ISSL Reflections January 29 2023 Joel 2:21–27 Post 3

VII.
This passage begins with “Do not fear … Do not fear … be glad, and rejoice.”

What “evidence” does the prophet offer that the people should “… be glad, and rejoice”?

VIII.
Joel 2:21-27 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Do not fear, O soil;
       be glad and rejoice,
       for the Lord has done great things!
Do not fear, you animals of the field,
       for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
       the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

O children of Zion, be glad,
       and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
       he has poured down for you abundant rain,
       the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
       the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

I will repay you for the years
       that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
       my great army that I sent against you.

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied
       and praise the name of the Lord your God,
       who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel
       and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.

IX.
The people had previously experienced a time of scarcity. The prophet is encouraging them to expect a time of plenty.

And not just a time of “… threshing floors … full of gain…” and “… vats [overflowing] with wine and oil.”

But a time when the people “know that [God is] in the midst of Israel.”

How do you think the renewed productivity of the harvest encourages Israel to trust God has not departed from them?

How about you? What encourages you to trust in the nearness of God?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}


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