Summons and Accusations

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it. “What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the LORD has spoken.”  Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Joel 3:1–12
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Summons and Accusations
Being called into the principal’s office as a kid was always a nerve-wracking event. Trying to remember what you did to get in trouble or, most often, trying to figure out a way to deny what you did still bring about terror. And even worse was when you finally heard your punishment. In these verses, we hear from the prophet Joel as he prophesies about Judgment Day and announces that the Lord will punish His enemies. In our sin, we are enemies of God and deserve what Joel announced and even more. Yet while God promises to punish His enemies, He also promises to vindicate and finally deliver His people. Thoughts of judgment should naturally produce dread in us, for God will not stand to be in the presence of sin; by faith, we need not fear God’s verdict. The punishment for our sin was meted out upon Another. Christ Jesus took our sins to the cross, and there they died with Him. So when the Lord comes back, He is coming back to usher us into heaven, not to punish us. The Judge of all the earth has granted us full confidence for Judgment Day, for He has given us the faith to know that there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we boldly pray, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly. Amen.”