A Day of Decision

Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. (Joel 3:11-15 ESV).

There is a sense in which today is a profound day of silence. God seems to be utterly quiet as we wait for the great day of Jesus’ resurrection. I’m quite sure the disciples were not silent. Some were anxious, fearful for their own loves; others were grief stricken and weary from the day before. I simply cannot imagine what Mary, Jesus’ mother, must have been thinking. In all of this God seemed to be quiet. With those thoughts I’ve chosen today’s reading from the Prophet Joel. It is sometimes used to encourage people to make a commitment to God. Perhaps you have attended an evangelistic rally, or watched a mass worship service on television, where this verse was cited. The preacher might have read this verse to impress upon people the urgency of making a personal decision to follow Jesus. While there is nothing wrong with a message like that, it’s not the best way to apply this verse to our lives. Let me give you a bit of background and context. The “valley of decision” in our reading is the Valley of Jehoshaphat. This is not a literal valley, but one that is used as a symbol of God’s judgment (“Jehoshaphat” means “the Lord judges”). Even more important, the “decision” in today’s Scripture reading is not a decision by the people who are gathered. The people of the nations are gathered before the Judge of all nations. So there is only one person who renders a decision, and that’s the Judge. The Lord God is the one who decides. This does not mean we have no decisions to make in our relationship with God. It simply means our commitment to God is a response to the verdict our Judge has already given. All of this happened on Friday when Jesus was crucified. The attorneys finished their presentations, every witness was called for both the defense and the prosecution; the jury has gone out and returned the verdict. It is “guilty!” We stand before the judge convicted and helpless. Our last hope of deliverance is dashed in the face of the overwhelming evidence of our guilt. However, before the gavel is sounded, the Judge makes a surprise declaration. We are pronounced innocent. Jesus was judged in our place. How can we not love a God who has so loved us?