We turn tonight once again to the prophecy of Joel, reading together Joel 2 verses 1 through 17, which also serves as the text for the sermon tonight. Joel 2, reading together verses 1-17. As we now give our attention to the Word of God. Below 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. 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 of old, nor ever will be in ages to come. 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. They have the appearance of horses. They gallop along like cavalry. With a noise like that of chariots, they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming scubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. At the sight of them, nations are in anguish. Every face turns pale. They charge like warriors. They scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other. Each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. They rush upon the city. They run along the wall. They climb into the houses like thieves. Like thieves, they enter through the windows. Before them, the earth shakes. The sky trembles. The sun and moon are darkened and the stars no longer shine. The Lord thunders at the head of His army. His forces are beyond number and mighty are those who obey His command. The day of the Lord is great. It is dreadful. Who can endure it? Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. 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. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing, grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion. Declare a holy fast. Call a sacred assembly. Gather the people. Consecrate the assembly. Bring together the elders. Gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. Let the priests who minister before the Lord weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, spare your people, O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God? Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, has it ever struck you how some talk about heaven? What I mean is, for example, you might hear an actor talk about the big stage in the sky. Or you might hear an athlete, depending on what they do, talk about the big basketball court or golf course or swimming pool or soccer field in the sky. A race car driver might refer to heaven as the big racetrack in the sky or a teacher, the big classroom in the sky. And you could add many more examples depending upon one's hobby or upon one's occupation. Really, this kind of talk is blasphemous to say the least. But so many treat the next life as simply a continuation in some way of this life. Of course, only better. On that heavenly golf course, I will only shoot par, you see. But the truth is, the next life will be beyond expectation for all people as hell will be unbelievably terrible and heaven will be unbelievably wonderful. As Joel here gives again in his prophecy the call to prepare for the coming day of the Lord, he describes in this text the unbelievable nature of that day. He talks about how terrible it will be, Yet, he gives a glimmer of hope for God's people. And tonight we consider together this Word of God. God's prophet gives a detailed sketch of the coming day. We want to consider these two things tonight. First of all, the unmatchable character of the day. I'll say it again so you can write it down if you take notes. It somehow didn't get printed this time. The unmatchable character of the day. And second, the urgent call. providing escape from that day. The urgent call, providing escape from that day. Now again, the prophet speaks. God's prophet speaks. Therefore, what he says is nothing less than God's Word. We need to keep that in mind as we consider the message here tonight. That God Himself is speaking. God Himself gives the details of that day. Now, after having spoken about the locust invasion complete with destruction in chapter 1, a situation that had already taken place, something the people had already and maybe still were suffering through, now Joel prophesies of something to come, something on the horizon. But as you can imagine, there is no agreement in some respects as to exactly what Joel is talking about. Some think that he is talking about the very same locust invasion that he talked about in chapter 1. The very same, only now talking about it as if it's coming. Others say that because Joel speaks of a great and mighty army and soldiers and warriors and marching, that he is talking about a real army that will come to attack God's people and they claim that it is referring to Syria. Therefore, this isn't talking about the final day of the Lord, but another particular judgment pointing to or acting as a prelude to that day. Yet as you recall from our sermon of introduction to this prophecy, Joel's prophecy is very general. Without specific details that help us determine the particular time in which he ministered. I agree with those who say that Joel is indeed talking about the day of the Lord when he comes again to judge the living and the dead. And here, Joel uses the locust invasion, the details of that invasion as well, to describe the unmatchable character of that day. Using that invasion somewhat as a metaphor to describe what that day will be like. Now, we know that this is the Lord's army that will come on that day. The army which He Himself leads. Verse 11 says, The Lord thunders at the head of His army. His forces are beyond number and mighty are those who obey His commands. Now, beloved, what there is agreement about is that Joel preaches about the unmatchable character of that day. First of all, that day is certain. It's sure. Boys and girls, that day is guaranteed to come. Chapter 2 begins with a call to 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. Now, Numbers 10 speaks of two silver trumpets. In fact, you may recognize that we sang of one this morning in the song, O Day of Rest and Gladness. But these two silver trumpets were to be used to direct the movement of the Israelites When the trumpets sounded, that was a sign, for example, to pick up, to pack up, and to move on. But these trumpets also served two very other important purposes. They were used, on the one hand, to call the people into the presence of God for worship or instruction. Or they were used to sound the alarm for battle. Numbers 10, verses 9 and 10 tell us, when you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies. Also at your times of rejoicing, your appointed feasts and new moon festivals, you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God. On the one hand, for instruction to gather the people together, but on the other hand, to sound the alarm for battle. And the trumpets are used both ways here in our text. In verse 1, to sound the alarm of danger. And in verse 15, to call the congregation before the Lord. But before they're called together, first, the trumpet of danger was to be heard. Why? Because that day was indeed coming. That day was close. And what was so dangerous about that? You may recall that last week we mentioned briefly we consider what Amos had to say in Amos 5, verses 18-20. In essence, he says, what's wrong with you people? Why are you longing for that day? Are you crazy? Why are you looking forward to it? It won't be what you expect. And that's because of your sin. It won't be a party like you think it will be. But it will be terrible because of your rejection of God. Congregation today, Many do not consider the return of Christ at all. If they do happen to consider His return at all, they do not consider that that day will be a danger for them. So many think that they will get into heaven because they have been good, and really they didn't do anything that was all that terrible. They didn't do anything for which God should keep them out of heaven. But they fail to see that they can do nothing for which God should let them into heaven. Zephaniah 1 talks about the same day of the Lord and what a terrible day it will be for those who hate God. Similar language to what Joel is giving us here. Verses 14 through 18 of Zephaniah 1 say, The great day of the Lord is near. Near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter. the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath. In the fire of His jealousy, the whole world will be consumed for He will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth. Beloved, even today the trumpet is sounding that the day is coming. Are you ready? Don't wait. Because Jesus said, no one knows the day or the hour. It's for that reason that it's close at hand. For you or me, it could be tonight. It could be tomorrow. It could be ten years from now when the Lord requires our life from us. As well, no one knows the day or the hour when Jesus Christ will return again on the clouds of heaven. But not only is that day certain, but that day will also be one of a kind. Verse 2 says, 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 of old nor ever will be in ages to come. Now the New American Standard Bible translates some of these words this way, there has never been anything like it nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations. Throughout the history of God's people and still today, there are and were many preludes to the coming day of the Lord. And in some biblical cases, they were referred to as the day of the Lord or as that day. But again, pointing forward to the final day. Some of these situations, of course, were the locust invasion of chapter 1. Exile and captivity to Babylon. Defeat by the enemy when, humanly speaking, they shouldn't have been defeated. Remember Ai? Achan had stole a few of the goods from God out of Jericho and Israel when they sent a smaller army out to Ai because surely they could take it, no problem. They were defeated. And even today as we consider wars and rumors of wars and also terrorist attacks and earthquakes and natural disasters, those types of things, all of these are preludes to that day. God calling the world to pay attention. But all of the preludes of that day, pointing to that day, no matter how terrible they may have been in this life, will have seemed like a walk down easy street compared to that day. Throughout history, God has used and continues to use means. Again, the locusts or an enemy army or natural disaster. But He Himself, as verse 11 says, will lead His army. On that day, nothing less than the very presence of God Himself will attack. The earth will shake. The sky will tremble. There will be darkness and thunder. Scripturally speaking, these are signs of God's presence and His judgment. Zephaniah pointed to that. You recall that these things characterize God's presence on Mount Sinai. In Deuteronomy 4, verse 11, we read, Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. You also recall, I trust, how God led His people through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Isaiah 13, 1-13, which I also commend to your reading. Isaiah 13, 1-13, again, talking about the day, again, in much the same language as Zephaniah and Joel. But in verse 13 we read, Therefore I