OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY. OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY JOEL - INTRODUCTION.
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Transcript of OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY. OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY JOEL - INTRODUCTION.
OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY
JOEL - INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
• Author – Joel• Age – Unknown, just after a
disaster• Aim – To warn Israel of her
coming judgment if she does not repent upon seeing God’s “preview” judgment
INTRODUCTION
• Audience – Those who recently experienced a calamity and did not realise it was God’s way of discipline
OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY
JOEL - THE MAIN THEME OF
THE BOOK
THE MAIN THEME OF THE BOOK
When God asked the Israelites to enter and possess the Promised Land, they lamented, “We are grasshoppers compared to the Canaanite giants” (Numbers 13:33)
Little did they realise what grasshoppers can do
THE MAIN THEME OF THE BOOK
Locusts are actually grasshoppers which come together in swarms
THE MAIN THEME OF THE BOOK
The destruction they bring about is so complete that humanity is so helpless in the face of a locust attack, even with modern technology
THE MAIN THEME OF THE BOOK
In this book, God used a recent locust attack to warn of the destruction he can bring about on those who continued to disregard his prophets
This book is for all who have the “it can’t happen to me” attitude
OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY
JOEL - THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
The main theme of the book is “the day of the LORD”
The “day” is the time in which God will right the injustices of the world and judge the people (e.g. the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.).
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 1:1-2:17 – The Day of the LORD is very terrible – Joel uses a recent attack of locusts as a sign of God’s judgment on his people
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 1:1-2:17 – The Day of the LORD is very terrible – The severity and completeness of the destruction was the indicator of God’s judgment
Wave upon wave of locusts totally devastated the land
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 1:1-2:17 – The Day of the LORD is very terrible – When several calamities befall us one after another, it is a good indicator that God is trying to tell us something about our sin
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 1:1-2:17 – The Day of the LORD is very terrible – The locust plague was merely an illustration of the greater calamity that was to come
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 1:1-2:17 – The Day of the LORD is very terrible –Chapter 2 describes a terrible and fearsome army that would come in the “great and very terrible” Day of the LORD (2:11)
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 1:1-2:17 – The Day of the LORD is very terrible – Joel concludes the first section by calling people to repentance (2:12-17)
Only through repentance could they avert God’s future day of judgment
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – There is a turning point in the book between 2:17 and 2:18
When the people repent (2:17) then God will relent (2:18)
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – The first section speaks primarily about God’s discipline on his people
The second section focusses mainly on God’s deliverance of his people
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – In the first section God fights against his people
In the second section God fights for his people
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – In the first section, the Day of the LORD is described as a day of horror
In the second section, it is described as a day of hope (2:32; 3:16)
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – The key word which summarises the first half of the book is “plague”
The key word which summarises the second half of the book is “Pentecost”
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – The famous verses quoted by Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21) are from the second half of this book (2:28-32)
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – Unlike most of the other prophets, Joel does not spend much time describing the sins of the people
THE MAIN POINTS OF THE BOOK
Chapters 2:18-3:21 – The Day of the LORD is very near – This book serves primarily as a flashing red light, warning people of God’s coming judgment if they do not repent
OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY
JOEL - THE MAIN LESSON OF THE BOOK
THE MAIN LESSON OF THE BOOK Are you being struck by one
problem/disaster after another? It may be that God wants to
remind you that there are areas of your life which have to be put right; some sin to be confessed and forsaken, some habit or abuse to be given up
THE MAIN LESSON OF THE BOOK Often our problem is that we
cannot make a connection between what we read in the Bible and our present circumstances
Check your life for continuous locust attacks
OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY
JOEL - SUMMARY
JOEL - SUMMARY
Key words – Plague (and) Pentecost
JOEL - SUMMARY
Key theme – Judgment
JOEL - SUMMARY
Key phrase – “the day of the LORD” (5 times)
JOEL - SUMMARY
Key verse – Joel 2:31-32 – “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;
JOEL - SUMMARY
Key verse – Joel 2:31-32 – “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 - SUMMARY
Key lesson - Do you need God to strip you of everything before you repent?
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