Joel the
prophet called for the attention of the “old men” and
“inhabitants” of the land of Judah. He told them to
consider whether there had ever been “days” like the ones
they were experiencing currently, and he told them to “tell”
their “children” and their “children” to “tell”
their children about them. He also called upon the “drunkards”
and the “drinkers of wine” to “awake, weep and howl”
because of their conditions, and in chapter one and verse six of his
prophesy Joel shared about a “nation” that “is come
up upon my land” where we read:
For a
nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number,
whose
teeth are the teeth
of a lion, and he has the cheek teeth of a great lion.
The
verse begins, “For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and
without number,...” Joel began with the words, “For a
nation” which refers to “people who are usually non-Hebrew
people” “is come up” or “ascended, climbed up,
visited, meet and followed” “upon my land” which refers
to “the earth, country, territory, district or region”, “strong”
or “mighty, vast, numerous and countless”, “and without
number” which means “innumerable”. Joel's warning for the
people of Judah was a “strong” “lion-like” nation was
invading them.
The
verse continues, “...whose teeth are
the teeth of a lion, and he has the cheek teeth of a great lion.”
Joel added, “whose
teeth” which refers to “the lex talionis
and forefront ivory” “are the teeth”
or “the lex talionis and forefront ivory” “of
a lion” which refers to “like the fierce
and powerful young feline animal”, “and he
has the cheek teeth” which means “fangs
and incisors” “of a great lion”
or “more fierce and powerful great, old and stout feline animal”.
As though he needed to add to the “fierceness” of the “nation”
invading them , he wrote concerning their powerful “teeth”.
When we think through
this verse of Joel, we are inclined to wonder how horrible this
nation was. Let's face it, the “enemy” of the people of the Lord
is “fierce”, and as Peter the apostle wrote, “Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour”
(1 Peter 5:8), and should he desire to destroy us as he did the
people of Judah, may we fully rely upon and trust in the power of
Jesus Christ to overcome him.
Next
time Joel shares concerning “vines” and
“fig trees”, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment