Judgment (Joel 3:1-21)

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Well, good morning. If you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and grab those open to Joel, chapter three. If you’re using one of the black pew Bibles in front of you, you’ll find that on page 744, if you don’t have a Bible, please take that one this morning with you as you go, because that is our gift to you. I hope, as we finish this Joel series, that as you think back on a book, that maybe you haven’t spent an extended amount of time in or ever heard a sermon series preach from, that you would not first think of locusts or a famine or fire, but that you would leave in awe of God’s holiness, His righteousness, His love and His grace. That’s what I hope when you hear about the book. About the Book of Joel, and that’s why I hope you hear this morning as we walk through chapter three. You know, the year after year, the most Googled question about God is, why does God allow evil and suffering? It’s actually above the question, Does God exist? Which is interesting, right? Why does God allow evil and suffering year after year? And it’s a great question. It’s one we all have to wrestle with. It’s one that every worldview, by the way, has to answer, not just Christianity. Question is not, though, just a theological one that we ask in philosophy class or a religion class or for a debate. It’s not just a question that somebody asks to try and prove to us that God can’t exist. Maybe somebody that’s a skeptic, maybe you’re here even this morning, and this question can be used in that way, but this question is often asked from a very personal and serious place, when people are in the thick of suffering, when people are experiencing things many times at the hands of others, and so they’re asking this question at a different level. It hits a little bit different when we know that’s the context. And then sometimes the question takes even more of a personal shape, when those experiencing evil will ask the question this way, where is God? Does God even see me anymore? Maybe this is question that you’ve asked, or maybe somebody in your life is asking you this question now it is definitely the question asked by probably the 20 point 9 million people that are trafficked in the world every year. Where is God every in 10 days we celebrate, we remember 911 the anniversary of 911 when churches across the country had sermon titles. Where was God on 911 and every day, people who at the hands of others, endure hardship, abuse, suffering or living in a constant state of fear, ask, Where is God? I’m sure most of you have asked this question before. We’re in good company, though, because many of the authors of the Bible ask the same question. One of those was King David. This is what he says. I’m just going to says. I’m just going to read it for you. It’s not going to be on the screen. Psalm 13, How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? How long while these questions are asked by everyone? We know that the Jews in the Old Testament and Christians the New Testament were asking these types of questions when they suffered at the hands of others because of their faith and like them, we ask, God, have you seen what’s happening around the world? Do you see what the nations are doing? Do you see the injustices that are done, and are you going to do anything about it? Well, today we’re going to get an answer to these questions as we conclude our time in Joel and we look at chapter three. So this morning, first, you’ll see our outline there. We’re going to see first that God has a charge against the nations. So let’s read verses one through 11, and we’re going to see what God has against them. Verse one in those days, and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 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. They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes. They sold girls for wine to drink. Now what have you against me? Tire inside and in 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 in your own heads what you have done for you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks that you might descend them far from their homeland. See I’m 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. I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabians, a nation far away the Lord has spoken. Proclaim this among the nations. Prepare for war. Rouse the Warriors. Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weaklings say, I am strong. Come quickly all you nations from every side and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, Lord. We’ll pause there in those days and at that time, as it starts off, kind of connects us what we looked at last week as God restores the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem. We saw God is faithful to his people. He will fulfill what he says. He is good on his promises. So God restores his people and assures them here that he has not been blind to their pain. He has not turned his head away. He has seen exactly what has happened to them, what the hands of the nations have done. But the people are not the ones that are supposed to do anything. They’re not the ones to retaliate or to seek vengeance. What does it say the people are supposed to listen to God, who is the one who acts in Deuteronomy and Romans, we see that vengeance is the Lord’s he will repay, not us. And Joel is going to paint a very vivid picture for us here of this kind of courtroom scene between the nations and God throughout this chapter. And so here we get the setting right out of the gate here in verse two, that this is going to happen in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Now probably not a location we can point to on a map, because there is no such place named that. It’s only mentioned in Joel twice as the valley of Jehoshaphat and once as the