Joel 3:17-21
A Spring Will Flow
Read the passage
17Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
18And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.
19Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.” For the LORD dwells in Zion.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
The people will know that the LORD is their God and that He dwells in Zion. Jerusalem will be holy and will never again be overrun by foreigners. The city’s safety rests in the presence of its God.
The land is pictured in abundance: mountains dripping sweet wine, hills flowing with milk, and Judah’s streams running with water. A spring flows from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias. The dry fields and empty harvests at the beginning of Joel are answered by flowing water and life.
Egypt and Edom will become desolate because they committed violence against Judah and shed innocent blood. Judah, however, will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. The LORD will avenge blood He has not yet avenged.
The closing words repeat that the LORD dwells in Zion. The book ends with His people settled, the land watered, and innocent blood remembered by the God who lives among them.
Questions
1 What will God's people know?
AnswerThey will know that the LORD is their God, that He dwells in Zion, and that Jerusalem is holy.
2 What flows from the house of the LORD?
AnswerA spring flows from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.
3 Why are Egypt and Edom made desolate?
AnswerThey are judged because of violence against Judah and the shedding of innocent blood. Joel names the reason for their desolation instead of treating judgment as arbitrary or detached from what they did.
4 What final reason for hope does Joel repeat?
AnswerThe LORD dwells in Zion. His presence means His people are not forgotten and injustice is not invisible.
What This Means for Us
The last reason for hope in Joel is the LORD’s presence. Food and water return, and the wrong done to His people receives His attention. Their future depends on the God who dwells among them.
As your family finishes this book, name both a need you still bring to God and a provision for which you can thank Him. Hope leaves room for both. We can receive His gifts with gratitude while still asking Him to bring help and justice where they are needed.
Prayer
LORD, dwell among Your people and bring life to dry places. Remember the wounded, answer violence with justice, and teach our family to hope in Your presence. Amen.