Sermon Tone Analysis

! I will restore the years the locusts have eaten

 

25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm —

my great army that I sent among you.

26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,

and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has worked wonders for you;

never again will my people be shamed.

27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,

that I am the Lord your God,

and that there is no other;

never again will my people be shamed.

The Day of the Lord

28 “And afterwards,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

29 Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

30 I will show wonders in the heavens

and on the earth,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

31 The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

32 And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved;

for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

there will be deliverance,

as the Lord has said,

among the survivors

whom the Lord calls.

*JOEL 2 25-32*

* *

Let there be no doubt about it – the New Testament use of these verses reinforces in terms of our Lord Jesus Himself the promise of RESTORATION that is given here.

When my son Mark was alive there was a period of several months when he was living at a Christian rehabilitation unit near Sevenoaks.

We went to visit him there and he showed us round with pride – the parts of the grounds he had helped to prepare – he showed us how that he had been encouraged to paint again and we still have the evidence of those productive months.

What struck me on my visit was a wooden plaque on the wall with the words of my text on it:

 

“I will restore to you the years which the locust has eaten…”    Joel 2 v 25

 

The “locusts” of alcoholism ate up many of Mark’s years.

At that time we really hoped that the treatment would work.

It certainly worked better than any other programme he was on.

No, it didn’t cure him.

God in His wisdom took Mark to himself now almost two years ago – and I know absolutely that God is busy restoring to Mark so much that was laid waste.

But does God only do it in glory?

Is it wrong to claim this promise made to Judah so long ago to ourselves?

Does God really offer this kind of RESTORATION?

The years that the locust ate in Mark’s life have spilled over into our lives – Val and mine and Carol’s and Stephen’s – in different ways.

Has God failed?

God cannot fail!

He is God.

And you may wonder for a moment at the wisdom of applying this old prophecy from the eighth century BC to the year 2003 – but I believe it is true.

God is in the business of RESTORATION.

Just lately, as some of you know, the locusts have been busy in our lives.

Satan, doing what he enjoys most – trying to destroy the peace and security of God’s people.

The prophet himself is something of a mystery – his work like many other prophets is a mixture of judgement and promise.

We know him because he is quoted by Peter and because it was Joel who prophesied the sending of the Spirit.

It is clear that any interpretation of his words must take into account that same Holy Spirit’s work.

God takes great pleasure in RESTORING.

He delights to take that which is spoiled and make it again.

To take the broken, stained, spoiled and devastated – and transform them into a new creation that pleases Him and honours Him.

The heart of the gospel then is in these words –

 

25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

 

or as the AV puts it:

 

25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten,

 

So let’s look at the promise – against the background of the prophecy as a whole, always taking into account the fulfilment of the central promise in the light of the Holy Spirit:

 

À    Life’s Locusts

À    God’s Grace

À    Our Response

 

! Face up to Life’s Locusts

 

As we look back over our lives we may see years in which we have made no progress, or years marked by emptiness or despair.

Only for the young people amongst us things may be different: they may have to interpret the “years” as periods of a different length – but I daresay if you are honest you will recognise the waste, the spoiling influences, the mistakes.

The world freely recognises such things – but it offers as a remedy a hope that the future will be better.

Only GOD can actually make up for those wasted times.

Only GOD can deal with the root problem of sin.

Recognise though that there are forces at work today that will rob you of your peace, your prosperity, your hope and your purpose.

That is part of the process.

For restoration to work we have to accept the need.

In JOEL the locust plagues are described graphically:

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

Hear this, you elders;

listen, all who live in the land.

Has anything like this ever happened in your days

or in the days of your forefathers?

3 Tell it to your children,

and let your children tell it to their children,

and their children to the next generation.

4 What the locust swarm has left

the great locusts have eaten;

what the great locusts have left

the young locusts have eaten;

what the young locusts have left

other locustsa have eaten.

Joel had seen it himself.

/An Army of Locusts/

*2* Blow the trumpet in Zion;

sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming.