who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again pass through it.
[18] “And in that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the streambeds of Judah
shall flow with water;
and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD
and water the Valley of Shittim.
[19] “Egypt shall become a desolation
and Edom a desolate wilderness,
for the violence done to the people of Judah,
because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
[20] But Judah shall be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem to all generations.
[21] I will avenge their blood,
blood I have not avenged,
for the LORD dwells in Zion.”
(Joel 3:17-21 ESV)
- my holy mountain and Jerusalem will be holy
- Strangers shall never pass through it again
- the hills shall flow with milk
- the streambeds be filled with water in Judah
- a fountain will water the Valley of Shittim
- Egypt shall become a desolation
- Edom a desolate wilderness
- Judah will be inhabited for ever
- Jerusalem to all generation
- the blood of his people Israel shall be avenged.
I did not know where the Valley of Shittim was so I looked it up. "Valley north of the Dead Sea on the left bank of the Jordan, in which the children of Israel, before their entry into the Promised Land, cohabited with the daughters of Moab and Midian".
Anyways, I read these words and I picture the Lord defending me, one of his people. Angry that someone would dare hurt me and wreaking destruction on any who dared to do so.
Like a momma bear defending her cubs you know? Except he is GOD and there is no other like him.
He's on my side.
He's on the side of all his children and won't suffer them harm unless he is the one inflicting it (for the sake of us you know). God works all things out for the good of his children.
He's on our side. I couple that with the knowledge of yesterday's message. How Jesus came into Jerusalem and everyone was sore excited, expecting him to meet their expectations for a rebellion, but Jesus came in so that peopl would know who he was, so that the events of the week following would be made more clear. Jesus, on our side, ready and willing to die for us.
Think about that.
He is on OUR SIDE.
Easter comes. We know he dies. He know even more that he LIVES.
And that is who is on our side.
Don't you want him on your side too?