God had sent a devastating locust plague as an act of discipline to awaken His people. Sometimes God allows disruption in our lives because He loves us enough not to leave us where we are in our sin. It’s truly an expression of His grace and mercy to experience His judgment as He shows us where we are off track before it’s too late. We saw that His judgment is impossible to ignore and we’re reminded that our personal sin affects everyone. Then we finished our time with the truth that God desires repentance and not ruin.
The people have been called to return to the Lord with all their hearts. This is a call to true repentance from their sin. Today, we see what happens when God's people genuinely repent. We can expect restoration when we repent of our sin and turn back to God.
People love restoration stories because we love seeing broken things made whole. We love the visual of beauty coming from ashes. We love seeing hope and the encouragement that brings to us where everyone else only saw failure. Deep down, we all know something in our own lives needs restoring. Joel 2 speaks to this.
Joel 2:18–27 (ESV)
“Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. 19 The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. 20 “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things. 21 “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things! 22 Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. 23 “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. 24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
1. God Responds to Repentance. (Joel 2:18–20)
Verse 18 begins with one of my favorite words in all of Scripture. "Then..." That little word tells us something has happened and connects everything God is about to do with everything He has just called His people to do. God’s people listened and humbled themselves. They confessed their sin. Repenting, they returned to the Lord. Then...the Lord responded. What an incredible picture! God is rescuing, comforting, and responding to His people’s repentance. Joel says that the Lord became jealous. The word "jealous" often makes us think of sinful jealousy. We think about someone who envies what someone else has. That's not what's happening here. God's jealousy is holy, and it flows from His covenant love for His people. God isn't jealous because He's insecure. He's jealous because His people belong to Him. He’s jealous because He made a covenant with His people and loves them. Even though their wandering broke fellowship, their repentance restored fellowship.
Every believer knows what it's like to drift. As a result, our hearts slowly cool toward the Lord. That’s the apathy of God’s people we described last week. Yet God graciously and mercifully calls us back because of His love for us. His response is pity on His people. Often, we think of “pity” as a bad thing. However, that word communicates compassion, mercy, and tender affection. God doesn't reluctantly forgive. He delights in showing mercy. Micah 7:18 asks a rhetorical question along these lines: “Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.” (NLT)
Verses 19-20 show God’s mercy in that He restores their crops and removes the invading army of locusts. God’s delight in grace and mercy is one of the great themes of the entire Bible. Think about the story Jesus told in Luke 15, titled “The Prodigal Son”. The story is really about the Father’s (the father represents God) character and how He deals with us; the prodigal son. In that story, the prodigal son takes an early inheritance and wastes everything. Finally, after losing everything, he comes to his senses and decides to return home. The father doesn’t meet him with folded arms and a stern lecture about how the son has messed up and how the son’s going to make up for things. Instead, Jesus says, “while [the son] was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Lk 15:21)
God responds to repentance. That's the heart of God, and that’s always been the heart of God, as we see in the book of Joel. Joel is showing us the same God Jesus described in Luke 15. The God of the Old Testament is not a different God than the New Testament.
I want to make sure that we don't misunderstand what's happening. God's mercy is not ignoring sin. God's mercy comes after repentance. Jesus died for the sins of the world as a whole. The invitation is open to everyone. Joel 2:32 says, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (ESV) We know forgiveness is received only by grace through faith when we repent. God doesn't simply overlook rebellion. He welcomes repentant sinners. Repentance doesn't earn forgiveness. Jesus purchased forgiveness at the cross. Repentance is simply the open hand that receives what Christ has already accomplished.
Maybe today you believe you've wandered too far. Maybe you've convinced yourself, "God may forgive other people, but surely not me." Joel says otherwise. God's response to genuine repentance is mercy. That means there’s no sin greater than the grace of God. That truth doesn't minimize the consequences of sin. Think about Joel chapter 1, where Israel still had devastated fields, empty barns, failed vineyards, and crops. But now they had something greater than all flourishing fields, full vineyards, and abundant crops. They had God's favor again. Restored fellowship with God is always the greatest restoration He gives. Joel reminds us that God is rich in mercy toward those who genuinely turn to Him because God responds to repentance.
2. God Removes Shame. (Joel 2:19–20, 26–27)
God removes shame. Look at verse 19 again. "The Lord answered and said to his people, 'Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.'" Now skip down to verses 26 and 27. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.” God repeats that they won’t be a reproach or “disgrace” to other people. Twice, He also says, "My people shall never again be put to shame."
When something is repeated in Scripture, God wants His people to hear it and believe it. Shame had become part of how they viewed themselves. Israel had become a disgrace in the eyes of the surrounding nations. Israel was God's covenant people. Being His covenant people means they represented His name before the world. Therefore, when other nations looked at Israel now, they didn't see blessing. They were only seeing devastation and weakness, as though Israel's God had abandoned them or wasn't powerful enough to save them. Their shame had become their identity. Shame has a way of making us believe everyone is looking at us even when others have no idea what’s happening on the inside. It’s then that you begin defining yourself by your worst moment. Shame becomes part of your identity.
There is a difference between guilt and shame. Guilt says, "I have done something wrong." Shame says, "I am something wrong." Guilt can be a gift from God. The Holy Spirit uses guilt and conviction to lead us toward repentance. However, shame often keeps us from God. In Revelation, Satan is rightly called "the accuser of the brothers." (cf. Rev 12:10) Satan delights in reminding forgiven people about forgiven sins. God doesn't do that. Psalm 103:12 says it well, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” (NLT)
Of all the people in the Bible, only One is perfect. God sent Him, Jesus, to provide a way for the rest of us to be redeemed and reconciled to Him because we have all sinned. (cf. Rm 3:23) God pursuing us for redemption has been happening since the beginning.
