in Joel chapter 3 and I'll read
again from the end of that chapter that we read earlier in the service
Joel chapter 3 and reading from verse 18 and it shall come to
pass in that day that the mountains shall drop down new wine and
the hills shall flow with milk and all the rivers of Judah shall
flow with waters And a fountain shall come forth of the house
of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. Egypt
shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness
for the violence against the children of Judah, because they
have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall dwell forever,
and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse
their blood that I have not cleansed. For the Lord dwelleth in Zion. I want to speak on the theme
of gospel blessings. And we have it set before us
in the words that I've just read here at the end of the prophecy
of Joel. Joel, one of the minor prophets.
Minor not because they're less inspired than others. We think
of those great prophetic writings of men like Isaiah and Jeremiah
and Ezekiel, Daniel also. But these others that we read
of in the closing pages of the Old Testament, they also were
prophets equally inspired by the Spirit of God. But they're
minor in that they're Prophecies are much shorter. Their books
often consist of just a few chapters. Here are just three chapters
in the book of Joel. Obadiah, just one chapter. It's
in that sense that they're minor prophets. But what profound truths
we find in the writings of these men. It's been well observed
that the minor prophets are a difficult part of scripture to interpret. And that is the truth. And we
can only really begin to understand the spiritual meaning of these
words of God by having something of the experience of God's grace
in our hearts. That's how we come to understand
and to appreciate the writings of these faithful servants of
God. And so what of the portion that
we've read? Well, observe what is said here
at the beginning of this 18th verse. It shall come to pass,
it says, in that day. What is a day that is being spoken
of? In that day, if we go back to
the beginning, of this particular chapter we read also of those
days behold in those days and in that time says God when I
shall bring again the captivity of Judah and of Jerusalem those
days and that day of course there's a sense in which we are to recognize
the word in its historical context and clearly there in the opening
words of the chapter he is speaking of the time when the children
of Israel would be brought back into Jerusalem after the 70 years
of exile in Babylon. But what we have here is more
than an historic book. There must always be some spiritual
application. All these things happened to
them for a purpose. They're examples to us, they're
examples to us. Those upon whom the ends of the
world are come, says the apostle there in 1 Corinthians chapter
10. And so, when we read such words
as that day and those days, ultimately the reference is to a particular
period of time. The reference is to the last
days, the gospel dispensation, that period that was brought
in with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the fullness
of the time God sends forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law. And Christ is that one who comes
to proclaim that great message of the Gospel, and that Gospel
day will continue to the end of time, and what will usher
in the end of time? Why, the second coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ, because the Father has committed all judgment
also into the hands of his Son. And so what we really have in
the book of Joel as we read of those days and that day is applicable
to this particular day, this gospel dispensation in which
we're living. And that is made quite clear,
isn't it? Because what do we read previously here in chapter
2? And there at the end of that chapter
it shall come to pass, verse 28, it shall come to pass afterward
that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh and your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,
your young men shall see visions and also upon the servants and
upon the handmaidens in those days, observe the expression
again, those days, will I pour out of my spirit and I will show
wonders in the heavens and in the earth blood and fire and
pillars of smoke and so forth. Now, remember in his preaching
on the day of Pentecost we find the Apostle Peter referring quite
specifically to that portion of Holy Scripture. As he stands
to minister God's Word after the gracious outpouring of the
Spirit of God, Peter tells the people quite plainly, this is
that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And you can read
it there in Acts 2 and verse 16 following. So we have the
authority of the New Testament helping us to understand what
we have here in the Old Testament. And as I've said many times,
that's the way we're to approach the Word of God. We read the
Bible from the end to the beginning. The key to interpretation is
there in the New Testament Scriptures. Augustine's famous dictum concerning
God's Word as the new, the New Testament is in the old concealed,
and as the old is in the new revealed. there are those two
comings of the Lord Jesus Christ and as we read in these minor
prophets we have to often in the language distinguish between
which of the two comings is being spoken of oftentimes it's not easy to altogether
understand or to interpret what is being said but surely here
we would recognize that in what he said at verse 12 following,
there is reference to that second coming. Let the heathen be wakened, it
says, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. And there will
I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe. Come, get you down, for the press
is full. The facts overflow, for their
wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the
valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley
of decision." Well, this is that final decision that's being spoken
of. This is the end of time. This
is the judgment of the great day. And you might ask me, Well,
where is the valley of Jehoshaphat? If you study anything of biblical
