ESOCS Devotional 14 October 2026 – Avoid Destruction; Return to God
MEMORY VERSE: “For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.” Joel 3:21 KJV
TEXT: JOEL 3: 9-21
Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your [a]pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”
11 Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.
12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
16 The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.
17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
18 And it will come to pass in that day
That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord
And water the Valley of [b]Acacias.
19 “Egypt shall be a desolation,
And Edom a desolate wilderness,
Because of violence against the people of Judah,
For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall abide forever,
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
For the Lord dwells in Zion.”
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Joel began with a prophecy about the destruction of the land (Israel) and ended with a prophecy about its restoration. He began by stressing the need for repentance as a criterion and ended with the promise of forgiveness that repentance brings. He was trying to convince the people to be serious (1:5); get rid of complacency, and realise the danger of living far from God.
His message to us Christians is that there is still time to turn to God; anyone who calls on Him will be saved (2:12-14, 32). Those who turn to God will enjoy the blessings mentioned in Joel’s prophecy, while those who refuse will face destruction.
God will not acquit the wicked, but will bring judgment upon them, the same way He did on the nations that attacked His people, Israel.
Now is the acceptable time. Avoid destruction by returning to God.
Reflections
- Do you have any challenges returning to God?
Prayer
- Have your way in my life, O Lord.
Further Reading: John 6:37; 2 Corinthians 6:2
ESOCS Devotional 14 October 2026
