It seems that globally, our turbulent times are only becoming more uncertain, with threats of war on an increasing scale, and oppressive regimes across the world getting the upper hand. The tides of history are changing yet again, with once unchallengeable dogmas now being overturned and conventional wisdom seeming suddenly outdated. Francis Fukuyama, who coined the term “the end of history,” once argued that Western liberalism was the end point of mankind’s ideological development. Now, however, in response to the landslide US election, he has suggested that classical liberalism itself is in decline. Whatever stance we take in discussions like this, the Lord is still working inexorably towards accomplishing His own purposes, even though the process may be inexplicable and the outcome unimaginable to us. In his analysis of the prophecy of Joel, George Hutcheson identifies several seemingly incompatible strands to the Lord’s care of His church. For one thing, the Lord allows His church to be suppressed and harassed by His enemies. For another thing, this experience of evil actually works for the church’s good. Then again, all the hostile activity of the enemies against the church only ends up contributing to their own destruction. Whatever changes and upheavals take place, and whatever our opinion of the rise and fall of political parties, the Lord’s flock is at the centre of all His workings in human history and, as the following updated extract from Hutcheson’s commentary shows, faith grasps the fact that the Lord’s glory will not be diminished in all of this.

The Lord is still able to save His people

We see from Joel 3 that in opposition to the cruelty of their enemies, and indeed for a recompense of their cruelty, the Lord passes sentence in favour of His people. He commits Himself to gather His people, and bring them out from under their bondage, and to reward these enemies.

We learn from this that, whatever projects there may be against the church, yet they will never win their point against her. Though they wanted to have the Jews so far removed that they would never return, yet, He says, “I will raise them up” (Joel 3:7).

The Lord can restore His people whenever it pleases Him, and when His time comes, neither His former rejecting of them, nor their desperate condition, will hinder it. Though they were sold, so that they would never return, yet, He says, “I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them” (v.7).

God can deliver His people, even though their condition seems as hopeless as that of raising dead men (Eze. 37:11–12), and even supposing they themselves have as little thought of deliverance as someone who is asleep. “I will raise them” in the original means “I will awake them.”

The Lord’s people may expect great things

The wonderfulness of what God promises should be no impediment to our faith. God both can and will bring about the deliverance of His people in an admirable way, as something to “Behold” (v.7).

The mere fact that enemies triumph for a long time, is no reason not think that they will always escape. God, in due time, at the deliverance of His people, will repay them for all they have done. When God performs all this deliverance for His people, it is added, “and will return your recompense upon your own head” (v.7).

God will repay enemies using the same measure that they have measured to His people. He may even make His church instrumental in doing so. Yet, however the judgement may be executed, He is still the principal agent in it. “I,” he says, “will sell your sons and your daughters into the bands of the children of Judah” (v.8), i.e., “deliver them into their hand, and put them under their power, to be at their disposal.” “And they shalt sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off.” The Sabeans were on the remote coasts of Arabia, or, it may be understood that the Sabeans would sell them to a people yet more remote. In which sentence we should see the justice of God, in dealing with them as they had dealt with Judah.

God’s Word is sufficient for the church to rest on in expecting the greatest things. It should be sufficient ground of terror to enemies, that the Word hath spoken sad things against them. This is why it is added, by way of confirmation, “For the Lord hath spoken it” (v.8).

The Lord’s methods are marvellous

What follows in verses 9 to 12 is a description of the way that this sentence will be executed. First, the enemies will be summoned to convene together. They shall be gathered together by the effectual providence of God to fight against His people. They shall prepare as much armour as they can, and shall encourage one another to go to war, and even the weak shall take courage to embark on this enterprise. They will convene not a few, but many on every hand, more than enough to encircle the people of God. Yet even so, the Lord will have His own mighty instruments for executing vengeance. All their efforts will only be a way of bringing them to the place which He has appointed for judging them (v.12).

The activities of enemies are only in the service of God’s providence. They are only doing what He stirs them up to do in order to bring about His holy ends. This proclamation, “Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, etc.” (v.9), tends to show that their projects are all of God, so as to bring about His purposes.

God is not afraid of people’s efforts, nor of the courage of the mighty, nor of their vigilance, activity, numbers, preparations. He does not need to steal a march on them, but can let them do their utmost, and then work His point by it, and make their purposes void. What they wish to do, He calls on them to do, and to make every effort in it, all so that His glory may shine in defeating them in it. See Isaiah 8:9–10.

Crossing the Lord’s purposes will always backfire

People may have much resolution, and great undertakings. There may be much courage and eagerness, even among the weakest. They may be encouraging each other to work, and laying aside other employments so that they may carry out this work with all seriousness. Yet they are only running to their own destruction. They are “waking up,” or stirring themselves up, they are “coming up” against hilly Judea, and they are laying aside husbandry, “beating their ploughshares into swords, and their pruning hooks into spears,” when yet God is convening them for judgment (v.9–10).

War is a scourge full of evils, and an enemy to profitable callings, including husbandry. Whereas they beat their ploughshares into swords, in a time of peace, it is the opposite. Whatever is the Lord’s purpose in assembling enemies, yet the church has great difficulty in it. The church may even be surrounded on all hands with difficulties and dangers arising from it, before the situation is resolved. To say, “Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about,” implies that these enemies shall first surround the church on every hand, before God appears against them. See Revelation 10:9.

God will make use of His enemies gathering themselves, to make sure that they do not flee from His judgments. He will deal with them as delinquents brought before His tribunal, in the place which He has appointed.

Praying to the Lord is always a safe refuge

The fact of the Lord distressing the church by enemies is a call to her to pray, and to look to Him as the only one who can secure her. As she should not rest on simply being afflicted, as if that were enough to plead pity when she is not crying to God, so she should not be diffident, nor discouraged, about calling on Him, whatever her distress may be. Subjoined to this great distress is the prayer, “Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down” (v.11), indicating that the church’s refuge at that time will be prayer to the Lord.

God has plenty of both power and instruments, who are able to work for His church when she calls to Him, even if all the world was against her. “Cause thy mighty ones to come down” implies a promise that He will provide instruments armed with His power, whom He will bring to this gathering. Yet He will first put His church to intreating Him to do it for her (as in Ezekiel 36:37). It is needless to inquire who these “mighty ones” are, whether angels inflicting some extraordinary judgment, or the enemies themselves, gathered together in this manner, who He will enable to cut off one another.

It is a heathen-like sign when people come up in opposition to the church of God. That is why they are so often called “the heathen” here. We may understand it to mean only the nations, which were all heathens in Joel’s time, whatever religion they followed. Yet all those who want to suppress the church of the true God prove themselves to be heathens, especially those who would wish to crush the church of Israel now that they have turned to God after their long rejection.

The Lord wants His people to be infallibly assured that He is not at all troubled by the opposition of enemies. Although they may often be shaken with the thought of the formidable power and preparations of their enemies, yet they should collect themselves, and see God’s over-ruling hand in all of them.

FURTHER READING

AUTHOR MENU