geography look at the maps in the backs of your Bibles for
example where are you going to find any reference to the valley
of Jehoshaphat? We won't. Dr. Gill simply observed it's not
the proper name of any place. But it's a significant name,
Jehoshaphat. The name means God is judge. It's the valley of God's judgments. And surely we see here that there
is some reference to what the Lord Jesus Christ says concerning
that day. Verse 15, The sun and the moon
shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their light. Remember how at the end of his
ministry the Lord Jesus does speak of the end of time and
that great day that was to come, that day of the final judgment. And there in the language of
Luke 21 at verse 25 Speaking of the end of time and
his coming again, there shall be signs in the sun and in the
moon and in the stars, and upon earth distress of nations and
perplexity, the sea and waves roaring, men's hearts failing
them for fear and for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And they shall see the Son of
Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Signs in the
sun, signs in the moon, signs in the stars. The sun and moon
shall be darkened. the stars shall withdraw their
light. There's this element in what
we have then here in this third chapter of the book of Joel. There's some reference to that
great final day of judgment. But there's also reference to
Christ's first coming when he comes to be that one
who is the the humble servant of the Lord, one who comes as
the friend and the saviour of sinners. And that's what's being
spoken of here in this 18th verse, He shall come to pass in that
day. that the mountains shall drop
down new wine and the hills shall flow with milk and all the rivers
of Judah shall flow with waters and the fountain shall come forth
of the house of the Lord and shall water the valley of Shittim. It's speaking to us of gospel
blessings and the language of course is very rich. It's Old Testament terminology
that we have here. And what are these great blessings
of the Gospel? Well, the first thing we observe
is that they're positive blessings. It's such a rich figure that
he's used. And what does it signify to us? It signifies something of the
great fullness of that salvation that comes with Christ and then
comes with that gracious outpouring of the Spirit. Remember the end
of chapter 2, we were referring to it just now, those words that
Peter makes specific reference to in his preaching on the day
of Pentecost, which is really that event that ushers in, in
all its fullness. This gospel day, this great day
of grace. And what do we read at the end?
of chapter 2. He shall come to pass that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant
whom the Lord shall call. In Mount Zion, for this is the
mount that is being spoken of, the mount that drops new wine
And the hills flowing with milk, all the rivers of Judah flowing
with water, a fountain coming forth out of the house of the
Lord. And think of the day in which
this man, this prophet, was exercising his ministry. What had they witnessed
in the land? They'd seen great death. There'd
been a plague, a locust plague, that we read of there in the
opening chapter. that which the palmer worm hath
left hath the locust eaten, that which the locust hath left hath
the canker worm eaten, that which the canker worm hath left hath
the caterpillar eaten. God had sent a terrible plague
upon the nation and the land was left in desolation. Verse
12 there, the vine is dried up, the fig tree languishes, the
pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even
all the trees of the field are withered, because joy is withered
from the sons of men. And it's not only vegetation,
it's the animals also. Verse 18, Out of the beast grown,
the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture,
yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. Verse 20 there
in chapter 1, The beast of the field cry also unto thee, for
the rivers of water are dried up, and the fire hath devoured
the pastures of the wilderness. And there we see something of
the desolations, the desolations that comes as a consequence of
men's sins, and when God's judgments are abroad. Oh, what desolation. But now when we come to the end, what is the imagery that we have
here? Why, oh, the scene is changed, and all is now wonderfully renewed. the mountains dropping down new
wine, the hills flowing with milk, the rivers of Judah full
of water, the fountain proceeding from the house of the Lord. It's gospel imagery. And we have it to gain, don't
we? In that other portion that we read, in Isaiah 25.6, in this
mountain, Shall the Lord of hosts make
unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the
leaves, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the leaves
well refined. All the great blessings that
come in the Gospel. And that gracious word of invitation
to those poor souls hungering, thirsting, O everyone that thirsteth,
says the Lord God come ye to the waters and he that hath no
money come ye by and he shall come by wine and milk without
money and without price this is the language of God in the
gospel when he speaks to sinners and speaks to them such good
and such gracious words oh there's such a fullness in the gospel
because that fullness is centered in the person of God's only begotten
Son, and in that great work that the Lord Jesus Christ came to
accomplish. Why, in Him are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Oh, this man who comes to be
the Saviour of sinners, this man who will receive sinners
and eat with them, He says, how the whole have no need of the
physician but they that are sick. He came not to call the righteous
but sinners to repentance. But the imagery that we have
here, it's so, it's so full. We read of the valley of shedding. A fountain shall come forth of
the house of the Lord and shall water the valley of Shittim. Now, that was the last place
where the children of Israel pitched before they entered into
the Promised Land. We see it there in Joshua chapters
2 and 3. They are about to enter into
the Promised Land and they pitch at a place called Shittim and
