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Tuesday 7/6/21
Sin Seperates

 1For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
 2I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
 3And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
 4Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
 5Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
 6The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
 7Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
 8And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
 9Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
 10Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
 11Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
 12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
 13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
 15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
 16The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
 17So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
 18And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
 19Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
 20But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
 21For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

Today's Scripture Meaning 

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Joel
Date Penned: BC 835-796
Overview: To Warn Judah of God's Judgement (c 1-3)
Theme: The Day of the Lord (c 3)
Message: The Day of the Lord is Near (v 1-21)

Joel: Chapter 3 Commentary
   
(3:1) The phrase "in that time" refers to the time when those who call upon the Lord will be saved (Hosea 2) God will not only bless believers with everything they need but he will also bless them by destroying all evil, and ending the pain and suffering on the earth. This prophecy is fulfilled in King Jehoshaphat's recent battle against Moab and Ammon (2 Chronicles 20) and the restoration to the people to their land after the exile to Babylon plus the final fulfillment to come to pass in the Messiah's reign of the earth in Revelation chapter 20.

(3:4) Tyre and Sindon (Zidon) were major cities in Phoenicia to the north of Israel. Philistia (here referred to as "the coasts of Palestine") was the nation southwest of Judah. Phoenicia and Philistia were small countries who rejoiced at the fall of Judah and Israel because they would benefit from the increased trade. God would judge them for their wrong attitude.

(3:8) The Sabeans came from Sheba, a nation in southwest Arabia, One of Sheba's queens had visited Solomon over a century earlier (1King 10) 

(3:14) Joel described multitudes waiting in the "valley of decision" (also translated the "valley of judgement") Billions of people have lived on earth and everyone of them will face judgement. Look around you. See your friends, those with whom you work and live. Have they received God's forgiveness? Have they been warned about sins's consequences? If we understand the severity of God's final judgement, we will want to take God's offer of hope to those we know.

(3:17) The last word will be God's His ultimate sovereignty will be revealed in the end. We cannot predict when the end will come, but we can have confidence in his control over the world's events. The world's history, as well as our own, is in God's hands. We can be secure in his love and trust him to guide our decisions.

(3:18) The picture of this restored land is one of perfect beauty similar to the Garden of Eden, The life giving water flowing from the temple Illustrates the blessings that come from God's presence. Those who attach themselves to God will be forever

(3:19) Egypt and Edom were 2 of Israel's most persistent enemies. They represent all the nations hostile to God's people. The Lord promised that they would be destroyed is a promise they would be destroyed.

(3:20,21) The word Judah is used here to refer to all God's people.Anyone who has called on the name of the Lord has full assurance of victory and peace for those who trust in God.

(3:21) Joel began with a prophecy about the destruction of the land and ended with a prophecy about its restoration. He began by stressing the need for repentance and ended with the promise of forgiveness that repentance brings. Joel was trying to convince the people to wake up and get rid of their complacency and realize the danger of living apart from God. His message to us is that there is still time, Any one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be Saved while those who reject the Lord's invitation will continue to be lost in their sin.
Today's Scripture Application

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue with the book of Joel with Chapter 3. In our text today we see reasons for judgement as Sin separates people from God. In making application we see why Jesus had to come and why we must be saved. Because sin separates an unholy man from a holy God. How about you? Do you see your need for a Savior? Let us learn from our text today and Word of the Lord to see that sins separates man from God and the reason we must be Saved.
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ο»ΏSincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.
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