The Survivor’s Escape To Zion (Joel 2:32)

Introduction

Wait a minute, I didn’t know we were studying Obadiah. When you think of Obadiah, what comes to mind? Absolutely nothing, you’re saying. Absolutely. I’ve got nothing. Some of you know what the answer should be, right? Oh, bad Edom’s gonna die. Right? That’s how you remember what’s going on in that tiny little prophetic book of Obadiah. It’s about Edom and a prophecy made concerning that neighboring nation. Now, that test, pretty much failure. Now we’re gonna go to Joel. And so as I wrap up this series of lessons on the prophet Joel, I want to thank Daniel again for putting me through the paces by suggesting I preach from the minor prophets. I might just survive this. But if we can accomplish something, it would be the first few points of this lesson before, so before you check out and say, I’m just not getting this, okay?

This is what I want you to get. When I say the prophet Joel, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Thank you. We pass. Locusts. Remember that was the very first lesson. Jehovah’s march among the locusts. We have a locust invasion. And that reflected a judgment of God. And then last week in Joel chapter 2, we notice God’s amazing mercy. Apparently, the people are going to respond to this temporal judgment. And God has provisions of amazing blessings that will flow upon God’s people, and we really only introduce that idea last week. So I’m not completely done with chapter 2. And one of the things that we mentioned last week, this is the third thing that I want you to remember. Are you writing this down?

If you write in your Bible, right around the top of the book of Joel, these five things that I’m going to give you. This is what’s going on in the book of Joel. The locust invasion, God’s amazing mercy, as the people ultimately turn from their sins, and then the prophecy at the end of Joel chapter 2, that is quoted on the day of Pentecost, that lengthy quotation, that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The young men shall dream dreams and see visions, the young men and the old men, and all of that quotation. It comes from Joel chapter 2. All flesh will see the salvation of God.

Ultimately, not on the day of Pentecost, but that was the ushering in of a new covenant that would ultimately be given to Corneas and future Gentiles, to your children and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. Okay, where are we going from here? Tonight. As I thought about the contents of the end of chapter 2, and some of the puzzling statements, really, that begin chapter 3 and go throughout most of that last chapter. I thought of a New Testament passage that really summarizes what’s going on in the entire prophecy of Joel. And so these are the four things, the fourth of which is 1 Peter 4, 17 through 19, as this locust invasion comes upon God’s people, it is true that it is time for judgment to begin, to begin with the household of God.

And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God? So here we have this judgment upon the covenant people, and now a judgment that goes beyond them to the nations that surround them. And so it’s that principle of the judgment first beginning with God’s own. And it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved. What will become of the godless man and sinner? Therefore, let those who also suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right. And of course, that’s sort of the tenor of the whole Bible. 1 Peter 4, verses 17 and 19. And I thought in this vein, too, of Deuteronomy chapter 5 and verse 29, when in the old covenant it said, it will be well with those who fear the Lord.

And certainly that is the message in this book, echoed by Solomon in Ecclesiastes chapter 8. It says in Ecclesiastes 8 and verse 12, although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, he may not die on the spot for his sins. He may actually live longer than most. Still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man. And he will not lengthen his days like a shadow because he does not fear God. And so I thought about that as a good summary of what’s going on in the book of Joel. And then the one thing that I mentioned in the first lesson that certainly comes to bear at the end of chapter 2 and at the end of chapter 3 also is this idea of hope in Zion.

Hope in Zion. Now, Zion, you know, is the city of David. It was originally the area that he took from the Jebusites. It was an area that had not been conquered initially in the conquest of Canaan. But under David, eventually the Jebusite stronghold was conquered, and it was given the label or had the label of Zion, the city of David. And then when the temple was constructed in the days of Solomon, his son, the concept of Zion further encompassed the temple area and the place of God’s dwelling among his people. And so this concept sort of evolves and progresses from that, its initial introduction in the days of David, to carry all kinds of significance spiritually in relation to the dwelling of God and to the dwelling of God in the New Testament among men.

