Keith Harris Today

The Woomera is an Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device used for when there is a greater distance to be overcome. It is highly efficient. Similar to an atlatl (Northern American tribes), it enables a spear to travel much further than by arm strength alone. It is very much like an extension of the arm, enabling the spear to travel at a greater speed and force than would normally be attainable unaided. It is still used today in some remote areas of Australia. The town of Woomera in South Australia, founded in 1947 as the home of the Anglo-Australian Long Range Weapons Establishment, is named after the spear thrower.

Like the Australian aboriginal uses the Woomera to cast his spear over long distances so Joel uses the locusts plague of his day as a Woomera to cast his message forward from his time over the long distances of human history to that Day of decision, yet to come, in the valley of Jehoshaphat.

Let us take a journey in time, using Joel Chapter 3 as our Woomera, picking up on his starting point in Judah casting our minds forward to time yet to be when we, along with all mankind, will find ourselves gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat on that great and dreadful Day of the Decision.

There is a continuity that runs through Joel’s lament for Israel.  It relates to the phrases, ‘in those days’ – ‘at  that time’ – ‘it is near’ – ‘in your days’ all of which are time markers linking this prophesy of Joel to that great and dreadful ‘Day of the Lord’.

Here, in Chapter 3:1, our phrase ‘in those days’ links us back to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon God’s people prophesied in Joel 2:28, fulfilled in time at Pentecost in Acts 2:1 – 4.

This outpouring of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Christ’s death at Calvary is the firstfruits of his victory for his people, and represents the point of restoration of Judah and Jerusalem in the foundation of the Christian church.

This phrase could, and possibly does also refer to the time when God restores the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem when Israel returned for the Babylonian exile in 535BC, this gives the prophesy relevance in the time of Joel.

However when Israel did return form captivity in Babylon in 535BC it was not into a lasting time of restoration as we can well observe in world events today.   So, as Paul says in Hebrews chapter 4, there must remain a day when the restoration of God’s people is full and finalized.

As the time markers also link us to Joel 2:28 – 32, the time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, this prophesy also refers to the restoration of God’s relationship with his people through the Holy Spirit at the foundation of the Christian Church in Acts 2:1ff.

This also fits with the context of ‘restoring the fortunes’ of Judah and Jerusalem for at the time of Pentecost Jews from all the nations, the scattered Israelites of verse 2 are gathered together in Jerusalem.

Here the ‘scattered Israelites’ of Joel 3:2c hear the Gospel of Christ for the first time, a time which had not yet come in Joel’s day but one which Joel and the people of his time could look forward to.

But this day of blessing in Joel’s prophesy also ushers in a day of retribution, a day when God requites justice (Joel 3:4) on the nations that had plagued and persecuted his people.

As we look at world events, past and present, we see that man makes decisions however it is sobering to note that it is God who is directing the play.  Each ‘player’ in the drama of human history has his part to play but God is sovereign over all the affairs of man, bringing history to conform to his will and decision, (Prov. 16:9, 21; 19:21; 20:24 and 21:30).

Read the full sermon at: keithharristoday.com/joel/dayofdecision

“Taking it to the next level” is a phrase we hear a lot today.  As techno savvy people ‘it’ might be the latest mobile phone, or the new Audi 1.8ltr touring car that gives 100km per 5.3litres of fuel, or ‘it’ could be a sporting achievement or a discovery in science that sets new records, brings improvement to a treatment or established a new technology.

It is common in entertainment circles for ‘reality’ shows to take things to the next level, whatever that might be, increasing the danger or difficulty for the contestants to see who will be the greatest, who can survive the next level in the competition and thus win the contest.  Our text this morning, Joel 2:28 – 32, takes things to the next level.

God has always been ‘personal’ in his dealings with man, he talked with Adam, walked with Enoch, spoke to Abraham, revealed himself to Moses, wrestled with Jacob and placed his Spirit within David, but here in Joel Chapter 2 Joel prophesies a new beginning in God’s relationships with his people.

The time marker, ‘and it will take place (in verse 28 but not in NIV) afterwards’ suggests the beginning of a new event in Joel Chapter 2 following God’s restoration of Zion, yet in those days’ taking the Lord’s relationship with his people to a new level.

