Standing before the Judge

Joel 3:1-8

Has there been a time where you were fearful of having to go to court, to stand before a judge and have him decide your punishment?  If so, you have a better understanding than many of us about what is taking place in Joel chapter three.  Joel is getting to see clearly into what you and I regard as the future, this has not taken place, it did not happen in Joel’s lifetime nor has it happened in ours.  But you can believe it will take place, listen to these words from the prophet Isaiah 46:10, “I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will.”  Our mighty God always keeps His word, so we need to pay close attention to what the prophet Joel is telling us in chapter three.

“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.” Joel 3:1-8

In Scripture, the term used for “the valley where Yahweh judged” is what is literally the Valley of Jehoshaphat.  There is no valley by that name and many scholars believe it is referring to the valley of Jezreel near Megiddo where the battle of Armageddon will take place. (Thoughts from HCSB page 1487)

In the apostle John’s vision, we call it the book of the Revelation we have this account of what I believe to be the Judgment of God that Joel is telling us about.  Turning to Revelation 19:11-16, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!  The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses.  From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.  He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”  Revelation 16:16, gives us the name of the valley, it is called Armageddon.

And you may wonder why God is calling out Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of Philistia.  They were the hubs for slaves; they took the children of Israel and sold them as one would a bag of flour.  These nations also sinned against God when they took the gold and silver from the temple it was not Israel’s gold, it was God’s. 

From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice