MAGNIFY ~ Day 45

~ Day Forty-Five ~

MAGNIFY

No Other Name

The Book of Joel ~ Chapter Three

"Proclaim this among the nations:

"Prepare for war!

Wake up the mighty men,

let all the men of war draw near,

let them come up.

Beat your plowshares into swords

and your pruning hooks into spears;

let the weak say, 'I am strong.' "

(Joel 3:9, 10)

MORNING MEDITATION

Restoration

The prophet Joel warned the people of Judah that the present pestilence was a sign of future devastation ahead. The Assyrian army would swarm in as the locusts had and ravage the people and the land. But there was an even greater day of destruction that would come upon the whole world when God would bring down His judgment upon the Gentile nations. "Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 38:23).

"For behold, in those days and at that time,

when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will also gather all nations,

and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

and I will enter into judgment with them there

on account of My people, My heritage Israel,

whom they have scattered among the nations;

they have also divided up My land."

(Joel 3:1-2)

The nations of the world will be called to account in the last days for the way they treated God's covenant people Israel. As the Lord has redeemed His people from Egyptian bondage and Babylonian Exile, so too will He provide for their final deliverance and serve judgment on all the nations who have come against "the apple of His eye" in the last days. In "the Valley of Jehoshaphat" the Lord will go to battle with the Gentile nations for having "scattered [His people] among the nations," and "dividing up [His] land," selling His people into slavery, and using the temple treasures for their idolatrous worship practices. "Because you have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My prized possessions" (Joel 3:5). Joel describes the great end time battle scene with the two armies gathering for war. The Lord summons the wicked nations to meet Him on the battlefield in the Valley of Jehoshaphat to face their doom. They are told to arm themselves for battle; although they are a defeated foe before they even begin."Proclaim this among the nations: "Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, 'I am strong.' " (vv. 9, 10). Joel reveals the great harvest that will take place when the wickedness of the world has finally fully ripened and have been shown to be nothing but rotting, spoiled fruit. The time will come when Almighty God will clear the fields of the pestilence that has wreaked havoc on His holy ground for thousands of years. "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow - for their wickedness is great" (v. 13). While the ground will be shaking beneath the feet of the armies of the earth when the Lion of Judah steps onto the battlefield in the valley of decision to utter His final roar of judgment signaling the everlasting defeat of the wicked, His people will be comforted in the shelter of His presence until the devastation has past. "The LORD also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the LORD will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel" (v. 16). Let us remember, when we step out onto the battlefield each day, Satan is a defeated foe; we have nothing to fear, for we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us (Romans 8:37-39)! Our Lord has already fought and won the battle for us! Let us go out with joy each day, confident in Christ and victorious in battle, and lay hold of all the spoil that is our spiritual inheritance! "Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD'S anger" (Zephaniah 2:3). In these last days, as our time with the Lord in His Word and prayer has made us even more zealous than ever to be about our Father's business, let us also remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem as they wait for that glorious day when their holiness will be complete (Psalm 122:6, 7)."So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again" (v. 17). "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20b). "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:3).

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory,

and all the holy angels with Him,

then He will sit on the throne of His glory.

All the nations will be gathered before Him,

and He will separate them one from another,

as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

And He will set His sheep on His right hand,

but the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on His right hand,

'Come, you blessed of My Father,

inherit the kingdom prepared for you

from the foundation of the world."

(Matthew 25:31-34)

AFTERNOON DEVOTION

Read: Joel Chapter Three

"And it shall come to pass in that day

that the mountains shall drip with new wine,

the hills shall flow with milk,

and all the brooks of Judah shall be

flooded with water;

a fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD

and water the Valley of Acacias."

(Joel 3:18)

After the battle is over, the land will be cleansed, and the people consecrated Holy to the Lord. All the promises of the future kingdom will be fulfilled and the Holy City, Jerusalem, will be dedicated to the Lord and prepared to welcome the presence of its' true King. The land will be restored to an Eden-like state and "the mountains shall drip with new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk." The land that was once desolate and ravaged by wars and famine will become fertile and flow with rivers of waters that proceed from the temple of God (Ezekiel 47:1). Its' waters will be for the healing of the nations. "And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be - "The LORD is one," and His name one" (Zechariah 14:8, 9). What a glorious day of rejoicing that will be! In that day, God's covenant people will be forgiven, cleansed and restored to a proper relationship with their Lord. No longer will they need their sacrifices and ceremonial offerings, they will look upon the true Sacrifice and be washed in the blood of the Lamb who was slain once for all. They will be His people, and He will be their God. The Lord will dwell with His people! "...and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE" (Ezekiel 48:35b). This beautiful picture that Joel paints of the blessings poured out upon the covenant people of God in the last days, are the present promised experience of every believer today who has come to Christ and been washed by His atoning blood as partakers in the kingdom of grace. The Lord Jesus has set up His tabernacle in our hearts and there He dwells with us forever having provided for our permanent cleansing by His atoning sacrifice on the Cross. He has opened up a perennial fountain of living water within our hearts to be our eternal joy and provide healing for others. The riches of His eternal kingdom are ours every day if we are willing to partake of them as we have in this season in His Word, in prayer, with fasting, and repentance. May we have learned the many beautiful, and sometimes painful, lessons the Lord has had for each of us in this powerful 45-day journey through the Books of Job and Joel (how timely they have been!), as we press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, laying aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race set before us, with our eyes fixed upon the Author and Finisher of our faith (Philippians 3:14; Hebrews 12:1, 2). There is nothing in all the world more worthy of our time, our attention, our devotion, or our affections. May we spend all our days pouring the perfume of His love, which He has lavished upon us, back upon our Beloved's feet. May we be able to confidently and boldly declare with the apostle Paul, "Indeed, I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith..." (Philippians 3:8, 9). What well-beloved and highly-favored children we are to be the recipients of so great a love as this which the Father has bestowed upon us (1 John 3:1)! Let us go forward singing His praises, for there are even greater things to come. The Lord has bountiful spiritual blessings prepared for us, if we will wait upon Him. We have just begun to lay hold of the "Mere edges of His ways" (Job 26:14a); let us keep pursuing the deeper, higher, and holier things of God! May His love and His glory be the utmost priority and pursuit of our lives! Let us continually pray as our Lord Jesus has taught us: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9, 10). "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!" (Psalm 107:1-2a). "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:3).

"When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,

we were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with singing.

Then they said among the nations,

"The LORD has done great things for them."

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad.

Bring back our captivity, O LORD,

as the streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

He who continually goes forth weeping,

bearing seed for sowing,

shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,

bringing his sheaves with him."

(Psalm 126)

EVENING PRAYER

"LORD, I know that You can do everything,

and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."

(Job 42:2)

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Give Thanks

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong."

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

And now let the weak say, "I am strong."

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Give thanks with a grateful heart (to the grateful heart)

Give thanks to the Holy One (to the Holy One)

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart (to the grateful heart)

Give thanks to the Holy One (to the Holy One)

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong."

Let the poor say, "I am rich

Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Henry Smith, 1978, Williamsburg, Virginia

Don Moen, 1986, Integrity Music

Thank you for traveling

through the Books of Job and Joel

these past 45 days!

It has been a joy walking this journey with you!

The Lord has been preparing our hearts

for this season of intercession and our hands

for the work of the harvest to come.

Join us tomorrow for our final day of Intercession

as we stand in the gap and pray for our nation!

May we submit to the righteous rule of God's Divine Government

and intercede as the elect in this election season

for the righteousness of the Branch of the Lord

to permeate every branch of government

and the hearts of the people, and heal this land.

For the glory and honor of His name

and the preparing of every heart for

the coming of His Kingdom!

"For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver,

the LORD is our King; He will save us" (Isaiah 33:22).

_____________________________________

Save the Date!

for our final IF I journey of 2020 The Year of Divine Government

IDENTIFY

a Festival of Lights Journey

through

The Book of Amos

December 11th through 19th

Blessings for the journey!

Traci Alexander

Trumpet and Torch Ministries

[email protected]

The LORD bless you and keep you;the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

(Numbers 6:24-26)