Joel 3:1-8
1 “At the time of those events,” says the Lord, “when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land. 3 They threw dice to decide which of my people would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.
4 “What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. 5 You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. 6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland.
4 “What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. 5 You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. 6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland.
7 “But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia, a nation far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Quick Notes/Questions
Sometimes, the most painful punishment one can have is to endure the consequences for our actions. As a dad, it is less painful to remove Marideth from the possibility of making bad decisions than to let her not only have the option to make whatever decision, but also not to soften the blow if it happens to be the wrong one. Ultimately, we sometimes only learn by enduring the consequences for our choices. I think we see this in the passage above. God does not appear to be happy that the humanity he created will suffer. At the same time, we are held accountable for our actions. Have you ever had to endure the consequences of making a bad decision? What was that experience like?
Quick Prayer
Lord Almighty, thank you for your tremendous grace and mercy. Let your Spirit completely indwell within me. Amen.
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