way (Luke 18:9). That is Jesus’ stated purpose in the second parable of this chapter.
We must understand the sharpness of contrast between the two characters in Jesus’ story (Luke 18:10). “Pharisee” was not always the term of reproach that it is today, and in fact many people looked up to the Pharisees because of their scrupulosity in matters pertaining to the law of God. The “tax-gatherer,” however, was the ultimate bad guy – a collaborator with the occupying Romans, and usually not averse to lining his own pockets by defrauding his neighbours (cf. Luke 19:8).
Now these two men went up to the Temple to pray. Nothing wrong with that – until, that is, we are allowed to eavesdrop on their prayers. The time of prayer during the morning and evening services would be just after the sacrifice had been made, and the officiating priest went into the most holy place to offer incense before the ‘mercy-seat’ (cf. Luke 1:9-10).
The Pharisee stands to pray, but his words hardly deserve to be called a prayer. They are full of self-congratulation – and although he does address “God” he is merely “praying thus WITH HIMSELF” (Luke 18:11). Every other word seems to be “I,” as if God owed him rather than vice versa.
There is no confession, no petition, because the wretched man can see nothing wrong in himself. Furthermore, this man’s goodness is only discovered by disparaging his neighbour, making comparisons between his supposed righteousness and the tax-gatherer’s lack thereof. Yet before the LORD, ‘all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags’ (Isaiah 64:6).
Where the law commands just one fast per year, that on the Day of Atonement, the Pharisees would fast twice a week (Luke 18:12). This would be on the market days, on Mondays and Thursdays, so that the hypocrites could strut around with their disfigured faces and draw the maximum amount of attention to themselves (cf. Matthew 6:16). Where the law required the tithing of certain incomes, but not all, this self-styled paragon tithed everything.
Now, since the Pharisee demanded a comparison, so Jesus holds his verdict on this man’s prayer until he has spoken of the other. Possibly the Pharisee stood apart, lest he might be polluted by other men’s lack of holiness. The tax-gatherer stood apart for another reason.
The tax-gatherer felt his unworthiness so acutely that he could not even so much as lift up his eyes to heaven. The awakened sinner smites his breast as one who mourns (cf. Luke 23:48), and throws himself on the mercy of God. In a brief sentence he makes both honest confession and petition, and exercises both repentance and faith (Luke 18:13).
Interestingly, the tax-gatherer does not use the usual word for ‘mercy,’ but rather uses the language of propitiation: “God, be propitious to me.” Remember that this petition was probably being made just as the incense was being offered before the mercy-seat. Unlike the Pharisee, who at least noticed the tax-gatherer standing there, the tax-gatherer was oblivious in that moment of anyone there but himself: he calls himself “THE sinner” (as if there was only one!)
Now we have before us, in embryo, Jesus’ teaching on what the Apostle Paul would later call ‘justification by faith, without the works of the law’ (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). This was not a doctrine dreamed up by Martin Luther, or Augustine of Hippo, or even by Paul himself, but is contained right here in the teaching of Jesus: “I tell you; this man went down to his house justified, rather than that other” (Luke 18:14).
The warning for us is not to look down on others (Luke 18:9), but always to recognize our low place before God: “for everyone who exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14).
