The Day of the Lord: Judgment, Mercy, and Restoration

Have you ever felt like something vital has been stolen from your life? A season of devastation, emptiness, or spiritual drought that left you wondering if restoration was possible?

Joel 2 opens with the thunderous alarm of judgment - an unstoppable army approaches, darkness looms, and the earth trembles. Yet beneath this terrifying vision lies an invitation that cuts to the heart of our relationship with God: "Return to me with all your heart... rend your hearts and not your garments." This isn't a call to religious performance but to genuine, soul-deep repentance.

Standing alongside the prophet Joel in this immersive episode, we walk through ancient streets marked by devastation, witnessing both the gravity of divine judgment and the astonishing tenderness of God's mercy. The locusts may have stripped everything bare, but God promises, "I will repay you for the years that the locusts have eaten." These words echo across centuries to speak directly to our own places of loss and longing.

As we explore this profound chapter, we're confronted with searching questions about the condition of our hearts. Where have we built walls against God's presence? What parts of our lives need surrender and restoration? The journey through Joel's prophecy ultimately leads us to the stunning promise of God's Spirit poured out on all flesh - a vision of renewal that transcends age, gender, and status.

Join me as we discover that even in our darkest moments, God's heart remains set on restoration. Take time to reflect on areas where you need divine renewal, and remember that no matter what locusts have consumed in your life, the Lord stands ready to restore.

Music Credit: "Emanuel" by JOYSPRING

Thank you for joining us in this episode of In the Field Audio Bible, where we explore the richness of God’s Word, one chapter at a time. We hope today’s reading brought insight, comfort, or inspiration to your journey of faith.

We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions! Feel free to send us a text to let us know how In the Field Audio Bible is impacting your faith journey. Until next time, may God’s Word guide and bless you.

Episode Transcript

In the Field Audio Bible (04:37):
Today we step into the thunderous and
redemptive words of Joel 2.
A chapter where judgmentmarches like an unstoppable army
, yet mercy waits just beyondthe smoke.
God calls his people to rendtheir hearts, not just their
garments, offering restoration,revival and hope in the shadow

(05:03):
of the coming day of the Lord.
The streets are quiet now, butnot in peace.
It's the kind of quiet thatpresses against your chest.
You walk them beside Joel theprophet.
His cloak dust stained, hiseyes heavy with what he has seen

(05:25):
and what he still hears.
He doesn't rush.
He walks slowly, deliberately,because every step, every street
corner carries memory andmeaning.

(05:46):
He speaks little at first, butyou can tell his mind is full,
full of the cries of his people,full of the silence left by the
locust, full of the sound ofthe Lord's voice still echoing
like thunder in his soul.
And then he speaks, not to youdirectly, but to the city, to

(06:12):
the land itself.
Blow the trumpet in Zion.
His voice isn't angry, it'surgent, grieved.
He's heard the warning, seenthe vision.
What's coming is bigger thanlocusts.
This time it's the day of thevision.
What's coming is bigger thanlocusts.

(06:32):
This time it's the day of theLord, A day not just for Judah
but for all nations.
You walk with him past thetemple ruins, through fields
still barren from the lastdevastation.
He pauses, places a hand on thewall of a home where children
used to laugh.
You see it in his face.

(06:56):
This is not just prophecy, it'spersonal.
You sit behind him later at arough-hewn table.
As he pours over the words he'swriting, his hands tremble not
from fear but from awe.
He doesn't fully understand ityet, but something stirs in him

(07:19):
this day of the Lord.
It's not only about judgment.
It's about Jesus.
He can't name him yet, but theSpirit breathes the shape of it
through his pen.
A promise of the Spirit pouredout all on flesh Of salvation,
available to anyone who calls onthe name of the Lord, of a

(07:42):
future where devastation is notthe final word.
Joel leans back and looks at you, not with answers but with
questions.
Do they hear it?
Do they know how much God stilllongs to restore them?
Can they see the mercy beneaththe fire?

(08:04):
Will they return?
Now you walk the streets besidehim, not from the outside
looking in, but as part of itall.
Dust clings to your sandals.
The air is thick with theweight of what's been lost and
what could still be redeemed.

(08:25):
You feel it, the holy reckoningrising beneath your feet.
You pass a doorway, once filledwith laughter, now it stands
silent and something stirs inyou, a question, unspoken but
loud.
You slow your steps.

