Lord of Hosts

Posted by Christina Scovone on Monday, September 21, 2009

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Monday September 21, 2009 and we are studying the book of Joel, please read the book of Joel in your Bible or Click Here to read it. http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-september-21

Today's Message: Lord of Hosts
God is Lord of hosts and has every creature at His command, and, when He pleases, He can humble and mortify the proud, rebellious people, by the weakest and most annoying creatures.

The book of Joel is the twenty-ninth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains three chapters. The author of the book is Joel and it was written to the people in Judah. The purpose of the book was to warn Judah of their sin and need for repentance and to inform them of God's future restoration plans for the nation. What we are to learn from the book is that even in the midst of corrective judgment, God plans future blessings for His people.

Joel, a prophet of God, warned the people of Judah of their coming destruction during the reign of Joash (See II Chronicles 22-24), which was about 800 B.C. Through Joel God Said, “Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.” - Joel 1:2-5. God is addressing the elders of Judah, He is telling them to listen to what He is saying and to make sure that every generation thereafter is told of what they hear. He warns them that what is about to happen will be more severe than anything they have encountered.

A trumpet was often used to announce solemn days and feasts, and by watchmen to warn of approaching danger (See Numbers 10:1-10). However, the sins of the Israelite's were even more serious than the approaching enemies. Because of their sins, God could not bless them or protect them. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.” - Joel 2:1-3. It is righteous for God to take away comforts that are abused to luxury and excess. The more we place our happiness in the material things of the world, the more severe our temporal afflictions will be.

God is not against us having these things, but when they become more important than Him He will cause us to face temporary affliction. However, He assures us that even though we face temporal affliction, He will restore everything to us and then some as long as we repent and put Him first. “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.” - Joel 2:21-25. There is a day coming, when every thing destroyed shall be restored. The Gospel and grace, flowing from Christ, shall reach to the Gentile world, to the most remote regions, and make them abound in fruits of righteousness from the house of the Lord above.

About 700 years later on the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter preached the prophetic meaning of Joel's words, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; …........And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved........Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.” - Acts 2:16,21,38,39. There in only one of two directions in life, we can either go the direction of Christ and enjoy His gifts of Salvation, mercy and grace so we can enjoy even the finer things here on earth while we wait for better treasures in heaven or we can go the direction of Satan and sink into the corruption of the world, eventually losing all of the finer things on earth as well as the treasures of heaven. Seriously, what does one have to lose by accepting Christ into their lives?

All who labor only for the meat that perishes, will, sooner or later, be ashamed of their labor. Those who place their happiness in the delights of these things, when deprived of them, or disturbed in their enjoyment, lose their joy, whereas spiritual joy then flourishes more than ever. How blessed are the awakening judgments of God, in rousing his people and calling home the heart to Christ, and his salvation!

Have a wonderful and blessed day/night and week.
God Bless You,
Christina