God desires a change of heart

The prophet Joel’s writing is short but contained a warning for God’s people, those living in Judah. Couched in terms of a locust invasion, he was warning the people of the invasion of a nation and their need to get back to serving God.

“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 – 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. 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.” (Joel 2:1-3 NIV)

Joel referred to this day as “the day of the Lord” – it was coming and it was almost there. Although his description of this dreadful day was in terms of darkness, gloom, clouds and blackness he wasn’t talking about the end of the world. He went ahead to spell out what he was talking about: the images of locusts (chapter 1) and the darkness and gloom was “a large and might army”. This army would lay waste to anything that was in its path.

“Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, 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 is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:10-11)

This invading army is couched in terms of life ceasing to exist with earthquakes and all being in darkness. This was the day of the Lord and it would be dreadful! It would be as if the world was coming to an end!

Although we would like to know which invasion he was predicting, this prophecy doesn’t contain anything from which we can figure out when it was written. The date for the book varies from the 9^th century BC during the reign of Joash (in which case the invading army could have been the Philistines, Edom, or even Egypt), the eight century BC (which would make Assyria the predicted army), the seventh century (which would make the army that of Babylon), or even 6^th or 5^th century BC (during the Persian and Greek period). Whatever date is given, the circumstances are a time when Judah had left God for idolatry – which means it could have been written during almost any period. 

God’s people seem to have always struggled to remain faithful to him. The problem always boils down to wanting to be like everyone else – in the case of Judah that meant adopting idolatrous worship practices and the immoral lifestyle that went along with it. God was coming in judgment on his people. But when God issued a warning, he also gave a solution so the predicted disaster could be averted.

“‘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 relent and leave behind a blessing – grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.” (Joel 2:12-14)

What did they need to do? Give up their sinful lives and return to God. He was looking for more than an outward show of remorse – he wanted to see real change in their lives. God is a forgiving God.

Isn’t that the same message for us today? God wants us all to turn from sin and serve him, being obedient to Jesus. It is more than just saying it – it requires a change of heart.

Photo by Mary Harrsch of Assyrian Invasion panel. Used under Wikimedia Commons licence.

Readings for next week: Hosea 9-14; Joel 1-3; Amos 1-4