valley of decision. But Jehoshaphat means Yahweh judges, the Lord judges. So this is symbolic of this time and this place when God will judge. And so what are, what are the nations doing here? Why have they been brought together? And here we get God’s charges against the nations, the things he knows they have done to his people. So it says they have scattered God’s people. They have divided up his land. They have sold his people, even boys and girls, for prostitutes and wine. They have been guilty of trafficking people, even children. So God knows the wickedness in the world. He knows the injustices that are being done. He sees every one of them. He knows every face. He knows every name. There is nothing that is truly done in secret, and God will bring judgment for every one of these wicked acts and injustices done in the past, present and future. And as we’ve read through Joel and we know our Old Testament history, many of you are very familiar with the Old Testament and what it says about God’s discipline to his people by using the nation. So we’re kind of confused, maybe, hasn’t God sent these nations as disobey, as discipline for the people’s disobedience. And the answer is yes, but the wickedness and evil of people have taken it and exploited it, taken advantage of it, have used from their own wickedness and evilness in their heart whatever they wanted to do to these people, and took it above and beyond what they should have done. So God is holding them accountable for their hearts and what they’re doing. Alright, now we get Who are these people? Verse four, their attire, Sidon Philistia. Later in verse 19, we’re going to read about Egypt and Edom, and we read about atrocities committed against God’s people throughout the Old Testament by these nations. And God knows them all. And so he’s saying there is going to be judgment. And if you’ve been with us through this series, you know, we’ve talked about this kind of mountain range where sometimes we think the fulfillment is coming in that first mountain, and we get there and we see, oh, there’s, there’s another mountain behind it, and then we get there and there’s another mountain behind it. So in a way, the Lord does bring fulfillment on these nations by judging them throughout their history. In fact, the Philistines, we have no written record of them after the sixth century. It’s like they just vanished tire inside and get taken over by other nations. They get enslaved and sent away and exiled. So we have these short judgments, but this chapter is talking about a bigger judgment another day that is coming that is the one where things will be completely fulfilled. So we have to have that in mind as we walk through this chapter, as we have throughout the whole series.
So these are the nations that he’s talking about, representative of any nation that is against God. But what is the part? Punishment, then for the guilty. Well, he says, if you see it there, that he will bring things back on them, swiftly and speedily return things on them. And he asked the question, Have I done something that you repay me for? And the answer is no, because God is righteous and just, and so since they have done this to God’s people, it will not go unpunished. This could be hard to hear. It could be hard to hear until we realize that the nations have, over and over and over again, turned their back on God and His people, and what they should do in those moments is repent, like when Jonah went to Nineveh, and the people repented for what they’ve done, and God did not destroy them. These people have opportunity after opportunity to know the one true God, to see his people, to see His Holiness and repent, and they choose instead to ignore him, living their lives that there’s no consequence for their sin. So they openly are defiant against God and His people. And so Joel summons them, starting in verse nine, to war. And he says, prepare for war. Rouse the Warriors. The nations are going to come against God. It says even the weak people are going to say, I am strong. They’re so angry with God and His people that even though they can’t fight, they’re going to still go and try to fight. And then they’re going to take their tools that they use in their community, these agricultural tools, and they’re going to turn them into weapons against God. There’s another place in the Bible that talks about this. It talks about on the other side of things. In Isaiah chapter two, we read this says they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. So Joel is reversing this, because here what Isaiah is talking about is the vision of the new heavens and the new earth when we’re at peace and there are no more enemies, and we take all of our weapons and we turn them into tools to be used. And here Joel is reversing that, saying, No, you’re going to be using your tools and turn them into weapons to go against God. So why does God take what the nations have done so seriously? Well, I kind of want to go through this section again, and I want you to hear why he takes it so seriously. He’s going to put them on trial for this, for what they did to my inheritance, my people, Israel. He they scattered my people, divided up my land, cast lots for my people, took my silver, my gold, carried off my finest treasures. Do you see the theme? They took God’s people? They took it God’s things. Eight times he says my because when the nations have done this against his people. They have done it against God. That’s who they’ve done this to. They didn’t just steal anyone, any person. They sold God’s children. They didn’t just steal treasures. They sold God’s treasures. And it’s not just some land, it’s God’s land. And if we go all the way back to when God first called Abraham back in Genesis, chapter 12. This is what God tells Abraham. He says, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse So from