The Declaration of God’s Restoration of Judah
November 10, 2019 Preacher: Matthew O'Sullivan Series: The Prophecy of Joel: The Call to Repent & Hope
Scripture: Joel 3:17–21
Key Truth: On the Day of the Lord, God will make all things new and all things right so that He can dwell with His people forever.
Introduction:
Do you believe that God longs to be with you?
What shapes the way you think about and experience God’s presence?
“The ultimate characteristic of Yahweh’s Day is not his warfare with his enemies in the valley of decision, nor his refreshment of his people in the valley of acacias, dominant though these elements be. It is his renewed, restored and permanent presence with them.”
David Allan Hubbard, Joel & Amos
God’s Presence Will Make All Things New
Joel 3:17-18
“Like the clear shining after rain, so the world returns to its pristine beauty after the judgments of the Lord have been completed. Paradise returns. But now the fruitful garden is merged with the perfections of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that has been prepared by the Lord as the eternal dwelling of his people.”
Palmer Robertson, Prophet of the Coming Day of the Lord
How do you imagine Christ’s return to make all things new?
How does our hope in the coming Day of the Lord shape the way we live today?
God’s Presence Will Make All Things Right
Joel 3:19-21
“Yahweh breaks in with a final word of assurance to the sorrowing. They receive the glad promise that he will not leave the debt unpaid, but will exact punishment for the last dark drop. . . . The fact of Yahweh’s presence in Zion, celebrated in v. 17, is the guarantee of vindication. Yahweh had already heard the cry of lament from their hearts concerning the locusts. Now the book closes with the promise that he would champion anew his chosen people and see that justice was done on this long-standing issue. . . . God is on the throne: the reminder of his sovereignty is balm for the wounds of injustice and the basis of his people’s hope for the future.”
Leslie C. Allen, The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah
How does God’s promise to make all things right change the way you live?
What does this promise mean for our suffering?
What does it mean for our evangelism?
Application:
Joel 3:17-21 teaches us that on the Day of the Lord
- God will make all things new—we have a firm and wonderful hope in Christ!
- God will make all things right—we have a firm and true reason to repent from our sins and reach out to the lost!
- God will dwell with us, His people, forever!
Benediction:
Revelation: 21:3-4

More in The Prophecy of Joel: The Call to Repent & Hope
November 3, 2019
The Pronouncement of God’s Judgment on the Nations, Part 2October 27, 2019
The Pronouncement of God’s Judgment on the Nations, Part 1October 20, 2019
The Declaration of God’s Restoration of His People