As the LORD
blessed the humbled people of Judah, Joel told them the LORD would be
“in the midst of Israel” and they would “never be
ashamed”. In chapter two and verse twenty-eight, Joel told the
people “afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh” where we read:
And it
shall come to pass afterward, that
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young
men shall see visions:
The
verse begins, “And it shall come to
pass afterward, that
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;” Joel
began with the phrase, “And it shall
come to pass afterward”
or “following after, hinder and behind ”, “that
I will pour out” or
“shed, spill forth, expend, sprawl out and gushed out” “my
spirit”
which means “the wind, breath, mind, vivacity of God's spirit”
“upon all flesh”
which refers to “the bodies and mankind”. While the LORD is “in
the midst”
of His people, He will “expend” His Almighty Spirit upon people
everywhere.
The
verse goes on to say, “and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall
see visions:” Joel added, “and
your sons” or “male children
and grandsons” “and your daughters”
which means “girl children and granddaughters” “shall
prophesy” or “speak forth by
inspiration”, “your old men”
which refers to “the elder and ancient men” “shall
dream” “bind firmly,
recover, become strong or robust in” “dreams”
which means “dreams with prophetic meanings”, “your
young men” or “youth or a
young man of mature age but unmarried which is used for young
warriors” “shall see” or
“behold, inspect, perceive and consider” “visions”
which refers to “divine
revelations”. When the LORD “pours out”
His “spirit”, both
older and younger males will be affected by as they “dream
dreams” and “see
visions”.
When
we meditate upon these words of Joel, we understand this to mean not
only the fulfillment of this prophecy in Joel's day, but also in the
days after Jesus ascended into heaven. In chapter two and verses
sixteen through eighteen Peter the apostle on the day of Pentecost
said, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet
Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and
your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my
handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they
shall prophesy”. The LORD was
to “pour out his spirit”
upon “everyone”
both older and younger, and the manifestation of His spirit was that
older men would have “divine dreams” with “prophetic meanings”,
and the “younger men” would have “divine revelations”. May
the LORD “pour out His spirit” upon
us in these last days, and may all who see the evidence thereof come
to the saving grace of Jesus Christ our LORD.
Next
time Joel tells how the LORD will “pour out”
His “spirit upon the servants and the handmaids”,
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.
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