In the hearts and minds of men. And so I want to look at a couple of passages here that I was looking at today in Isaiah 60 and verse 14. Remember this text from the Oaks of Righteousness sermon on New Year’s Eve? Just before the context from which well, actually, we started reading in 59, so it was actually in the midst of this context, that verse 14 says of Isaiah 60, and the sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you. So your enemies are going to come bowing to you, and all those who despise you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet. We shall reign with him. And they will call you the city of the Lord. The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

So we see the spiritualizing of this concept. And so when we come to the New Testament, it says, What of believers? You have come to Mount Zion. It’s not you will eventually be in Zion, as some of our songs seem to reflect, but you have come to Mount Zion to the city of the living God, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to the better blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel, he goes on to say in that context. He says, You have come to Mount Zion. And then when we come to the book of Revelation, there’s more and more imagery about spiritual Zion. When the Lord, the Lamb, takes his stand on Mount Zion, he does so with the 144,000, that is the sealed of God, his spiritual people, likely of both covenants.

1. Bleak to Blessing, Pain to Prosperity

His spiritual people are with him as he stands on Mount Zion. And of course, there is the final picture of Zion in the book of Revelation, and we’ll get to that this evening in the conclusion. So in the second half of Joel’s prophecy, the bleak vision that begins the book changes to blessing. And the pain which the Lord’s people are experiencing as a result of their sin is being turned to prosperity. Bleak to blessing. Pain to prosperity. And so Joel then paints a rosy picture of the future. And so I want to go back to these verses at the end of Joel chapter 2, because they are marvelous, even in relation to our understanding of what the Lord has done for us. You shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied, verse 26.

And praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you, then my people will never be put to shame. I would suggest that Joel 226 ought to be on your menu quite frequently. That in Christ, knowing what we know, possessing what we possess, being given hope and purpose, and our involvement among the Lord’s people, should all speak to us and say, the Lord has dealt wondrously with us. And the commencing of that great era for the Lord’s people was on the day of Pentecost that begins in verse 28 and goes down through verse 32 when it says, and it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be those who escape.

As the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. Those in Zion who reap the blessings of the covenant are also styled the survivors. And that’s what we are spiritually in Christ. We are indeed the survivors. And this hope of a better future for Zion and for his covenant people is reiterated at the beginning of chapter 3, which really is chapter 2 flows into chapter 3. I guess that’s the right word for it. For behold, in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem. So don’t be surprised when we read in the New Testament about the Jews thinking that God has a plan for national Jerusalem and Judah, even though the intent of Joel’s prophecy has to do with spiritual or heavenly Jerusalem.

2. The Valley of Jehoshaphat

Or Judah, for that matter, for his spiritual covenant people that would issue from the day of Pentecost. And so we come into chapter 3, which I have styled the Valley of Jehoshaphat and the survivors escape to Zion. This is puzzling. You come into chapter 3, and all of a sudden, there’s been all this. The locusts have come, they’ve wreaked devastation. A day of visitation has come upon the Lord’s people. They’re in pain. Don’t put all your hopes in the grapes basket. Remember that from last week. So they’re suffering. But God’s going to have mercy. Better times are coming, anticipating the day of Pentecost and the new covenant that would be ushered in under the Messiah’s reign. And then you come to chapter 3 and the focus turns on God’s enemies.

The people’s enemies.

What’s really going on there? And I have a few observations about this section that I want to go through quickly. And I think one thing that flows out of these thoughts is not to be overly concerned with justice. Now, again, trying to see this through the eyes of Israel. They’re being punished because of their sins. And yet they’re looking around them at the neighbors who have been so cruel and unkind to them. God’s covenant people, with not just that, they believe in false gods and practice false worship. At least they’re worshiping the true God. They’re still offering sacrifices at the temple. And so they look around and say, Hey, God, why are you picking on us? There are worse people than us. Remember, it’s time for judgment to begin with the household of God.

But hey, the first thing they’re going to think is, God, this isn’t fair. You’re picking on us. What about all these other guys? And you know that’s what often happens when the accusation gets laid at our feet. What about you? What about the other guy? Well, he may have problems. I’ll just say that. He may have problems. But the issue is always your problem. That’s the one you can control. Okay. And so, what about these other guys? And so what’s going on at the beginning of it? And I don’t really feel the need to go through every verse of what’s being said here. Don’t worry about what’s happening with the nations. God says, I’m going to handle it. I’m going to take care of it. And they’re not going to get away with it.

