Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, which hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. Joel 2:21-27
This definitely has to be one of most encouraging stories of restoration in the Bible. If you read the book of Joel, you know that God was angry at Israel and had sent plagues that destroyed the land. Because of God’s grace, mercy and love for His people, He tells Joel to tell the people to fast, repent and mourn of their past evils. He tells them He wants them to rend their heart and not their clothes and turn back to Him. Consequently, God acknowledges their sincere repentance and Joel begins to prophesy to them about the restoration that will come, both presently and in the future. He offers them hope and the assurance for all that had been taken from them over the years. Simply, Israel would be restored to even a greater state than they had been previously. This is also one of the most quoted verses in the Bible, well that I’ve heard, in regard to the Lord restoring what the cankerworm has eaten. If you know anything about the locust or the cankerworm, you know that they will eat and devour all crops, trees, vegetation, everything!
Before the beginning of the year, overflow and completion has been in my spirit, so I got excited when I read this chapter and these verses. I took the liberty of highlighting some key phrases that spoke in volumes. Fear not, be glad and rejoice for the Lord has rained moderately or slightly in the past but He is about to cause a torrential (falling fast and in great abundance) rain. Then He tells them that your substance shall be filled to capacity and truly your cup will runneth over… Joel’s word… OVERFLOW! God is going to give back over and above what you've had. Think of how you will be able to bless others! This reminded me of the words of Malachi... "prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." To add to the prophesy, he said that He will not only restore but re-establish you for all the years that the enemy has stolen, just like the locust and the cankerworm, he also seeks to steal, kill, and destroy as well as devour us. That alone is enough to praise God for and how he chooses to deal with so wondrously because of His love, that mercy and grace. We will know without a shadow of a doubt that it could only have been God that has done this and none other. Meditate on this for awhile and then I'd say get ready, rejoice, it's coming… take caution because there's a down pouring ahead!
Until the morning, be blessed!
Cynde
This definitely has to be one of most encouraging stories of restoration in the Bible. If you read the book of Joel, you know that God was angry at Israel and had sent plagues that destroyed the land. Because of God’s grace, mercy and love for His people, He tells Joel to tell the people to fast, repent and mourn of their past evils. He tells them He wants them to rend their heart and not their clothes and turn back to Him. Consequently, God acknowledges their sincere repentance and Joel begins to prophesy to them about the restoration that will come, both presently and in the future. He offers them hope and the assurance for all that had been taken from them over the years. Simply, Israel would be restored to even a greater state than they had been previously. This is also one of the most quoted verses in the Bible, well that I’ve heard, in regard to the Lord restoring what the cankerworm has eaten. If you know anything about the locust or the cankerworm, you know that they will eat and devour all crops, trees, vegetation, everything!
Before the beginning of the year, overflow and completion has been in my spirit, so I got excited when I read this chapter and these verses. I took the liberty of highlighting some key phrases that spoke in volumes. Fear not, be glad and rejoice for the Lord has rained moderately or slightly in the past but He is about to cause a torrential (falling fast and in great abundance) rain. Then He tells them that your substance shall be filled to capacity and truly your cup will runneth over… Joel’s word… OVERFLOW! God is going to give back over and above what you've had. Think of how you will be able to bless others! This reminded me of the words of Malachi... "prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." To add to the prophesy, he said that He will not only restore but re-establish you for all the years that the enemy has stolen, just like the locust and the cankerworm, he also seeks to steal, kill, and destroy as well as devour us. That alone is enough to praise God for and how he chooses to deal with so wondrously because of His love, that mercy and grace. We will know without a shadow of a doubt that it could only have been God that has done this and none other. Meditate on this for awhile and then I'd say get ready, rejoice, it's coming… take caution because there's a down pouring ahead!
Until the morning, be blessed!
Cynde
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