So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:13
Perhaps the most famous passage in the book of Joel is the promise of the Holy Spirit: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions “(Joel 2:28). Peter quoted that verse in his first sermon as an explanation for the mighty rushing wind sound, and the tongues of fire, and the speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). God had indeed poured out His Spirit, as He had promised.
The book of Joel is also famous for its end time prophecies that foreshadow God’s judgment of the nations in the book of Revelation. For example, Joel 3:10 referred to a ripe harvest of wickedness and to a full winepress, as in Revelation 14.
But today I am captivated by the call to repentance in Joel 2:12-17. What does it mean to “rend your heart and not your garment?” In the Old Testament, tearing your clothes was a symbol of mourning. Jacob tore his robe and put sackcloth around his waist to mourn for his son Joseph (Gen. 37:34). David and all his men tore their clothes in mourning at King Saul’s death (2Sam. 1:11). Job tore his clothes, shaved his head, and fell to the ground in worship when he heard about the death of his children (Job 1:20).
God is looking for repentance that is deep mourning. He wants a heart and a spirit that are broken and contrite (Ps. 51:17). Is our repentance an outward appearance or an inward change of heart?
God was offering them (and us) a do over. He had revealed a terrible vision of their judgment by the hand of their enemies. God implored them again and again to return to Him because He is gracious and merciful, and slow to anger. God longed to shower them with His great kindness. He wanted to relent of the judgment they deserved. If only they would return to Him.
This desperate call for repentance comes just before the promise of deliverance (beginning in v. 18) and the promise of the Holy Spirit (vs. 28-29). This is God’s pattern for nations, like ancient Israel. And this is God’s pattern for individuals, like you and me.
When we rend our hearts for Him, He saves us from the judgment we deserve. He delivers us from our enemies. Then He pours His Spirit upon us.
What a gracious God we serve. How could we not rend our hearts for Him?