Scripture
Joel 2:1-2, 12-14 (ESV)
Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations...“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?
AI Prompt
A surreal scene showing a large table filled with Mediterranean-style food, set in the middle of a field destroyed by a plague. The table is richly adorned with items like bread, wine, grapes, pomegranates, dates, and olives, contrasting sharply with the devastated, withered landscape around it. The field is barren, with dried plants, under a gloomy sky. This creates a striking juxtaposition between the abundance of food and the desolation of the surroundings, emphasizing the surreal nature of the scene without any candlelight.
Process/Reflection
In this word spoken through his prophet, Joel, the Lord warns his people of the disaster that he is about to bring upon them on account of their unfaithfulness to his covenant. In bringing a plague of locusts upon their crops, the Lord is depriving them of the ability to bring their offerings to the Temple. He doesn't want those false offerings--he wants a people with repentant hearts. Yet, even in his wrath, the Lord offers mercy. He calls upon his people to repent of their evil and return to a faithful reliance upon him for all good things. In return, he promises to provide the grain and the wine. He will (as he always has) provide the offering. He will (as he always has) nourish his people. He will (as he always has) forgive them of their many sins. This is the right way to understand worship. True worship is not bringing our best to God. True worship is God placing his best gifts into our open hands. God comes down to serve us. To give us forgiveness, life, and salvation--even in the very midst of the destruction caused by our many sins.