What a Minor Has For Us
Slotted into the back of the Older Testament a reader finds a dozen smaller books of prophecy. Because of their length, Augustine first called them the "Minor Prophets," but in terms of message, there is nothing minor about them.
OT prophets preached as the Bible's bad boys. They embraced the labels of outsider, or trouble-maker, or rabble-rousing dust-kicker. Their messages wrap themselves around overall themes of God's people departing from the truth, dangerous consequences certain to come, and for some of them, God holding out for a good future if they return to him. God moved them to speak harsh truth to challenge hard hearts.
One of these short books is that of Joel. In his introduction to the book, Eugene Peterson has this to say:
Unexpected illness or death, national catastrophe, social disruption, personal loss, plague or epidemic, devastation by flood or drought, turn men and women who haven't given God a thought in years into instant theologians. Rumors fly "...God is angry"..."God is playing favorites and I'm not a favorite"..."God is holding a grudge and now we are paying for it." It is the task of the prophet to stand up at such moments of catastrophe and clarify who God is and how he acts...[using the danger] as a lever for prying people's lives loose from their sins and setting them free for God.
The events that Joel employed as a backdrop to his message were waves of devastating locust swarms that were crushing the economy and society of Israel compounded by a severe drought. He outlined the obvious: The nation was at risk of disaster and likened the swarms to an invading army. Joel uses this immediate danger to call the nation to soften their hearts toward God. After describing the current situation and the dangers all around them, Joel, in the middle of ch.2 teaches the need of the hour.
"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 loyal love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Now, that's really good. Here they were facing devastation, and we all know how crisis times can focus our attention on what truly matters. God leverages this moment to invite them back to a healthy relationship with him. The invitation, "return to me", can be heard throughout scripture and rings loud and clear today. He doesn't want promises or rituals of penance, which are outward moves, but for them (us) to “rend your heart”, inside to the outside, and then describes the character of the God who is jealous for our love. The six descriptors showcase a personal, loving, accepting, patient God with whom we can trust for our future.
For much of the chapter, Joel talks about God's heart for his people who have yet to turn back to him. He previews what God has in store for their future. Joel paints a picture of a return to times of abundance and peace and then speaks a reminder of what God has done, challenges people to smile in the face of danger, and gives them a promise for people of faith who return in their journey to follow him again.
Surely, he has done great things. Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things...."I will restore the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm..."
For you and me, the lesson we can glean resides that in the midst of the hardest of times comes a challenge to turn your heart back to your only true source of comfort and rescue, and then a promise that what we have lost can be restored. As Sam Chisholm, played by Denzel, in Magnificent Seven, says, "What we lost in the fire, we'll find in the ashes."
You might say to all this, "Nice churchy-talk, Al, but that was then and this is now..." Hang on a beat. Joel has much to say to us as well as to those Jews so long ago as they swatted away the next wave of bugs in their house and looked out on a drought-devastated landscape.
Try Joel's idea on for size with some of what folks might be facing today:
A hard marriage that seems less of a union than being roommates.
Loneliness that cripples and hollows a person out.
Plans, long hoped for, again blocked.
Illnesses that seem to have no end.
Betrayals. Reversals. Dead ends. Blind alleys.
Lions! Tigers! Bears! O, my!
As we return to him in our times of need, understanding we must tear our hearts and not just our robes, owning our errors, we find forgiveness in Jesus. Then, with eyes on a good, good Father and energized by the Spirit, we purpose to do the work of reconciliation and rebuilding, seasons of loss can be reclaimed and restored. I've seen it happen, and so have you. God is still very much in the business of restoring the years our locusts have eaten, every kind of locust.
Take heart today, friend, the same God who spoke through Joel invites you in a bit closer.
How does music sound for the week?
And a couple of funnies...
A guy bought his wife a piano for her birthday. A few weeks later his buddy asked how she was doing with it.
"Actually," said the guy, "I persuaded her to switch to a clarinet."
"How come?" asked his buddy.
"Well," said the guy, "with a clarinet she can't sing."
__________
A woman went into her kitchen to find a burglar loaded down with a bunch of stuff he was stealing from her kitchen. Not having any kind of weapon to scare him off, she raised her hand and said "Acts 2:38," and proceeded to quote scripture.
The burglar froze in place and didn't move. The woman called 911, the police arrived and were amazed to find the burglar still frozen where he stood. "What did you say to him that kept him from moving?" they asked the woman. She told them that she had simply said “Acts 2:38” and quoted scripture.
The police chuckled and escorted the burglar out to the patrol car. "Why did the woman's quoting scripture scare you so much?" they asked.
"Scripture?" said the burglar, "I thought she said she had an ax and two .38s!"