Discovering Biblical Treasures November 14, 2016 Volume 01, Issue 08

The Hebraic Way (learning the Scripture the way ancient people did)

LET’S DISCOVER JOEL 2:23-32 LINGUISTIC STRUCTURE [Rejoice] 23 So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. [Response] And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. [Response] 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. [Response] 25 "Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. [Response] 26 "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. [Response/Rejoice] 27 "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. [PROPHESY of the end times]

SOMETHING ABOUT THE LINGUISTICS

R1 28 "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.

This section of chapter

R1’ 29 "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

does not conform to the

two of the book of Joel usual linguistic structures found

30

"I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke.

in

the

Hebrew

Scriptures. It does contain some repetition as

31

"The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

indicated. There is an opportunity that if people

32

"And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

rejoice in the LORD, the LORD will offer blessings from heaven.

Is there something special about early rain? (v. 23) “Israel has two seasons: winter (late Oct to mid-Mar), which is cool to cold and when the rains occur, and summer (Apr–Oct), which is warm to hot and virtually rain-free. Winter in Israel starts with showers in October and advances to periodic heavy rainfall from November to March.”

What is the great army of locust about? (v. 25) According to Malbim, a Sage, God sent his army of locust to consume the fields because the people were sinning as a form of judgment. However, He did not give them a chance to repent for their sins, therefore, since the people were now repenting for their sins were returning to a way of life that was pleasing to God, the LORD decided to repair all the damage of the locust and to pour out blessings upon them. What shame were the people suffering? (v.

Main Point of the Passage

26) the shame the people

The main point is that even though God had placed judg-

were

from

ment upon the people, for their sins, the LORD was still

was the sin that they

merciful to them. In fact, in the book of Joel the LORD is

had committed before

saying that He should not have judged the people as

the LORD. By repent-

quickly as he did but rather given them a chance for re-

ing, the LORD was

pentance. One could argue that the Lord did send plenty

able to remove the

of prophets to tell the people that they were in the wrong.

shame from the people

But the people did not listen to them.

suffering

because

now

they

were following the true commandments

of

LORD.

Worship the Lord Yeshua with a great big SMILE! 2

What are wonders in the heavens? (v. 30) “The prophet now describes the signs that the Almighty will place in heaven and earth to herald the destruction of the enemies of Israel. This will occur durJoel the Prophet

ing the wars of Gog and Magog, a series of

What does it mean for God’s spirit to be

cataclysmic battles that

poured out upon people? (v. 28)

will be fought prior to the

final

redemption

The LORD will bestow upon all flesh a spirit of wisdom and under-

(see Ezekiel chapters

standing as well as fear of God, according to Radak. Also, all of

38 and 39; Zechariah

the spiritual qualities that accompany this attribute will be given to

chapter 14).

the people, according to Malbim. There is a debate as to whether this is intended for all people of the world or just God’s chosen people. This verse was repeated by St. Peter on the day of Pente-

Since these battles will

cost. He believed that the pouring out of the spirit would be upon

precede the final re-

all people who accepted Yeshua as the Messiah. Receiving the

demption, it seems that

spirit of wisdom and understanding as well as fear of God allowed

the

the disciples of Yeshua to be able to do things that only Yeshua

with the Lord described

could do. The disciples and the followers were given the power to

above will come after

be able to take the Gospel of our Lord Yeshua out into the world.

the

For us today, what we need to do is to have that ancient fear of

events.

God, which means, that we will obey the Bible and what our Lord

lofty levels described in

Yeshua has taught us to do. This will give us wisdom and under-

the previous verses will

standing and will allow us to do things that only Yeshua and his

be obtained at the be-

first disciples could do. The problem for us today is developing a

ginning of the messian-

clean heart that is sinless at all times. When we live in a culture

ic era, with the final

and society where our political leadership constantly sins and

steps of redemption -

breaks the commandments of God it is difficult to be truly sinless.

even before the wars

Perhaps that is why none of us seem to have the ultimate power

of Gog and Magog and

that the disciples of Yeshua had.

the

full

relationship

following

total

great

Alternatively,

redemption

that will follow them.”

3

What is the symbolism for “blood and fire and billows of smoke?” (v. 30) DISCOVERING BIBLICAL TREASURES

The purpose of Discovering Biblical Treasures is to teach students of the Bible how to learn the Bible in the same manner that our Lord and Savior Yeshua did. What did people think when they heard the Scriptures spoken by Yeshua.

Blood and fire and billows of smoke symbolize the great bloodshed that’s going to occur on the earth when the end times come. The lightning that will come from heaven will strike the earth causing fires and pillars of smoke. This is the symbolize the destruction of those nations who join with Gog and Magog in attacking Jerusalem.

What is the symbolism of the moon turning to blood? (v. 31) There were people in the time of the prophet Joel who worshiped the sun and the moon. Therefore, the Lord will darken the sun and will turn the moon to a blood red so, that those people who worship the sun or the moon will learn that it is the LORD who controls the light of both of these celestial bodies.

Learn more from the teachers of the Bible Learning University at http:// bibleinteract.com You can watch many video teachings at http:// bibleinteract.tv

What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? (v. 32) To turn upon the name of the LORD means to turn back to believing in the LORD and following his commandments, with sincerity. When this is done than the disasters that the Lord will bring at the end of time will not affect those who have turned back to the LORD and call upon his great name.

4

HEBRAIC VIEW—PUTTING IT TOGETHER A question that comes to mind is, what is the difference between forgiveness and redemption. The church likes to say that she is in the business of forgiveness when in reality she should be in the business of redemption. The forgiveness of sin occurred when the animal sacrifice system was in place and when people said they would transfer their sins to the animal. This was because ancient people believe that God wanted a life to be sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. With that belief came the Messiah Yeshua and he died for the forgiveness of all sin. Therefore, we don’t have to ask for the forgiveness of sin. That forgiveness for sin has already been granted to us through our faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Yeshua as God’s son, our Messiah. Therefore, the church should be in the redemption business. Forgiveness for sin has already been taken care of by Yeshua. However, the remaining problem that Yeshua left for us is the temptation that still exists that drives us toward sin. Redemption is when we make the conscious effort to steer away from sin. The difficult part is that we would have to put on blinders in order to do this. The question is how can we do this? The way for true redemption is the internalization of sin, accepting the fact that it will occur, accepting the fact that we are forgiven through our faith in Yeshua, but then trying as hard as we can to avoid that sin. Therefore, the church of Yeshua should be teaching redemption, that is how to avoid sin. The church speaks very loudly about sin and the need for forgiveness but how many times as it talked about the need for redemption which is the total elimination of sin? In 1678 John Bunyan wrote his classic novel entitled “Pilgrim’s progress.” The main character of the book is a pilgrim who is walking down the path of life and is confronted with an exit ramp that leads straight to a slew of bright lights. The name of this place is “Vanity Fair.” As the pilgrim walks through this place he realizes how sinful it is and he quickly leaves the place getting back on his road of life. He continues to travel down the straight and narrow road and is again confronted with Vanity Fair. However, he remembers that Vanity Fair was a trap waiting to ensnare him. It may have looked exciting from the road of life when he was far away from it, but he knew it as he approached it that it was something he needed to stay away from. Therefore, he rejects getting off the road to go to Vanity Fair and put blinders on his eyes so that he is not enticed to participate in sin.

Redemption is learning how to stay Discovering Biblical Treasures

Is a part of BibleInteract and the Bible Learning University Author: Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz, D.Min, Ph.D.

Website: http://bibleinteract.com & http://bibleinteract.tv

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