Who Knows if He Will Return and Repent Joel 2:14

After declaring all the horror that would be caused by the invading “nation”, Joel the prophet called upon the people of Judah to “rend” their “hearts” and “not” their “garments”. In chapter two and verse fourteen of his prophecy, Joel wonders “who knows if he will return and repent” where we read:

Who knows if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him;

even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

The verse begins, “Who knows if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him;” Joel began with the phrase, “Who knows” or “perceives, finds out and discerns” “if he will return” or “turn back, restore, refresh and repair” “and repent” which means “be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, pity and have compassion”, “and leave” or “remain, be left over and behind” “as blessing” which means “prosperity, praise of God, a gift and present” “behind him” or “after and in the hinder part of him”. Joel's summation was that if the people would “repent”, God would possibly turn from that which He was doing and bless the people rather than destroy them.

The verse goes on to say, “even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?” Joel added, “even a meat offering” which means “gift of grain, tribute, offering, present, oblation and sacrifice” “and a drink offering” which means “libation and something poured out” “unto 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 “ruler, judge, divine one and the one true God”. In addition to wondering if the LORD would “return and repent” and “leave a blessing”, Joel thought the Lord might also “leave behind” a plentiful harvest as reward for their humility.

When we think through these words of Joel, we see the pleading he does on behalf of the people of Judah. His idea was that the LORD would respond to their true repentance, and he wondered if the Lord would bless the crops within the land of Judah. Jesus Christ constantly waits for people to “repent and return” unto Him, and when people give their lives over to Him, they also may wonder if He will bring blessing after blessing in their lives.

Next time Joel directs the people of Judah to “Blow the trumpet in Zion” again, 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.