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DECEMBER 13
that I am He who searches the minds and him I will give power over the nations—
hearts. And I will give to each one of you 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
according to your works.
24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, They shall be dashed to pieces like the
as many as do not have this doctrine, who have potter’s vessels’—
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not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I as I also have received from My Father; and
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will put on you no other burden. But hold fast I will give him the morning star.
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what you have till I come. And he who over- 29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the
comes, and keeps My works until the end, to Spirit says to the churches.” ’
DAY 12:Who was the prophet Joel, and what was he writing about?
The author identified himself only as “Joel the son of Pethuel”(1:1).The prophecy provides little
else about the man. Even the name of his father is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Although he displayed a profound zeal for the temple sacrifices (1:9;2:13–16),his familiarity with pas-
toral and agricultural life and his separation from the priests (1:13,14; 2:17) suggest he was not a
Levite.Extrabiblical tradition records that he was from the tribe of Reuben,from the town of Bethom
or Bethharam, located northeast of the Dead Sea on the border of Reuben and Gad.The context of
the prophecy, however, hints that he was a Judean from the Jerusalem vicinity, since the tone of a
stranger is absent.
The theme of Joel is the Day of the Lord. It permeates all parts of Joel’s message, making it the
most sustained treatment in the entire Old Testament (1:15;3:14).The phrase is employed 19 times by
8 different Old Testament authors (Is. 2:12; 13:6,9; Ezek. 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1,11,31; 3:14; Amos 5:18
[2x],20; Obad. 15; Zeph. 1:7,14 [2x]; Zech. 14:1; Mal. 4:5). The phrase does not have reference to a
chronological time period,but to a general period of wrath and judgment uniquely belonging to the
Lord.It is exclusively the day which unveils His character—mighty, powerful, and holy, thus terrifying
His enemies.The Day of the Lord does not always refer to an eschatological event; on occasion it has
a near historical fulfillment, as seen in Ezekiel 13:5, where it speaks of the Babylonian conquest and
destruction of Jerusalem. As is common in prophecy, the near fulfillment is a historic event upon
which to comprehend the more distant,eschatological fulfillment.

December 13 Which shall devour the palaces
of Ben-Hadad.
I will also break the gate bar
5
Amos 1:1–3:15 of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the
The words of Amos, who was among the sheep-
1 breeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Valley of Aven,
Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in And the one who holds the scepter
the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of from Beth Eden.
Israel, two years before the earthquake. The people of Syria shall go captive
2 And he said: to Kir,”
Says the LORD.
“The LORD roars from Zion,
6 Thus says the LORD:
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds “For three transgressions of Gaza,
mourn, and for four,
And the top of Carmel withers.” I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they took captive the whole
3 Thus says the LORD:
captivity
“For three transgressions of Damascus, To deliver them up to Edom.
and for four, 7 But I will send a fire upon the wall
I will not turn away its punishment, of Gaza,
Because they have threshed Gilead Which shall devour its palaces.
with implements of iron. 8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
4 But I will send a fire into the house of And the one who holds the scepter
Hazael, from Ashkelon;

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