So you shall know that I am the LORD your God,
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again pass through it.
18 “And in that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the streambeds of Judah
shall flow with water;
and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD
and water the Valley of Shittim.
Vicki and I both grew up in poor families, living paycheck to paycheck. There was never a certainty of good shelter, food, or clothing. My family was helped by my grandmother’s church and it is how Jerusalem must have felt when God helped them. In ancient times, with famine and war, there was never a guarantee like we have of food on the table. Therefore, starvation was always on the table as a possibility. That is why verse 18 must have been so comforting to Joel’s audience. On that day, starvation would no longer be on the table, just the bounty of the Lord.
That first Thanksgiving in Massachusetts may be close to what these verses were saying. The Pilgrims were grateful for the provision of God when it was never certain. We can rest in the assurance of God’s provision for us today, not only in the food we eat, the home we live in, or the clothes we wear. So many in America are in need of these things. We have the assurance of salvation so we can look forward to “that day”. In that day, we will not worry about the cares of this world any longer. Jesus will set foot in Jerusalem and never again…
Will we hunger and thirst.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church