Joel 3:18-21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk… I. IT WILL BE AN AGE IN WHICH GREAT TEMPORAL PROSPERITY WILL BE WITNESSED. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters." Here we have set forth the temporal prosperity which the Church of God is destined to enjoy after the destruction of its enemies. The Church is now in great poverty. It does not possess the good things of the material universe. The world itself is barren. It is rendered so by greed and covetousness. But the day is coming when the meek shall inherit the earth, and when the earth shall spontaneously and richly yield her increase. The earth shall yield her harvest responsive to the smile of heaven. II. IT WILL BE AN AGE IN WHICH THE HALLOWED MORAL INFLUENCES OF THE SANCTUARY SHALL PERVADE SOCIETY. "And a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim." Thus in the age to come there will issue from the sanctuary of the Lord a moral influence as pure, refreshing, and quickening as a stream of water, which shall be beneficial to the social life of men; indeed, society will be pervaded by the tide of thought, feeling, and praise which takes its rise in the secret place of the Most High. This tide shall reach even to the valley of Shittim; the most distant and barren places of society shall be awakened into moral verdure by the advent of the life-giving stream. III. IT WILL BE AN AGE IN WHICH MORAL GOODNESS WILL BE CONTINUOUS AND PROGRESSIVE. "But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation." Then the redemption of the good will be eternal. They shall never again be led into captivity. Their moral condition will be permanent and happy: they shall dwell in it for ever. Sin of every kind is doomed to become a "desolate wilderness"; but purity, righteousness, truth, and virtuous character shall continue and progress in meaning and splendour through the ages. IV. IT WILL BE AN AGE IN WHICH THE DIVINE PRESENCE WILL BE RICHLY MANIFESTED. "For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." The men of the age will be made morally pure, and then God will come and dwell in their midst. Lessons: — 1. The world has not yet reached its ideal condition. 2. There are agencies at work seeking to bring the world under Divine influences. 3. Let us derive encouragement from this picture of the future of the race. (J. S. Exell, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. |
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