will shake the heavens and the earth will move out of her place in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger. Ezekiel 32, verses 7 and 8 tell us, When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you and bring darkness upon your land, says the Lord. Congregation, in Scripture, thunder and fire often represent God's presence and darkness and clouds often represent His judgment. Even as Jesus said in Matthew 24, immediately after the tribulation of those days, The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. Now it's reported that in some cases, already a day before locusts arrived, before the invasion, in some cases the people knew that they were coming. And that's because already the day before, the swarms were like a cloud that was beginning to block the light of the sun and the light that the sun would glow off of the swarm of locust wings. A yellow tint would shine in the sky. And by that, the people knew that a locust swarm was coming. Joel says in verse 2, like dawn spreading across the mountains. When the sun comes up in the morning over the mountains, you can see its glow. You know it's coming. Then all of a sudden, the rays of the sun shoot out across the sky and seem to cast light on every corner of the earth. When that day comes, it will be for all to see. And it will come upon everyone. No one will escape that day. No one. Everyone will stand before God. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you will escape that day. With the imagery of a locust invasion, Joel points to the kind of destruction locusts do, Again, to point to the terror of that day. Notice again verses 3 through 5. 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. They have the appearance of horses. They gallop along like cavalry. 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. I'm not going to take the time tonight to go through each of these things and try to give a specific interpretation for them, but only to say that nothing is safe in their path. Their destruction is complete, as we considered last week. Their coming sounds like the constant squeaking and noise of chariots in the distance, and as they eat up everything, it sounds like a crackling fire which consumes everything in its path. Not even the mountains can stop them. Mountains, we know, can stop even the mightiest human army, but not locusts. All of this pointing to the fact that nothing can stop the day of the Lord from coming. But also in verses 6-9, these verses give a graphic description of how locusts invade a territory. Beginning in verse 6, At the sight of them, nations are in anguish. Every face turns pale. They charge like warriors. They scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other. Each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. They rush upon the city. They run along the wall. They climb into the houses like thieves. They enter through the windows. In some sense, equating the locusts with a human army. But some early church fathers, Jerome and Theodorette, witnessed and wrote this same kind of description after witnessing the destruction of locusts and how they work. They march in an orderly way like a well-trained and disciplined army. Nothing gets in their way. They simply would go up and over any obstacle. It wouldn't bother them. They never moved to the right or to the left, but they went straight ahead. Their focus stayed before them. I talked briefly about a book of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and in that book again, she gives a chilling description of them invading the inside of the house with nothing stopping them. Beloved, the picture we must get here is of the unmatchable character of that day. It will be beyond compare. It will be universal. It will be overwhelming. It will penetrate everywhere. It will be irresistible. No one will be able to hide or to avoid it. John, in Revelation, explains what some would like to do on that day. In chapter 6, verses 15-17, And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath has come and who is able to stand? In Revelation 9 verse 6 we read, In those days men will seek death and will not find it. They will desire to die and death will flee from them. In verse 9, Joel speaks of the city, then the wall, then the house, and then the window. A progression. But no structure will be strong enough to hide one and keep one safe from the Lord's army. And the result of even the sight of the Lord's army will be terror. Verse 6 says again, At the sight of them, nations are in anguish. Every face turns pale. And the second half of verse 11 says, The day of the Lord is great. It is dreadful. Who can endure it? This anguish that verse 6 speaks of is compared in both Isaiah 13 and in Isaiah 26, verse 17 to the anguish of a woman experiencing labor pains. Writhing pains that you just cannot escape from. Those who scorned God in this life when they come face to face with Him For on that day, they will be terrified. They will turn pale as their eyes look upon His greatness. And they see His anger. They will collapse from the terror. As well as verse 11 says, No one will be able to endure it. That is, no one will be able to stand on their own against Him. No one will be able to successfully and victoriously stand over against the judge. Beloved, including you boys and girls and young people, you are part of God's congregation. We must all understand this. No one will be able to hide from God on that day. No one will be able to buy their way out of it, as Zephaniah 