the very beginning, he said, when nations do this to you, when they oppose you, they’re doing it to me. Because in this moment, God takes His word seriously because he has made a covenant with His people and promised them that they were his. And so, of course, he takes these sins seriously, because God will not be mocked, and the nations will find that out all those charges and the punishment for the guilty is declared. And let’s keep reading, because we’re going to find out what the verdict is. What is God’s verdict on the nations? Look at verse 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, swing the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come trample the grapes, for the wine press is full and the vats overflow, so great is their wickedness, multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near. In the valley of decision, the sun and the moon will be darkened and the stars no longer shine. 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. Let’s pause there. It’s important to note again, this idea of these mountain peaks and and where this is ultimately going, because we start to see some of this fulfillment. Happening here and and knowing that it’s pointing to a much larger fulfillment in the future. So there’s some short term and partial fulfillment, but there is a once and for all judgment that is coming. We’ve already talked about it in this series, The Day of the Lord. There are these days that are coming, and then there is that one day of the Lord, and that’s what we have Joel talking about here. So at that time, whatever confidence the nations walked in with before God in this valley is going to be very short lived, because when they gather in this valley to fight, God is not standing ready to fight. It’s very important that we see that he is sitting. He is sitting ready to judge. There isn’t going to be a fight when they see him as he is, when he brings his verdict on them, no one can say a thing. There is no charge that they can bring against God. There is no defense that they can bring for their sin. There is no tactic that they can use to win, and no slick words to get past God’s eye and God’s judgment. Verse 13 shows us that the fields and the vines are in full bloom, which usually is a beautiful picture in Scripture, until we realize that it is ripe and full of wickedness, right? So great is their wickedness. So the harvest is coming, not a harvest we want to be in the judgment. Language here is of a sickle cutting down the grain and grapes being trampled. Now the grain, if you know anything about a sickle, which I haven’t used recently, not sure if any of you have, but a sickle has one job, cut the grain down, and when it goes through, it will accomplish its purpose. And I don’t know if you ever stood on grapes again. I haven’t maybe some of you had that experience of trampling grapes, but I got to believe my weight on top of grapes, the grapes have no chance. And that’s the picture that we have here of God’s judgment. When the sickle comes through, the grain will be gone. When the grapes are stuffed on, they will be trampled. So it is for those who are opposed to God, who reject Him, who come ready to fight against him one more time. They are no match for God. None of us are. And the apostle John uses this language again in Revelation. Chapter 14, again, I’m going to read it for you, says the angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great wine press of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the wine press outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horse’s bridles for a distance of 1600 stadia. This is the judgment that is coming from what verse 14 says, is multitudes. Multitudes, which really just means a countless number of people have gathered in this valley, gathered for God’s judgment, and God will not miss a thing. He will not miss a thing. And this reality, as da Carson says, should be something we preach about, something we pray about, something we talk about with tears in our eyes, because people we know are going to be in this multitudes who don’t know Jesus, people that we see every day will stand in this valley, This valley of decision. In this valley of decision
is not an opportunity for people to believe one last time. That’s not what this valley is. The people have gathered for war, confirming that they had already made their decision about God, and they are still coming ready to fight with agricultural tools that they took to make weapons and stand against God. People too weak to fight instead of repenting of their sin and bowing to the one true God, say, I’m in this I’m going to fight against him that they would rather go to battle than do what God has called them to do. So this valley of decision is not a place for them to make one last decision. It is the valley of decision where God will make his final decision on their destination, the final judgment on all of us. And if you fought, if you fought against God your whole life, if you’ve lived, is that there are no consequences for your sin. Why would God make any other. Decision in that moment, because you bring in that and continuing to fight against him shows that you never truly believed in him. So you might be thinking it’s a good question to ask, What about Jesus? Isn’t he loving and forgiving, and this God of the Old Testament is that judgmental, wrathful, angry god who just flies off the rails. Let’s go to Jesus. Look at Matthew 25 this is Jesus speaking. He says, When the Son of Man, which, by the way, the Son of Man is Jesus’ favorite designation for himself, the thing he calls himself the most 78 times in the gospels, he calls himself the Son of Man. So when the Son of Man, Jesus comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people, one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Jesus is the judge. Jesus does the