“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, thecankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sentamong you” (Joel 2:25).

Not much is known about theProphet Joel; and no one is even sure exactly when his prophecy was written.The traditional date is around 835 BC when Queen Athaliah  was deposed and the 12 year old Joash was seton the throne. But no one is sure. And to add to that, I don’t think many of usare familiar with the prophecy of Joel.

But it is an important book.The apostle Peter famously refers to the prophecy of Joel to speak of theoutpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21; cf. Joel 2:28-32).The apostle Paul quotes from it to remind us that “whosoever shall call uponthe name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13; cf. Joel 2:32).And rather significantly, the Lord Jesus himself employs the metaphors found inthis book when he speaks of the Day of the LORD (Mk 13:24; Lk 21:25; cf. Joel 2:10,31).

Indeed, this book is about theDay of the LORD. O Palmer Robertson calls Joel, the prophet of the Coming Day of the LORD.

This book may be roughlydivided into 2 parts. Chapter 1 is about the Day of Locusts. This refers to adevastating plague of locust which swept across the land. Joel would have thepeople know that this Day of Locust is a harbinger of the Great Day of theLORD. Chapters 2 and 3 are about the coming Day of the LORD.

This book calls upon God’speople to awake out of complacency and to live with a view of the coming GreatDay of the LORD. That day will come with terror for the unrepentant; but itwill be a day of great blessing for the righteous and faithful. This book showsus that the judgement and blessings of God are being revealed throughout thehistory of His Church in what may be known as Days of Locust and therestoration following. But all these are but foreshadows of the Great Day ofthe LORD. And they should cause us to look forward to that Day. They are God’sappointed means to help us to live with judgement and eternity in view.

Withsuch a challenging theme, it is not surprising that this book is filled withpromises, some of them with deep theological significance. But for our purposethis evening (as part of our series on the great and precious promises of God),we want to consider a promise which I believe will be comforting for those ofus who have experienced what may be called days of locust. I am referring toJoel 2:25 (see above).

Let’s meditate on this promiseunder 3 heads. First, what are days oflocust? Secondly, when will the Lord restore the years which the locust haseaten? Thirdly, how will the LORD restore the years which the locust has eaten?

1. WhatAre Days of Locust?

The Day of Locust during Joel’sdays is described in chapter 1 of the prophecy. In verse 4 we read—

“That which the palmerworm hathleft hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath thecankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillereaten.”

Scholars have debated over thefour Hebrew words rendered ‘palmerworm’, ‘locust’, ‘cankerworm’ and‘caterpillar.’ Some think that they refer to different stages of development ofthe locust. Others think that they refer to different kinds of locust. TheHebrew language has 9 different words for locust. Does this not show us howfamiliar the people were with locust plagues? Locust plagues were quite commonoccurrences in the Near and Middle Eastern lands.

Itwas reported that in 1889, ahost of these insects covered a 5,000 square km area around the Red Sea with an estimated 300 million insects per squarekm. This year (2010), beginning April despite modern insect control technology,a locust plague affected more than 500,000 square km of farming land in Australia.That is about the size of Spaincovered with 10 million locusts per square km.

We cannot imagine the scale ofthe locust invasion in the day of Joel. But one thing is sure, the land wasinvaded with wave after wave of locusts. So terrible was the destruction that adrought and famine ensued (v. 16-20). When the vegetation is destroyedcompletely, not only do the animals have nothing to eat, but the water cycle isdisrupted as the sun beats mercilessly upon the barren soil. It was as if thewhole land was being razed by a terrible fire (v. 20). Indeed, even thecrunching sound that the locusts make as they devour the land sounds like thecrackling of fire. The effects of a locust plague can sometimes be worse thanthat of a forest fire.

But this destruction was but aharbinger of even worse calamity to come in the Day of the LORD. Verse 15—

“Alasfor the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from theAlmighty shall it come” (Joel 1:15)

The Day of Locust is not thegreat day of the LORD. But it pointed to the great Day of the LORD to come. Thedestruction that came upon Judahwas a harbinger of the judgement that will come upon the whole world at theGreat Day of the LORD.

Nevertheless, it was a terribledevastation that resulted in great losses, massive despair and, no doubt, muchsorrow and tears.

