Feb 27 2022 The DAY of the Lord

Prayers for Ukraine

Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

We will be going through Joel during the Lenten season (and some of the Psalms) – and the main theme in Joel is The Day of the Lord – there are 3 chapters and it appears more there than anywhere.

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/day-of-the-lord/

Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

When we think of the Day of the Lord, what do we think of? The final days – the Apocalypse.

But – the phrase day of the Lord refers to many biblical events.

Any period of time or event where God intervenes in human affairs for the purpose of judgment and or salvation.

It could apply to the whole world: Think of the Flood or Second coming –

Or to individuals or nations – think of Exodus.

Sometimes God directly interrupts the natural order of things – the plagues of Egypt or splitting the Red Sea.

Some people try to come up with natural explanations – and often, those are quite crazy – but God did it – the Nation of Israel passed through and Egypt was swallowed up.

In Joel, God uses the life-cycle of locusts

The first time the Day of the Lord appears, chronologically – is in the Book of Amos –

Context – Amos is a prophet who speaks a prophetic word of judgment on all the enemies of Israel. But also, he speaks a prophetic word of judgment on Israel.

Amos 5: 18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD,

Israel believed that the Day of the Lord would be judgment on their enemies and salvation for them…

For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light,

Whoa! That is a curveball! The next few lines – if they weren’t disastrous, would be humorous!

19 Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

I just think of Wile E. Coyote – his traps go against himself.

20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?

In the Old Testament, God’s judgment often fell against His own people.

But what about us, on this side of the resurrection? How might that relate to us? In the New Testament, Paul writes in numerous ways – Christ took our judgment on the cross. Evil was judged and defeated on the cross. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The first thing we must think of – because of Christ, there is no condemnation.

On the other hand – Paul says – and He wrote – Judgment begins with the household of God.

SO there is a sense of judgment, but in Christ, it is neither punitive, nor condemnation. It is corrective and restorative.

It is like, Paul says, He disciplines those He loves.

There are times God has to correct us – times he has to correct the Church – Christians in general.

Why did God reject Israel? Amos 5 continues:

21 "I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 "Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Wow! That is severe! To put it in our language – I hate your church services! Stop worshiping Me!

What is going on? In context, we see, it was all outward – all lip service, doing nothing in their hearts – the cup is clean on the outside, as Jesus said – but dirty on the inside.

Israel looked spiritual and faithful, but inside, they were corrupt and unfaithful.

Two main sins – Idolatry – I won’t go into that as much today, as I have spoken of it many times in the past.

The second is this – the people of power and influence were taking advantage of the poor and the needy and the weak – and that is what God’s judgment is coming for. That is why He is rebuking these people.

The solution?

Amos 5: 24 "But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Even people who do not read the Bible are familiar with this verse – as Martin Luther King Jr. used this verse in his I have a Dream speech.

Jesus says something similar – you do all the religious stuff – tithing mint dill, and cumin, but you have neglected the most important aspects of your faith – justice and mercy. That is what is happening here – they had neglected justice and mercy.

The word JUSTICE – there are two ways the word is used – two aspects of biblical justice – first – retributive – punishment for a crime – criminal justice. And the second way – the majority – it is restorative justice! Or relational justice. Tim Mackie defines it this way – seeking out vulnerable people who have been taken advantage of, and helping them. This is restorative/prophetic justice.

Starting in Isaiah – you have neglected the poor, disadvantaged – those left out. And that is why God’s judgment comes upon his people.

Tim Keller – Generous Justice – four categories – the quartet of the vulnerable – widows, orphans, immigrants, and the poor. Those are the ones the Bible tells us – do justice for these.

For Jesus – Samaritans, sinners, tax collectors, the blind and the lame.

For us, we can add others – in our world – the elderly who are very lonely and vulnerable. They may not be poor – but they have no people. Some others – single parents – the unborn – the refugees and migrant workers – those with mental illness.

Keller says: according to the bible, a just society is evaluated by how it treats these groups. Any neglect shown is not called merely a lack of mercy or charity, but a violation of justice. A society that does not care for these is an unjust society, no matter what their criminal justice system is like.

Amos says – after roll down like waters – righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Righteousness refers to a life of right relationships. Righteousness is social, in that it is about relationships – some relate it to sexual chastity or devotion, but it is about treating everyone in society with fairness and equity. It is relational-related.

Lent is traditionally a time of lament and turning to God. For kids, it was when you gave up chocolate.

If you practice lent, that is great – if not, that is fine too. But any repentance must be done in the context of doing justice to the poor and needy – they neglected that.

Lent should not be a passive time to hang our heads, but a time to transform our relationships – especially with the most vulnerable.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love (loving)kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? (Mic 6:8 NAU)

In our world, there are a lot of people who feel left out – marginalized, disenfranchised – but simply, they feel they have been left behind. Micah is saying – we are to engage with those people.

IF you are the type of person inclined to observe Lent – I would encourage you – and if not, I would encourage you to start on, like, Wednesday, and then do it for forty days! Find one justice/mercy thing to do with one person who fits in these categories.

I’d encourage you to start nearby. Maybe in your neighborhood – or here at church, or at work, and then seek out to help.

We have had some great examples of people who have volunteered in significant ways to help those who are disadvantaged – whether at Urban Vision, Haven of Rest, Harvest Home – and we have heard their testimonies.

Not everyone can volunteer on a weekly basis – but everyone can find one person to help.

In my personal experience, it has been varied, and sporadic. That is a personal confession – the sporadic part – we get caught up in life.

For me, there was a period of time, there were some homeless folks who would stop by – and we developed a relationship with these men – for well over 5 years! He and his friends would stop by regularly – we took them to appointments and had meals with them and helped them out.

Another way – again – just putting thoughts in your mind – God has, at different times, put us in position to care for some elderly folks – we had a neighbor – for 10 years – we helped her out. It was good for our children as well. We need to just find things that work for us.

People who are in your normal sphere – we have those people – open your eyes, and you will find them.

I’m going to go back – to the theme of the Day of the Lord

Speaking of judgment, and the judgment on nations – some Christians and Christian leaders have been quick to proclaim judgments on nations or people when catastrophic events occurred.

Some say 9/11 – or Katrina – God’s judgment on New Orleans – I haven’t heard it for Ukraine yet – (oh, some have) – but we don’t have the mind of God.

In each circumstance where the disciples said something like this – Jesus’ response was paraphrased – you don’t know what you are talking about!

We can’t know for certain that God is judging a people based on specific events. However – when certain events occur, we can discern if God is speaking a corrective word to US! His people, the church.

Amos 9: 13 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will be dissolved. 14 "Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.