Who Knows? | Joel

By Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

From Joel 2:1-14

^2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand— ² a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.

³ Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste— nothing escapes them. ⁴ They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. ⁵ With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

⁶ At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. ⁷ They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. ⁸ They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. ⁹ They rush upon the city; they run along the wall. They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows.

¹⁰ Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. ¹¹ The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?

¹² “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” ¹³ 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 love, and he relents from sending calamity. ¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.

People often view tragedy from three perspectives: (1) Tragedies are brought about by wicked men. (2) They are the consequence of human sin. (3) These are natural calamities caused by nature. But the Bible has an additional view and that is, these things are allowed by God’s will. It is difficult for many people to understand and accept this thought.  How could a loving God allow such tragedies? Thus, men come up with many different theories to explain them – they say that God is not a loving God or that He is loving but He is not powerful enough because He may want to prevent them but lacks the power to do so, etc.

No matter how the world interprets things, the Scriptures we will be reflecting on today tell us three things:

1. The disasters in the Last Days are frightening. Joel 2:2 “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.” Joel 2:10 “Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.” These two verses alone tell us that when the day of the Lord comes, the heavens and the earth will be changed, the sun and the moon will be darkened. This is not something people can withstand as Joel 2:6 says, “At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.”
2. The disasters in the Last Days are ordained by God. Joel 2:11 “The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” It says the Lord thunders at the head of his army, this means that in the last days, the army will be led by the Lord. We who belong to the Lord must understand that nothing is ever out of God’s control, because even when the flood rises, the Lord remains seated on his throne.
3.  The disasters in the Last Days give us a chance to turn from our ways.  Joel 2:12 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Although this is the situation, this verse shows us that we are given a chance to turn around, as long as we repent, fast, cry, and mourn for ourselves and our nations, and return to the Lord in all sincerity. Joel 2:14 “Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.” Indeed, who knows? The Lord is a gracious and compassionate God. He is slow to anger and abounding in love, he relents from sending calamity. This is who God is, these are His attributes, this is how the Lord describes himself!

With our God of lovingkindness, there is always hope for us.  Let us stand up, repent and seek His mercy!

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也未可知 | 約珥書 

張國強牧師

約珥書 2:1-14

^2:1 你們要在錫安吹角, 在我聖山吹出大聲, 國中的居民, 都要發顫; 因為耶和華的日子將到, 已經臨近。² 那日是黑暗、幽冥、密雲、烏黑的日子, 好像晨光鋪滿山嶺; 有一隊蝗蟲〔原文作民〕又大又強,從來沒有這樣的, 以後直到萬代也必沒有。

³ 牠們前面如火燒滅, 後面如火焰燒盡, 未到以前, 地如伊甸園, 過去以後, 成了荒涼的曠野,沒有一樣能躲避牠們的。⁴ 牠們的形狀如馬, 奔跑如馬兵。⁵ 在山頂蹦跳的響聲, 如車輛的響聲, 又如火焰燒碎的響聲, 好像強盛的民擺陣預備打仗。

⁶ 他們一來, 眾民傷慟, 臉都變色。⁷ 牠們如勇士奔跑, 像戰士爬城, 各都步行, 不亂隊伍; ⁸ 彼此並不擁擠, 向前各行其路, 直闖兵器, 不偏左右。⁹ 他們蹦上城, 躥上牆, 爬上房屋, 進入窗戶如同盜賊。

¹⁰ 他們一來, 地震天動, 日月昏暗, 星宿無光。¹¹ 耶和華在他軍旅前發聲, 他的隊伍甚大, 成就他命的, 是強盛者, 因為耶和華的日子大而可畏, 誰能當得起呢?

¹² 耶和華說: 雖然如此, 你們應當禁食、哭泣、悲哀、一心歸向我。¹³ 你們要撕裂心腸, 不撕裂衣服, 歸向耶和華你們的神, 因為他有恩典, 有憐憫, 不輕易發怒,有豐盛的慈愛, 並且後悔不降所說的災。¹⁴ 或者他轉意後悔, 留下餘福, 就是留下獻給耶和華你們神的素祭和奠祭, 也未可知。

人對災難常常有三種的看法: 1.這是惡人的行為 2.這是人犯罪的後果 3.這是天災, 大自然的災難。但聖經卻多了一個看法, 這是神旨意下允許發生的事。這對很多人來說都是很難明白接受的事, 慈愛的神怎可能允許呢? 於是會產生了很多不同的理論來解釋, 神不是慈愛神, 或是祂是慈愛卻不是全能的神, 所以祂有心無力去改變等等。

無論世人怎樣解釋, 今天我們所思想的經文卻告訴我們三件事：

1. 末後的災難是很可怕的。2:2 那日是黑暗、幽冥、密雲、烏黑的日子, 好像晨光鋪滿山嶺; 有一隊蝗蟲〔原文作民〕又大又強,從來沒有這樣的, 以後直到萬代也必沒有。2:10 他們一來, 地震天動, 日月昏暗, 星宿無光。單單這二節經文就告訴我們, 當耶和華日子臨到的時候, 真是天地都改變, 日月都無光, 這不是人可以面對的, 所以, 2:6 他們一來, 眾民傷慟, 臉都變色。
2. 末後的災難是神所主導的。2:11 耶和華在他軍旅前發聲, 他的隊伍甚大, 成就他命的, 是強盛者, 因為耶和華的日子大而可畏, 誰能當得起呢? 耶和華在他軍旅前發聲, 這告訴我們這末後的大軍是神在帶領的, 我們屬神的兒女要明白, 沒有一件不在神的掌控中, 因為地上洪水泛濫, 神仍坐在寶座中。
3. 末後的災難作有轉機的。2:12 耶和華說: 雖然如此, 你們應當禁食、哭泣、悲哀、一心歸向我。雖然如此, 這告訴我們仍有一個轉機的, 只要我們盡我們的本份, 為自己的罪, 為國家的罪, 向神認罪悔改, 禁食, 哭泣, 悲哀, 一心歸向神。2:14 或者他轉意後悔, 留下餘福, 就是留下獻給耶和華你們神的素祭和奠祭, 也未可知。也未可知, 因為神是有恩典, 有憐憫, 不輕易發怒,有豐盛的慈愛, 並且後悔不降所說的災, 這是神的屬性, 這是神對祂自己的宣告啊!

在慈愛神裡, 我們是永遠有指望的, 現在就起來認罪悔改, 尋求祂的憐憫吧!