(08:46):
What would it take for you tostop, truly stop, to let your
heart break open, instead ofsimply adjusting your routines,
to tear down the safe habits andoffer God the raw, trembling
pieces of your soul?
You see the places in your ownlife, places that have grown

(09:12):
cold, cracked, overgrown withdespair.
You had written them off.
But now, now you wonder,because there's something in the
wind, not just judgment,something softer a whisper you
hear it.
Softer a whisper, you hear it.
Fate but real, the sound ofrestoration, the stir of hope

(09:41):
and the question that hovers inthe silence.
Are you ready to return?
As we prepare to hear Joel 2,step into the trembling hush
before the storm breaks, wherethe ground shakes, the skies
darken and the day of the Lordrushes near like an army in

(10:02):
formation.
This chapter holds both terrorand tenderness as God's
righteous judgment draws near.
Yet his heart longs to restore.
Joel cries out not for shallowritual, but for true repentance,
a tearing of hearts, notgarments, and in that surrender,

(10:23):
God promises to renew what waslost, to pour out his spirit and
to awaken hope in everygeneration.
Let these words remind us thatdivine mercy often meets us at
the edge of ruin and thatrevival begins not with strength

(10:44):
but with returning.
Now let's take a moment toquieten our hearts and listen to
the word itself.
Let these words sink deep intoyour spirit, bringing comfort,
conviction and encouragement,whether you're sitting in a

(11:04):
quiet place or out in the world.
Allow scripture to meet youright where you are.
I hope you have your favoritecup of tea or coffee.
Sit back, relax and let's stepinto the sacred text of the book
of Joel 2.

(11:40):
The Book of Joel 2.
Blow the trumpet in Zion.
Sound the alarm on my holymountain.
Let all the inhabitants of theland tremble, for the day of the
Lord is coming.
It is near a day of darknessand gloom, a day of clouds and

(12:02):
thick darkness, like blacknessspread upon the mountains.
A great and powerful army comestheir like has never been from
of old, nor will be again afterthem in ages to come.
Fire devours in front of themand behind them a flame burns.

(12:25):
Before them the land is likethe garden of Eden, but after
them a desolate wilderness, andnothing escapes them.
Them, a desolate wilderness andnothing escapes them.
They have the appearance ofhorses and like war horses they

(12:46):
charge as with the rumbling ofchariots.
They leap on the tops of themountains like the crackling of
a flame of fire devouring thestubble, like a powerful army
drawn up for battle Before them.
Peoples are in anguish, allfaces grow pale.
Like warriors, they charge Likesoldiers.
They scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course.

(13:07):
They do not swerve from theirpaths.
They do not jostle one another.
Each keeps to its own track.
They burst through the weaponsand are not halted.
They leap upon the city, theyrun upon the walls, they climb
up into the houses.
They enter through the windowslike a thief.

(13:27):
The earth quakes before them,the heavens tremble, the sun and
the moon are darkened and thestars withdraw their shining.
The Lord utters His voice at thehead of His army.
How vast is His host.
Numberless are those who obeyHis command Truly.

(13:48):
The day of the Lord is great,terrible indeed.
Who can endure it?
Yet even now, says the Lord,return to me with all your heart
, with fasting, with weeping andwith mourning.
Rend your hearts and not yourclothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,for he is gracious and merciful,

(14:10):
slow to anger and abounding insteadfast love and relents from
punishing.
Who knows whether he will notturn and relent and leave a
blessing behind him, a grainoffering and a drink offering
for the Lord, your God.
Blow the trumpet in Zion.

(14:31):
Sanctify a fast.
Call a solemn assembly.
Gather the people.
Sanctify a fast.
Call a solemn assembly.
Gather the people.
Sanctify the congregation.
Assemble the aged.
Gather the children, eveninfants, at the breast.
Let the bridegroom, leave hisroom and the bride her canopy

(14:51):
Between the vestibule and thealtar.
Let the priests, the ministersof the Lord, weep.
Let them say spare your people,o Lord, and do not make your
heritage a mockery, a bywordamong the nations.
Why should it be said among thepeoples?
Where is their God?
Then the Lord became jealousfor his land and had pity on his

(15:15):
people.
In response to his people, theLord said I am sending you grain
, wine and oil, and you will besatisfied, and I will no more
make you a mockery among thenations.
I will remove the northern army, far from you and drive it into
a parched and desolate land,its front into the eastern sea

(15:39):
and its rear into the westernsea.
Its stench and foul smell willrise up.
Surely he has done great things.
Do not fear O soil, be glad andrejoice, for the Lord has done
great things.
Do not fear you, animals of thefield, for the pastures of the

(16:00):
wilderness are green, the treebears its fruit, the fig tree
and vine give their full yield.
O children of Zion, be glad andrejoice in the Lord, your God,
for he has given the early rainfor your vindication.
He has poured down for youabundant rain, the early and the

(16:23):
later rain as before.
The threshing floors shall befull of grain, the vats shall
overflow with wine and oil.
I will repay you for the yearsthat the swarming locust has
eaten the hopper, the destroyerand the cutter, my great army,
which I sent against you.

