His Hand is on the Door

The relevance of the Book of Joel…

September 5th, 2008

The Issue of Relevance

Between the elections, the issues of national decline and the hope of resurgence, international disasters, theories, and speculations, we aren’t lacking for conversation topics in America today.  Yet we must never forget that the most relevant conversations must still center around the word of God.  At times, the scripture frustrates belilevers because they can’t find the answers that they are looking for to the problems of today.  The Mormon church capitalizes on this yearning, presenting themselves as a modern day fountain of answers for the seeker.  Many Christian churches have no problem either adopting or pioneering the same approach.

The problem is that God often wants to have a different conversation with His church.  We want, need, and expect God to come down to our level and address our problems from our perspective.  We draw comfort from authors and speakers who deliver on that promise, making the scriptures appear to speak to the details of our life in a manner that helps us feel as if everything will be alright.  All throughout the scriptures, however, the truth is that God takes a radically different approach.  He consistently and persistently invites us to see things from His perspective and identify with the issues that He sees as the most relevant.

Relevance, then, is best defined in a manner that transcends cultural and personal considerations and rests in the seat and the perspective of the Most Holy One.  What is most relevant are the things that are on His mind and carry His concerns.  Thus, regardless of the swirl of politics, finance, nature, and life, God’s viewpoint of history and its movement forward by His hand is one that I have become obsessed and consumed with connecting to.

The Book of Joel

With that said, I want to take time to break down the book of Joel and discern its relevance and role in shaping how we live and understand our times for a few weeks.   I want to focus in a particular way on the last chapter of the book of Joel, as it is often overlooked - especially in the dialogues about how the story of this age will end.  Yet Joel chapter three provides one of the most vivid and spectacular glimpses into how this phase of history will come to a conclusion - and the methodology God will utilize to bring it to a close.  How will God birth and ending and a beginning? In what context will He choose to do so? The book of Joel offers some insights into the answer to those questions.

Ultimately, God is unconcerned with the issue of “relevance”.  His day is coming, in which He will be the most relevant figure on the planet.  The day is coming in which He will not be forgotten or ignored - but He will take the most prominent place in the thoughts, conversations, and lifestyles of the peoples of the whole earth.  Some will love Him, many will despise Him, all will fear Him - but none will imagine that He does not exist or that His opinions are irrelevant to their lives.  The day of God’s exaltation before the return of His Son the King will be terrifying days to the earth.  Thus God is patient and able to wait and watch as He leads and moves history forward to the day in which He will shake everything that can be shaken to get the attention of the peoples.

What will Happen, What to do

The glorious nature of the book of Joel is that is maps out what is to come, yet does not leave us unable to respond.  Joel tells us exactly how to respond to prepare for the glory and power of God that will crash in on the nations like a tidal wave.  The manner in which God shakes and arrests the attention of the peoples in mercy before He does so to greater, and more destructive measure is unto that end: that, having our full attention before He gets everyone’s attention, we can start living in a radically different way then before.

This is the simple pattern of the book of Joel - and anyone can follow along.  First, something bad has happened to you as a nation - and God was the One who sent it.  Second, He did so because something far worse is coming to bear down on you, and He wants you to be spared.  Third, you may be spared if you passionately obey the “survival strategy” the Lord gives you related to a new and different lifestyle.  Fourth, and most spectacularly, giving yourself to this new lifestyle has glorious benefits by the grace of God.  Fifth, more than surviving the shaking to come, you will see what the Lord will do in conjunction with the shaking to bring great blessing.

It is the book of Joel, along with many other passages that I will explore in the days to come, that give me hope for my nation in this season of time before the great shaking begins - that a season of restraint and revival can come, and that a nation in our day can turn back to God.

That, in my mind, is of the utmost relevance and importance to the people of God.

David

Entry Filed under: bible, end times, prayer, the book of joel