But let us remember one thing:The locusts were sent by the LORD. Look at the last phrase of our text:

And I will restore to you the years that the locusthath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my greatarmy which I sent among you.

It is clear that the Day ofLocust was not accidental or simply a result of the confluence of certainweather pattern and crop cycles. No, no; these days are appointed by the Lordfor a purpose.

Now, there are no locustplagues in Singapore.Some of us may not even know how a locust looks like. But let us understandthat days of Locust need not involve actual locusts. Days of Locusts are daysthat produce the same effect as the locust plague produced on the church ofold,—namely, the sense of loss, disappointment, discouragement and sorrow.

What may these be? For anation, it can be a time of war; or natural disaster; or political chaos. For achurch, it can be a time of spiritual drought characterised by shrinkingmembership and problems of disunity. For a family, it can be, years as it were,wasted because of quarrels and teenage delinquency. For an individual, it couldbe long illness, or a wilderness experience, of aimlessness and frustration.

Whatever it may be, know thatin all likelihood, the Lord sent these days of locust as part of Hischastisement to mould you and prepare you for your eternal home.

Beloved brethren and youths,have you experienced such days? Or do you feel that you are actually goingthrough such a time?

·  Have you made wrong decisions,which you regretted?

·  Have you committed a sin, whichcontinues to haunt you today?

·  Have you rushed into arelationship and marriage only to be disappointed too late?

·  Have you entered into abusiness venture only to realise too late that it will destroy your life?

·  Have you taken up a job only toregret your decision to move into it?

·  Do you feel you have wastedyour life away because of your sin, and prayerlessness and rash?

Thank God that there is hope! “I will restore to you the years that thelocust hath eaten” says the Lord. This is God’s promise. He will make upfor your lost time and opportunities.

But…

2.  When Will the LORD Restore the Years?

The answer is not found in ourtext itself, but it is clearly indicated in the context. You see, our text isreally a summary of what the Lord promises to do for the people when theyhumble themselves and repent of their sin.

Look at verse 12—

“¹²Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, andwith fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: ¹³ And rend yourheart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he isgracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth himof the evil” (Joel 2:12-13)

Therefore beloved brethren andyouths, understand that while the LORD has promised restoration, you will notautomatically receive His restoration. Rather, you will only receiverestoration when you have understood the purpose of the Lord sending locustinto your life and by his grace repent of your sin, whatever sin it may be.

Is it pride and complacency inyour heart that the Lord is seeking to deal with? Is it stiffneckness andbacksliding? Is it prayerlessness and worldliness? Is it covetousness andidolatry or discontentment?

You do not know my heart and Ido not know yours. I cannot tell you what is the issue in your heart that theLord is dealing with. Sometimes as a pastor I can make a good guess. But unlessthe Spirit of the Lord has convicted you of the same sin, my telling you myguess will only make me an enemy of yours. I have made too many enemiesalready. I have learnt that unless I am very sure and the danger of blindnessis great, I must pray and leave it to the Lord to speak and convict.

Now, the Holy Spirit speaks tous through His Word spoken or brought to remembrance. So you must not neglectthe means of grace. But you must pray that the Holy Spirit will work in yourheart to mould you so that more and more you will die unto sin, and more andmore you will live unto righteousness.

This is what we must prayregularly, beloved brethren and children. We must pray that the Spirit of theLord will work in our hearts so that the Word preached sabbath by sabbath andon occasions such as this may be effectual unto our salvation and joy.

Repentanceopens the key to the Lord’s promise to restore the years that the locust hasteaten. But it is the Holy Spirit who gives us repentance —usually in answer toprayer.

But…

3.  How Will the LORD Restore the Years?

If you will repent of your sin,God promises to “restore to you the yearsthat the locust hath eaten.” But how would the Lord restore you? Whatshould we expect when He restores the years that the Locust hast eaten?

Well, again our text does notspell it out, but the context does.

The first effect of LORD’srestoration of the years is that gloom will turn to joy dramatically. Now, inthe case of the locust invasion, the LORD’s restoration affected the land andthe animals. So Joel, in a figurative way, calls upon the land and the animalsto be glad and to rejoice (v. 21-22). The LORD’s restoration will be sodramatic that it is unthinkable that anything touched would not rejoice. Even theland and the animals will, as it were, rejoice!

How much more the children ofGod, when God sends the rain and restore the years that the locust hath eaten(v. 23-25).

“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in theLORD your God” (v. 23) for He hath done wondrous things for you which you donot deserve.

This is the first thing we must do, or rather, will do,when the LORD restores us. We will rejoice and be glad. The Lord will chaseaway our gloom. The LORD will give us reason again to know we are blessed ofHim.

But secondly, when God restores, we shall be satisfied. Happiness hasbegun because we will be satisfied (v. 26). “The LORD as my shepherd, I shallnot want” says David (Ps 23:1). “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,therewith to be content” says Paul (Phil 4:11).

I will have all that I need. Iwill have more than I need. Indeed, I will have abundantly above all that Ineed.

When the LORD restores, ourneeds and desires are fully met. The fact that we do not always feel it to beso, does not make it any less true. Today our sin prevents us from enjoyingfull satisfaction. But one day God will remove our sin, and we shall beperfectly satisfied.

That notwithstanding, when theLord restores the years that the locust has eaten, you will be enabled to feela deep satisfaction with David and Paul and the saints throughout the ages.“The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shallnot want any good thing” (Ps 34:10).

Thirdly, when the LORD restores, youwill praise His name because you will know that He has dealt wondrously withyou (v. 26). You will see His hand clearly. Your eyes will be opened to see it.It is so because when God gives contentment, it comes not only with theprovision of needs, but a work of grace in the heart.

Listen to the testimony of aperson whom the LORD has restored. The testimony is always very similar. Hisheart overflows with praise because he realizes that the blessing could nothave come but by the hand of God. And he knows deep in his heart he does notdeserve the blessing.

Have you tasted of the blessingof God? Oh beloved, do not bottle it up. Pour it out in praise unto the LORD.Pour it out that the fragrance of praise may fill the room like the fragranceof the immoral but penitent woman.

Yes, fourthly, when the LORD restores, you will no more be ashamed. Like the unnamed woman who washed theLord’s feet with her tears, you will no longer need to feel shame again. Noticehow Joel repeats that twice: “and mypeople shall never be ashamed” (v. 26); “and my people shall never be ashamed” (v. 27).

Sin makes us shameful. When wesin, we will try to cover ourselves with every means at our disposal. We willsew fig leaves, we will hide in the bushes. We will hope against hope that noone will discover our sin.

But when God forgives andrestore, we need not be ashamed ever again.

Have you repented, dearlybeloved and children? If you have truly repented, you need not feel ashamedagain. Why not?

Because, fifthly, when the LORDrestores upon our repentance he gives us a fresh assurance that He is ourcovenant God.

²⁷ And ye shallknow that I am in the midst of Israel,and that I am the LORD your God, and none else.

The best thing about God’srestoration is that we will know the LORD’s covenant love afresh. The LORDJesus speaks of this blessing as eternal life.

Eternal life is the blessing ofknowing and enjoying God in Christ (John 17:3). This knowledge of God fills ourhearts with awe and wonder that leaves no room for doubt, and shame and fear.It leaves us rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1Pt 1:8).

When we harbour sin in ourheart, our knowledge of God is marred. We behold Him as a God of wrath. We darenot go to Him. Like a child who has offended his father, we try to hide fromHim and we think that He is going to punish us.

But when we repent, Godrestores. He restores us to our former joy. He gives us again a fresh assuranceof His covenant love for us. He makes us go to Him as our loving heavenlyFather who is ready to bless us with all heavenly blessings. He makes us enjoyHis fellowship again.

Conclusion

The prophecy of Joelanticipates the Great Day of the LORD. That day will be a day of judgement forthe impenitent as well as a day of vindication and restoration for the childrenof God who fear the LORD.

But let us remember thatalthough perfect restoration must await the final day, we need not wait so longto experience the Lord’s restoration. We will begin to experience hisrestoration of the years that the locust have eaten as soon as we begin torepent of our sin for which the Lord send the locusts. For remember that therestoration is not merely a physical and temporal one, but a spiritual andeternal restoration.

And I will restore to you the years that the locusthath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my greatarmy which I sent among you.

May the Lord grant us the graceto keep from despair and cynicism when faced with a plague of locust. May Hegrant us the assurance of restoration, and therefore an impetus to return backto Him! Amen. Ω