(16:44):
You shall eat in plenty and besatisfied and praise the name of
the Lord, your God, who hasdealt wondrously with you, and
my people shall never again beput to shame.
You shall know that I am in themidst of Israel and that I, the
Lord, am your God and there isno other, and my people shall

(17:05):
never again be put to shame.
Then afterward, I will pour outmy spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughtersshall prophesy, your old men
shall dream dreams and youryounger men shall see visions,
even on the male and femaleslaves.
In those days, I will pour outmy Spirit, I will show portents

(17:29):
in the heavens and on the earthblood and fire and columns of
smoke.
The sun shall be turned todarkness and the moon to blood,
before the great and terribleday of the Lord comes.
Then everyone who calls on thename of the Lord shall be saved,
for in Mount Zion and inJerusalem there shall be those

(17:50):
who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall
be those whom the Lord calls.

(18:18):
As we draw this time together toa close, imagine walking beside
me now Joel, in the thick ofthe darkness.
The skies are heavy, the airtense with the sound of
approaching footsteps, the dayof the Lord on the horizon.
What began as a warning inchapter 1 has now become a call

(18:43):
to action.
The locusts have done theirwork and now we stand at the
edge of something far greater,something much more forbidding.
The earth trembles beneath usas judgment approaches, but with
it there's something else Mercy.

(19:04):
In the midst of this stormthere is an invitation to return
, not just a return to ritual,not to mere outward acts of
sorrow, but a return to God'sheart, a true, full surrender of
all that we are.

(19:26):
As I speak to the people, I amnot just a prophet delivering
words, but a voice tremblingwith the urgency of what is to
come.
The locusts may have strippedthe land, but there is still a
way forward, a path that leadsto restoration.
Rend your hearts I say not justyour garments, your hearts, I

(19:53):
say not just your garments.
Tear open the facade, the pride, the complacency, and come
before God with a broken heart.
The locusts are gone, but theheart of God, broken for his

(20:15):
people, it remains.
He is calling us to a deep,intimate renewal and he promises
that if we return to him hewill pour out his spirit.
He will restore the years thelocusts have eaten, the fields
will bloom again.
But what does that mean for youright here, right now, as we

(20:39):
stand in the shadow of this dayof the Lord, I ask you to
reflect.
Where in your life have youallowed the locusts to come in
and steal away what was oncefertile and full?
Maybe it's your passion for God, slowly eaten away by
distractions or complacency.

(21:00):
Maybe it's relationships thathave withered or dreams that
have been overshadowed by fear.
Where in your heart have youbuilt up walls, thinking you
could go on without God,thinking you could handle the
storm on your own?

(21:20):
The call is clear, but it's noteasy.
It requires vulnerability.
It demands that we look at theplaces within us that we'd
rather leave untouched, thoseplaces of pride, of bitterness,
of self-sufficiency.
And here's the question thatstings Are you ready to tear

(21:43):
open your heart and offer it toGod in full surrender?
What are you holding back?
What is preventing you fromcoming to Him with everything
you've been carrying?
In Joel's words there is anincredible promise.
I will restore you to the yearsthat the locusts have eaten.

(22:06):
It is a promise of redemption,but redemption only comes when
we truly return, when we comewith hearts that are broken, not
just for the things we've lostbut for the ways we've wondered,
from the one who is our truesource of life.
As you reflect on your own life, consider this what are the

(22:32):
places in your heart that needrestoration?
What parts of your life need tobe surrendered to God so he can
breathe new life into them?
The locusts may have come, butthe Lord's restoration is
greater still.
The day of the Lord is coming,but so too is the promise of His

(22:52):
mercy, his grace and Hisrestoration.
Thank you for joining me todayas we journey through the book
of Joel 2.
I pray that you carry thesereflections with you into your

(23:12):
day, into your week, and thatyou find strength in knowing God
is with you in every trial,every temptation and every step
of obedience.
If this time in God's word hasencouraged you, take a moment to
share it with someone who mightneed it, and be sure to join me
next time as we continuewalking through the scriptures,

(23:33):
learning, learning, growing andstaying faithful in the field of
life.
Until next time, may you findpeace in the quiet trust in
God's call and rest in Hisunchanging love.
This is In the Field AudioBible, where we Listen to the

(23:54):
Bible One Chapter at a Time.