from there Joshua sends out of Shittim two men initially to
spy secretly the land that's before them the promised land
and then they removed from Shittim it says and they came to Jordan
or they're about to cross this is the place that he's being
spoken of here at the end of this 18th verse. It's God's blessing, as it were,
on the very borders of the promised lands. And remember when the
Gospel goes out, it comes first to Jerusalem, and then to Judea,
and then to Samaria, and then to the outermost part of the
earth that's what we're told there in Acts chapter 1 verse
8 it's Jerusalem but it flows out and you see here we have
these waters coming forth out of the house
of the Lord doesn't it remind us of those opening verses in
Ezekiel 47 that remarkable vision that Ezekiel the prophet sees He says, afterward he brought
me again unto the door of the house, and behold, waters issued
out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the
forefront of the house stood toward the east. And the waters
came down from under, from the right side of the house, the
south side of the altar. And these are the waters that
issue forth, and initially they're ankle deep, then they reach to
the knees, and then they come to the thighs, and then they're
waters to swim in. Oh, this is the gospel. This
is the imagery that we have here, the good news, the glad tidings
of salvation going forth onto the ends of the earth. It's such
positive blessings that are being spoken of, the language that
is being used, the contrast that is being made, the great dearth
and desolation that was everywhere and yet All that refreshing that
comes from the presence of the Lord in the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. But not only positive statements,
but what of these gospel blessings? Well, are they not for a particular
people? It says in verse 19, Egypt shall
be a desolation and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness. for
the violence against the children of Judah because they have shed
innocent blood in their lands. Who are the blessings for? Well,
the blessings are not for Egypt, they're not for Edom, are they?
The blessings are for Judah. And what of Egypt? What of Edom?
Well, when the Lord God brings the people out of Egypt, he does
so of course by the mighty hands, the ten plagues
that he visits upon the Egyptians, the hardening of Pharaoh's heart
and how God demonstrates his great power and his majesty and
then he brings his people to Mount Sinai, enters into covenant
with his people, I am the Lord thy God which hath brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, he says.
It was a particular people that he redeemed to himself, Egypt,
where there are ancient enemies. Egypt shall be a desolation,
it says. Even in the days of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the son of Solomon, we see how Rehoboam was troubled by one
of the pharaohs, a man called Shishak in the first book of
Kings and there in first Kings 14 at verse 25 it came to pass in the fifth year
of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem and he took away the treasures of the house of the
Lord and the treasures of the king's house he even took away
all and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon
had made so he rifles as he were the house of the Lord he takes
all these things unto himself he robs God as he were takes
everything out of the house of the Lord God of of Israel. He was an enemy, enemy
to the Lord, enemy to the Lord's people. And what does God say? All these people, He will give Egypt for their
ransom, He says, and He does it. It's only for a particular
people. It's not for Egypt, it's not
for Edom either. Who were these Edomites? You
know, the Edomites were those who were the descendants of Esau. Esau, the brother of Jacob. And the prophets have a word
against the Edomites. Amos. Amos speaks there in the
opening chapter of his book, the very
next book. Thus saith the Lord for three
transgressions of Edom and for four I will not turn away the
punishment thereof because he did pursue his brother with the
sword and he cast off all pity and his anger did tear perpetually
and he kept his wrath forever but I will send fire upon Tima
which shall devour the palaces of Bosra And not only in Amos
but in others, Obadiah also speaks quite clearly against the Edomites. Egypt shall be a desolation,
Edom shall be a desolate wilderness. Or doesn't God declare it quite
clearly, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Here is that salvation then that
is for a particular people. the children of Judah. After that division, of course,
upon the accession of Rehoboam, he was an unwise man and there
was the breaking away of the ten tribes. They chose Jeroboam,
son of Neba, to be their king. Those ten tribes, they established
their capital at Samaria. So you have Israel in the north,
Judah in the south. These words are being spoken
particularly of Judah. It's interesting, isn't it? Judah,
of course, is where we derive the name the Jew. The Jew is
the one who is the descendant, in particular, of Judah. Not the Ten Lost Tribes, but
the descendant of Judah in particular. But Paul says he is not a Jew
which is one outwardly. Neither is circumcision that
which is output in the flesh, but circumcision is that in the
hearts of the spirits, not of the letter, whose praise is not
of men, but of gods. The spiritual Jew, then, is that
one who is also the same as the spiritual Israelites. They are
not all Israel, they are not of Israel. God's true people,
God's particular people are the spiritual people, they are those
who the Lord himself has made choice of and appointed them
to salvation and this gospel is for these people even as many
as the Lord our God has chosen all the wonder of the ways of
God, it's Israel's portion And the Lord knoweth them that
are His, we might not know them. Again look at the language of
another prophet, again there in the words of Isaiah, in Isaiah
43. How the Lord God speaks such
gracious and comforting words to His people. I am the Lord thy God, the Holy
One of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee, since thou wast precious in my sight.
Thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. God's people
are a certain people and a particular people. The blessing Oh, it's
a rich blessing, but it's also that that is particular. And
as it is particular, so here we also witness the fact that
it is that that is eternal. Verse 20, Judas shall dwell forever,
and Jerusalem from generation to generation. All the blessings
that the Gospel bring, they're not temporal blessings, they
are not momentary they are from everlasting to everlasting the
Lord Jesus says I give unto them eternal life and they shall never
perish no man is able to pluck them out of my hand my father
which gave them me is greater than all no man can pluck them
out of my father's hand And who is this? This is the
Lord that dwelleth in Zion, as we read here at the end of verse
11. Oh, the Lord God Himself, you
see, He has a people, and He will ultimately take that people
to Himself, and there He will dwell in their midst for all
eternity. Isn't this the great blessing
of heaven? There in Revelation 21 John says,
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former
things are past away. Well, mark those words, behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them. It's that, it's God, it's God
there in the midst. As we see here at the end of
this 21st verse, the Lord dwelleth in Zion. He is there in the midst
of His people. Oh, what blessings, the blessings
of the Gospel, positive blessings. particular blessings, eternal
blessings. Sins gone. All sins all together
gone, taken away. We have that great verse, don't
we? In Jeremiah's prophecy towards the end there in chapter 50 and verse 20. In those days And
in that time, here we have it again, you see, those days, that
time, the last days, the acceptable time, the day of salvation. In
those days, in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel
shall be sought for, and there shall be none, and the sins of
Judah, and they shall not be found. For I will pardon them
whom I or that people whom the Lord has reserved for Himself,
that people whom He has set His love upon, they're going to be
saved with a great salvation. Verse 21, I will cleanse their
blood that I have not cleansed. For the Lord dwelleth in Zion. It's all speaking to us then
of those great blessings of the everlasting gospel. the forgiveness of sin and how
does that forgiveness come into the soul's experience? well if we confess our sins this
is the language of the gospel if we confess our sins he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness and I love that verse because it
reminds us how that God's attributes, all his attributes are on the
side of that confessing sinner. It doesn't say he is merciful
and gracious, that's a truth, he is merciful, he is gracious,
but it says he is faithful and true to forgive our sins. Ah, but if we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. And
if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word
is not in us. Who are we, those who would come,
and as we have it there at the end of that opening chapter in
John's first general epistle, are we those who would come and
make our confessions and acknowledge our sins? and desire the pardon
of our sins. Are we those who come in that
spirit of true repentance? And we have it there in the opening
chapter. What does the Lord God say in the light of all those
terrible judgments He was visiting upon the people? Verse 13. Gird yourselves and lament, ye
priests. Howl, ye ministers of the altar.
Come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God. for the
meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house
of your God. What does this speak of? It speaks
of their repentance. The outward signs of repentance
are there with the wearing of sackcloth and the lamenting and
howling. And he says, sanctify ye a fast,
call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants
of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto
the Lord. Oh, what do those who know anything
of these gospel blessings do? They know what it is to cry,
to call, to seek. They know what it is to come
and make their confessions. They know something of that spirit
of repentance. Isn't this the great message
that we find the Lord Jesus Christ himself proclaiming at the very
outset of his public ministry? After that John, John the Baptist
was put into prison. We're told how Jesus came into
Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying
the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent ye and believe the gospel. All the kingdom of God is at
hand. That's what we have here. It's the kingdom of God. It's
that great grace of God. The blessings of the gospel.
But the call, repent and believe the gospel. And you say, how
can I repent? How can I believe? Or could I
but believe? Then all would easy be, I would
but cannot, Lord. Relief, my help must come from
Thee. Oh dear John Newton, he knew
it, didn't he? He wanted to believe, he couldn't
believe. You want to believe, you want to repent, you can't.
It's Christ again. He's exalted, a Prince and a
Saviour. to give repentance to Israel
and the forgiveness of sins. And not only does He give repentance,
where do we obtain faith? We have to look unto Jesus. He
is the author and finisher of our faith. We have to come to
the Lord Jesus Christ for everything. This is the great blessing of the gospel really, it centers
in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ or never, never a man like that
man such a friend to sinners, publicans and sinners he receives
them all it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains
shall drop down new wine, the hills shall flow with milk, all
the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, a fountain shall
come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the
valley of Shittim. Egypt shall be a desolation,
and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence
against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent
blood in their land. But Judah shall dwell forever,
and Jerusalem from generation to generation, for I will cleanse
their blood. that I have not clenched, for
the Lord dwelleth in Zion. Amen.