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TRUCK THROUGH THE BIBLE
By G. CUMPBELL MORGAN, Westminster Chapel, London, England.
Appearing tbtry Week During iw. (Copyright American Serial ‘Rights applied Tor by The Golden 91 ge Publishing Co. All Rights Reserbed.)
JOEL—THE DAY OF THE LORD.
A. Things Present. i. 2-ii. 27 B. Things to Come. ii. 28-iii.
I. Locust Plague and First Meaning. i. 2-20 I. Th e Dispensation of the Spirit. ii. 28-32
i. The Call to Contemplation. 2-12 i. Initiation and Characteristics. 28, 29
ii. The Call to Humiliation. 13-20 ii. Signs of Ending and Coming of the Day of the
Lord. 30, 31
iii. Deliverance from Terrors of that Day. 32
11. Locust Plague and Deeper Teaching. ii. 1-27 11. The Day of the Lord. iii.
i. The Trumpet of Alarm and Answer of God. 1-14 i. God’s Dealiings with His ancient People. 1-8
ii. The Trumpet of Repentance and Answer to God ii. God’s Judgment of the Nations. 9-16
15-27 iii. The Restoration of Israel. 17-21
THE PROPHECY OF JOEL.
OEL was specially a prophet to Judah.
It is impossible to speak dogmatically
concerning the date of his prophesying.
Internal evidence makes it plain that
he was one. of the earliest, or one of
the latest, of the prophets. The bur
den of his message was the Day of the
Lord. It seems to be one remarkable
utterance rather than notes of a min-
J
istry covering a long- period, as in the case of Hosea.
A terrible locust plague which had devastated the
entire country, was the occasion of its deliverance.
He spoke of things which were evident to those
whom he addressed, predicted an immediate judg
ment, and finally looked far on to the ultimate
Day of the Lord. Thus the book may be divided
into two parts —Things present (1-2 : 27); Things
to come (2: 28-3).
A. THINGS PRESENT
In the first division there are two sections. Joel
interpreted the meaning of the actual locust plague,
ana then declared that it was a sign of yet severer
judgment imminent. In dealing with the actual
locust plague, he called the old men and all the
inhabitants to contemplation. Singling out the
drunkards, the worshippers, the husbandmen, and
the vine-dressers, he reminded them of the com
pleteness of the devastation, showing how it had
affected all classes. He then proceeded to call the
people to humiliation. Beginning with the priests,
he included the whole nation, and at last voiced
the cry of the people.
Having thus dealt with the actual visitation
and its terrible devastation, and having called the
people into the place of humiliation, the prophet
rose to a higher level, and interpreted the visita
tion as indicating a deeper and more terrible judg
ment which threatened them. In doing this, he
made use of the figure of the blowing of a trum
pet.
The first blast sounded a note of alarm as it an
nounced the approach cf the Day of Jehovah. With
the figure of the locusts still in mind, he described
the swift, irresistible, and all-consuming character
of the armies which were about to come as the
scourge of God upon the people, being careful to
declare that this whole movement -would be under
the command of Jehovah. To this announcement,
the prophet declared that God made answer in
terms of patience and mercy. If the people would
return to Him, He would spare them.
Then the second blast of the trumpet called for
an assembly of the people in the attitude of re
pentance. The character of the assembly was to be
that of a fast, and its constitution the actual gath
ering together of all the people, from the youngest
to the oldest. Being assembled they were to cry
for mercy, the ultimate reason being that the na
tions should not say, 11 Where is their God?’’ To
such attitude Jehovah would respond in grace.
The prophet insisted that both the things of judg
ment and the things of mercy were in the govern
ment of God; the first, rendered necessary by the
people’s neglect of Him; the second, made possible
by their return to Him. At this point ended the
secopd phapter of the prophecy in the Bible of
The Golden Age for September 5, 1907.
the Hebrews. The prophet, having indicated the
judgment imminent, and called the people to re
pentance, and having, moreover, declared the merci
ful attitude of Jehovah toward such repentance,
had come to the end of his message as it had to
do with things then present.
B. THINGS TO COME.
He now moved on to a yet higher level, and there
was granted to him a vision of the final Day of
the Lord, of which tire things then present were but
the shadow and forecast. In this second section
he dealt wholly with things to come. The great
word introducing it is afterward. Some of the
things foretold have now been fulfilled, some are
still in the future.
In looking toward the distant Day of Jeho\ah,
Joel saw an intervening period of an entirely dif
ferent character. This he first described, ending
his message with a declaration concerning the Dav
of the Lord, which was the real burden on his
spirit.
