LET THE WEAK SAY I AM STRONG (PART III)

“Scriptures Ain’t Spices & Seasonings”

By Akin Ojumu

I cannot stress it enough. It’s the sound knowledge of God’s Word that changes people. Not spectacular experiences. Not supernatural encounters. Not dreams and visions. And definitely not angelic visitations or drinking tea with God in your living room.

It’s simply not enough that a preacher sprinkles bits and pieces of Bible texts here and there on his message to make it seem like he is preaching the Gospel. Such an approach to using the Word of God is nothing more than adding maggi, curry, and thyme to a pot of stew cooking on the stove. God’s Word is not a spice that you add to your ogbono soup to enhance its flavor, color, and aroma.

Under no circumstance is it acceptable for a pastor to reduce Scriptures to something used to spice up the imaginations of his heart or a seasoning for the human ideas he wants to push on his listeners. It’s an egregious error for a preacher to treat the Word of God as a mere accompaniment or trivial accessory to his sermon. Anyone who does that has a low view of God and His Word. 

Preachers of the Gospel have all been given a simple task. Their charge is to preach the Gospel and nothing else. No amount of human intellect or ideas, human wisdom or wit, and human psychology or philosophizing can replace the preaching of the Word of God.

2 Timothy 4:1-2

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: PREACH THE WORD; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

The aim of this commentary series is to do just that, PREACH THE WORD. Its objective is to rightly divide Joel 3:10b so that all those who, by divine providence, happen upon this commentary and read it will be enlightened and edified.

Last time we saw that the context of Joel 3:10b was the divine retribution that would be visited upon the enemies of God on the Day of the LORD when the confederacy of wicked nations that would gather for the battle of Armageddon would be vanquished.

Joel 3:9-16

“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness 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 shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”

In this passage, God throws a challenge to His enemies who see themselves as formidable and unconquerable. Because of their hubris and obstinacy, believing they are mighty, powerful, and invincible, God summoned them to come and fight. If they ever hope to win, though, God scoffingly cautioned them to bring everyone and everything they’ve got to the fight, otherwise they’ll be destroyed.

Sarcastically, God forewarned the axis of evil who have arrayed themselves in war against Him that their only hope of triumph would be to enlist every single able-bodied person they can find to join the ranks of the seasoned combatants. In addition to the battle-hardened soldiers, they must also bring along the farmers, civilians, women, old people and young ones to the fight. If victory is their goal, God, contemptuously, told them they cannot afford to leave anyone behind at home.

In Joel 3:10, we see God’s contempt and scorn for the wicked as He challenges them to battle in the great Day of the LORD. Here in this verse, God summoned all those who have aligned themselves with Satan against Him to the battle of the ages, the Battle of Armageddon.

God goads the veteran warriors to, “Come up and fight!” He dares the non-combatant farmers to, “Turn your farming implements into weapons of war and come and fight. Hurry up, make swords out of your plows and craft spears out of your garden tools.” 

Likewise, to the frail and feeble among His enemies, God taunts, “Hey, you rebellious weaklings. C’mon now. Don’t be shy. Psyche yourself. Make a positive confession. Decree and declare that “I am strong.” Name it, claim it. Blab it, and grab it.”

As you can see, Joel 3:10b is God mocking the rebellious nations who are in defiance to His Law and precept. The text is the ridiculing of those who have aligned themselves against the LORD. Contextually, “Let the weak say I am strong,” is a statement of derision and not one of motivation. 

The weak who say, “I am strong,” are untrained warriors called into battle, using their farming equipment as weapons. This prophecy is of a time when the nations rouse themselves to come against God and His armies (cf. Revelation 16:14–16; 20:7–10). God is actually calling them to judgment, and they will be soundly defeated. In Joel’s prophecy, God is challenging the wicked nations. The people who come against God in the end will need every available resource and person if they are to have any hope of fighting – even the weak among them will need to become warriors. No one, even those normally unfit for war, will escape this conflict; there will be no exceptions or deferments; it is the time of God's judgment on the whole earth (Source: Got Questions).

“Let the weak say, “I am strong,” is a declaration of the haughty, the bombast of the proud, and the hubris of the arrogant. You may quote it as often as you like. You may chant it for as long as you desire. It’ll not do you any good.

Here’s a quote I borrowed from BEZELT3, one of the channels I follow on YouTube.

“The preached Word is the gentle rain that waters the heart of God’s people. It’s the food that feeds Christ’s sheep along the narrow path that leads to eternal life. This is why believers must seek sound preaching, demand sound preaching, and stay put where sound preaching may be found. Nothing nourishes the soul like sitting under a faithful Christ-centered preaching. Find a Church where you can eat and drink God’s Word, and then be glad. For there, you are not in famine. Instead, you are tasting of the eternal feast yet to come. And that, my friend, is true spiritual wealth.”

See you at the next commentary series, God willing.