Their treatment of you, more on that in a moment. Their evil behavior, their false worship, their immorality, they’re not going to get away with it because I’ve got something, a day of reckoning coming for them, and it is the valley of Jehoshaphat. And you’re going, I’ve never heard of that in my life. So I want you to go home and research every time in the Old Testament that you see that phrase, the valley of Jehoshaphat. No, really, you don’t have to do that because you’re not going to find it. There is no known valley, although Jehoshaphat fought some wars and valleys, and there may be some overtones with that, because Jehoshaphat was a righteous king. But the issue is not a literal valley, much like the plain of Esdralon, the Valley of Hinnam in the New Testament, where they come on to take spiritual meaning.

What really seems to be happening here in the first part of chapter 3 is that Joel is using a play on words with a famous king of Judah who was righteous, whose name means Jehovah has judged. So the point of the valley of Jehoshaphat is you will not escape the judgment of God. What will be the end of the godless man and sinner? 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 18. There’s a valley of judgment and justice that’s coming. It is further called in verse 14, the valley of decision. The place where God judged. A decision, a verdict is coming upon every one of us, our lives. And you can’t circumvent it, you can’t get around it, and you may act like, well, I’m not really sure if I’m going to embrace this, but remember it is the rock that we talked about this morning.

3. Don't Be Overly Concerned With Justice

It’s not going anywhere. The realities and truths of this book are still going to be there, even if you forget about them. Even if you say, I’m not going to honor them, I’m not going to give any validity. They have validity whether you give it validity or not. No one escapes the valley of decision. Now, so I think the moral of the story in Joel 3 is this. Those of you who know my wife, don’t you love sharing illustrations, by the way. Those of you that know Sherry, she has an extremely strong and keen sense of justice. One of the things she’s looking for in any good drama is justice. Even if it goes a little vigilante, which some of you, I don’t know, can appreciate.

But justice. And so sometimes, and I think we’re all like this. People get away with stuff, like Solomon said in Ecclesiastes chapter 8. You know, some bad people, they even do better than the righteous, it seems, from an earthly point of view, the psalmist Asaph deals with that in Psalm 73. They’re fat, and the righteous are envious of them. But here’s the point, and we should take it to heart. Don’t be overly concerned with justice not playing out in the world. First of all, there’s sin in the world, and if you haven’t noticed, it’s pretty rampant. And everybody doesn’t get theirs immediately. And what God is saying, quit worrying about the nations around you. Because nobody escapes the valley of Jehoshaphat. Nobody escapes the valley of decision.

And so there is a point in that, as he tells his people quit worrying about justice. God is going to take care of it. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord in Romans chapter 12. And understand this whether you’re within the covenant or without, if you find yourself fighting against God, that is the most unenviable place you can reside in. Now the psalmist said in the songs of ascent, Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech, for I dwell in the tents of Kedar. I want to know more about that. The passage. What was that about? What was so bad about Meshech? But I know this. If you found yourself in Meshech, you really should be somewhere else. Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshach.

But I’ll tell you, as bad as Meshach was, and I don’t really don’t know any more about it. The Bible doesn’t talk about it. Like the Valley of Jehoshaphat. No more said about it. As bad as that place might be, there is no place as bad as finding yourself opposed to the living and true God. And I want you to go back just briefly before we move on from this to chapter 2, verses 30 and 31, where as he speaks of the survivors whom the Lord calls, and there will be deliverance in Zion and Jerusalem. He says just prior to that, in verses 30 and 31, I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. I’ll tell you, that’s pretty serious stuff.

That’s pretty severe.

