Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good afternoon, good people.

Gorgeous day again. We need to leave shortly to take our two gorgeous grandkids with us to Pheasant Pointe where we do the Gospel Sing, then whisk them back to their mom in Hillsboro, then…well, I better hurry.

Blessings on the rest of your day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

In this super-charged rant by still another hard-hitting prophet, Joel is far more concerned with the intoxication that results from drinking arrogance and rebellion toward God than the drunkenness that results from tanking up on booze. Both are mind-altering—causing people to think and do things they would not otherwise think and do. To be sure, this form of drunkenness is as epidemic today as it ever was.

I just checked out an ad on Craigslist where a fellow lets more hang out than what he wants to sell. Quite honestly it triggers heartache in me more than condemnation. I think it’s the kind of heartache that moved the insides of Jesus when Matthew records, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). The heading of this Craigslist ad says, “Everything must go!” In the body the seller exclaims, “I’ve lost my family…now I’ve lost my house…I need money to get on with life…no offers refused…” I wish I could challenge him to do what most people don’t take time to do when their lives are hit hard by storm, famine, and destruction: Do a careful honest analysis of cause and effect from as much of a Biblical perspective as possible—perhaps asking a couple key questions like, “To what degree are you a victim? To what degree are you a cause?” Of course, our natural bent is to get totally carried away with the first question, assigning all the blame to someone or something else, and completely ignore the second. Phooey! No offense—but to those of us who are bound by this mindset wiring, here is a worthy bomb: “When are you going to wake up, wise up, and sober up, you drunkard?!”

Notice the parallel Joel presents between the state of being drunk and the state of sleep. I don’t know about you, but I’m not good for much when I’m asleep—other than getting my sleep done. I can’t get work done, I can’t fix the truck, I can’t write a report, I can’t plan my day—and I certainly can’t think right. So, the condition of sleep serves to offer another good metaphor of Biblical instruction: “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11-12). “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14).

The message of Joel in this first chapter is not just wall-to-wall bashing. He is also inspired to offer solution. And what is called for collectively is worthy advice for us personally when violations of this relationship occur: “Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly…and cry out to the LORD” (1:14). Indeed, a HEART AFTER GOD that continually cries “out to the LORD” is the best policy when on the mountain of “success,” or in the valley of suffering. I think it’s relevant to say this: I choose to maintain a heart after my wife whether we’re having a great time together or whether we’re not.