The affirmative manner of the introduction of our passage ‘and it will’ sets the tone and mood for its message.  It is one of certainty; a message to God’s people that this day is planned, purposeful and nothing can hinder its arrival into human history.

It will be a Day of Grace where God’s takes his relationship with man to the next level, when God comes to live with man in and through the Holy Spirit.

So, what sort of a Day is this Day of Grace?  It is a refreshing day, a dramatic day, a day of deliverance and a now but not yet day.   

After that time of restoration – in this case a time after Christ’s victory over the army invading God’s land, and creation, at Calvary, a time when the Spirit is poured out upon God’s people.

The Hebrew phrase, hy"åh'w> , marking a new time, an introducing event that has not yet occurred, at least in Joel’s day, but points to a time and event beyond its original context and situation.

So what did this mean to the people of Joel’s day?  Joel calls the people of Judah back to the words of Moses.

Joel picks up on this prayer of Moses to God to send the Spirit upon ‘all the Lord’s people’ and casts it forward to Pentecost where God’s will pour out’ His Spirit upon ‘all flesh’, that is, all of God’s people who call upon him.

Assertive, not a maybe, but willful action on the part of the Lord God, and an escalation of Moses prayer, ‘on all people.’

The wording here, %APÜv.a,, uses the image of flowing water and wine in verse 24, to give us the sense of restoration of a parched and desolate land, a restoration which occurs ‘after’ the dispersal of the locusts and the defeat of the invading army.  The results of this outpouring are at first positive, proclamative, of the declaration in Joel 2:27.

As a result of the out pouring of the Holy Spirit ‘in those days’ (v29), Israel, God’s people will prophesy of the ‘great things’ that the Lord has done (v20-21) for Israel. 

The ‘priesthood’ of all believes is intended here where all who believe witness, prophesy, to the reality of the new relationship God has created with his people through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  

The sense of the Hebrew word for prophesy, WaßB.nIw>, is ‘essentially giving instruction’ under the influence of the Holy Spirit, in words or song; with occasional prediction,  a feature of the NT experience in the Apostolic age.

Read the full sermon at: keithharristoday.com/joel/dayofgrace

Sometimes we get a feeling of ‘déjà vu’ when we read Joel 2, a sense that we read all of this before in Chapter 1.  Surely the people have been through enough with the Locusts, the army and the consuming fire, so why do they need to experience it all - what is the purpose of Chapter 2?

Chapter 2 contains a central point in the lament of Joel, after the devastation of Chapter 1 the awesome Day of the Lord arrives and Israel discovers, after the Lord delivers them, (v18 – 26) that he alone is God, their God.

Israel went through the catastrophe of Chapter 1 and the devastation of the army of the Lord in Chapter 2 to arrive at verse 27. Israel needed to understand just as you and I today that God is with them and that in him alone for them is there hope, endurance and deliverance in the Day of the Lord.

Just like our packet of cake mix, you have to open the box and mix the ingredients first to then bake the cake in the oven so that you may enjoy its aroma and delightful taste.

Let us then take some time to look at verses 1 to 26 and see what God is doing in the life of his people Israel to lead them to this point of understanding who He really is during their crisis in the Day of the Lord.

Not the locusts of Chapter 1 but a description of the approach of the Day of the Lord, the mixing of the ingredients in the bowl of human history, an army advancing against God’s people.

Not an allegory (or a repeat edition of) of Chapter 1 but a necessary step in preparing Israel to call upon God who alone can deliver them in that approaching Day.  A marathon of endurance as wave after wave of destruction and distress comes upon the people of God.

Not sadism but a needed stage in order to strip Israel of its self-determination – self reliance - like the ‘I-me ism’ of our day, and prepare Israel to see their need to turn back to God.

What are their options?  What is a suitable response to such overwhelming events? 

Leaders of nations make decisions, they go to war – they plan and devise strategies but God does not play catch-up; he is sovereign over history, and it is through such situations as that which faced Israel here that God teaches his people of his everlasting grace, faithfulness and love for them.

This appeal of Joel then is not for their personal honour as such but God’s honour invested in them as his representative people.

The focus of lament is not upon you or I but the unthinkable, that God could or would ever loose face – be diminished before the nations of the world, (In pursuit of honor), in and through his Church on earth.

