#DailyDevotion The LORD Will Judge The Nations
Joel 3 12“The nations should rouse themselves and come up to the valley of Jehoshapat, because there I will sit to judge all the nations coming from all directions. 13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come in, trample the grapes – the winepress is full. The vats overflow – their wickedness is great.” 14There are countless crowds upon crowds in the valley of judgment because the day of the LORD is near in the valley of judgment.
On the one hand the LORD calls the nations. On the other hand they, with their wicked hearts, rouse themselves to go to the valley of Jesoshapat. It is likely this is a metaphorical name. Jehoshapat means place of decision or judgment. Here the LORD will judge the nations. We see this judgment in Rev. 19 where the LORD Jesus and His angles wipe out the nations who have come against Him and His Church. This is the final end time battle between God and everything that opposes Him and His reign. We should remember the nations here are all nations excluding none. For us Christians, heaven is where our citizenship is. We are foreigners in whatever country we are living in. We are merely passing through trying to gain as many as we can from the nations to change their citizenship.
The command is given, “Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come in, trample the grapes – the winepress is full.” This is what St. John sees in Rev.14:14ff. It says there, “19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth and gathered the grapes from the vine of the earth and threw them into the great winepress of God’s anger. 20 The grapes were trodden in the winepress outside the city, and the blood flowed from the winepress as high as the horses’ bridles for about 200 miles.” Trampling the grapes represents how the wicked are being treated here because despite the signs and the calls to repentance, they did not repent of their dark deeds and trust in Christ Jesus for their salvation. Joel writes, “their wickedness is great.” The numbers of them are great. The Hebrew repeats the word to indicate they are countless. This is in line with what Jesus said, “Broad is the way to destruction and many are those who enter it.”
Now this harvest may precede the harvest described by Jesus in Matt. 13. Matt. 13 describes the general resurrection and the Last Judgment. There all people are everywhere raised from the dead. They stand in the judgment. Those who are sons of the wicked one are gathered up first and cast into the Lake of Fire prepared for the fallen angels. There they are tortured forever, as Jesus says, “The worm does not die and the fire does not go out.” Then the believers are gathered and brought into Christ kingdom where they live and reign with Him forever.
Judgment Day often scares people. It should. It should even cause us some pause as Christians. Are we truly repentant for our sins? Are there any sins we are holding back from God. Do we trust our LORD Jesus Christ to be our righteousness on this day or are we still trying to put ourselves into the mix? Do we ask the LORD to help us to turn away from those sins that still pester us? Let us not then hold anything back from our LORD who did not hold back anything from us. Cast yourselves upon His mercy and grace won for you by His cross and trust His Holy Spirit to sanctify you through and through on the day of judgment.
Heavenly Father, grant us true repentance and faith in Your Son Jesus Christ for our salvation so we may not be counted with the nations who oppose Your reign and rule. May Your Holy Spirit reign and rule in our hearts so we reject all wickedness and live according to Your will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.