Friday, October 3 – Joel 2:12-17
- Josh Breslaw
- Oct 2
- 1 min read
“Tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Why did God relent and not destroy Nineveh? Because the city of Nineveh was not just going through the motions of lament. They actually meant it. God is not someone who can be manipulated. Prayer, fasting, and the other spiritual disciplines are not about manipulating God to do what you want. The disciplines exist for you to grow closer to God and know him. You are disciplining yourself so that your heart can be in tune with God.
Verse 13 also reminds us of the characteristics of God. Thanks be to God that God is slow to anger. He gives us chance after chance after chance to come to him. He allows us ample opportunity to repent and return to Him. We read in verse 14 the same thing that we read in Jonah 3:9: “who knows, He might turn and relent?” And that should be our attitude when it comes to the things of God. We should not assume we will always get more chances, and it is true that eventually the chances will run out. However, our God is a compassionate God and abounding in mercy. That is who he is. So much like Jonah and the Ninevites did, and much like what Joel is calling the Israelites to do, return to the Lord your God. Do not just return with false expression, but in your hearts as well.
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