1 makes clear. No one will be able to appeal to their work or their good life or even their ministry to stand firm in that day. There is only one way to escape God's wrath on that day. All will stand before God. All will stand before the judge, either facing His wrath or facing His grace. There is only one way to escape God's wrath on that day. and Joel gives the urgent call providing escape from that day. It's clear, I trust, that the message of the unmatchable character of that day was intended to strike fear in the hearts of Joel's audience with the result of repentance and faith. And again, although Joel does not specify the sin or the sins of the people which they had been guilty of, yet because of the urgent warning of that day, it's clear that they had abused God's patience We can look through the history of the Old Testament and pinpoint how they had abused and how often they had abused God's patience. But we are all guilty of this, of course. Abusing God's patience. And no one should dare presume that they deserve God's mercy. Yet in His mercy, God waits. He calls. He invites to enjoy the hope of salvation. But notice this call. It is, don't wait. He says, even now, return to me with all your heart. If you're here tonight and you haven't done that, if you haven't turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, today is still the day of salvation. But don't wait, He says, even now, return to me. And God is not satisfied simply with an outward display of piety and repentance. Not at all. He says, with all your heart. and also rend your heart and not your garment. To tear one's garment was a sign of sorrow, of mourning and repentance. It was a sign of making oneself naked before God. And God demands us of our heart to lay our heart open before Him, the One, remember, who is able to see the depths of our heart, whether we want Him to or not. He says, open your heart before Me. Out of the heart flow the issues of life, as Proverbs says, And therefore, the heart, which is the seat of moral and spiritual decisions, must be dealt with first. David says in Psalm 51, verse 17, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. What does repentance of our sins involve? Well, it includes, first of all, confessing our sins to God. Confession. Specifically, confessing our sins. Naming them one by one. But it also includes contrition. Having a contrite heart, as David says. Boys and girls, contrition means to be truly sorry for committing sin. Now, it's not just being sorry that you got caught. Being sorry that you're going to get punished. But it's being sorry for sinning at all. It's being sorry for offending God. Again, that's what David talks about in Psalm 51. Confession, contrition, but repentance also includes conversion. Conversion is a U-turn. Boys and girls, you've maybe seen the traffic signs with the arrow that does a U-turn. Sometimes there's a slash in it that says, no U-turn here. But you're going this direction and you want to turn around, you've got to go the other direction. A U-turn includes a change of mind, a spiritual U-turn. A change of mind, a change of will, a change of action, changing direction. Again, the late James Boyce tells this little story. In a Sunday school class, one day, a little boy said that repentance was being sorry for your sins. But a little girl added that it was being sorry enough to quit. Sorry enough to quit. Beloved, all of this is possible only by God's grace. The dead in sin need to be made alive. And that's what Paul says happens. And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. And Joel says that our motive for repentance and faith is nothing less than God's grace. In verse 13, about halfway through, 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. Who knows? he may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing, grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. God's mercy and grace had been experienced over and over again by His covenant people. And what Joel says isn't just a list of maybes. Indeed, God relents from sending calamity. This is God's guarantee. And our proof is seen in the cross. On the cross of Jesus, beloved, Jesus took away from you and me who believe. He removed the calamity and destruction of eternal punishment. He removed from you and me who believe the terror of that day, the terror of God's wrath and anger. Now, there are times, as here it talks about God relenting, and other times in Scripture it talks about God repenting and changing His mind. But we must not think that our repenting changes God's mind or alters His plan in some way. Our prayers do not change God's plan. He always acts in a way that is consistent with His nature, His very being. Our prayers, of course, may be the means that He uses to carry out His will, but we cannot change God's will. How terrible that would be if we could change God's will. You see, God's warning of punishment is always conditional. And in Scripture, whenever it says that God repented or changed His mind from punishing or destroying, it was because repentance took place. This was the case with the people of Nineveh in Jonah's day. Had they not repented, the Lord would have destroyed them as He did many years later when they turned back to their wickedness. But they did repent. And therefore, God was true to His nature to forgive those who turned to Him. Did He know from eternity that they would repent and He would forgive them? Sure. And He also knew the means would be that they would humble themselves