Saturday Scripture Gold with Bibi: He Has Provided for Our Salvation!

Hello, and welcome to Saturday Scripture Gold!

One of my favorite books in the bible is the book of Joel. It is a brief book, only three chapters long, but it packs quite a powerful punch! The book of Joel was written by the prophet, Joel. His name means "the Lord is God." Not a whole lot is known about Joel other than his being the son of Pethuel (who is also unknown) and that he was from Judah. Although there are some references to Jerusalem which indicate that perhaps he was from Jerusalem.

Joel is the second of the twelve prophets in the Book of the Twelve. The Book of the Twelve Prophets was originally on one parchment roll because of the brevity of the text, and together formed one Book of the 24 Books of Hebrew Scripture.

These twelve prophets were sometimes named the minor prophets, not because they are of lesser importance, but because their writings are brief. The Twelve include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Joel was a prophet in the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the period of the Divided Kingdom (930-722 BC).

Joel is unique in the fact of the promise of the outpouring the Holy Spirit on all flesh. The main audience for this book was the southern nation of Judah. Its purposes were:

1. To warn Judah of the coming Day of the Lord when judgment will get worse for Judah and the nations of the world;

2. To urge Judah to repent of their sins;

3. To proclaim a future time when complete restoration will come to the nation.

In simple terms, Joel was trying call the people to repent of their sins, and be brought back into good standing with God. The one message that really stands out in the book, is "the day of the Lord." This is the day of God’s wrath and judgment in which God reveals His attributes of wrath, power and holiness. It is a terrifying day to His enemies.

Key Verses: Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25; Joel 2:28, Joel 3:14;

As I previously mentioned, I like this book because of its simple, yet powerful message. From it we learn that without repentance, our judgment will be inevitable, unpleasant, and complete. And, that we should never place our trust in earthly possessions, but in the Lord. Joel also tells us that God at times may use nature, sorrow or other common occurrences to draw us closer to Him. But in His mercy and grace, He has provided the ultimate plan for our salvation. He is Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins and exchanged our sin for His perfect righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

My dear readers, there is no time to lose! God’s judgment will come swiftly (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Therefore, we must be ready! Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Prayer:

Lord, be Thou my constant Guide,
Lead me all the way,
Till I reach Thy home at last,
Nevermore to stray. Amen

Until next time...

Have a blessed week!

Bibi