Joel 2:17

HCSB

Joel 2:17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

The priests

Joel 1:9

Between

And let

Hosea 14:2

Spare

And give

Ezekiel 36:4

That

Nehemiah 9:36

Isaiah 63:17

Rule over them

Wherefore

General references

Deuteronomy 29:10

Psalm 115:2

Bible References

The priests

Grain and drink offerings have been cut off
from the house of the Lord;
the priests, who are ministers of the Lord, mourn.

Between

The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was 30 feet long extending across the temple’s width, and 15 feet deep in front of the temple.

At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar he had made in front of the portico.

So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house, and there were about 25 men at the entrance of the Lord’s temple, between the portico and the altar, with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces turned to the east. They were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.

So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

And let

Take words of repentance with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to Him: “Forgive all our sin
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay You
with praise from our lips.

Spare

But Moses interceded with the Lord his God: “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?

Then he said, “My Lord, if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wrongdoing and sin, and accept us as Your own possession.”

I saw how you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the Lord had commanded for you.

Now, Lord our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord

—You alone.

Lord, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.
Please look—all of us are Your people!

Listen, my God, and hear. Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city called by Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You based on our righteous acts, but based on Your abundant compassion.

When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land, I said, “Lord God, please forgive! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”

“And now ask for God’s favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?” asks the Lord of Hosts.

And give

You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves.

God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult Your name forever?

We have become an object of reproach
to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule
to those around us.

All who pass by plunder him;
he has become an object of ridicule
to his neighbors.

therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become plunder and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around.

That

Here we are today,
slaves in the land You gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are—slaves in it!

Why, Yahweh, do You make us stray from Your ways?
You harden our hearts so we do not fear You.
Return, because of Your servants,
the tribes of Your heritage.

Rule over them

You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you.

I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them, and I will reject the temple I have sanctified for My name. Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for My name I will banish from My presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.

Wherefore

They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people, how You, Lord, are seen face to face, how Your cloud stands over them, and how You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

if I had not feared insult from the enemy,
or feared that these foes might misunderstand
and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed;
it wasn’t the Lord who did all this.’”

My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”

Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes,
let vengeance for the shed blood of Your servants
be known among the nations.

Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

Then my enemy will see,
and she will be covered with shame,
the one who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look at her in triumph;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.

He has put His trust in God; let God rescue Him now—if He wants Him! For He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’”

General references

“All of you are standing today before the Lord your God—your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel,

Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”