Joel - Part 11

In this series of articles, we are meditating on the book of Joel and what God is shouting to today's deaf generation through Joel's prophecy. In this article, we shall focus on Joel 1:14.

Call for cessation

"Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD" (Joel 1:14)

The phrase "solemn assembly" was translated from the Hebrew word atsara, which is derived from the verb atsar meaning "to restrain, withhold", which is used in its first two appearances to the closing up of a womb:

"And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai." (Genesis 16:2)

"For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife" (Genesis 20:18)

[The phrase "fast closed up" was translated from 2 consecutive appearances of atsar in the Hebrew text]

Hence, atsara has the connotation of restraining "normal production", i.e.- going on with life as usual and producing normal activities and "fruits". Therefore, we can say that God is calling us to stop our "business as usual" and to mourn for the fallen, matriarchal state of the Church and the world. Those within the Church system are too busy to hear this call from God, too busy as they continue with their pastoral ministries and their church activities, too proud and blind to admit that God is calling for a cessation of activities in order to raze the current structures and rebuild from a righteous, Spirit-centric foundation.

Gathering those open

The word "elders" in the phrase "gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the earth" of Joel 1:14 was translated from the Hebrew word zaqen, which literally means "old person" and is used in the context of Abraham in its first 4 appearances in Scripture:

Hence, we can conclude that the zaqen "elders" of Joel 1:14 refer to those who have endured in faith, just like Abraham, persisting in (and longing for) the Promise of God's visitation despite the long wait. On the other hand, the "inhabitants of the earth" of Joel 1:14 refer, in a good sense, to those who are more immersed in a natural, "earthly" existence, not persisting in the faith as much as the zaqen but who are open to heeding God's call for change if prompted to do so.

Gathering in an invisible house

Joel 1:14 says that we are to call for a gathering in "the house of the LORD your God". To a Girgashite believer who only understands Scripture at the surface, literal level, this phrase can only mean "your local church". However, to truly understand this phrase, we must first consider passages such as the following:

"15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:15-20)

Notice how, in the passage above, the Lord first speaks of confronting and judging spiritual issues amongst the brethren (v15-17). Notice how the Lord then speaks of us having spiritual authority to bind and loose things on Earth and in the heavens (v18). He then speaks of how we can bring His Presence in our midst when 2 or 3 of us gather together in His Name (v19-20). Considering what the Lord says in verse 18 about our spiritual authority on Earth and in the heavens, we can safely say that, when the Lord speaks of 2 or 3 of us gathering together, He is not necessarily referring to a literal, physical gathering. Obviously, it includes a literal, physical gathering, but it is important to realise that, even if we physically gather together, that gathering is meaningless if we are not gathering in the spirit realm, as spirit beings with authority to bind and loose on Earth and in the heavens. Therefore, the "gathering together" of verse 20 is eminently spiritual in nature. This is certified by the following passage:

"3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (1 Corinthians 5:3-5)

A house with no Amorite kingdoms

The phrase "the house of the LORD your God" in Joel 1:14 was translated from the Hebrew words bahyith meaning "house", Yehovah meaning "Jehovah", and Elohim meaning "God". Oddly enough, the first two verses in Scripture that contain these 3 words are the following, translated as "house", "LORD", and "God" respectively:

"The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk" (Exodus 23:19)

"The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk" (Exodus 34:26)

The question then becomes, Why is this commandment about boiling a kid goat in his mother's milk so important that it is the first commandment in the Torah that is associated with "the house of the LORD your God"? To be frank, this writer had always been puzzled by this commandment because of its peculiar nature. Therefore, as I felt compelled by the Lord to finally meditate on it and its connection to Joel 1:14, I paused to ask the Lord, "Why did You add that commandment and why did You link it to Your House?". These are the thoughts that I believe the Lord began to deposit in my heart:

Milk refers to spiritual food provided to those who are spiritually young and dependent and who are beginning to grow in their faith. The mother refers to the "female" ministries of pastor and teacher that are designed to care for fellow believers, feeding and protecting their souls as they begin to grow in the Spirit. Hence, the commandment of Exodus 23:19 and Exodus 34:26 is related to something that God absolutely does not want to see the "female" ministries doing in His House. Thus, it is no coincidence that the first appearance of the "milk" commandment is in chapter 23 of Exodus, given that, as we have shared before, the number 23 refers to the pastoral endowment. The commandment's second appearance in chapter 34 of Exodus is no coincidence either, given that the number 34 points to Ezekiel 34, where the Lord speaks word of judgment against the shepherds, i.e.- the pastors, who feed themselves and do not care for the growth of His people.

On the other hand, the verse number "19" in Exodus 23:19 points to the 19 evil attitudes that are listed in 2 Timothy 3:2-5. It is interesting to this writer that, when the Lord spoke to my heart about those 19 evil attitudes around 25 years ago, He imprinted this phrase in my heart: "Those are the 19 pillars that Amorites build their house upon". Hence, Exodus 23:19 speaks of an abomination where pastors try to build an Amorite house, i.e.- an Amorite castle, inside God's House.

In a positive sense, the number "26" in Exodus 34:26 points (as we have shared before) to God's 2 spiritual witnesses. Hence, it is fitting that Exodus has 2 verses (identical in the Hebrew text) that refer to bringing the "first of the firstfruits" to the House of the Lord and then speak against boiling a young goat in its mother's milk. Thus, the Lord is subtly declaring in Exodus 34:26 that, just as Ezekiel's spirit rises up to curse the pastors in Ezekiel 34, so do God's remnant rise up in the 2-witness anointing against the the multitude of pastors who try to establish Amorite kingdoms within the House of God.

A house without smothering mothers

Notice that Exodus 23:19 and Exodus 34:26 above are not a prohibition against boiling a kid goat in any milk. Instead, the Lord is very specific about the milk not being the mother's. Therefore, the Lord is declaring something about spiritual mothers and what they must not do in His House.

As we have shared before, the pastor and teacher endowments perform a "female" functionality, meaning that pastors and teachers are intended to act like nurturing mothers who care for spiritual babies during their initial state of soul weakness and dependence, helping them to grow towards "male" maturity and independence in the Spirit. During this time, pastors are supposed to provide the "baby"'s emotions and heart with nutritional, maternal "milk" necessary during the baby's early stages, and teachers are to feed basic doctrine into the mind of the child. Pastors and teachers must do this with the awareness that, as the child grows, this "milk" for the soul must be gradually replaced with more "male" and "paternal" spiritual food.

"12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14)

The word "discern" in verse 14 was mistranslated from the Greek word diakrisis, which is derived from the prefix dia meaning "through" and the word krisis meaning "judgement". In other words, diakrisis speaks of someone judging through things, judging them as "good" and "evil". Therefore, the passage above speaks of believers who grow past the "pastoral milk" stage and become stronger and stronger in the exercise of "male", apostolic judgements. This means that, as the believer grows, he or she is to become more and more "apostolic" and "judgement-centric", which contrasts with the more pain-removing, unity-seeking, and judgement-avoiding nature of pastors, especially when they turn Canaanite and begin to bitterly fight against God's judgement nature. A good pastor/sheep-herder will resist his/her soul's natural inclination to fight the baby's transition into a more judgement-oriented nature, knowing that it is part of growing up and becoming independent. By contrast, a bad pastor/sheep-herder will fight this transition, making every effort to retain control over the "child", making sure that the "child" remains under his/her pastoral shadow, like a mother reluctant to let "her baby" go.

"39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them." (Luke 2:39-50)

Notice how the child Yeshua "grew" and became evangelistically strong, filled with apostolic wisdom, and anointed with God's prophetic grace (v40). Hence, Yeshua was outgrowing the pastoral and teacherly milk that Mary and Joseph were providing Him. Notice, however, how His mother was clueless, unaware that it was time to begin "letting go" (v48). It was time to allow Yeshua to go from under the covering of his "soul father", i.e.- the teacher Joseph, to His Father in Heaven (v49), i.e.- the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9).

It is also sad to consider that Joseph remained silent the whole time, allowing Mary to be the only one to address Yeshua when they found Him in the temple. When Yeshua said, "I must be in my Father's [things]" (v49, as it appears in the Greek), Joseph did not have a moment of lucidity about who Yeshua's Father really was. He knew, without a doubt, that Yeshua was not his biological son, and, after the three angelic encounters he had had (Matthew 1:20-24, 2:13-15, and 2:19-21), Joseph knew for certain that Yeshua's biological origins were supernatural and that He was indeed the Son of God. Yet, somehow, Yeshua's reference to His "Father" did not evoke any of these memories in him. Instead of acting like a righteous teacher, recalling things from the past, Joseph allowed Mary to take control of the situation, following along as she reacted in pastoral emotion. At that moment, Joseph could have pulled Mary aside and said to her,

"Remember how you became pregnant with Yeshua without me? Remember what God said to me and to you about the child through angelic visitations? Remember all that happened with the shepherds, the Magi, Simeon, and Anna, and what they all said about Him? I think we have both forgotten that I was just a caretaker and not His real father. I think we have both forgotten that this child has a mighty, eternal destiny to fulfil, and we started to get in the way of that destiny by gradually forgetting about it. God prompted the boy to do this to remind us that we are to foster that destiny, and that means helping Him to grow in His Father's Nature, supporting His soul as He grows in the Spirit and the knowledge of His real Father."

From the above, we can begin to discern what it means to boil a kid, i.e.- a young male goat, in its mother's milk. It is a figure of a believer's "male" Spirit calling being burnt and effectively "killed off" by spiritually "female" pastors and teachers (such as "pastor" Mary and "teacher" Joseph above) because they insist on keeping the believer enveloped in an environment full of "milk", i.e.- an environment full of basic, simplified, and immature "Christianity" that never progresses into the deeper things of the "male" Spirit of God. The child Yeshua could perceive how pastoral Mary was beginning to drown Him in an environment of soulish milk, which is why He escaped from her "milky" grasp and went to the Temple to speak to the teachers there and ask deep and probing questions.

Boiling by fleshly blessings

Interestingly enough, the word "seethe" in Exodus 23:19 and Exodus 34:26 was translated from the Hebrew verb bashal (בשל), which, in Hebrew, is almost identical to the word basar (בשר) meaning "flesh". In fact, both words, which have 3 Hebrew characters each, differ only in the last character. This similarity between bashal and basar points, in a negative sense, to how the pastoral matriarchy "completes" the believers' process by leaving them operating in the flesh and not the Spirit. In other words, by the time the believer has been fully "boiled" and "cooked", he or she is nothing more than a person living in the earthly realm, worried about things that are of interest to the flesh and not the Spirit.

Every time a pastor ministers soul and earthly blessings over the believers without caring for their spiritual growth, he is boiling them in his milk. Every time a pastor teaches believers to focus on their happiness and their families' happiness, he is boiling them alive in his milk. And, as these believers turn their focus to the things of the flesh and the soul, they stop putting God and His Kingdom first. That is when these believers begin to disregard the first part of Exodus 23:19 and Exodus 34:26, "The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God". This explains why God follows those words with the commandment not to boil a young goat in his mother's milk.

Crying out for deliverance

The word "cry" in the phrase "and cry unto the LORD" at the end of Joel 1:14 was translated from the Hebrew word zaaq, which appears for the first time in Scripture in the following verse, translated as "cried":

"And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage" (Exodus 2:23)

Notice how zaaq is used to speak of a people living in horrible circumstances who cry out to God for deliverance. Notice also that that cry came as a result of a "sighing", emotional reaction to those horrible circumstances, i.e.- a realisation of the terrible state that they were in, as opposed to an attitude of denial and acceptance of things that should not be accepted. Therefore, we can say that the Lord is calling God's people to cry out in anguish as we realise the shockingly horrendous state of things in the Church, a state that cannot be considered acceptable or simply "good enough, with only the need to tweak a few things here and there".

The second appearance of zaaq is in the following verse, translated as "called together":

"And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city" (Joshua 8:16)

Notice how zaaq is used in the context of a loud cry to rally people against an enemy. Even though the above verse speaks of the people of Hai rallying against the Israelites and (temporarily) overcoming them, it still reflects the principle of a very weak group of people driving out a seemingly stronger and overwhelming enemy. Even though the verse above describes a ruse by Joshua to draw the Hai army out of the city, the only reason why this ruse and Hai's temporary victory was even necessary was because Israel had sinned against God and opened a door of vulnerability, which was made worse by their overconfident attitude against the seemingly insignificant city of Hai, all of which led to their initial, embarrassing defeat at the hands of Hai (Joshua 7). In that sense, therefore, the verse above speaks of a rallying cry against an enemy that seems to be "strong" on the outside but has a serious spiritual vulnerability that may not be clear to the natural eye. Daunting as the Israelite army was, the people of Hai somehow found faith to believe that they could fight them and defeat them (in Joshua 7 and then again in Joshua 8, though only temporarily). Why? Because the people of Hai could hear in their inner being that the enemy had an invisible vulnerability that made them defeatable. Hence, we can say that, in Joel 1:14, the Lord is calling God's people to rally against the Church's pastors and their wicked matriarchal system, knowing that it cannot stand, strong as it may seem, because it has a deep spiritual ill in its foundation that makes it vulnerable to a sudden collapse if the right forces are applied to it, like a foundationally flawed building that shall violently come down under the right tectonic forces.

"1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." (Revelation 18:1-2)

[Notice how the angel "cried mightily with a strong voice" (v2), which correlates with the crying we are called to in Joel 1:14]

The third appearance of zaaq is in the following verse, translated as "cried":

"And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother." (Judges 3:9)

[The word "children" was mistranslated from the Hebrew word ben meaning "son". In other words, the Lord is not referring to "little children" in need of growing up. Instead, He is referring to "sons of Israel" exercising the nature of "Israel", i.e.- the nature of those who are "princes with God and with men and who prevail" (Genesis 32:28) and who see themselves as spirits and not just weak and dependent souls.]

Notice how the Spirit of God once again links up zaaq with people crying out for deliverance from an oppression. Interestingly enough, the name "Othniel" means "lion of God", which points to someone walking in the apostolic lion judgements of God. The name "Kenaz", on the other hand, means "hunter", which therefore points to people willing to walk in the evangelistic endowment that hunts down and conquers the enemy. This speaks of believers willing to operate angelically, since angels are "apostle-evangelists".

The 4th appearance of zaaq is in the following verse, translated as "cried":

"But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab" (Judges 3:15)

[Again, the word "children" was mistranslated from the Hebrew word ben meaning "son"]

Notice how zaaq is yet again used to refer to the people of God crying out for deliverance from an oppressive and destructive state of things. Notice also how, this time, the Lord highlights the prophetic endowment for, as we have shared before, left-handed Ehud is a figure of the unifying prophetic anointing ("Ehud" comes from the word ohad meaning "united"). Hence, we can see how the 2 appearances of zaaq in Judges 3 point to the 3 "male" ministries (apostle and evangelist in verse 9, and prophet in verse 15). From this, we can infer that those who cry out in Joel 1:14 are those who walk in the "male" Spirit and who cry out to God for the deliverance of Israel (i.e.- the people called by God's Name) from the oppression of the pastoral domination of the "female" soul.

The 5th appearance of zaaq is in the following verse, translated as "called":

"And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him" (Judges 4:10)

Notice how zaaq is, for a second time, used to refer to a rallying cry to bring together people against an overwhelming enemy. As a side note, it is interesting to consider that, out of the first 5 appearances of zaaq, 3 are in the context of the people of God crying out for deliverance and 2 are in the context of rallying people for battle. Hence, we can infer that, in a general sense, these 5 appearances are associated with the 5 "ministries":

Verse	Usage of zaaq	Main associated ministry	Explanation
Exodus 2:23	Crying for deliverance	Evangelist	It speaks of the king of Egypt dying, from whose house the deliverer Moses had come
Joshua 8:16	Rallying cry	Pastor	Those rallied by the cry were an enemy kingdom, and pastors have become the enemy of Israel to rally against
Judges 3:9	Crying for deliverance	Apostle	The deliverer was Othniel ("lion of God")
Judges 3:15	Crying for deliverance	Prophet	The deliverer was left-handed Ehud
Judges 4:10	Rallying cry	Teacher	Deborah, a female, went up with the male Barak, and Jael, a woman with "milk" (basic doctrine) delivered Israel from Sisera

Conclusion

Based on all of the above, we can conclude that, through Joel 1:14, re-quoted below, the Spirit of God is declaring the following:

"Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD" (Joel 1:14)

God is calling His people to have a solemn assembly, an atsara in which we cease from our normal activity, from continuing with business as usual as if everything is "OK", so that we can mourn for the terrible state that the pastoral matriarchy has led the Church into. This atsara "assembly" is to include two groups of people: one are the zaqen "elders" who are spiritually mature, and the other are the "inhabitants of the earth" within the Body of Christ who may be more immersed in a natural, "earthly" existence than the war-hardened zaqen but whose hearts do lean towards the voice of God and are open to heed it. May His voice go out in the spiritual atmosphere and reach these "inhabitants of the earth" so that they may be drawn to the atsara that the Spirit of God is invoking!

This atsara assembly is to happen in the house of the Lord our God, but that house is not a literal house. It is not a Solomonic temple arrogantly claiming to house God on Earth (1 Kings 8:12-13, Acts 7:47-48). Instead, that house is in the spiritual atmosphere, in the episynagoge where believers gather as spirits (Hebrews 10:24-25, Hebrews 12:23) to move God's kairos clock forward, for, as long as we remain in the soul, the kairos clock will remain stuck and God's Kingdom will not expand across the Earth, leading to lives and potential wasted as the chronos clock inexorably ticks away.

In the "house of the Lord our God" where we are to assemble, there is no room for Amorite kingdoms or anyone who upholds them. There is also no room for Canaanite, pastoral mothers or those who believe in them, for such mothers smother believers, hindering their spiritual growth. There is no room in His House for those who are hell-bent on boiling the believers' spiritual potential in simplified milk teachings and soul blessings of the flesh. In fact, our atsara assembly is to cry out to God for deliverance from these very Canaanite mothers and their Amorite kingdoms.

Our cry must be an emotional reaction to the horrible state of things. Those crying out must be unwilling to accept the matriarchal state of things because they embrace the "male" nature of God, i.e.- God's apostolic lion judgements (i.e.- "Othniel"), God's left-handed prophetic nature (i.e.- "Ehud"), and God's kingly evangelistic nature (i.e.- "Moses conquering the king of Egypt and taking his spoils").

Our cry must also become a rallying cry to gather those who see the Canaanite pastors as the enemy that must be driven out and who are immune to Girgashite teachings because they have the unadulterated milk of God's teachings that cuts through the deceitful teachings of natural man. God's unadulterated milk does not boil away believers' callings but actually keeps them grounded in the truth and helps them to grow in the Spirit.