The Children of Israel have many enemies
The children of Israel will survive despite the relentless efforts of their sworn enemies.
I’ve had the privilege of teaching stories about the Children of Israel to thousands of children. A common response from those young learners is for them to imagine lots of little children marching through deserts while fighting giants or knocking down the walls of Jericho. Of course, we know that’s not how the stories went. It wasn’t children fighting giants and knocking down walls with shouting and trumpets, but adults. The Children of Israel are all descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are called by the Lord as the Chosen People with a special purpose in the plan of God.
With that call, they have also endured centuries of persecution, shame, and vile attacks. They have tried in vain to resist those attacks while also resisting the Almighty God who first gave them the title and responsibilities that came with being the Children of Israel.
God has a purpose for them to fulfill. The war of Armageddon is the final furnace or test, that the Jewish people must endure. Once they pass that test, they will become ready to answer the call and fulfill the purpose intended for the Children of Israel.
Joel 3:16 The Lord protects the children of Israel
“The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel.”
This verse stands out to me for one important reason. The Lord’s roar comes from Zion, not heaven. He isn’t coming down from the heavenly realm and stepping in to stop the great clash of warfare unfolding in Israel. He’s already in Jerusalem at this point. In the prophet, Joel’s vision, Armageddon is well beyond the halfway point. It’s a colossal clash of militaries centered in the Valley of Megiddo but spilling out over the Nation of Israel and into many surrounding countries.
I Interpret this verse and other supporting passages to mean that the Lord Jesus, captain of the Lord’s armies is already on the scene in Jerusalem. He will shout, as the verse says, and a great shaking of the earth will commence. The end of the war will soon follow.
Joel 3:17 Strangers no more
“So shall you know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her anymore.”
Stranger Danger
Only some strangers will find a warm welcome in Zion once the fighting ends. Others will be banished forever. Jerusalem is God’s city, and it was envisioned as a blessing for the whole world. The worship, knowledge of, and seat of the Lord will be in the holy city after the wars and battles of Armageddon have finished. The two thousand years of trampling and defilement under the feet of the Gentiles will come to an end. It was never meant as a place of contention but the prophets warned repeatedly that would be the case.
But, in the end, the city and its citizens will finally fulfill its intended purpose in the plan of God. The unwelcome strangers, those who oppose God, are no longer welcome or allowed entrance. They will reside in a dark place awaiting their sentence. But the many strangers who desire to come and learn about the Lord will find a city and citizens that welcome them graciously.
The fierceness of the fighting that led to the bloody carnage will give way to peace–finally. Everywhere the welcome-stranger walks in the city of Zion will be peaceful and give a testimony to the rule of the Prince of Peace. There will no longer be a need for checkpoints or soldiers on the street corners. Arabs and Jews will walk together in peace.
The world and its citizens, those who can, will release a huge sigh of relief as the sun begins to shine on a new day for humanity.
Joel 3:18 Plenty of new wine
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.”
Wine, the fruit of the grapevine, is a symbol of joy to the children of Israel. Before the Jewish people ever set foot inside the Promised Land, they heard stories of giant yields of grapes and wine. Once they became citizens and stewards of the land God gave them, they enjoyed many years of bountiful harvests. Season after season their countrymen drank new wine from the fruitful vineyards under the care of the vinedressers. Once sin and rebellion set into the hearts of the people, the new wine, and bountiful crops gave way to famine, starvation, and captivity.
The promised peace will restore the time of plenty and the joyous time of the season of the new wine.
Psa 46:4
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most-High.
Amo 9:13
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
Joel 3:19 Egypt & Edom pay for their crimes
“Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.”
The military forces of Egypt will be a part of the invasion force that surrounds Jerusalem and hears the shout of the Lord. Edom will also provide support in the fight. There is no country of Edom today, but much of its ancient territory is now within the boundaries of Jordan. That country, like Egypt, has a peaceful relationship with Israel. The Bible predicts the relationship between these three countries will turn sour in the future. I think we will see these two nations join the ten-nation confederacy and attack Israel.
The Lord will punish them and every nation involved in the attack.
The Bible provides many sober warnings to the countries and people who try to remove the Children of Israel from among the nations of the world.
Jer 49:17
Also, Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
Joel 3:20 Judah forever
“But Judah shall dwell forever and Jerusalem from generation to generation.”
Judah, the nation that many countries will try to annihilate, will survive. It will look utterly hopeless. They will find themselves surrounded, having lost countless lives, and most of their strategic military advantages. There won’t be any reason to believe survival is possible. Then the Lord will shout. The earth will shake, and the Prince of Peace, the Captain of the Lord’s armies will save the day. A story-tale ending, only the story is true. The prophets have written the testimony of the Spirit of God. When the events transpire just as they are written, the people of the world will stand in awe and speechless wonder at what took place.
Amo 9:15
And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
Joel 3:21 The Children of Israel cleansed
“For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwells in Zion.”
The children of Israel, the Jewish people, have been and still are guilty of many sins. The Lord hasn’t forgotten them nor has He looked the other way and ignored them. They were taken captive by Babylon as Joel forewarned in an earlier chapter. Their citizens were later killed, captured, and banished from their land by the Romans. Today they have returned to their land but they are still failing in their prophetic purposes as the Children of Israel.
When the surrounding nations collapse their final defenses and threaten them with annihilation the Bible predicts they will finally call upon the Lord to save them. The Lord has been waiting for that for over two thousand years. He will respond with a shout and a quick victory.
How long has he been waiting for you to repent?
The verse below from Isaiah lets us know that God will hide his eyes from our empty prayers if they are not sincere. Our religious ceremonies have no meaning to him if they aren’t heartfelt.
The Lord welcomes the prayer of the broken sinner but resists the proud one.
Isa 1:15
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Let me know what you think.