Joel 3: 9 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. 10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!” 11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, LORD!
Isaiah 2:4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
I have often thought about pursuing a PhD. I have two Masters degrees already. But then I remember what I didn’t like about academia: footnoting. You aren’t allowed to have knowledge gathered in a lifetime of living and learning. You can’t state what is common knowledge. NO! You have to find the quote, or the idea, in the original source and give credit.
If I am quoting someone, then fine, I will tell you who I am quoting. But if it is part of my learned knowledge and wisdom, then I’m sorry if I don’t want to take time to find the originator of the idea.
Whew! I got that out of my system. Thanks for listening.
So what got me started on this rant? Well, the book of Joel quotes so many other Old Testament writers without giving them credit! It is one of the newer writers of the Old Testament, probably written after the Exile. And he seems to assume that the readers of his writing are already familiar with the rest of the Old Testament Scriptures.
But sometimes he uses one of the other prophets writing in a very interesting way. Joel uses Isaiah, but contrasts his message to fit his time and circumstances. The words are even engraved on the famous statue at the United Nations building in New York.
But did you notice as you read the text that the order is reversed. Isaiah is turning the swords, weapons of war, into plowshares, implements of farming and productivity. Isaiah is looking to a time in the future when God’s kingdom will reign supreme and peace will be the order of the day. He writes to give hope in a time of incredible uncertainty.
Joel reverses the order. He speaks of turning plowshares into swords, preparing for a time of conflict. He is writing in this section of the book to all the nations of the world that have held God’s people in exile and captivity. He is warning them about a coming day of reckoning coming.
The LORD is calling them to gather and face His hand of justice. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to face Him in a battle. That is why Joel tells them to get ready for battle. They need weapons.
So Joel warns them, “Be ready!”
Remember Jesus telling us to “Be ready!” Repeatedly he tells us to be ready for His return. He is returning, but those who aren’t ready will be caught unaware. We are watching and waiting for His return. We are getting ready, aren’t we?
Only we aren’t on the opposing team! We are on the LORD’s side.
And there is a day when all wrong will be made right! Justice will happen for everyone. All evil will be ended. The slates cleaned. Sickness healed. Tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy. That is going to be some day!
The Arnold Journey 