Joel 2:1-2, 12 – 17 The Day for Sackcloth and Ashes
• Ash Wednesday, in the Christian church, the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday is a reminder of the need for reconciliation with God and marks the beginning of the Lenten season. It is commonly observed with ashes and fasting these were associated with repentance clothed in sack cloth and ashes.
• In the 7th century, first Sunday in Lent established 40 fasting days, in imitation of Jesus Christ’s fast in the desert.
• It was the practice in Rome for penitents and grievous sinners to begin their period of public penance on the first day of Lent in preparation for their restoration to the sacrament of the Eucharist. They were sprinkled with ashes, dressed in sackcloth, and obliged to remain apart until they were reconciled with the Christian community on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter.
1. Joel talks about a day of the day of the Lord as a day to be ready by repenting sackcloth and ashes
• Blow the trumpet sound the alarm for the
• day of the Lord is coming, it is near— day of wrecking
• This day Joel describes a day of darkness and gloom,
2. We will not fear the day of the Lord if we will return to God
• Joel tells us what God says, “return to me with all your heart, “all in the living”
• Return to me with fasting, “or sacrifice putting our God first in all we do
• Return with weeping, and with mourning; “humility and repentance that has great regret for sins I am so sorry God “
• To return to God is to repent — to turn around and go in a new and opposite direction. When we repent, we turn to the path that God has laid out for us, so that we are living a life that is different than before.
3. We will not fear the day of the Lord if we would learn more about God. What we learn about God
• Notice the nature of our God, one who is "gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love" (v. 13).
• The true God In the Bible, which Moses and Joel discover is God who is what? v. 13) says gracious slow to anger abounding in love
• These are the very words that are used to describe God after the people of Israel sin by making a golden calf, and Moses becomes angry, and breaks the tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
• Exodus reveals that the Lord is not wrathful and harsh in word and attitude. Instead, God is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6).
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4. We will not fear the Day of the Lord if we keep gathering together
• Joel writes, "Blow the trumpet in Zion," "Sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast" (vv. 15-16).
5. Finally, we will not fear the day of the Lord because we have returned to God, we have learned about god, we have gathered for God and we will pray as well to God
• Joel calls for the ministers to pray, "Spare your people, O LORD, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations" (v. 17).
• Joel, tells us to pray we request healing, strength, peace or help.
• At the end of the day, we are supposed to pray. We pray for ourselves and others, asking for God to heal us and help us so that we can lead peaceable lives and come to the knowledge of God's truth.
• So let's begin the season of Lent by embracing Joel's prediction that "the day of the LORD is coming, it is near" (Joel 2:1).
• Since the Day of the Lord is coming this motivates us to return, to learn, to gather and to pray, let’s begin the season of lent by taking the mark ! One that leads to real change, for the better.
