The first chapter of the book of Joel tells how the insect life cursed the nation of Israel by devouring the crops. If Israel kept the Law of Moses all destructive forces of the curse upon the land would have been removed, including these insects. Joel however, does predict a time when these insects will no longer devour the crops.
Note!!! Joel prophesied six years before the captivity of the children of Judah-six years before they went into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar in 606 B.C.
The second chapter of Joel predicts a future and complete restoration within the land, the animal life, and damages from the insect life where Christ will be known in the midst of Israel.
Joel 2:22-29...Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
*This distinct passage says twice that, "my people shall not be ashamed". Israel certainly must be ashamed, having 28 nations against them now!
Joel prophesied the restoration of all things, beginning with the judgment of God. When we study the entire second chapter of Joel closely, we see the judgment of God must be against Israel. As a plague of locusts would move through the land, so would Gentile armies move through the land of Canaan to destroy every thing in it. The locusts would run up on the walls and enter in at the windows and nothing could stop them. Likewise, all Israel will be helpless to stop the armies of the Gentiles. That is the reason the prophet declared:
Joel 2:17...Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
This picture of God's judgment included the pronouncement by the Prophet concerning the king of Babylon and how he would besiege the city and completely destroy it if Israel did not call upon the Lord. He had already attacked the city five years earlier but did not completely destroy it. This utter destruction to come is a type of armies of the Gentiles that will fight against Jerusalem in the Battle of Armageddon in the last days. It is only then that Israel will finally call upon the Lord and be delivered.
The prophet Joel is expressing the full wrath of God upon Israel for their sin, and there is no escape from it without calling upon the name of the Lord. If they had turned to the Lord when the armies of the Gentiles came against Israel, the blessings of the Lord would have been upon the land.
Here's a more vivid description of the restoration of the land in Isreal that is given in Joel 2:22:
Joel 2:22...Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
Notice Joel prophesies of the former an latter rain which shows God's control of the atmospheric conditions in the future restoration of the Kingdom on Earth. All this is beautifully brought out in Joel's Prophetic picture of Israel's future Kingdom. The reason for the miraculous agricultural restoration is supernatural rainfall-an early and latter rain in the first month. Historically, this has never occurred in Palestine! Often misunderstood, this "early and latter rain" has nothing to do with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit but simply means that the restoration of the land must occur before the Holy Spirit is poured upon Israel. This is what you get when you take "spiritualization out of the scripture".
Here's what you'll have after God's Restoration takes place.
Joel 2:24...and the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
In chapter 11 of Isaiah, the prophet predicts the complete restoration of the land and the beast of the field will be once again in perfect harmony with man.
Isa 11:6-11...The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Here's one that is spiritualized often! It relates to God's gathering of His elect Israel from graves of the nations. The gathering of the Hebrew nation out of the graves of the nations will not occur until after the full restoration when Christ reigns on earth. This can be proven in Isaiah 11:1-11 in which all animal life is to be restored to the natural state enjoyed in the Garden of Eden. At this time, the lion will eat straw like an ox. It is after that restoration of the land and after the gathering of the people of Israel from the graves of the nations, "wherein you were scattered" that the Spirit will be poured out. Remember in Ezekiel 37 that the dry bones had to be gathered before the spirit of life was breathed into them.
Ezek 37:11...Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel:
The dry bones represented...the whole house of Israel. It is declared,
Ezek 37:13-14...And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you
Then the Lord would come and pour out His Spirit as promised to Israel.
No comments:
Post a Comment