Daily Bible Study

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JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE JOEL Day 1 Joel 1 Joel 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. 8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’S ministers, mourn. 10 The field is wasted, the land mourns; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languishes. 11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. 12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languishes; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. 13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God. 14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, 15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. 16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. 18 How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. 19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. What do you do when everything looks hopeless? What do you do when nothing goes right and everything you attempt is ruined? Joel was a prophet to Judah. He describes four types of worms that eat up and destroy everything in their path. If you recall, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream only Daniel could interpret. It concerned four empires. Each would rise up and destroy the one before it. Joel describes the destruction as that of worms coming against the people to destroy everything – their food, their livelihood, their lives. He described how the vine was laid waste, and the fig tree made bare of its bark. Consider what Joel is saying. The vine and fig tree represent Israel, God’s chosen people. The enemy has stripped Israel, laid her bare. Taken away her food – the corn, and the oil. Oil represents the Holy Spirit. The people were bereft of the Word of God. They had nothing to eat or drink. The plants were withered on the vine, and the new wine was taken from them before they could take a drink. Even their priests could not minister the Word to them. Therefore, they were told to mourn, to fast, because of the desolation that had come to all the people. Water represents people. Nothing could stand against the enemy who had come against them. Satan will always come against God’s people, those who accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, and those who were chosen by God, and through whom our Savior came, the children of Israel. He will pull out all stops and let nothing hinder him in the destruction of God’s people. As Christians, you need to stand firm against Satan, not allowing your guard to fall, standing firm in your faith in Jesus Christ. You need to tell yourself that greater is he (God) who is in you, than he (Satan) who is in the world. You need to keep your weapons of warfare trained on Satan to the pulling down of strongholds, and you need to stand in your armor, against which nothing can penetrate. 1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (KJV) 2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. When you rely on God, and the new wine, your new covenant in Christ Jesus, and have the oil of the Holy Spirit safeguarding you, and the blood of Jesus covering you, Satan doesn’t stand a chance. Joel was telling Judah not to allow the enemy to take away their portion in God, but to trust God, and he would destroy the works of the enemy. Let’s pray: Father, help me rely on your Word when Satan comes against me. Fill me with your promises, feed me on your Word, and let me drink from the well that will never run dry. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 1 March 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay