Day 1 · The LORD Judges the Nations
Joel 3:1–13
1“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, 2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land. 3They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink. 4Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads. 5For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples. 6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland. 7Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads. 8I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken. 9Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack! 10Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’ 11Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD. 12Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side. 13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.
Berean Standard Bible
Observe
In verses 2, 3, and 6, what specific wrongdoings does God accuse the nations of committing against His people?
Apply
When you witness or experience unfairness this week, how can trusting in God’s ultimate justice help you respond with patience?
In the app, each day also opens the words in the original language, what the passage meant to its first readers, pastors teaching it, a place to write, and a time to pray.