First Mennonite Church
September 29, 2024
You Will Hunger No More
Text: Joel 2:21-32
Today we will be considering the book of Joel. The name Joel means “Yahweh is God.” Scholars cannot pinpoint the exact time of Joel’s ministry, however in light of internal evidence (information given in the book), it is believed to have been after the exiles returned to Judah (fifth century BCE). Within the Biblical canon, Joel is mentioned in Acts at the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, and Paul also quotes Joel in Romans 10:13.
Joel’s prophetic ministry opens with a call to the elders of Judah, literally the old people, to tell the younger generations of the devastation they had witnessed as the result of God’s judgment upon his people. This differs from other passages where the elders are called to tell the younger generation of God’s saving acts on behalf of his people (Deut. 32; Psalm 48, 78, 145). This time the older generation is asked to tell the younger generations about God’s judgement. There had been a never-before-seen invasion of locusts that devastated the land for an extended period and threatened to annihilate life, not only of people but also of animals. The locust turned the landscape resembling “the Garden of Eden” into a “desert.” Not only was there no food for the people and animals to eat, but neither was there bread for the altar in the temple nor wine or oil for the drink offerings. The priests were left in despair and mourning because they could not perform their duties in the temple (1:13-20).
Therefore, Joel’s ministry comes during a severe catastrophe in Judah. People, animals, and the landscape are in desperate conditions. But according to God’s words to Joel in chapter two, things were not going to get any better. The day of the Lord is certainly coming. In Old Testament prophetic language, “The Day of the Lord” always refers to the Day of God’s judgment. In Joel’s chapter two, the day of the Lord will be a day of destruction when all the nations will be in anguish and all “faces will grow pale.” The earth will tremble and darkness and thick clouds will come upon the face of the earth. The sun, the moon, and the stars will withdraw their light and it will be “Truly a dreadful day, terrible indeed—who can endure it? Asks the prophet Joel (2:11).
But in the face of this terrible threat, God is still open to reconsidering his plans. God pleads with his people to turn to him to avoid the calamities he has spoken. Thus he pleads:
“But 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.
God calls his people who had abandoned the agreement, the covenant they had made with God, to return to him. God asks his people to tear not their garments as expressions of remorse, but their hearts. Fasting, weeping, and lamentations should accompany their pleas for forgiveness. God urges his strayed people to come back to him. God commanded the priest to blow the horn and call an assembly. Everyone is called to come for communal lament and repentance: the elderly, the young, even mothers and their nursing babies, and the newlyweds should leave their private chambers and join in pleading for grace and forgiveness. It is important to make clear here that babies are not inherently guilty of sin, the prophet includes nursing babies among those he calls to repentance because the environment in which they will be raised is one adrift from God, and especially to emphasize the inclusive nature of his call to repentance.
This reminds us that no one is exempt from the need for repentance and transformation in our lives before God. Self-examination should be a must in our lives. Self-examination before God should be a daily practice. Self-examination should be part of every Sunday worship service. It is easy not only to fall prey to complacency, assuming that everything is fine about us with God, but also to the assumption that once redeemed sinful nature is completely dead for us. Yes, although we are God’s redeemed people in Christ, yet we should not forget that the struggle with the flesh and its desires and habits, continue. The true saint, as the saying goes, is the one who is fully aware of who he or she is before God—a sinner who has been redeemed.
In Joel chapter two, God promised that if Judah repented God would send the autumn rains and even the spring rains to make up for the years of devastation the locust and the drought had caused. The grain, oil, and wine would overflow. The pastures in the wilderness would turn green, fruit trees would bear abundantly, and the fields would yield bountifully. And the people of Judah will live in peace, praising the Lord. And never more will they be ashamed because the Lord will be their God and he will dwell with his people.
But that is not all God intends to do if his people return to him. The well-known words of Joel are associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day.
“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.
It is important here to take notice of the difference between the purpose of God’s giving of his Spirit here and that in the rest of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. From the very first mention in the Bible where God gave his Spirit to someone, it was to enable them with special skills for the task God wanted them to do.
The Spirit of God came upon Joseph and gave him wisdom and understanding to interpret the dreams of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
When the Spirit came upon David, it was to seal his calling as the new king of Israel.
In Exodus, when God commissioned the building of the Tabernacle, God chose Bezalel to create the utensils and all the ornaments to beautify the holy space. There God tells Moses whom he had called and given Bezalel wisdom, understanding, and all kinds of skills to be the lead craftsman (Exodus 31:2, 3).
In Judges 6, God gave his Spirit to Gideon and the other judges to liberate Israel from its oppressors.
In other cases, God gave his Spirit to those he called to prophesy. The 72 elders Moses chose to help him when the Israelites needed a resolution during the exodus journey also prophesied. Saul prophesied when God’s Spirit came upon him after he was anointed king of Israel. The prophet Micha also did. When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost Day, it also enabled the disciples to proclaim the gospel to those who heard them speak in other languages.
However, in Joel, God promises to give his Spirit as the ultimate evidence that his people have been truly reconciled with their God. Granting of the Spirit would be evidence of a fully restored relationship between God and his people. The old, the young, men and women will experience the nearness of God. All flesh will be given some that up to then had only been reserved for a few. Prophecy, visions, and dreams will be evidence that God is dwelling among his people and that his people are experiencing the presence of God in concrete ways.
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.
Let me close here by reminding ourselves that Joel’s prophetic ministry took place amid a severe food shortage in Judah. The land was barren because the swarms of locusts and drought had devastated the land for a long period of time. People and animals were languishing. But God shows Joel that the horizon paints no better picture. The Day of the Lord is approaching. Amid bad times, worse times were yet to come. Yet, God opens himself to his people. He pleads with them to return to him, to restore the broken relationship. God promises the restoration of land, resources, life, and relationships. God even promises to pour his Spirit as a testament to a fully restored relationship.
There is today, widespread hunger, both literal and metaphorical. People are hungry for peace amidst the wars going on, in the world. People are hungering for civility amidst all kinds of toxic discourses. People are hungering for someone to solve their problems, relying on politicians who are ready to make promises of abundance, security, and peace, so that we can carry on with our lives without considering the cost, environmental, social, or economic. This kind of hunger infiltrates all social groups, and sometimes even us who fill the sanctuaries on Sundays and confess to following the One who said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” This reality of our state of hunger only makes Joel’s message a relevant and sorely needed message we need to hear. The message is the same: “But 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 when we repent, God will not only refresh the land, truly satisfy our hunger, and make us live in peace, but will also give us the Holy Spirit as evidence that the Lord lives among his people and that we are the children of God. Amen!
Pastor Romero