The Day Of The Lord

Sermon Summary: The Day Of The Lord

Dr Peter Chong | 28 September 2025 | Joel 1 – 3

“Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.” (Joel 1:15).

Why this matters.

Many know John 3:16 and rejoice that God is love, but a loving Father both cares and corrects.  Joel’s message faces this head-on: the Day of the Lord is a day of judgment as well as salvation. 

It is a universe-shaking reality—not to be confused with the Lord’s Day when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, but a decisive intervention of God in history and at the end of history.

The exact phrase “The Day of the Lord” appears some 19 time across 8 prophets in the Old Testament and about 4 times in the New Testament.

Background and setting (Joel 1:1–12). 

Joel (“Yahweh is God”) spoke during a time of prosperity that bred apathy and idolatry.  God allowed a devastating locust plague and severe drought to strip the land bare as a wake-up call.  “Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days…? What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten…” (Joel 1:2–4). Creation groaned; worship faltered; joy withered.

A present disaster that previews a greater day (Joel 1:13–2:11). 

Joel summoned priests and people to fast and cry out because the present ruin heralded a far greater day.  “Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand… The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:1, 11).  

Scripture elsewhere paints the same cosmic gravity: “For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty” (Isaiah 2:12); “the sun became black as sackcloth… and the moon became like blood… and every mountain and island was moved” (Revelation 6:12–14).  And “locusts” become a picture of torment in Revelation 9:1–12.

The heart of God: a call to wholehearted repentance (Joel 2:12–17).

Judgment is not God’s first word—mercy is.  “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”  So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness…” (Joel 2:12–13). 

Joel called for national repentance led by the priests: “Let the priests… weep… ‘Spare Your people, O LORD!’” (Joel 2:17). True repentance is inward (“rend your heart”), not performance.

If we repent: restoration and reassurance (Joel 2:18–27). 

God promises reversal—grain, new wine, oil; fears driven away; enemies removed.  Hear His tenderness: “Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things!” (Joel 2:21); “Be glad then, you children of Zion… I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten… You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied… My people shall never be put to shame.” (Joel 2:23–27).

Beyond the immediate: the outpouring of the Spirit (Joel 2:28–32). 

Joel then points to a spiritual blessing that bursts the banks of Israel: “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy… And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28–29). 

On the Day of Pentecost, this promise arrived: “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come… they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:1–4), and Peter declared, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16–21), including, “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.” (Joel 2:32; cf. Romans 10:12–13).

The valley where God decides (Joel 3:1–17).

God gathers the nations that mistreated His people: “For behold, in those days… I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there…” (Joel 3:1–3). He summons them ironically: “Prepare for war!” (Joel 3:9). 

The verdict is sure: “Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe…” (Joel 3:13).  “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!” (Joel 3:14)—not a place where we decide for God, but where God decides about us.  Yet for His people: “The LORD will be a shelter… So you shall know that I am the LORD your God… Jerusalem shall be holy.” (Joel 3:16–17).

How God uses calamity. 

Natural disasters and national crises often wake sleepers: “Also I gave you cleanness of teeth… yet you have not returned to Me” (Amos 4:6–12).  Job bowed through staggering loss: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:20–22). 

God means what He says—consider “the burden against Babylon” and the “day of the LORD… at hand” (Isaiah 13:1–22).

Yet the Day can be averted when people repent: “If… that nation… turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster” (Jeremiah 18:7–8); “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented…” (Jonah 3:10).

The ultimate Day yet to come.  Peter looks ahead: “the heavens and the earth… are reserved for fire until the day of judgment… the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Peter 3:7, 10). 

Therefore, “what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness… be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” (2 Peter 3:11, 14).

Joel’s call still stands: “Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful…” (Joel 2:13).

Decision and invitation. 

Joel’s burden is stark: “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand” (Joel 1:15). 

The Day of the Lord draws a clear line:

·       For the faithful, it will be a day of salvation, blessing, and eternal reward.

·       For the rebellious, it will be a day of terror, judgment, and eternal loss.

In an age of constant bad news, Scripture gives the good news and the only preparation: turn to the Lord now, call on His name, and walk in holiness by His Spirit (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:16–21; 2 Peter 3:11–14). 

We cannot stop “the Day of the Lord”, we can only prepare ourselves.

Put on your thinking cap, not to browse a “supermarket of faith,” but to choose the narrow way of Christ—and prepare for the Second Coming of the Lord.