Os the intervening period, he declared that ini
tiation would result from the outpouring of the
Spirit upon all flesh. It would be characterized
by prophecy, drcams, and visions. The signs of
the end of this period and of the approach of the
Day of the Lord, would be “wonders in the heavens
and in the earth.” From the terrors of the Day
such as called upon the name of the Lord were
to be delivered. This is a perfect description of
the Pentecostal age in which we now live, with a
statement of the signs which will precede its end.
and a declaration of the way of deliverance ftom
the terrors immediately to follow.
Finally, the prophet saw in the far distance the
ultimate Day of Jehovah. In this He will first
restore Judah and Jerusalem, and then find His
scattered people Israel. Following this, His judg
ment of the nations is to proceed. The last vision
of the prophet is that of the complete restoration
of the ancient people in which Jehovah will dvell
in Zion —a city holy and full of prosperity.
•6 W
Among the Workers.
The Watchman of Boston, has an editorial on tha
supply of preachers. After referring to the various
ways that writers discuss this subject, the Watch
man says:
“We wonder why it never occurred to those who
wish to write on this subject to talk with the young
men in the churches, and find out why they do not
enter the ministry? We have done so, and find
two classes: First, those who never gave much
thought to the matter, but went to work or into busi
ness as a matter of course. The other class who
have seriously considered the subject of entering
the ministry usually have two reasons for deciding
against it. The chief one is the discrimination
against ministers because of age. They want to
enter *a work which will last them as long as they are
able to work. The second reason is the estimate
of the ministry which young men obtain in the
business meetings of the churches and in their
homes when pastors are to be called. Young men
of any spirit do not care to be placed in positions
where they could be treated the way they see can-
didates for pastorates treated. The small average
salaries of ministers may also deter some from en
tering the service, but probably not many. The
chief deterrent to young men entering the ininistrv
is the fact that the conditions of the minstry in
the chinches, especially after forty-five years of
age, are not such as to commend the ministry to
young men in the churches.”
This presentation of the subject discloses the
true secret. How can brethren pray in faith to
the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the
harvest when a large number of those whom Christ
has already sent are not employed?
The Wesleyan Advocate has this note:
”On Monday of last week the new rooms at she
Wesleyan Memorial Hospital were opened, and by
Tuesday night they were filled. Notwithstanding
the repeated enlargements made to the facilities
there, people have to be turned away for want of
room. One day last week six had to go elsewhere
who wished to go into the Wesley Memorial Hospi
tal. The people want the treatment our hospital
furnishes. And a great Church must provide the
fullest possible facilities for caring for the sick of
our Church, of other Churches and those of no
church, as to that.”
If it is worth while for a church to have a prayer
meeting at all, it’s worth while for all members to
attend it. A strange fact is, that those who most
need to pray, do not attend prayer meetings, as a
rule.—Baptist Standard.
Rev. Charles M. .Sheldon, author of “In His
Steps,” who has been touring England from end to
end, holding temperance meetings, concluded his
work on July 19. He is now in Norway with Mrs.
Sheldon, and will return to America the last of
August. —Home Field.
From the Home Field we give these:
United Presbyterians of this country are leading
all the denominations in the ratio of increase of
their gifts to missions. Last year they gave SIOO,-
000 more than the previous, and the schedule de
cided upon at the recent assembly at Denver in
volves another advance of 20 per cent. This means
an average gift of $5 per member, the total aimed
at being $640,000.
Since Southern Baptists have set for themselves
the $500,000 for Home Missions this year, it may
interest some to point out that our Northern Bap
tist brethren passed the $500,000 mark in 1877; the
$600,000 mark in 1898; the $700,000 mark in 1901,
and passed beyond SBOO,OOO last year. There is in
these figures a noble challenge for us.
•fl* «fl
A young man was sitting in a barber shop look
ing at a magazine when an old farmer, with little
knowledge or appreciation of literary people, step
ped up behind his chair and looked over his shoul
der.
“Who’s them?” he inquired, pointing to a group
of portraits.
“Well known authors and playwrights,” was
the reply.
“Humph!” ejaculated the farmer, contemptu
ously. “Just writin’ fellers, eh?”
Then he caught sight of George Ade’s long, sol
emn face, and his eyes lighted up. “That’s the
one I like,” he said, with decision, putting his finger
on Mr. Ade’s mournful countenance.
“Oh, yes, nearly every one likes George Ade,”
agreed the young man. “His humerous writings
are —”
“Don’t know nothin’ ’bout his writin’, but I
like his face.”
“Why so?”—curiously.
“ ’Cause he’s the only feller that looks like he
was sorry for what he’d done.”
