I do not intend to preach a traditional sermon this evening. I would much rather allow you the time to contemplate your sinful condition. But there are three words in Joel 2:13 that I believe will be helpful to your contemplations.
The first word is “rend”. The word describes an ancient practice that is still common among Jewish people today. When an occasion calls for an outward sign of grief a person is to rend their garments, that is tear their clothes. The practice of rending one’s garments was observed by many of the patriarchs throughout scripture and dates back to at least the time of Job. Today there are extensive instruction on who should rend a garment, how the garment should be rent, when the rending should happen, and where the rending should take place.
Personally, I think a great deal is lost in the details. I think the rending of a garment speaks for itself. The sound of fabric tearing is unpleasant. It sounds unnatural, almost wrong. It is the sound of sadness itself, as if the cloths were crying out in pain. The sight of the torn fabric is jarring. It’s evidence of violence and chaos, it’s suggestive of a brawl or a struggle It is symbolic of ruin and destruction.
Tonight, our God through the prophet Joel, commands those who contemplate their sinful condition not to be content with outward displays of repentance. It is not enough for our mouths to speak of regret, our heads to bow low under the burden of guilt, or even our eye to stain our faces with tears of shame. Tonight, our God, through the prophet Joel, tells those who contemplate their sinful condition; He tells you and He tells me, “Rend your hearts!”
The second word is “return”. This word appears over 1000 times in scripture and is the twelfth most frequently used verb in the Old Testament. There is a dual emphasis embedded in the meaning of “return”. The first embedded meaning calls upon us to turn away from sin. We are to put our sin behind us. We are not to veer away from or navigate around that which caused the rending of our hearts. Rather, we are to turn our backs on it and head in the opposite direction from it so that our eyes do not linger, our minds do not consider, and our resolve does not waver.
The second embedded meaning in the word “return” calls upon us to turn toward our Savior. It is not enough for us to turn away from sin. You see, just because you put your sin behind you does not mean that your sin has gone away, and if your path does not have a planned destination life has a funny way of steering you back to your sins again and again. To keep ourselves headed in the right direction we must set our sights on Jesus. He is the only one that can prevent us from returning to our sin because He is the only one who can prevent our sins from following after us. Though His path was perfect, He walked among us, as one of us and paid for our sins and transgression with His suffering and death. Tonight, our God, through the prophet Joel, tells those who contemplate their sinful condition; He tells you and He tells me, “Return to the LORD our God!”
The third word is “relent”. There is no reason for us to expect anything but a frosty reception when we return to the LORD our God. Scripture is clear, we deserve to be punished for our sins, we deserve to be cast away into outer darkness, we deserve to be damned, but that is not the reception we get. Because of Jesus we are shown grace; the LORD our God does turn His back on us, rather His face shines upon us. Because of Jesus we are shown mercy; the LORD our God does not clench His fists to punish us, rather He opens His hands to bless us. Because of Jesus we are shown we are shown love; the LORD our God does not withhold salvation from us, rather He is faithful to the promise He made to Adam and Eve, faithful to the promise He made to Abraham and Sarah, Faithful to the promise He made to you and to me. Tonight, our God, through the prophet Joel, tells those who contemplate their sinful condition; He tells you and He tells me, that the LORD our God relents from sending calamity.
As you continue to contemplate your sinful condition, tonight and throughout the season of Lent, I encourage you to keep three words from the prophet Joel in mind; rend, return relent. When you rend your hearts and return to the LORD your God He will relent from treating you as your sins deserve. Amen