"Hear this, you leaders of the people.
Listen, all who live in the land.
In all your history,
has anything like this happened before?
3 Tell your children about it in the years to come,
and let your children tell their children.
Pass the story down from generation to generation." Joel 1:2-3
Why have our ancestors not passed down more of the true stories of the past? Sure, we have an idea of events like Pearl Harbor, WWII and Hitler. But what about other world atrocities such as the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) when the Philippines fought for their independence from the USA. Or how about the murder of the only leader ever democratically elected, Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba in 1961?
"A vast army of locusts has invaded my land,
a terrible army too numerous to count.
Its teeth are like lions’ teeth,
its fangs like those of a lioness.
It has destroyed my grapevines
and ruined my fig trees,
stripping their bark and destroying it,
leaving the branches white and bare." Joel 1:6-7
If history repeats itself, why are we not learning to avoid such tragedies? My eyes and heart saw this scripture differently than before. I see that God's people are his grapevines and fig trees, "being stripped of bark and destroyed" by sin. When you strip a tree of it's bark, it dies. The locusts represent sin. Our sin. The sin we do to each other. Nation to nation.
Continuing in Joel 1:10, "The fields are ruined, the land is stripped bare. The grain is destroyed, the grapes have shriveled, and the olive oil is gone." "The seeds die in parched ground, and the grain crops fail. The barns stand empty and the grainaries are abandoned... How the animals moan with hunger! The herds of cattle wander about confused, because they have no pasture."
I can't help but think about the famine crisis in Solamia. In America, the richest nation in the world, and we have starving and homeless people on the streets. Our crisis is no comparison. Yet, there is still a "pull up your bootstraps" attitude in some. I find myself knowing the law of principle, we reap what we sow. THE GOLDEN RULE. If we as a nation, under God, caused such harm to other nations, are we now reaping what we have sown? We are destroying our land which was once self-sustaining, by ruining organic crops to build golf courses and malls. Spraying our once healthy crops and injecting our once organic food to mass produce it, all for more money, power, and control? What happened to the garden?
God's grace never ends. His grace for our wickedness and selfishness continues to pour out. Yet He continues to call us back to Him. He reminds us of his mercies, which are renewed every morning.
"Fire burns in front of them,
and flames follow after them.
Ahead of them the land lies
as beautiful as the Garden of Eden." Joel 2:3
The Bible consistently identifies God and the Holy Spirit as Fire. Could this scripture reveal God going before hand, following and pursuing us, His creation? Once we have been refined by the fire (as a product after a visit to the kiln, or elements like silver and gold) we are forever changed. If we allow ourselves to be refined by the very breath of God, as Jake Hamilton puts it, "if you see your life as dry dirt, the only thing you need, is the breath of God." Could it be that we obtain wisdom once we are struck by the fire? As scripture says,
"By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:19
What if we got away from the religious, self-righteous, ethnocentric world views, and sought God for who he really is?
Joel 1:8 - "Weep like a bride dressed in black, mourning the death of her husband." Over and over again God is represented as the groom and we are his bride. Yet His word over and over again promises that He never leaves us or forsakes us. (Hebrews 13:5) Because He never leaves us, why are we leaving Him?
What if we walked in Love,
That is why the Lord says,
“Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He is eager to relent and not punish." Joel 2:12-13
I can't help but to think about when the book of Joel was estimated to have been written - between 835 and 800 B.C. Again, the word clearly shows us to get away from religious acts, not by tearing our clothing, instead tearing our hearts. Allowing God to show us His will for our lives. His ways.
"And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." (Job 28:28)
If we submit ourselves to Him unconditionally, He can change the wickedness of our hearts. Just like the aftermath of a forest fire. What if this is one of His many ways to remind us he is still in control? He is full of grace and mercy. Surely the Lord has done great things!
Don’t be afraid, my people.
Be glad now and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things.
Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,
for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
The trees will again be filled with fruit;
fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more." Joel 2:21-22
Jesus, I thank you for your grace. I thank you for your patience with me, as you help me to see my life as you see it. I thank you for the strength you have given me to endure pain in my life, turning it around for good. I pray you help me to see through your eyes, seeking you in all things before any actions. I ask that you help me to love beyond my human capabilities. Let me see through Your eyes. Let me be the voice, hands and feet to love the "least of these."
