Bible Reading Plan

Category: Joel

  • Joel 3

    Joel 3

    Read Joel 3

    The Nations Judged

    3 “In those days and at that time,
        when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
    2 I will gather all nations
        and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
    There I will put them on trial
        for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
    because they scattered my people among the nations
        and divided up my land.
    3 They cast lots for my people
        and traded boys for prostitutes;
        they sold girls for wine to drink.

    4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.

    7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,and I will return on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.

    9 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, Lord!

    12 “Let the nations be roused;
        let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
    for there I will sit
        to judge all the nations on every side.
    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 heavens will tremble.
    But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
        a stronghold for the people of Israel.

    Blessings for God’s People

    17 “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.

    18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
        and the hills will flow with milk;
        all the ravines of Judah will run with water.
    A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house
        and will water the valley of acacias.
    19 But Egypt will be desolate,
        Edom a desert waste,
    because of violence done to the people of Judah,
        in whose land they shed innocent blood.
    20 Judah will be inhabited forever
        and Jerusalem through all generations.
    21 Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?
        No, I will not.”

    The Lord dwells in Zion!

    Go Deeper

    Each chapter in the amazing book of Joel has references to “the Day of the Lord.” Charlies Ryrie, a well-known Bible scholar and teacher, defines this day as God’s special intervention in the affairs of human history. God had three ways He intervened in the Old Testament:

    • God’s obvious intervention in the affairs of Israel and its effects on their enemies
    • Partial fulfillment of prophecies
    • Full prophecies of the second coming of Christ and the promises to believers in that time

    The stories of Abraham, Moses, and Joseph are full of interventions of God’s grace and mercy to His chosen people. For example, providing the promised son Isaac to Abraham and Sarah in their 90s. Moses led Israel out of Egyptian captivity with God holding back the Red Sea and then destroying the powerful Egyptian army with that same sea. Joseph survived his own brother’s betrayal to become second in command in Egypt with God’s purpose to save His people. 

    Through these stories and others, we must think about our own stories of God’s intervention in our lives to redeem us, move us, fill us, grow us, and glorify Himself to an unbelieving world. We serve a living God who is with us every moment. Joel’s name means “Yahweh is God” which puts the emphasis upon us, through Joel, that we serve the King of Kings who loves, redeems, and restores us today as well as into eternity. What a mighty God we serve!

    This chapter also details this prophetic “Day of the Lord” referring to the second coming of Christ. The first 17 verses are during His return and describe the gathering and restoration of Israel, and the avenging judgment of all the nations that have persecuted them. In Joel 3:2,12, and 24, the gathering is prophesied to take place in the valley of Jehoshaphat which is located 11 miles east of Jerusalem.  When something is mentioned three times in the same chapter, it must be important. Jehoshaphat in Hebrew means, “God has judged.” 

    All prophecy in scripture shows the coming tribulation period to be one of suffering, hardship, and trials unlike ever in human history. Our God is a loving merciful God, but He will also right the suffering of Israel, humanity, and all those who are His. We must respond to His love and mercy with a desire to live His ways in loving service to Him and all people along our path. When we rightly understand the Gospel, we are then free to live and breathe in the freedom of forgiveness from eternal judgment described here because of Jesus. God will reign in the New Jerusalem and we, as believers, will be with Him forever. 

    Let’s bring many people with us by being the hands and feet of Jesus proclaiming His love and mercy and grace everywhere we go. Our promise in Joel 3:16, for us as His children, is joyous and clear: “And the Lord roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth tremble. But the Lord is a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the sons of Israel.” May He be your refuge and stronghold today and forever.

    Questions

    1. Describe a time when God intervened in your life and how it has made a difference for you. Tell your Life Group or a friend about this significant part of your story.
    2. Why do you think God intervenes in history in the ways you have read?
    3. Discuss your thoughts with your Life Group about the “Day of the Lord” mentioned above and what it will look like?

