Joel 2:17-18
October 9th, 2006 by Stephen
“Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?”
“Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.”
Joel 2:17,18
When the congregations were shedding tears of repentance and fasting in solemn assembly, and the ministers mourned for the people, then Joel said the LORD would be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
The ministers had to realize that only God could save his people from reproach. Only God could prevent the heathen from ruling over his people. If God was for them then who could stand against them? But if God was not for them (because they were not for God) then what could feeble man do against the mighty army that the Lord had raised up against them?
But our God is a loving and merciful God. He was longing to forgive his people of their sins. He was patiently awaiting the time when his people would turn back to him and he could demonstrate his pity for his people in works of power.
Our sovereign God is jealous for his people, his church. He longs to forgive us of our sins. He is patiently awaiting the time when we, his people, will bend the knee to him, our Lord.
When even the ministers of the Lord repent of their attempts to build churches to their own glory; when they realize that God was left out of the equation many years ago; when they turn their backs on the Christian culture which idolizes certain people; when there is a weeping before our God, our Creator, our Provider. Then God will be jealous for his land and he will pity his people.
I do not suggest that it is only the clergy who need to repent before God. We are all ministers to some degree, and to some degree we all have used our position to manipulate for our own glory, to satiate our own pride.
I speak here from experience. How easy it is for me to write an article, even an article such as this one, knowing all the time that people may in some manner look up to me for what I write. The writing of such things then becomes a boost to my own ego, and a pandering to my pride.
Such a spirit of pride is an abomination to God. How dare I steal any of the glory which so justly belongs only to God?
What is the chief end of man? asks the Westminster Catechism, and the answer is given:
To glorify God.
Let us repent of the proud spirit which gives the other answer to this question: “To glorify self”. Let us weep before God as we realize that so much of our own ministry has been an attempt to build ourselves up in the sight of others. Let us cry out to our God as we realize that it is only when we get out of His way that He will show His pity which He has for His people.
Our God longs to forgive us of these things, so let us but ask that he will, and then rest in His wonderful provision, secure in the fact that He loves us more then anyone could ever know. We are sons of the living God. What is the praise of man against the love of God?
