Daily Devotions
Joel
"Consecrate a fast"
Text: Joel 1:14
AN URGENT TASK
The prophet Jonah was sent to Nineveh to warn them of the severe judgment of the LORD. In fear of the LORD God, Nineveh repented and was spared. Joel urged all in the land to fast and pray!
“Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders,
And all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the LORD your God,
And cry out to the LORD.”
Joel 1:14
1. “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly”
a) This was meant to be a national fast.
b) The nation must gather as a sacred assembly:
i) To repent
ii) To confess
iii) To seek mercy
iv) To ask the Lord’s pardon
2. “Gather the elders”
a) These may exercise influence on their cities and villages.
b) Every person, especially those who are notable, must turn to the Lord in repentance.
3. “And all the inhabitants of the land”
a) Everyone counts.
b) In the case of Nineveh
i) The king himself was in sackcloth.
ii) Even the animals were put in a fasting mode.
iii) The king made a royal decree to make everyone humble himself before God (Jonah 3:5-10).
c) The LORD relented and spared Nineveh.
4. “Into the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD”
a) King Solomon’s prayer to the Lord is noteworthy (2 Chronicles 6).
b) If the people sinned and angered God, and if they were to repent sincerely.
c) Solomon asked the LORD to hear and forgive the sins of the nation.
d) This was Joel’s urgent plea to the people to seek the LORD at this desperate time.
5. God’s answer to Solomon was recorded carefully
If His people were to genuinely repent and seek His face, He would certainly forgive.
He would even heal the land (2 Chronicles 7:14).