    A Quote

    Matthew Henry, a well-known Bible commentary writer says, “Most of the prophets foretell the same final victory of the church of God over all that oppose it. To the wicked it will be a terrible day, but to the righteous it will be a joyful day. What cause have those who possess an interest in Christ, to glory in their Strength and Redeemer!”

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  • Joel 2

    Joel 2

    Read Joel 2

    An Army of Locusts

    2 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
        sound the alarm on my holy hill.

    Let all who live in the land tremble,
        for the day of the Lord is coming.
    It is close at hand—
    2     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 in ancient times
        nor ever will be in ages to come.

    3 Before them fire devours,
        behind them a flame blazes.
    Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
        behind them, a desert waste—
        nothing escapes them.
    4 They have the appearance of horses;
        they gallop along like cavalry.
    5 With a noise like that of chariots
        they leap over the mountaintops,
    like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
        like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

    6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
        every face turns pale.
    7 They charge like warriors;
        they scale walls like soldiers.
    They all march in line,
        not swerving from their course.
    8 They do not jostle each other;
        each marches straight ahead.
    They plunge through defenses
        without breaking ranks.
    9 They rush upon the city;
        they run along the wall.
    They climb into the houses;
        like thieves they enter through the windows.

    10 Before them the earth shakes,
        the heavens tremble,
    the sun and moon are darkened,
        and the stars no longer shine.
    11 The Lord thunders
        at the head of his army;
    his forces are beyond number,
        and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
    The day of the Lord is great;
        it is dreadful.
        Who can endure it?

    Rend Your Heart

    12 “Even now,” declares the Lord,
        “return to me with all your heart,
        with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

    13 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.
    14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
        and leave behind a blessing—
    grain offerings and drink offerings
        for the Lord your God.

    15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
        declare a holy fast,
        call a sacred assembly.
    16 Gather the people,
        consecrate the assembly;
    bring together the elders,
        gather the children,
        those nursing at the breast.
    Let the bridegroom leave his room
        and the bride her chamber.
    17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
        weep between the portico and the altar.
    Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
        Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
        a byword among the nations.
    Why should they say among the peoples,
        ‘Where is their God?’”

    The Lord’s Answer

    18 Then the Lord was jealous for his land
        and took pity on his people.

    19 The Lord replied to them:

    “I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,
        enough to satisfy you fully;
    never again will I make you
        an object of scorn to the nations.

    20 “I will drive the northern horde far from you,
        pushing it into a parched and barren land;
    its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
        and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
    And its stench will go up;
        its smell will rise.”

    Surely he has done great things!
    21     Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
        be glad and rejoice.
    Surely the Lord has done great things!
    22     Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
        for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
    The trees are bearing their fruit;
        the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
    23 Be glad, people of Zion,
        rejoice in the Lord your God,
    for he has given you the autumn rains
        because he is faithful.
    He sends you abundant showers,
        both autumn and spring rains, as before.
    24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
        the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

    25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
        the great locust and the young locust,
        the other locusts and the locust swarm—
    my great army that I sent among you.
    26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
        and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
        who has worked wonders for you;
    never again will my people be shamed.
    27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
        that I am the Lord your God,
        and that there is no other;
    never again will my people be shamed.

    The Day of the Lord

    28 “And afterward,
        I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
    Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
        your old men will dream dreams,
        your young men will see visions.
    29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
        I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
    30 I will show wonders in the heavens
        and on the earth,
        blood and fire and billows of smoke.
    31 The sun will be turned to darkness
        and the moon to blood
        before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
    32 And everyone who calls
        on the name of the Lord will be saved;
    for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
        there will be deliverance,
        as the Lord has said,
    even among the survivors
        whom the Lord calls.