Most commentators, and I think rightfully so, see the destruction of Jerusalem shortly after the day of Pentecost as the primary intention of these verses. Very similar to quotations in Matthew 24 about the destruction of Jerusalem. And Homer Haley says this interestingly enough in his commentary on the minor prophets that this becomes a prophetic type of the ultimate end of the world and of the judgment of God on the world of the ungodly. This concept of judgment of the wicked that would first be meted out after the day of Pentecost on Jerusalem would stand as a picture of all future judgments and the eternal and final judgment that is coming. And that’s one of the thoughts that happens in the book of Revelation. That’s why we see similarities in this language in Matthew 24 to the opposition of the book of Revelation.

Here’s another thought.

4. Troublers of Covenant People Incur God's Wrath

And that’s who these nations have been, the Edoms and the Egypts, the Moabites and others that could be named, the troublers of covenant people, incur God’s wrath. And this gets us a little bit closer to home and some things that we need to think about. The first passage that jumped into my mind here is Luke 17, verses 1 and 2. Where Jesus said to his disciples, It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come. You know, these nations that have been a thorn in your sight, don’t worry about them because they’re going to pay for their misdeeds and the way they treated you. It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come. It would be better for him. Now, okay, so if you become a stumbling block to one of these little ones, to this innocent person who is striving to know the Lord and do his will, and I’m the reason.

It is my misconduct that has contributed to their spiritual demise. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. And so I just want to make this point here. We need to be careful in our treatment of other people in Christ.

You think about this. Somebody gets discouraged and they leave the Lord. They’re responsible. But what if you were the one that was sort of assisting them out the door and contributing to their spiritual demise? Better if a millstone would be hung around your neck and you perished in the sea. God takes this seriously.

That when people leave the Lord, it is not uncommon for them to be pointing fingers at somebody in the Lord’s church. And if you’re going to do the work that I do, if you’re going to do the work that our elders do, then sometimes the fingers are going to be pointed at the most visible people who have actually called people to account. And that’s not what this passage is. This passage is not talking about individuals who have done the teaching that is required to try to rescue a soul from being lost. But I think because we are in the position that we are, that even makes our responsibility greater.

But having said that. Sometimes the leaders of a group are the scapegoats. For really, they’re looking for any reason to not serve the Lord faithfully. But I want to caution you. The way we treat each other is something of tremendous significance. You know, we pride ourselves, and some, and I don’t even say this necessarily in a greatly positive way, though it is important. We pride ourselves in the things that we have right. The fact that we teach baptism for the remission of sins and that being an essential part of the process. And so many in the religious world don’t believe truth, and therefore people are lost. And so we pride ourselves that we are teaching God’s will about salvation, and we pride ourselves in the fact that we try to keep any man-made innovation and corruption out of worship, and that we practice only that which is truth.

And we pride ourselves in the fact that we refrain from a misuse of the Lord’s treasury, funds that are contributed to his work, that we only do those things that are authorized, and that we’ve organized ourselves collectively, and we operate collectively only as God is instructed in his word. And all of those things are important, however.

In a right response to God. There is a harder work that we’re called to do.

And that’s the maintenance of our heart and our attitudes and our treatment of each other in the likeness of our Lord. But I got to tell you, sometimes I feel as if that’s sort of treated as optional. That I don’t really have to love my brother because, hey, we got all this right. We’re worshiping in truth. Our collective organization is what it ought to be. We’re teaching the truth about baptism and remission of sin. So that’s really not that important to bring to the table. I want to tell you anything sensual to bring to the table. We can’t please the Lord while hating our brother. We cannot. We cannot love our brother whom we can see. We cannot love God whom we cannot see in the social test of 1 John.

5. The Hopes to Be Found in Zion

How do we know we’re in Christ? It’s by the things that we believe. It’s by the moral purity of our lives, and we talked about that some this morning. And it’s the way we regard our brothers, the social test. Hatred and gossip just does not fly with our God. We must constantly be monitoring. The way we think about, the way we relate to, the way we talk to, the way we resolve conflict with our brothers and sisters in the war. Let there be no strife, for we be brothers. Be careful. And finally, the book ends with the hopes that are to be found in Zion. As the Lord roars from Zion, verse 16, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth tremble.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people. And a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Then you will know.

Then you will know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will pass through it no more.

When the city is described, the holy Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven. What does it say at the end of Revelation chapter 21 after this brilliant city is described? And who’s in the midst of it? God is in the midst of it. He says, I will be dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. That is Revelation 21.