separating. At the end on that day of decision of that great separation, Jesus lays out two destinations for people look at later in Matthew 25 verse 46 then they those who have rejected Him, opposed him, will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous, those who have trusted in Him, to eternal life. JC, Ryle, Anglican, Bishop and author, said this about Jesus’s words. He says, Let unconverted people think of this and be afraid their judge will be that same Christ whose gospel they now despise and whose gracious invitations they refuse to hear all of us, all of us sitting here deserve what verse 16 says is the roar from Zion. All of us deserve to hear the roar of God’s judgment against us. Because everybody in this room has lived you’ve lived your life. I’ve lived my life at some point believing there’s no consequence for my sin of standing with a fist or a puny sword before God, defying him, thinking I can make it on my own. We’ve all harmed others. We’ve all done evil. We’ve all caused suffering. We’ve all sinned against God. The only thing we should hear is the roar from Zion. We all should tremble like the earth and the heavens tremble here in verse 16. And yet Joel goes on to bring great comfort and hope, because he continues with that very important word that we talk about a lot here. But verse 16, but the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. We read Psalm 46 earlier. God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in trouble his therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. God is our refuge and our strength. JC, Ryle continues with words to believers. He says, Let believers think of this and take comfort. He that sits upon the throne in that great and dreadful day will be their Savior, their shepherd, their high priest, their elder brother, their friend. When they see him, they will have no cause to be alarmed. If someone is in the middle of a crisis and they’re being hurt. They’re being harmed in some way, and they call the police officers to come, and those sirens come, wherever they are, two things are going to happen, the person committing the crime is going to fear the sirens and is going to flee and try and get away. What is the person who called going to do run to the sirens. Run to the cops. You see, because cops are cops, and they’ll they’re not your friend, right? If you do something wrong, they’re your friend. If you’re doing the right thing, it doesn’t change who they are. You look at them, depending on your situation. And so when God comes and he roars, what are we going to do try and run away from him, or are we going to run to Him for refuge? He’s still God. He is still holy. He is righteous. He calls us to perfection. So some are going to run you. Are away from him. Some are going to run to Him as our refuge and our strength. But how do we do that? How is that true? How can we run to Him? Because what we always already saying this morning, because on the cross of Jesus Christ, on that cross when he died, all the judgment deserved for us was on him. The sin of man and wrath of God has been on Jesus. Laid the sickle fell on him. He was trampled and crushed for our iniquities. Everything was paid for in his final breath, when he said, It is finished, amen, It is finished. It’s done. And we know that it was done because he broke free from death three days later, and he’s alive today. He shows that sin and death don’t have any power over him, and they don’t have any power over us any longer, if we are truly in him. See, justice is always done. Justice is always done. It’s just a matter of whether or not that last day you stand before God in your own righteousness, which is actually unrighteousness and imperfection, or you stand before him dressed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, in His perfection, but justice will be done. It was either done on that cross for us, or you’re going to hear these words that we’ve read this morning, the sickle will come down and the grapes will be trampled. But there is good news that Jesus has done it for us in our place. And there’s more good news. We aren’t just saved from something, we’re saved to something. Look at verses 17 through 21 because God is bringing comfort here to his people. Let’s read verse 17 at the end of the chapter. 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. 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. But Egypt will be desolate. Edom, a desert waste because of violence done to the people of Judah and whose land they shed innocent blood, Judah will be inhabited forever in Jerusalem through all generations. Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? No, I will not. The Lord dwells in Zion. All of this is done so that the people would know that the Lord is their God, and He dwells in Zion at the Last Judgment, there will never be an enemy that can enter in again. No one can invade God’s Kingdom any longer. So the blessings God brings on his people would bring such comfort to them, because these blessings are a reversal of everything we read in chapter one of this book. Okay, so let’s look at that the locusts in chapter one had laid waste the vines so that the vines dried up and there was no wine, and so therefore there could be no drink offering to God. Now, what does it say? The Mountains will drip with new wine. God is reversing things, making it new next, the cattle in chapter one will moan, and the herds will mill about because they have no pasture, because the water is dried up and the fire has taken their food. Now what happens? The hills will flow with milk, because the animals that provide the milk will have everything they need, all the pasture they could want. Then we read in chapter one that the ravines were dried up, the land dry in parts and the trees died. What do we see here? All the ravines of Judah will run with water.