    Go Deeper

    We read in the previous chapter about the locust invasion as a warning to Judah to repent quickly. Joel symbolically describes locusts as a human army. They destroyed every plant, tree, vine, and fruit, to the point where the land was desolate. The imagery here is sobering. This was just a shadow of what was to come on the day of the Lord. Joel called the people to humble themselves, fast, and seek God’s forgiveness. This chapter addresses the day of the Lord by means of a foreign army, which did happen when Israel was defeated by its enemies and taken into exile. The Lord declares, “Return to me with all your heart. There is still time. Do not eat any food. Weep and mourn. Don’t just tear your clothes to show how sad you are. Let your hearts be broken. Return to the Lord your God” (NIrV v. 12-13). There is a call to wake up and to take sin seriously. To not be casual about it, but to go to war with it. 

    During this time, it was a custom to tear your clothes as a response to a serious situation. We see this displayed in the book of Job. When Job lost everything, he tore his robe and fell to the ground. Verse 13 is telling the people to not only tear their clothes but to tear their hearts over their sin. To be broken hearted over their transgressions. Repentance is a change of direction. God is gracious and compassionate and promises that the repentant will be redeemed. This is really great news! Would we be a people who run from our sin and radically pursue holiness. God promises restoration for His people, both physically and spiritually. He says, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten….my great army that I sent among you” (v. 25). God is going to restore all things, so that people may know that He is the Lord and there is no other. 

    After the physical restoration will come the spiritual restoration. God declares, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (v. 28). This promise brings hope! Joel was the first prophet to teach that the Holy Spirit was not just for certain individuals or Jews, but for all people who have trusted in Christ. This prophecy was fulfilled in Acts 2. After Jesus ascended into Heaven, the Holy Spirit came to Pentecost and people “began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). 

    People were confused as to what was happening, so Peter got up and quoted from the prophet Joel and explained what the Lord had promised. The same Spirit that came at Pentecost and rose Jesus from the dead dwells within us today. We are empowered when we depend on the Holy Spirit, knowing His power is so much greater than ours! Second Peter 1:3 tells us that, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life.” With the Holy Spirit in us, we can have great confidence in knowing that we are equipped to fight sin, stand firm against the schemes of the enemy, and pursue a life of holiness God calls us to.

    Questions

    1. What is a sin in your life that you have been casual about? What does it look like to be broken-hearted over your sin, and to run away from it to pursue holiness? 
    2. God calls His people to consecrate a fast in this chapter and in the previous one. Fasting is a reminder to us that we need God more than we need anything else. When was the last time you fasted? How can you integrate fasting more often as a spiritual discipline in your life? 
    3. This chapter is known for the promise of the Holy Spirit! How do you know when the Holy Spirit is guiding you? What does it look like for you to walk in step with the Spirit? (Galatians 5:16)

    Watch This

    To learn more about the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible, check out this video from The Bible Project! 

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  • Joel 1 + Introduction

    Joel 1 + Introduction

    Joel Introduction

    The key idea for the book of Joel is that the day of the Lord is near. This phrase means that the day of the Lord is coming both in the near future and in the far future. This is a day full of wrath and judgment. A day where the repentant will receive salvation and the resistant will come to ruin. This judgment is not just for Judah, but for all nations. The day of the Lord previously came in the form of a locust plague (Joel 1), it will come soon in the form of divine judgment by means of foreign armies (Joel 2), and it will come in the future when all the nations of the earth will be judged (Joel 3.) 

    This book was written by Joel, son of Pethuel, to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. There is some mystery surrounding the context of this book. It is not clear when it was written, or the specific sin that Israel has committed, but Joel references many other Old Testament books that give us some background. Joel is poetic and prophetic in nature and known for the past invasion of locusts and the future outpouring of the Spirit. There is a call of the people to wake up and weep over their sin against a holy God. To be broken hearted over their grievances and repent. Would we be a people who do the same. 

    Follow along with us through this Old Testament prophet to see the consequences of sin, the promise of the Spirit, and ultimately a hope for a future where a good God will dwell with His people once again.

    Read Joel 1

    1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.

