Joel 2

Locusts Invade like an Army

2Sound the alarm in Jerusalem

! Raise the battle cry on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us.H8628H7782H6726H7321H6944H2022H3427H776H7264H3117H3068H935H71382It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and mighty army appears. Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again.H3117H2822H653H3117H6051H6205H7837H6566H2022H7227H5971H6099H1961H5769H3254H310H8141H1755H17553Fire burns in front of them, and flames follow after them. Ahead of them the land lies as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Behind them is nothing but desolation; not one thing escapes.H784H398H6440H310H3852H3857H776H1588H5731H6440H310H8077H4057H64134They look like horses; they charge forward like warhorses

.H4758H4758H5483H6571H73235Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops. Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots, like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble, or like a mighty army moving into battle.H6963H4818H7218H2022H7540H6963H3851H784H398H7179H6099H5971H4421H61866Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with terror.H6440H5971H2342H6440H6908H62897The attackers march like warriors and scale city walls like soldiers. Straight forward they march, never breaking rank.H7323H1368H5927H2346H582H4421H3212H376H1870H5670H7348They never jostle each other; each moves in exactly the right position. They break through defenses without missing a step.H376H1766H251H3212H1397H4546H5307H7973H12149They swarm over the city and run along its walls. They enter all the houses, climbing like thieves through the windows.H8264H5892H7323H2346H5927H1004H935H2474H159010The earth quakes as they advance, and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.H776H7264H6440H8064H7493H8121H3394H6937H3556H622H505111The Lord is at the head of the column. He leads them with a shout. This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can possibly survive?H3068H5414H6963H6440H2428H4264H3966H7227H6099H6213H1697H3117H3068H1419H3966H3372H3557

A Call to Repentance

12That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.H5002H3068H7725H3824H6685H1065H455313Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.H7167H3824H899H7725H3068H430H2587H7349H750H639H7227H2617H5162H745114Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.H3045H7725H5162H7604H1293H310H4503H5262H3068H43015Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.H8628H7782H6726H6942H6685H7121H611616Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room.H622H5971H6942H6951H6908H2205H622H5768H3243H7699H2860H3318H2315H3618H264617Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar. Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord! Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”H3548H8334H3068H1058H197H4196H559H2347H5971H3068H5414H5159H2781H1471H4910H559H5971H430

The Lord’s Promise of Restoration

18Then the Lord will pity his people and jealously guard the honor of his land.H3068H7065H776H2550H597119The Lord will reply, “Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy your needs. You will no longer be an object of mockery among the surrounding nations.H3068H6030H559H5971H7971H1715H8492H3323H7646H5414H2781H147120I will drive away these armies from the north. I will send them into the parched wastelands. Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea, and those at the rear into the Mediterranean

. The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.” Surely the Lord has done great things!H7368H6830H5080H776H6723H8077H6440H6931H3220H5490H314H3220H889H5927H6709H5927H6213H143121Don’t be afraid, my people. Be glad now and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things.H3372H127H1523H8055H3068H6213H143122Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field, for the wilderness pastures will soon be green. The trees will again be filled with fruit; fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.H3372H929H7704H4999H4057H1876H6086H5375H6529H8384H1612H5414H242823Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring.H1523H1121H6726H8055H3068H430H5414H4175H6666H3381H1653H4175H4456H722324The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain, and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.H1637H4390H1250H3342H7783H8492H332325The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts

. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.H7999H8141H697H398H3218H2625H1501H1419H2428H797126Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the Lord your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people be disgraced.H398H398H7646H1984H8034H3068H430H6213H6381H5971H5769H95427Then you will know that I am among my people Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other. Never again will my people be disgraced.H3045H7130H3478H3068H430H5971H5769H954

The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit

“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.H310H8210H7307H1320H1121H1323H5012H2205H2492H2472H970H7200H238429In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.H5650H8198H3117H8210H730730And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke.H5414H4159H8064H776H1818H784H8490H622731The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible

day of the Lord arrives.H8121H2015H2822H3394H1818H6440H1419H3372H3117H3068H93532But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called.H7121H8034H3068H4422H2022H6726H3389H6413H3068H559H8300H3068H7121