The Prophet Joel Speaks

[301 words] The Old Testament prophets often went unappreciated in their time. Little has changed today. Many Christians do not know the order of the OT prophets, and usually need some extra time looking up a Scripture reference from one of those books during a class or sermon. But these were men of God, speaking timeless truths, whose words bridge the span across the ages. It is difficult to date the book of Joel because of the lack of precise historical or chronological information. What he says, however, is still disturbing. Whether it was before or after the exile in Babylon, Joel says there are economic difficulties (1:4), drunkards (1:5), people who have abandoned God (1:13), and an enemy for whom the nation is unprepared (2:3-9). This sounds like America, doesn’t it? America is deep in debt and getting deeper. Substance abuse is everywhere. Atheism is on the rise. Islam…