Joel is a brief, classy...
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Object:
Joel is a brief, classy book -- a literary gem -- tucked away in the midst of the minor
prophets. Joel's grammar is better than any current television broadcast journalist's, but
when he wrote the book remains a mystery.
Joel foretold locust plagues for Israel. In predicting, he used the "prophetic past." What is that? Prophetic past talks about future events as if they've already happened. Joel didn't just predict what was going to happen. He talked as if people were already experiencing it. When Joel wrote: "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten," God hadn't even sent the locust plague yet. He had just warned of its coming in chapter 1. It's as if tonight's weather forecaster said concerning tomorrow, "You are already enjoying a great day relaxing with your friends and family."
Only God can do something like that. He's done it before. He'll do it again because he stands above time, he controls the universe, and he controls this sphere that we live on. When we believe that and act as if we do, we will always "be glad and rejoice in the Lord."
Joel foretold locust plagues for Israel. In predicting, he used the "prophetic past." What is that? Prophetic past talks about future events as if they've already happened. Joel didn't just predict what was going to happen. He talked as if people were already experiencing it. When Joel wrote: "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten," God hadn't even sent the locust plague yet. He had just warned of its coming in chapter 1. It's as if tonight's weather forecaster said concerning tomorrow, "You are already enjoying a great day relaxing with your friends and family."
Only God can do something like that. He's done it before. He'll do it again because he stands above time, he controls the universe, and he controls this sphere that we live on. When we believe that and act as if we do, we will always "be glad and rejoice in the Lord."