God’s response to the heart felt repentance of his people ushers in a new era for them, demonstrating his love for and compassion on them, establishing his sovereignty over creation and human history.   After that Day of the Lord has passed all Israel (Gal 6:16, 1Per 2:9) will receive unimaginable blessings and assurance of His faithful enduring love.

Never again will God’s people be put to the test or be disgraced before the nations of the world, there will be no fear, no invader or destroyer in the land.

God’s people will know that he has ‘dealt wondrously’ with them, and through the marathon of life endurance in the Day of the Lord is available to all who will turn to him, all who will believe in the words of the ‘teacher of righteousness’, Jesus Christ. 

Do you know who God is?

He is the One who advances at the head of an all consuming army.  He is the One who sends his prophets, like Joel, to warn the people, to tell them of the impending Day, the Day of the Lord.  He is the One who hears his people’s call in that Day. 

But heartfelt repentance, as in the days of Joel, is necessary for all who desire to call upon the name of the Lord in that Day.

Read the full sermon at: keithharristoday.com/joel/dayofthelord

Communication has exploded across the world. Countries that were in the ‘dark’, so to speak, even now access the internet and informant has become to tool of the 21st Century.  We speak of the importance of information in education, health, daily life in our current crisis of CovID-19 clear and precise communication is even more essential to life.

Journalists cover the globe looking for a ‘good’ story, be it in the field of personal relationships, politics, science or health they jostle for position as the ‘news breaker’. More often than not ‘bad’ news sells better than ‘good’ news, feeding the human desire to raise oneself above the crowd, that is, not me; I’m not like them. 

Joel is a bad news story that has a good news message for us today. 

Not all of our readers will know of the ‘Daleks’ but a quick search of the Internet reveals a terrifying robotic style creature with no heart of emotions that seeks relentlessly to destroy, using the phrase ‘exterminate – exterminate’ over and over again.  Like a Dalek approaching its victim Joel speaks to Israel as if the locusts have a life of themselves beyond their insect nature and are on a mission of destruction like an army that will devastate the ‘land’ 

The phase of lament (v12c) says it all, the locusts – the invading army leave nothing behind them, they sweep away everything of life and joy that the people knew in the Land of Israel. 

Joel gives us a vivid picture of total devastation, not one part – area of the land or life of the people is left unaffected, both man, and the land, are at the end of their endurance. 

The significance of the Locusts plague, whatever it is conceived to be, is the effect of this catastrophe in the Judean ritual [religious] practices, an element of life that is so essential to the people.   

Joel voices the distress of the people in verses 13 to 18 in the face of an undefeatable enemy that approaches the land. There is no hope of human intervention here, there is no Doctor Who to rescue Israel, from destruction, Joel is overwhelmed by the approaching locusts.  

Lament is not sorrow or complaint nor is it about apportioning blame, but is a means of moving on from the grief over the situation to faith and confidence in God [Phil 4:11 – 12].  Lament is the doorway we must go through to leave behind broken relationships, fears and spiritual doubts in the knowledge that the outcome is in the hands of God who is faithful to and compassionate towards His people. 

From the third to the second to the first person, from the remote distant to the personal, we see a progression in Joel’s call to the people.    

This catastrophe which came upon Israel was unprecedented.  It took Israel from self dependence to the point – brink of total collapse of their social and religious life. 

There is no mention of why this is happening, no sin or indictment is given against Israel, and thus the focus is not on the cause of the catastrophe – the locusts and army, the fire and devastation but on how the people are to deal with their present circumstances.

The lament of Israel over their current situation was to be total, all inclusive, not just the pastors and elders but everyone from all levels of society were to cone together and call upon the Lord.  The urgency of their situation goes without mention, the call, the imperative to come before God absolute.  

Why is this necessary?  Joel tells us why, the Day of the Lord will come (Joel 1:15). 

The Locusts plague in the time of Joel supplies a ‘teachable moment’ for God - God uses this time to teach his people and that in dire circumstances he alone is their hope and refuge. 

Read the full sermon at keithharristoday.com/joel/dayofthelocusts

This special episode of the Keith Harris Today podcast provides an overview of the Book of Joel, and previews what's to come in this weekly series of sermons.  Series 1 of the podcast begins on Sunday morning, with new episodes published weekly.

