Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans 8:1 THIS STUDY GUIDE BELONGS TO:
INTRODUCTION The poet T. S. Eliot famously suggested that the world would end not with a bang but a whimper. The Old Testament prophet Joel might disagree and add that it would happen with a final battle and judgment on the coming Day of the Lord. Many interpret Joel s prophecy as a foretelling of the end times and some believe we are living in those times today. In anticipation of God s judgment, Joel calls for everyone from priests to drunkards to turn (and return) to the Lord and discover that He is abounding in love and compassion. February 21 Signs of the Times Joel 1: 1-20 February 28 Torn Hearts, Torn Garments Joel 2: 1-17 March 6 No Other God Joel 2: 18-27 March 13 Pentecost Promise Joel 2: 28-32 March 20 Valley of Decision Joel 3: 1-21
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WEEK ONE FEBRUARY 21 SIGNS OF THE TIMES JOEL 1: 1-20 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, son of Pethuel. Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. JOEL 1:1-4 FOR REFLECTION Joel begins by recounting a locust invasion that brought disaster unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. How do you respond when disaster strikes? How might Joel encourage you to respond? NOTES 3
WEEK TWO FEBRUARY 28 TORN HEARTS, TORN GARMENTS JOEL 2: 1-17 Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. 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. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. JOEL 2:12-14 FOR REFLECTION As the Day of the Lord approaches, Joel calls for repentance. What is the difference between rending your heart and rending your garments? In what areas of your life might God be challenging you to return to Him? NOTES 4
WEEK THREE MARCH 6 NO OTHER GOD JOEL 2: 18-27 I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm My great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will My people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will My people be shamed. JOEL 2: 25 27 FOR REFLECTION The context of Joel suggests that the sin of Jerusalem was breaking the First Commandment and placing other gods before the God of Israel. What are some of the ways we are guilty of breaking that commandment? How is knowing the One True God connected with His repaying what the locusts have devoured? NOTES 5
WEEK FOUR MARCH 13 PENTECOST PROMISE JOEL 2: 28 32 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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. JOEL 2: 28 32 FOR REFLECTION Joel reminds us that the effect of this blessing is that people will receive spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit, not only for their own use, but also for the benefit of the church. How can you live your life in such a way that it reflects the blessing of salvation? How can you use the gifts God has given you to benefit the church? NOTES 6
WEEK FIVE MARCH 20 VALLEY OF DECISION JOEL 3: 1 21 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and 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. JOEL 3: 14 16 FOR REFLECTION When the Day of the Lord arrives and the nations gather in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, it is God who makes the decision. How might that encourage us to respond today? How has this study of Joel challenged you to prepare as the Day of the Lord approaches? NOTES 7
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UNDERSTANDING THE DAY OF THE LORD For Joel, the Day of the Lord is both a wonderful day to long for and a horrific day to dread. For the Day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. JOEL 1: 15 The Day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness... The Day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? JOEL 2: 1, 2 & 11 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. JOEL 2: 31 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. JOEL 3: 14 In the end, the Day of the Lord is positive for Israel but ominous for all other nations. Now the tables have been turned, and Zion is not a mountain devoured by locusts and human armies. It is a wonderful garden where God meets constantly with His people, surrounded by abundance and blessings. NOTES 9
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Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. "And Can It Be That I Should Gain" Charles Wesley (1738)