Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘ Where is their God?’” Joel 2: 17, NKJV.
Gracious God, here we are again, waiting upon You; listening for a Word from You; waiting to be blessed by You! Please teach us Your will, and give us obedient hearts, we pray in the blessed name of our Savior, Friend, and King, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today, I would like us to listen carefully, to the prayer of Joel, the prophet of God: ” ‘ “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘ Where is their God?’ ” My favorite prayers are those prayers where the person who is talking to God obviously knows God, and therefore, is not afraid to speak to God, as he or she would, to a friend. This is what I perceive of the relationship between God and Joel.
The first attribute of God that the prophet appeals to, is His mercy; His unfailing compassion! “Have mercy, O God; not because they deserve mercy, but because of Your great love! Hallelujah! They have not done, nor can they do, anything, that is deserving of such mercy, but spare them – just because of Who You are!” What a God! What a Savior!
Then He appeals to God’s sovereignty: “Do not (give them up) to reproach!” The goodness that Your people have experienced under Your kingship is so great, it would be a shame for another nation to come and reign over the. How sad it would be for an earthly king to “rule over them.” In calling on their forefathers to testify of the difference between life as it used to be, and the way it was now, seems to be prophet’s way of saying: “Things are not the same since You are not among us. I believe the following statement brings out that sentiment:
Why should they say among the peoples,” ‘ Where is their God?’ ” “Where is the God who liberated you from Egyptian bondage? Where is the God who made a dry path through the Red Sea? Where is the God who sent you food from heaven and made water come out of a rock to quench your thirst? Where is your God?”
The behavior of God’s people, in the twenty first century, as well as in ancient times, is very much like that of the youth. They can hardly wait to gain their independence; to get from under their parents’ protective wings. Nevertheless, the minute mom and dad, step back and allow them to live life on their own, they spend more time at mom and dad, than when they were at home! The sages were right when they said: “You never miss the water ’til the well runs dry.”
They wanted to serve the gods of the heathen nations. They wanted a king so that they could be, “like the other nations.” They wanted to eat and drink, like the other nations. So God granted them the desire of their hearts; only for them to discover, that, “the grass” sometimes only looks “greener on the other side[;]” it is not necessarily so! And now their land is left to them desolate. God used a four footed army to bring them to nought (Joel 1: 6, 7).
Do these circumstances bear any semblance with what we are seeing in our world today? We have dismissed God from just about every aspect of our lives. We have said, not in so many words, “We do not need You to tell us how to live our lives, how to protect our marriages, or how to raise our children. We have come of age, and have no need of You. Yet we, as individuals, our marriages, our children, and society, as a whole, have never been in a worst condition!
Bothers and sisters, friends and family – it is time to pray – to pray like we have never prayed before! We can thank God, that His mercy “looks beyond [our] faults and [sees our] need” (Dottie Rambo)! He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103: 10), praise His holy name! Now it is time to seek Him with all our hearts and souls; confess our sins, and seek His face!
We will continue.