♥️ Joel 2:12 | "..return to me with all your heart.."

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Happy Monday, everyone!

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We made some visual updates to our emails to make the reading experience feel more like an Oasis, aka the still waters referenced in Psalm 23:

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This week, we’re memorizing Joel 2:12!

In today’s email…

• 📕 What to know about the book of Joel

• 🙏 A reading and prayer to set up the week

• 🎵 A song to help you memorize Joel 2:12

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;"

Joel 2:12

CONTEXT 📕 

Author: The Prophet Joel, whose name means Yahweh is God

Audience: Written for the kingdom of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and Jerusalem, likely after the Babylonian exile ended and the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem

Joel addresses a community dealing with:

• Agricultural crisis (a locust plague)

• Economic hardship

• Questions about their relationship with God

• Concerns about their place among the surrounding nations

Biblical context: Joel is known as one of the 12 Minor Prophets, which include:

Compared to the “major” prophetic books in the Old Testament (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel), they’re shorter in length, which is why they are called “minor.”

As for who Joel was…we don’t really know much about him.

But regardless of what we don’t know about Joel, we do know his original message for the Israelites has applications for us today in 21st century North America.

The Structure of Joel 2

When you look at Joel chapter 2, you might see four headings in your bible:

• “The Day of the Lord” (v1–11)

• “Return to the Lord” (v12–17)

• “The Lord Had Pity” (v18–27)

• “The Lord Will Pour out His Spirit” (v28–30)

This maps to a sequence that plays out in 4 simple phases:

Judgment ▶️ Repentance ▶️ Mercy ▶️ Restoration

In a nutshell, Joel communicates that judgment is coming that the world can’t escape.

In light of that, the Lord calls His people to return to Him and repent.

Then, He extends mercy and restoration through the power of His Spirit.

As we dig further this week, let’s keep in mind our own stories of repentance, receiving mercy and finding restoration.

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APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

Read: Take time today to read through Joel chapter 2.

And once you’ve finished, prepare your heart in prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for pouring out Your Spirit on those who came before and spoke of You in obedience, fear, and love.

Thank You for how You’ve used their words to point us to Your Son and the hope and assurance we have in His coming return.

Please prepare my heart to receive the good nourishment found in Your Scriptures throughout this week. Amen. 🙏 

SONG OF THE WEEK 🎵 

This week, we have two featured songs that put Joel 2:12 to music:

• Song in KJV: Joel 2:12 by Bastien Family Scripture Songs (Spotify)

• Song in ESV: Joel 2:12-13 by Mary Belle (YouTube)

Click here to listen on Spotify | Click here to listen on Apple Music

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;"

Joel 2:12