    An Invasion of Locusts

    2 Hear this, you elders;
        listen, all who live in the land.
    Has anything like this ever happened in your days
        or in the days of your ancestors?
    3 Tell it to your children,
        and let your children tell it to their children,
        and their children to the next generation.
    4 What the locust swarm has left
        the great locusts have eaten;
    what the great locusts have left
        the young locusts have eaten;
    what the young locusts have left
        other locusts have eaten.

    5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
        Wail, all you drinkers of wine;
    wail because of the new wine,
        for it has been snatched from your lips.
    6 A nation has invaded my land,
        a mighty army without number;
    it has the teeth of a lion,
        the fangs of a lioness.
    7 It has laid waste my vines
        and ruined my fig trees.
    It has stripped off their bark
        and thrown it away,
        leaving their branches white.

    8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth
        grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
    9 Grain offerings and drink offerings
        are cut off from the house of the Lord.
    The priests are in mourning,
        those who minister before the Lord.
    10 The fields are ruined,
        the ground is dried up;
    the grain is destroyed,
        the new wine is dried up,
        the olive oil fails.

    11 Despair, you farmers,
        wail, you vine growers;
    grieve for the wheat and the barley,
        because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
    12 The vine is dried up
        and the fig tree is withered;
    the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—
        all the trees of the field—are dried up.
    Surely the people’s joy
        is withered away.

    A Call to Lamentation

    13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn;
        wail, you who minister before the altar.
    Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
        you who minister before my God;
    for the grain offerings and drink offerings
        are withheld from the house of your God.
    14 Declare a holy fast;
        call a sacred assembly.
    Summon the elders
        and all who live in the land
    to the house of the Lord your God,
        and cry out to the Lord.

    15 Alas for that day!
        For the day of the Lord is near;
        it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

    16 Has not the food been cut off
        before our very eyes—
    joy and gladness
        from the house of our God?
    17 The seeds are shriveled
        beneath the clods.
    The storehouses are in ruins,
        the granaries have been broken down,
        for the grain has dried up.
    18 How the cattle moan!
        The herds mill about
    because they have no pasture;
        even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

    19 To you, Lord, I call,
        for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness
        and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
    20 Even the wild animals pant for you;
        the streams of water have dried up
        and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.

    Go Deeper

    In this passage, we see Joel deliver a message to a wayward nation of Judah who is being punished by a plague of locusts. Joel pleads with the people to remember. Why remember? God desires us to turn to Him, not just because of righteous jealousy, but also for our ultimate good. Turning these people back to Him is a major kindness, but God doesn’t stop there! Not only does He want to help the current wayward people in Judah, but in His kindness, He wants to help all future wayward people too by hearing this message that has been passed down from generation to generation!  

    This kindness of remembrance also speaks into our human tendency to forget and drift away from God. It’s what caused the people of Judah their current predicament and still is a pattern that plagues us today. They had other stories of their ancestors turning to idols and away from God. Yet despite this, they still fell into the same pattern partially due to a lack of vigilance in their walk with God and failing to remember and retell these important stories and lessons. 

    In the passage, God had to make their devastation so widespread to disrupt their patterns of life and yank their attention back to Him! Specifically, He had to remove idolized objects and disrupt the empty routines! These issues still plague our daily lives, wrestling focus away from Him! Sometimes, like the worship practices of Judah’s priests, our routines can externally appear as Godly practices but missing a Godly focus. Sometimes the removal of idols can be difficult and painful as it was with the people of Judah, but with an eternal perspective, it is one of the greatest acts of love God can provide! After these idolized objects and empty routines have been removed, we are forced to choose a different focus point and have the opportunity to  reset our focus, joy, and need appropriately on God!

    These stories should serve as a reminder to be alert, be on guard, remember and don’t repeat the sins of the past!

    Questions

    1. What objects/routines are common in your life? Take time to consider their value and whether they’ve accidentally taken precedence over your walk with the Lord. 
    2. What stories have you taught your children and repeated for your own learning?
    3. How can you include stories like Joel 1 into your family routine to where they are not forgotten but remembered and learned from.

    Watch This

    Check out this overview of Joel from The Bible Project! 

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