Joel the
prophet told the people of Judah they would “eat in plenty, and
be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD” their “God”
because “He has dealt wondrously with” them. In chapter
two and verse twenty-seven of his prophecy, Joel continued to share
more about how the people would respond to the LORD's blessings as
the LORD shall be “in the midst of Israel” where we read:
and none
else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
The
verse begins, “And you shall know
that I am in
the midst of Israel, and that
I am the LORD
your God, and none else:” Joel
began with the phrase, “And you shall
know” or
“perceive, see, find out, discern, discriminate, distinguish and
know by experience” “that I am in
the midst”
or “among, within the inner part and in the middle” “of
Israel”
whose name means “God prevails” and refers to “the name of the
descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “and
that I am the LORD”
which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the
proper name for the one true God” “your
God” or
“the ruler, judge, divine one and the true God”, “and
none else”
which means “no other one”. When the LORD blessed the people of
“Israel”,
and they knew that God Almighty was their “LORD”
and “no one else”, there would be no greater security available
for the “people of God”.
The
verse continues, “and my people shall never be ashamed.”
Joel added, “and my
people” which refers to “the
nation , persons, members of one's people, compatriots, countrymen,
kinsmen and kindred” “shall never”
or “in long duration, antiquity, futurity, forever, ever,
everlasting, evermore, perpetual, of old, future and of long time
past” “be ashamed”
which means “put to shame, be disconcerted or disappointed”.
Because the LORD would be “among” the people of “Israel”,
they would never have to be “ashamed”
of their state again.
When
we think through these words of Joel, we should be excited about the
LORD being “in the midst” of His people. Paul the apostle
wrote, “in him we live, move and have our being”, and when
we realize the LORD is with us, there is no greater safety zone. When
we have Jesus as our Savior and LORD, we do not need to be afraid nor
“ashamed”. The LORD is with us, and “if God be for
us, who can be against us”? May the LORD Jesus by His Holy
Spirit allow us to know the benefits to living in His presence.
Next
time Joel tells the people tells the people how the LORD “will
pour out” His “spirit
upon all flesh”, 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