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Joel 3:1-21. 5-29-2008. The Lord Will Be A Refuge

Joel 3:1-21. The Lord Will Be A Refuge

Joel 3:1-21                                                                                                       Lesson 3

Key Verse: 3:16b               JoelBibleSchool NIU UBF 5/29/08 Delivered by Jennifer Jesmer

“…But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.”

       From the last passage I learned that repentance is the most important thing to do when God is trying to train you. Repentance is feeling sorry for hurting God and making a decision to change. God wants us to repent because he loves us and doesn’t want us to be stuck in sin. Any training he sends us is to lead us to repentance and cannot be worse than an eternity without God. Also, he gives us many chances to repent. Even now, in my current spiritual condition I can repent. I want to really inwardly repent of a lack of co-working and of a proud heart. I can do this by preparing singspiration prayerfully and practicing grace towards others weaknesses, especially my siblings.

In today’s passage we will see the  judgment of God on all those who have fought against him and his people. We also will see God’s concern for his people and how he is going to do something about their plight. We will also see God’s blessing on his people who repented of their sins. God is a refuge to them. He is their source of eternal salvation. Indeed when we take refuge in Jesus we will pass through the judgment of God and be eternally blessed by him. We can also live as small refuges to others. Let’s see….

Part 1. Come Quickly, You Nations, And Assemble (1-16)

      What does, “At that time” mean? Look at verse 1. “ In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem”,  This is the opening verse for chapter three. The phrase, “at that time” refers to the time when those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (2:32). It is a multifaceted prophecy concerning the judgment of God in the time of Joel and also a foreshadowing of the judgment of God in the future times when Jesus comes again as a righteous judge. (Revelation 20:7-9),

Look at the nations that are mentioned? They are Sheba, (the Sabeans), Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Greece. They had opposed God’s people in one way or another. One day the Lord will assemble the nations of the world and judge them for their wrong attitude. Look at Verse 2a, “2 I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat…” The geographic location of the Valley of Jehoshaphat is not known, The most important fact for us is that it means “The Lord Judges.” It is the site of  God’s judgment.

        These nations treated the people if Judah in horrendous ways. Look at verse 2b-6,God is appalled at this type of treatment of his people. I can not imagine the suffering that these young people had to endure. They were torn away form their families and were subjected to the whims of men that were acting like devils. They had no regard for the children or their families. They were heartless and cruel beyond measure. That is what how the world treats many of our your people. So many injustices are perpetrated against them. In the miniseries, “Rome”, one Roman soldier was at war. While at war, his children were sold into slavery. He hunted down his children  and rescued them from an open pit mine. He was one man who could do something about his children’s suffering. But the parents of Judah could do nothing. Recently I did a paper on childhood slavery. It was shocking what millions of young people have to endure. Sometimes I feel helpless in the face of such suffering and hardships. What can I do? I am just a young girl? But I take comfort in knowing that God cares and he wants to do something about all the evil and injustice in this world. I am helpless, but my God is all powerful. He cares and is doing something about it even as we speak, through his people, around the world.

People of the world think that they are getting away with sins they commit against God and each other. But they must know that they will never get away with it. There will be a day when all people must stand before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is do him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10; Heb 9:27) Our God is a God of justice.

       God was going to use their pride and arrogance to draw them into the valley. Look at verses 9-11, “Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!” 11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD! “ These nations were proud of their human strength. They were boastful. God was going to use their pride and their arrogance against them. Indeed God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)

These nations who fought against God and his people were paid back in full. Look at verses 13-16a, “. 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!” 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble…” Joel described multitudes waiting in the “valley of decision” Their destruction will be complete. Their sins will be paid back in full.

This brings to mind the condition of people around us. Let’s face it. Billions of people have lived on hearth, and every one of them – dead, living, and yet to be born – will face judgment. Look around at you. See you friends, those with whom you work and live. Have they received God’s forgiveness? Have they been warned about sin’s consequences? If we understand the certainty and the severity of God’s final judgment, we will want to take God’s offer of hope to those who know.  I go to a middle school that is not a Christian school. Most people around me do not know Jesus. So many Christians seem cold hearted to the things of God. Do I care about their eternal destiny. In light if this passage I learn that I need to reach out to them to show them the only way to pass through the judgment… to have saving faith in Jesus Christ. Most of my friends reject my invitations to Bible study. May God help me to teach the Bible to one person this summer who is not in my circle of friends.