Think back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, the first thing they realized was that they were naked, and so they hid themselves because they were ashamed. Since the beginning, sin has always produced shame. However, God pursued Adam and Eve and called for them in the Garden and clothed them. He didn’t ignore what happened, but even in judgment there, God demonstrated mercy. We see this pattern throughout the entire Bible. God is continually removing the shame sin has produced. Ultimately, that's what Jesus accomplished at the cross. Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross, “despising the shame”. (cf. Heb 12:2) Remember: Jesus was mocked, beaten, stripped naked, spat on, and crucified outside the city as a criminal. All of that was humiliating beyond our understanding given our cultural context today. Why would He endure something like that? So that those who trust Him would never have to stand ashamed before God! Jesus took our shame so that we could receive His righteousness.
The book of Romans says it this way: Paul tells us in Romans 10:1, “There is…no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (ESV) There’s not LESS condemnation; there is NO condemnation. Not because we've become perfect, but because Jesus was condemned in our place.
Are you living as though that verse isn't true? You've repented of your sin, trusted and followed Jesus, and you know God has forgiven you. Yet every day, you're still carrying around the weight of something Jesus already carried to the cross. You continue introducing yourself by your past. If you are in Christ, those things may describe part of your story, but they no longer define your identity! Your identity is no longer found in your failure. Your identity is found in who God says you are: justified and forgiven; redeemed and adopted; made new. That’s who you are!
One of the beautiful things about Joel's prophecy is that God doesn't merely restore Israel's crops. He also restores their testimony. The surrounding nations would once again see that the Lord was among His people. Verse 27 says, "You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel... and my people shall never again be put to shame." God's ultimate goal wasn't simply economic recovery. His goal was His presence and His glory. His name would be honored among His people once again. That's still God's desire today.
Every restored life becomes a testimony that points people to Jesus. Maybe you've repented and trusted Christ, but you're not living in God's forgiveness. Some people confess their sins and continue punishing themselves for years afterward. If Christ has forgiven you, stop arguing with Him. Don't cling to an identity He died to remove. Walk in the freedom He purchased for you. If you have never trusted Christ, you don't have to spend another day hiding behind guilt and shame. The same Savior who restored Israel still restores sinners today because God removes shame.
3. God Restores Lost Years. (Joel 2:25–27)
God restores lost years. Look at verse 25 again: "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you." God doesn't simply promise another harvest to replace all that the locusts devastated.
Time (or years) is something we can't get back. When years are gone, we tend to think they're gone forever. Yet God says here in Joel 2:25, "I will restore the years." God isn't promising to literally turn back time. The years had passed for good, and the locusts had done their damage. All their crops were destroyed, their economy was busted, and they had been suffering such that all their gladness had dried up (cf. Joel 1:12). However, God was promising something even greater. He promised to redeem what had been lost. He promised that their future would no longer be defined by their past devastation. This is something that only God can do.
Looking at Scripture, we see this in things like when Joseph spent years as a slave and a prisoner. (cf. Gen 37-50) Years that seemed wasted, yet God used every one of those years to position him to save countless lives during the famine. Moses spent forty years tending to sheep in the wilderness. (cf. Ex 3-4) Those years became God's classroom to prepare him to lead Israel out of Egypt. Naomi believed her story had ended in bitterness. (cf. Ruth) She even asked people to stop calling her Naomi and call her Mara, which means “bitter”. God was quietly writing a redemption story she couldn't yet see. Peter denied Jesus three times. (cf. Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-27) Weeks later, God used him to preach at Pentecost, and thousands of people came to faith in Christ.
Over and over again, God specializes in redeeming what looks beyond repair. That doesn't mean every consequence disappears. Forgiveness doesn’t erase history, but it does transform the future. God gives new purpose through what was lost. That's how God works. He doesn’t waste our pain — He redeems it.
Romans 8:28 reminds us, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Paul doesn't say all things are good. We know God is so sovereign, wise, and gracious that even painful chapters transform into a story that ultimately displays His glory and accomplishes our good. Only God can do that.
"If only..." can become a prison and keep us living in yesterday instead of trusting God today. Satan loves to keep us looking backward, but God calls us to walk forward. God restores lost years. He doesn't leave us defined by what might have been. Instead, with extraordinary joy and purpose, He uses the years we have now. Our testimony becomes a powerful witness to God's grace. This is because we know what we’ve been rescued from and what Christ has done in us and through us. So, we spend the rest of our lives telling others about Him. That's restoration!
When we looked at verses 19 and 26-27, God repeated, “You will be satisfied…” That’s contentment as restoration. Contentment is a character quality, and not a condition. Sometimes God will bless you by taking away the pain. Sometimes He’ll give you joy and peace within the pain. God restores lost years in a variety of ways, including contentment in our current circumstances.
Ultimately, though, Joel's promise points us beyond Israel's immediate restoration. It points us to Jesus. Every promise of restoration in the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in Jesus. One day every effect of sin will finally be removed forever. The greatest restoration is still coming. What Joel saw in part, we will experience in full when Christ returns and makes all things new.
Over the past two weeks, Joel has shown us God's heart. Last week, God got His people's attention. And this week, we see His purpose in all that took place was always to restore. God responds to repentance and removes shame. God restores what sin and suffering have destroyed. That’s the beautiful story of the Gospel. Jesus came into a broken world to restore broken people because of His love, grace, and mercy. Where do you need God's restoration today? God is able to redeem what you could never repair yourself. He’s still the God who restores.