And the unclean shall not enter what? Therein. The unclean shall not come. The kings of the earth shall bring their glory again. They’re going to come and bow at the soles of your feet, Joel has said. This kingdom reigns supreme in the world, whether it’s recognized or not. This kingdom is exalted. This is the spiritual heavenly kingdom. When Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight. This hope is in this heavenly new Jerusalem. Not the old Jerusalem, where every, as we would say, Tom, Dick, and Harry would come into the city, do their peddling, do their selling, or whatever else they would do when they came. The Jerusalem God had planned would be free of riff wrath. Because the true Zion have people come into it who have washed their robes.

According to Revelation chapter 22. Let him who is filthy be filthy still, he says in verse 11, but they’re not going to be apart. If that is your disposition, you’re not going to be a part of this glorious city. Only the righteous enter in. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him who is a thirst come, because I tell you, in this city, the water of life flows from the presence of God as he dwells in the midst of his people.

6. The Real Survivors

I hate it when I look down at my notes and I saw a really good point that I missed, but I can’t go back. Okay. I’m going to go on. I’m out of time anyway. Wow, that really makes me mad. It was about the previous point, so I can’t go back. All right. This city. Who’s found therein? The real survivor. The survivors find this city. Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. Now, you might be saying, Isn’t there a TV show about survivors? Does anybody still watch that? Do we really care about those people and their physiques that we’re probably seeing too much of, according to the commercials? I mean, why are we so invested in that? I gotta tell you something. The real survivors are sitting right here tonight.

Those who have a place in the spiritual city of God. In whose hearts and in whose lives he dwells. Okay, I’m gonna go back. Okay. Before I close, this whole Christianity thing and being a citizen of Zion would be a whole lot easier if we didn’t have to conform our lives to conform our thinking to the ways of Christ. If attitudes and behavior somehow don’t matter.

Being a part of Zion, and what we see in the book of Joel. Attitudes and behavior matter. Last week I recorded the Minnesota New Orleans Saints game, just in case it got interesting.

It was late Sunday night, and Brett texts me and says, Dad, did you see the end of the Saints Vikings game? And I said, Thanks, son. Because I was still, I said, I’m still in the third quarter. It’s 17 to nothing Vikings. And so that automatically told me that something was going to happen in this game. It’s going to get close. So then it started to unfold because Brett had bringed the surprise. And so then it comes down to the end of the game, and I didn’t put the DVR long enough. I missed the last minute of the game. I think that happened in a Super Bowl once, way back. But

And so I immediately go to ESPN and see that last horrific play. One of the worst tackles ever attempted in football. And it had come through on my phone. As I’m watching this unfold in the fourth quarter, I’m down to near the end. I see my phone flash, and I see out of the corner of my eye, I see the name Stefan Diggs. And so I said, oh man, the Vikings must have pulled this out somehow, some way. And so sure enough, Stephon Diggs was the wide receiver of Minnesota who caught the touchdown pass. Then I watched the post-game interview with Stefan Diggs. And he really started well. This was great. He says, I give all the glory to God. Well, that was that was great.

I give him the praise on this great Sunday. And he’s just overwhelmed by the moment. He goes, I still don’t know what just happened. I really don’t. All I can say is, give it to God. Without him, nothing is possible, and I wouldn’t be here. If he would have just stopped right there. Because an expletive comes out of his mouth in the next sentence. And I thought, what a great illustration. You see the disconnect. We want all the blessings God has to offer without having to conform our attitudes and thinking and behavior in the likeness of Jesus. And I’m not picking on Stefan Diggs. There’s a million people like him in the world. And hey, giving God some of the credit, that’s a good place to start.

Conclusion

But there’s more. And so if you could just take this thought with you tonight. The survivors in Zion, that’s us. It is a high calling.

The demands of righteousness are upon us. But we are blessed to be in that city. And may we see ourselves as having come out of the field of the world and into the glorious city where there is hope and security and love and help and forgiveness that flows from our God. And may we revel in it always. If you’re subject to his invitation tonight, come as we stand and we sing together.