in sackcloth and ashes all by the working of His Holy Spirit. Beloved, outward repentance may not always include inward heart repentance, but inward repentance always, always includes outward repentance and outward demonstration. And this includes worship. Joel says, who knows, God's blessing may include grain and drink offerings once again. Last week we considered that there were none any longer. Indeed, God will relent of sending calamity, eternal calamity, and He may even choose to bless His people in this life. Grain offerings and drink offerings, of course, points to restored fellowship with God. But in verse 15, we hear that second trumpet. That trumpet is blown once again, this time not as a warning for danger, but as a call to assemble before God and worship Him. This was a call for corporate humility. Coming together as a congregation of God's people and calling upon God. And notice, it included everyone in the covenant community. The elders, those who led the people, as well as the nursing baby. All are sinners. But also the bride and the bridegroom. Now, that one may seem somewhat strange. Remember the law of Moses. In Deuteronomy 24, verse 5, we read, When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business. He shall be free at home one year and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken. But here, Joel issues an exception. He makes it clear that assembling and calling on the name of God for His mercy and grace was more important than even consummating the marriage relationship. Penitence is more important than the physical delight of the flesh and of the heart. But also the priests were called upon to perform their official duty on behalf of the people to cry out to God. And what I find striking here is that the reason that God has asked to have mercy on His people is not because they could not endure His wrath, which is true, they couldn't. And it was not because of their need, first of all. But it was for the sake of God's glory. Notice the last half of verse 17. Let them say, Spare your people, O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the people, Where is their God? As one commentator said with regard to this, if Israel, God's own inheritance, were to become an object of scorn, that's His scorn, the nations might conclude that He, that is God, lacked the power and or love to save those who belong to Him. And Moses gave virtually the same reason when God became angry with His people in the wilderness and said that He was going to destroy the people and make a great nation of Moses. Moses pleaded with Him not to do this because then the nations might mock Him and say, well, He was able to deliver the people from Egypt, but He was not strong enough to rescue them through the wilderness. Beloved, our sin gives the world opportunity to mock our God, to despise His glory. Our motive for repentance and faith is not to be, first of all, to escape God's wrath and punishment, But our first motive is to be the glory of God. That we should not in any way be the instruments of giving the world a reason and opportunity to mock our God and blaspheme His glory. He deserves our praise and our honor and our obedience. When we come back to our study of Joel the Lord willing, we will consider God's answer to their cries for mercy. But we know, don't we, that He hears His people because He has satisfied Himself for the sins of His people in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has paid it all. He has taken the wrath and punishment and terror of that day upon Himself, which would have been upon His people. Again, beloved, Jesus Christ is coming again, and when He does, He will usher in the day of the Lord. And for those who have not sought their salvation only in Him, but instead rejected Him, it will be terrible. It will be beyond comprehension. There will be no place to hide. There will be absolutely no relief. But to those who do not seek their salvation in themselves by the grace of God, seek their salvation outside of themselves, only in Christ Jesus, it will not be a day of darkness, but a day of light. It will not be a day of God's wrath, but a day of God's pleasure in His people for Jesus' sake as Jesus Christ stands for us and with us as our mediator and our deliverer. God's Word is clear and true. Psalm 130 says, There is forgiveness with God that He may be feared. Beloved, the day of the Lord is coming. Are you ready? Amen. Shall we pray? Father, again you have given to us a vivid reminder through this call that Jesus Christ is coming again and when He comes again, the scaffold of the world will be torn down from your glorious building, the church, the body of Christ. And Father, we are called not to be lazy, not to waste our time, not to take our time, but to look always and only to our God and King, to Jesus Christ, the only source of salvation full and free. Father, indeed it will be a day of judgment, yet a day of wonders for your people. as the sheep are gathered together around Jesus Christ, and He leads them to their eternal home. And therefore, O Lord, may we look forward to that day expectantly. May we look forward to that day as Your people, as those who believe by grace through faith. May we look forward to that day with joy-filled hearts. As well, may it be our desire that others are prepared for that day as well. O Lord, be pleased to use us in Your kingdom. Strengthen our faith, that our faith might be used to bring others to faith. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.