has in mind, once again, the Day of the Lord.

Matt. 24: 15-22 helpfully describes

some of the problems of that time.

"Sanctify a fast", verse 15; "sanctify the congregation", verse 16 are both open to

misunderstanding.  Like the word "holy" the word "sanctify" is often incorrectly

understood. In fact these two words are closely connected. Holy is kodesh and to

sanctify is kadesh. Holy means set apart for God and to sanctify means to set aside for

sacred purposes, that is to consecrate. Exod. 19: 10, 22 is helpful where we can see it

means to make ceremonially clean with respect to the law and this, perhaps, is its most

common usage in the O.T.

Joel 2: 17. The priests and ministers of the Lord are told to "weep between the porch

and the altar". We include a little sketch of the Temple to show where this would be:

These priests are told not only to weep but also to pray and they are told what to pray:

"Thine heritage" (A.V.), "Your inheritance" (N.I.V.) is a reference to the people of

Israel (Deut. 32: 9) and the great concern is that "the heathen should rule over them".

In most translations this is replaced by the expression "a byword among the nations"

(J.N.D.; N.I.V.; Moffatt; R.S.V.) and a byword is a proverb about a place or a person

which is taken as a type usually for something bad.

So there is the call to blow the trumpets and the priests are called to weep and pray

because Joel is concerned about the nations mocking Israel and doubting the existence of

their God. "Why should the nations sneer Where is their God?" is Moffatt's effective

Well, what are to be the consequences of such a sneer? We live in the dispensation of

the fullness of God's grace and nowadays many sneer at our gracious God but at this

future time, during this Day of the Lord, when Israel's very existence is threatened and

God's promises to them are in jeopardy . . . . . what will He do?