Joe 2:16 | KingComments | STEP | The whole people, with no exception, are called upon to a solemn assembly. No excuses for the elders, the small children should not be forgotten, even the nursing infants should be gathered. All classes of society, political, religious or families, are expected to express their feelings regarding the sin committed against God. If there is sin before God, there is no distinction. Everyone is guilty of punishment. Judgment will affect all, therefore all are involved in the call to come to God. Children and infants also have to deal with the sins of the people and the consequences thereof (cf. ; ). In the general call we also have an indication to take our children as young as possible to the meeting. It is good to take them to all places where believers are together. This applies to meetings of all kinds. They can be involved at a young age in everything that has to do with the life of the church of God. The Lord Jesus says to the religious leaders who blame children for honoring Him: “Have you never read, ‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?” ( ). He appreciates what comes from the mouths of children and infants. Although children have few and infants have no awareness of what they are expressing, God recognizes it as praise to Him, praise that He Himself has placed in their mouths. So it is with humility. Let the children be present. The gathering of the church has its joyful, but also its sad causes and moments. It is therefore a reflection of everyday life. We should not polish our meetings into a shining experience when there is reason to humble ourselves. Nor do we have to submerge the meetings in sadness when there is reason to rejoice. Sometimes joy and sadness alternate within a meeting. Let the coming together of the believers really be the true reflection of what lives in the hearts of the believers who come together and let the children also have a part in it. Bridegroom and bride, that is the newly married man and the newly married woman, are mentioned separately in this whole. They do not think of weeping and mourning and also fasting is not part of a wedding. But they too cannot escape the call to take their place before God. They renounce their right to cheer, eat, drink, and even sexual intercourse, which they may enjoy as newly married to participate in common fasting and prayer. An appeal to the first year of exemption ( ) is not possible. The excuse “I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come” ( ) does not apply here either.

‏ Joel 2:16

Everyone Should Come

The whole people, with no exception, are called upon to a solemn assembly. No excuses for the elders, the small children should not be forgotten, even the nursing infants should be gathered. All classes of society, political, religious or families, are expected to express their feelings regarding the sin committed against God.

If there is sin before God, there is no distinction. Everyone is guilty of punishment. Judgment will affect all, therefore all are involved in the call to come to God. Children and infants also have to deal with the sins of the people and the consequences thereof (cf. Lam 4:4; Jona 3:5 ; Jona 4:11).

In the general call we also have an indication to take our children as young as possible to the meeting. It is good to take them to all places where believers are together. This applies to meetings of all kinds. They can be involved at a young age in everything that has to do with the life of the church of God.

The Lord Jesus says to the religious leaders who blame children for honoring Him: “Have you never read, ‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?” (Mt 21:16). He appreciates what comes from the mouths of children and infants. Although children have few and infants have no awareness of what they are expressing, God recognizes it as praise to Him, praise that He Himself has placed in their mouths. So it is with humility. Let the children be present.

The gathering of the church has its joyful, but also its sad causes and moments. It is therefore a reflection of everyday life. We should not polish our meetings into a shining experience when there is reason to humble ourselves. Nor do we have to submerge the meetings in sadness when there is reason to rejoice. Sometimes joy and sadness alternate within a meeting. Let the coming together of the believers really be the true reflection of what lives in the hearts of the believers who come together and let the children also have a part in it.

Bridegroom and bride, that is the newly married man and the newly married woman, are mentioned separately in this whole. They do not think of weeping and mourning and also fasting is not part of a wedding. But they too cannot escape the call to take their place before God. They renounce their right to cheer, eat, drink, and even sexual intercourse, which they may enjoy as newly married to participate in common fasting and prayer. An appeal to the first year of exemption (Deu 24:5) is not possible. The excuse “I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come” (Lk 14:20) does not apply here either.