Joe 3:16-17 | KingComments | STEP | The LORD raises His mighty voice like a lion roars in the forest. He makes His thunder roll as He rises to intervene. If at the raising of His voice the heavens and the earth tremble, what will be the effect on the gathered nations, which are considered by Him “like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales” ( )? Would not they shrivel up completely? The disillusionment must be great. There they are, at the gates of Jerusalem, ready to take the city. Then they are addressed from the city. Not with a trembling voice, a voice that declares that the city will surrender. The voice they hear, makes them stop breathing. The LORD is in Zion, and those who have escaped are there as well ( ). The city offers protection because it is the dwelling place of God. Whoever lives with Him lives in an impregnable fortress and can feel safe and secure.

‏ Joel 3:16-17

The LORD Speaks and Protects

The LORD raises His mighty voice like a lion roars in the forest. He makes His thunder roll as He rises to intervene. If at the raising of His voice the heavens and the earth tremble, what will be the effect on the gathered nations, which are considered by Him “like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales” (Isa 40:15)? Would not they shrivel up completely? The disillusionment must be great.

There they are, at the gates of Jerusalem, ready to take the city. Then they are addressed from the city. Not with a trembling voice, a voice that declares that the city will surrender. The voice they hear, makes them stop breathing. The LORD is in Zion, and those who have escaped are there as well (Joel 2:32). The city offers protection because it is the dwelling place of God. Whoever lives with Him lives in an impregnable fortress and can feel safe and secure.

Where God Dwells, It Is Holy

Wherever God dwells, it is holy. Zion is a holy mountain and Jerusalem is a sanctuary because He is holy. When He appears to Moses in a bush, the ground is holy (Exo 3:5), and when He appears to Joshua at Jericho, the ground is also holy (Jos 5:15). He has had to leave His sanctuary, which is the temple in Jerusalem, because they have totally profaned His dwelling place (Eze 10:4 ; 18). When He withdraws from Jerusalem, the enemies have free rein (Eze 10:4-22).

The LORD can only dwell with His people again after they have been cleansed of their sins. Then no stranger will go through it again to profane the city, just as in the new Jerusalem, which is above, nothing will enter that which is unclean (Rev 21:27). No one will be there except those who have the right to be there.