Let’s think about the valley of decision. Why is called valley of decision. It is because our eternal destiny depends on the decisions we have made concerning God. God extends his hand out to us. He offers us Jesus and the gospel. We need to make a decision. Are we going to take his hand and accept his amazing grace or are we going to reject this gracious invite, scorning God. This is the decision. We all must stand before God in our “Valley of Decision

       But the outcome of God’s people was much, much different as we will see. Verse 16b, “…But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. “  A refuge means a shelter, usually from a storm. It is a place of peace and safety. God is a refuge for his people. We can find the concept of the Lord being a refuge for his people when we study the account of Noah in the book of Genesis. The Lord had seen how great the wickedness of the people had become. He decided to send a flood as a mighty act of judgment.  There was one man, Noah who believed God. He trusted God. He believed God’s way of salvation. He obeyed God…and what was the result? He and his whole family entered into the ark. They were saved from the flood. They become the seed for a new humanity. Noah and his family took refuge in the ark and were saved. God was their refuge.

God has also been a refuge to any who call out to him throughout Israel’s history. Concerning God, Isaiah, 25:4-5 says,  4 You have been a refuge for the poor,  a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm  and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert.  You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.” Those who find refuge in God can also be a refuge to others. That was our prayer when we pioneered NIU UBF in 1998. We prayed that we could be a refuge for students, from the storms of sin and the storms of the world. And God has been answering our prayers. I thank God that we could be a refuge to several dozen students over the last 10 years.

God wants all the world to know that he is the only way to be saved.  Look at verse 17, “7 “Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.”  The last word will be God’s; his ultimate sovereignty will be revealed in the end. This world tries to obscure Jesus and the Gospel. So many young people are oblivious to the way to be saved. But in the end God will make it known to everyone that Jesus is the Christ and that his the Messiah. They will now that he is the only way to Kingdom of God.

What is the result of this battle? Look at verses (17b, 18, 19, 20, 21)The picture of this restored land is one of perfect beauty, similar to the Garden of Eden. The life-giving fountain flowing from the Lord’s house refers to the blessings that come from God. Those who attach themselves to him will be forever fruitful. Both in this life and the next.

There are more promises of God given in this passage. Look Verses 20-21, “Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. 21 Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned,” God will give his people the ultimate victory, an eternal one. Though they have sinned he will have mercy and pardon completely. They will be his people.

In this passage we can see that God really cares about all the injustices that are going on in this world an in our lives and he wants to save us from our sins. He wants his people to pass through the judgment to spend eternity with him. Today, is your valley of decision. Will you decide to believe in Jesus and live for his glory from this point forward? Will you enter your only true refuge, Jesus Christ and live a small refuge for others?

The Lord Will Be A Refuge

Joel 3:1-21                                                                                                                     Lesson 3

Key Verse: 3:16b

“…But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.”

     One day the Lord will assemble the nations of the world in the valley of Jehoshaphat and judge them. Once, in this valley, King Jehoshaphat had witnessed the Lord’s great victory over the nations which had harassed his people (2Ch 20). (“Jehoshaphat” means “the Lord judges.”) The Lord will judge the nations according to how they have treated God’s people (5,6,7,19). Those who mistreat God’s people have no respect for God. That great final day will be like a great battlefield, like a man trampling and crushing grapes in his winepress (13). The day of the Lord is a day of terror for God’s enemies. In the terrible day of God’s wrath, God’s people will have a refuge–the Lord himself. For God’s people, the day of the Lord is a day of blessing (16,18). The fountain that flows from the Lord’s house is the water of life for the nations (Jn 7:38; Rev 22:1). When the world’s on fire, let us find refuge in the Lord.

Part 1. Come Quickly, You Nations, And Assemble (1-16)

1. Who are the nations that are mentioned? Where are the brought to? (2a; footnote). What to we know about the Valley of Jehosaphat? (2 Chronicles 20)

2.  How did these nations treat God’s people? (2b-6) How was God going to respond to this?  How was he going to draw them into the valley? (9-11) What happened there? (13-16a) What does it mean, “the valley of decision”?

Part 2: The Lord Will Be A Refuge (17-21)

3.  What was the outcome for God’s people? (16b)  What does it mean to be a refuge? Can you think of some examples of how the Lord was a refuge to his people? (Gen 6-8) What will become obvious to all people? (17a) What is the result of this battle? (17b, 18, 19, 20, 21)

4. What promise did God give his people? What is bloodguilt and how is it related to forgiveness? (21)

 

 

 

 




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