A fountain will flow out of the house or the Lord’s house, and will water the Valley of acacias. No more dead trees, no more hope for water. It’s just going to be there. So what God is saying in this moment to his people, what he’s saying to us is you will have everything you need. You will be completely satisfied. Never hungry again, never thirsty again. No more famines, no more invaders, no more trafficking or slavery, just the blessings of God leading to a flourishing people. In contrast to the nations, verse 19, Egypt and Edom, that will be desolate, a desert, waste, they experiences the riches on Earth, but no longer, because judgment will fall on them for all they have done against God’s people. Vengeance is the Lord’s he will repay. He will avenge the blood. It shed by the wickedness of the other nations. And we don’t have time this morning to go through Revelation chapters 20 through 22 but I would encourage you on your own time to do that and see everything that God is undoing from the effects of sin and evil in the world. See it all reversed, everything restored to an Eden like garden. In fact, a better garden than that, because there is no presence or possibility of sin any longer. God’s fullness in salvation is on display here. I was thinking about it this week. I don’t know how many of you guys remember the first time you went to a buffet? I do. I remember it because my grandparents always took us to OCB Old Country Buffet, if you remember it on Roosevelt Road, right there. And I remember walking in there that first time. And I mean, I remember as a kid, I had never seen that much food in my life. So naturally I went to the jello and the fried chicken, and I just said, I just can just keep going up, taking more plates of food. And then I got to the end, what’s at the end, ice cream. And there was just a machine that I got to pull the lever, I got to fill up. And then I saw somebody who had the most genius idea ever. They left the little ice cream bowl they had there, and they got a soup bowl. And I was like, wow, this is awesome. So I’m gonna take the soup bowl and get ice cream, and then I can keep going up over and over and over again. And that pales in comparison to what heaven is going to be like. It pales in comparison like, here’s the thing i i ate as much as I could because I didn’t know when I’d be back in heaven. It never ends. I don’t have to go crazy because tomorrow it be there, right? There is no famine. There’s no concern that an invader is going to come and I’m going to lose everything. It’s all right there all the time. It’s so much better than anything we will ever picture here on this earth or experience. Isn’t this what Jesus wanted for us? Wants for us, what he wanted for the women. Women at the well in John four, listen what he said to her. But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. He’s telling her, everything you’re looking for, everything you’re trying just come to me, the water will never run out. All the blessings of the world will taste better when we realize who we’re sitting down with, because who’s across the table from us is Jesus Himself, which makes all the blessings have any kind of meaning at all, is he is there with us, enjoying the blessings that He gave everything His life for us to be able to have. So it’s not just the blessings that we get, it’s a fact we get Jesus, the greatest blessing in our life. And so when we look at him, then when we see him, we see the big idea this morning, and it’s this, the God who judges also saves. So take refuge in Him. This is the point. This is what we need to walk away with the God who judges also saves. So take refuge in Him. There are always two groups in this room. Always two groups. There are those who say yes to Jesus and those who say no to Jesus. It’s what Jesus talked about in Matthew 25 it’s what Joel talks about at the end in the valley of decision. So if you’re here this morning and you’re seeking, you’re asking questions, or you’re skeptical of the whole Christianity thing, not quite sure, then we’re happy that you’re here. But today is a day of decision, so that you don’t have to dread that final day of God’s decision. And I just want to tell you, indecision in this life is a decision. Indecision in this life is a decision to say no to Jesus. There’s two groups. We say yes or we say no. So I want to encourage you, if you’re here this morning to stop fighting, stop fighting. He sees everything you’ve ever done, and he’s loved you anyways, and he’s made a way for you to be saved, to be forgiven and to come to Him, to know Him. So drop the weapons and believe in Him. If you make that decision in that last day, then God will welcome you into his kingdom, because what Christ has done for you. So take refuge in Him today. And if you’re here, assuming most of us that are here fall into this other category, sheep who believe in Jesus, who follow our great Shepherd, i. Encourage you this morning to take refuge in Him when persecution comes, when people say things against you and him say things against your faith, because remember he sees it all, and remember when they speak against you, they are truly speaking against him, and it is no longer ours to repay, so we can entrust it to him. This should encourage us, because we don’t need to fight back. I want you guys to hear that this morning. We need to hear that this morning because the culture wants to fight. We are not called to fight. We are called to love and let vengeance be the Lord’s people need to see the love because that’s what’s going to be attractive to them. God sees it all. He will hold everybody accountable for their actions, either through judgment at the end or when it fell on Jesus, if you are in Christ, and then if you’re here this morning, and you’re experiencing any type of suffering, especially at the hands of others, remember, God sees it. He sees you. He will make every wrong, right he will restore. I’m not sure how. I’m not sure when. It might be those little peaks for a little while, but there is a final day coming where everything will be made right. We will experience unhindered access to Him and His blessings forever, and that is something worth celebrating this morning. Let’s pray.
Lord, we come to you today believing that you are both judge and Savior. Lord, you know you see who we are. You’ve seen what we’ve done, and yet you, in your grace and mercy, love us. I pray that all of us this morning remember the cost for Jesus on that cross to make a way for us to be saved, so that when we hear you come, when you are here, we run to you to take refuge. Lord, I pray for anybody running away from you in this moment that they would drop to their knees, that they would surrender their life to you. So then that final day of decision, you welcome them in, you sit at the table, you eat with them and they get to see you face to face, and all of us in that moment will only be able to say thank you, because we know that there’s nothing we have done to deserve that moment at that table with you. So Lord, we’re grateful for your love and your grace in our life. We pray all this in Jesus name Amen. Amen.