It was a common expression of grief in Joel's day for a person to rend his or her garments in an attitude of distress. But an outward display of grief over sins is not enough, for the Lord sees to the very heart of every man and woman. If the repentance isn't sincere on the inside, He is not impressed by anything anyone does on the outside, so He says, "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity." (Joel 2:13)
Where have we heard these same words spoken before? It was in our recently completed study of the book of Jonah. When the Gentile heathens of the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah, the Lord relented from destroying the city. Jonah was unhappy that the Lord had granted forgiveness to a foreign, idolatrous nation that had already posed (and would continue to pose) a threat to his nation. When the Lord asked Jonah why he was angry with Him, Jonah replied that the reason he originally fled the Lord's calling to go to Nineveh was because he knew the Lord would withhold His wrath from the Ninevites if they became sorry for their sins. "I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." (Jonah 4:2b)
Jonah should have rejoiced over the mercy of the Lord. He should have glorified the name of the God who was willing to extend mercy not only to His people Israel but to people of other nations. But since the Lord was willing to have mercy on people who had formerly been wicked idolaters, He is certainly willing to have mercy on the people of Judah who call themselves by His name. So we find the Lord saying the same words about Himself that Jonah said about Him and this must have given the people hope. They must have known that if He withheld disaster from Nineveh, He would also remove the current disaster that is plaguing the nation of Judah. If they sincerely repent, Joel says, "Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing---grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God." (Joel 2:14) This is the same thing the king of Assyria said when he learned that the Lord was going to destroy Nineveh within forty days if the people did not repent: "Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we will not perish." (Jonah 3:9)
To demonstrate his sorrow over his sins, the king of Assyria clothed himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. He proclaimed an assembly and a fast. He urged everyone to call upon the Lord and repent of their wicked and violent ways. They did these things from the heart and as a result we were told, "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened." (Jonah 3:10) In the remainder of our text below, Joel makes the same call to the people of Judah as the king of Assyria made to the people of Nineveh.
"Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, 'Spare Your people, Lord. Do not make Your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'" (Joel 2:15-16)
The reputations of the nations of Israel and Judah are still great, though the fortunes of both nations are on the decline in Joel's day. The reputation of God is great throughout that region of the world because even heathen people who do not worship the Lord have heard that He brought the descendants of Abraham out of slavery in Egypt with many signs and wonders. They knew He had led them through the wilderness, while miraculously providing for them, and that He had plucked up the peoples of the land of Canaan and had planted the descendants of Abraham in their place and had made them into a great nation. If the Lord destroys Judah, what will the heathen idolaters say? They won't understand the ways in which many of the people of Judah have offended and rejected God. They won't understand that the destruction is the Lord's judgment upon Judah for turning against Him. They will simply conclude that although God was powerful enough to defeat the peoples of ancient Canaan, He is not powerful enough to protect Judah from the Assyrian Empire or from some other rising world power or even from a plague of locusts. This will cause the heathens to blaspheme the name of God, which is why we find Joel saying something like, "Lord, if not for the sake of the people of Judah, then for the sake of Your own holy name do not destroy us! Do not give occasion to any idolaters to disrespect You! Don't allow them to have any reason to claim that You are not still God or that anything is impossible for You!"
In our next study session the thing Joel and the people are hoping for comes to pass: the Lord hears their sincere cry of repentance and has compassion on them.
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