part0203

People, who think that salvation somehow pertains to obeying a group of rules, do not understand how God truly feels about His creation. In Jeremiah 3:6-10, the Lord spoke through His prophet, Jeremiah, and declared that Israel and Judah had been like unfaithful wives to Him. In II Corinthians 11:1-2, the Apostle Paul spoke of the church as being the chaste bride of Christ, and he said that it will someday be presented to Him. In both passages, God was looking for people that want to enter into an intimate relationship with Him, and to those that do, He is ready to pour out all the blessings of heaven.

This life is sometimes difficult, and people often fail to see what is really important. They have the impression that riches and abundance will produce happiness, but they are wrong. They believe that living recklessly in pursuit of worldly, and sometimes immoral, pleasures will bring joy, but they are mistaken about that, too. The nation of Israel often worshipped idols and forsook the Lord, but He always tried to encourage them to come back to Him. In Joel 2:12, He said through His prophet, Joel, "'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.'" In Joel 2:19 and Joel 2:24, He spoke of new wine, and in John 2:1-11, Jesus, the Creator of the world and everything that is in it, created new wine to symbolically show that He was and is God in the flesh.

To those that come to the Lord, the promises in Joel 2:26 are of having plenty to eat and of being full, both literally and spiritually. In Joel 2:28, God’s people will prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions just because they will feel great joy from being with Him. Joel wrote prophetically, so most of the promises have not yet happened. However, the day will come when Israel will return to God and join the church in worshipping and loving Christ forever.