Deliverance Promised

18Then the Lord will be zealous for His land

And will have pity on His people.

19The Lord will answer and say to His people,

“Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil,

And you will be satisfied in full with them;

And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

20But I will remove the northern army far from you,

And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,

And its vanguard into the eastern sea,

And its rear guard into the western sea.

And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up,

For it has done great things.”

21Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,

For the Lord has done great things.

22Do not fear, beasts of the field,

For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green,

For the tree has borne its fruit,

The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.

23So rejoice, O sons of Zion,

And be glad in the Lord your God;

For He has given you the early rain for your vindication.

And He has poured down for you the rain,

The early and latter rain as before.

24The threshing floors will be full of grain,

And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.

25“Then I will make up to you for the years

That the swarming locust has eaten,

The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,

My great army which I sent among you.

26You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied

And praise the name of the Lord your God,

Who has dealt wondrously with you;

Then My people will never be put to shame.

27Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,

And that I am the Lord your God,

And there is no other;

And My people will never be put to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

28“It will come about after this

That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;

And your sons and daughters will prophesy,

Your old men will dream dreams,

Your young men will see visions.

29Even on the male and female servants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Day of the Lord

30I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,

Blood, fire and columns of smoke.

31The sun will be turned into darkness

And the moon into blood

Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

32And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord

Will be delivered;

For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

There will be those who escape,

As the Lord has said,

Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

42They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

1) How does יהוה’s compassion and Spirit-outpouring in Joel fulfill Moses’ vision of a covenant people renewed by the Word?

2) What does the early community in Acts reveal about responding rightly after hearing יהוה’s Word proclaimed?

3) How do repentance, restoration, and fellowship complete the purpose of assembling before יהוה?

The Nations Will Be Judged

1“For behold, in those days and at that time,

When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2I will gather all the nations

And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

Then I will enter into judgment with them there

On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,

Whom they have scattered among the nations;

And they have divided up My land.

3They have also cast lots for My people,

Traded a boy for a harlot

And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

4Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. 5Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, 6and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, 7behold, I am going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. 8Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.

9Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!

Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!

10Beat your plowshares into swords

And your pruning hooks into spears;

Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”

11Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,

And gather yourselves there.

Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones.

12Let the nations be aroused

And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,

For there I will sit to judge

All the surrounding nations.

13Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.

Come, tread, for the wine press is full;

The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

15The sun and moon grow dark

And the stars lose their brightness.

16The Lord roars from Zion

And utters His voice from Jerusalem,

And the heavens and the earth tremble.

But the Lord is a refuge for His people

And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.

17Then you will know that I am the Lord your God,

Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.

So Jerusalem will be holy,

And strangers will pass through it no more.

Judah Will Be Blessed

18And in that day

The mountains will drip with sweet wine,

And the hills will flow with milk,

And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;

And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord

To water the valley of Shittim.

19Egypt will become a waste,

And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,

Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah,

In whose land they have shed innocent blood.

20But Judah will be inhabited forever

And Jerusalem for all generations.

21And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged,

For the Lord dwells in Zion.

Safe at Malta

1When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. 2The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. 3But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” 5However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

7Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. 8And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. 10They also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

11At the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. 12After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. 15And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

16When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

17After three days Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. 19But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. 20For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.” 21They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. 22But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”

23When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. 24Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. 25And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26saying,

‘Go to this people and say,

“You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;

And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

27For the heart of this people has become dull,

And with their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes;

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

And I would heal them.” ’

28Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.” 29[When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]

30And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, 31preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.