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.
(Joel 2:18-27 ESV)
I'm just amazed you know?
God tells them WATCH OUT the day of the Lord is coming!!!! Repent. Be warned. Change your ways. Come back to me.
And then we read these words
and had pity on his people.
He knows us so well you know. He knows everything. How we want to be with him and yet want to just have it all our own way. How sin pervades every part of our being so we don't even know another way. And he calls us out of that into something more and better, and how we want the more and better and so easily fall back into the less and worse.
So God takes pity on us.
He does.
For the Israelites it meant that that their cattle, sheep and livestock had pastures to graze on.
They had food to eat.
Their enemies were removed from them.
God does the same for us you know.
What should our response be?
and rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given .....
He pities me, his child.
He is jealous for me.
I must needs think on that you know. That God is jealous for me. If a person is jealous they don't want another to have what they consider to be theirs. God is no different.
He wants me for his own.
He doesn't want Satan to have me.
He doesn't want Satan to have any that he calls his own.
So he watches over us, cares for us, gives to us that we might live abundantly for him.
"tis a good thing no??? :)