As an introduction this talk looks at the Biblical Book of Joel in an overview. The series that will follow will investigate Joel in more detail looking at the message this book brings to us, discovering what a Biblical Lament is, finding its purpose in Scripture and in the life of God’s people. The text of this talk, and references, will be available online.

In Psalm 44 we learn that ‘lament is an act of acknowledging that what should be is not and what is, is in God’s hands.’  In Job we learn that ‘the purpose of lament is to draw one closer to God in whom alone we find grace to endure overwhelming circumstances.’  We discovered that lament is a legitimate part of our personal, congregational and national faith, worship and prayer life.

Graham Ogden suggests in his paper, ‘Joel 4; and Prophetic Response to National Laments’, that Joel is a prophetic lament in response to God’s judgment of Israel.   So in this talk we are going to look at the Book of Joel1, as a prophetic lament in response to overwhelming national events in the life of Israel.

In looking at Joel from this perspective we are seeking to discover what Joel’s lament means for the people of Israel, and secondly the process through which Joel leads Israel to God’s answer to the approaching catastrophe.   In doing so I hope we will see that the last word on lament is hope and that without Israel going through the process of lament God’s people would be left adrift on the sea of chance and confusion, without the hope of deliverance in overwhelming circumstances.

Initially then, the last word on Lament in Joel - is Hope.

Joel opens like a tank crashing through a brick wall, at first you only see the barrel of the cannon then as the noise reaches a crescendo the body of the tank appears demolishing the wall and leaving total devastation in its path (i.e. Kelly’s Heroes).

Certainly not words of hope but a picture of total destruction – an unstoppable catastrophe – consuming all that man enjoys and needs for life.

The lament of Joel is agonizing – unimaginable to us in an affluent society – but it came like the Tsunami in Japan or the earthquakes in Christchurch – unheralded stripping all before it of life and material – the land lays waste – desolate.

What else could they do, conjure up a Hollywood ‘Superman – X Men – The Avengers’ – who only distract us from the reality of life but pose no solution?  One feature of overwhelmingly catastrophic events is that they strip us of our self-dependence, or stoic delusion as the case may be, and bring us face to face with the limits of our humanity.  Israel had no army capable of dealing with this invasion – Joel’s call to repentance was their only option.

When all is stripped away Israel is told to gather together and mourn – calling upon the Lord – for there is nowhere else for them to turn to for help.

This call to repentance is not a quick fix – instant answer – to Israel’s current problems, nor does it only attain to mankind but is for the benefit of all of creation, (Rom 8:12). Joel’s call to repentance, following on from his lament, is a Biblical process through which God draws Israel, and you and me today, into his presence in extreme circumstances, (Heb 4:16).

Like storm surge waves crashing upon a beach pounding the sand and ripping away the foreshore a second wave of destruction descends upon Israel leaving nothing standing in its wake; so complete is the destruction that that Joel cries out, ‘Who can endure it?’

Read this full talk at: keithharristoday.com/joel/overview

Keith Harris Today is a podcast that will bring you a new sermon from me every single week.  My purpose in bringing these sermons to you is to you here on this page is to help, to inform and to encourage you and those who find this Web page while searching for answers to life.

Our world is changing fast and my approach to preaching from the Bible is to be practical, to see the hands-on side of the bible be active in our lives as well as transforming our life through the theology that the Bible contains.

The first series of sermons explores the Book of Joel.  This series of sermons on the Book of Joel developed out of a need for encouragement when a fellowship I was preaching in was going through some difficult times.

In my research on Joel I discovered the lost art of a Biblical Lament. In our western culture we grieve, have sorrow and sadness but do not often practice Lament. Yes, we say words like ‘I lament that action’ but it is just a synonym for our western way of saying we are sorry about a mistake or wrong we may have made or done.

But, to lament, as we will discover in the Book of Joel goes deeper that just sorry and asking for forgiveness. It is the first step in our recovery from regret or loss. To lament, in a biblical manner, is to take that regret, sorrow and turn it into a positive outcome in our life with God.

Lament is like breaking the first egg to make a cake, you cannot bake a cake (with eggs) unless to go through the first step of breaking them.

Lament takes us through the process of self-examination, judging of our actions against Biblical principles and helps us discover the outcome of the Biblical Lament – Hope!

Blessings from God to you all.