Joel 2:21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
The land here refers to the Body of Christ. Fear is on the man-realm. Man in his nature is subject to fear. Christ cannot be influenced or moved by fear. So the prophet says, Fear not! Be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. The great things He is doing is creating His nature in the Body of Christ so that we will not be subject to fear.
Joel 2:22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree bears her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
The great things God is doing in us creates the fruitfulness. The fruitfulness is His nature coming forth in us.
Joel 2:23a Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God…
Notice the progressive manner in which the Lord speaks of the Body of Christ He is creating: “O land,” “beasts of the field,” “pastures of the wilderness,” “tree bearing fruit,” “the vine,” and “children of Zion.”
Joel 2:23b ...for He hath given you the former rain moderately…
Notice the verb tense. It is not that He will give us the rain, but that He has given. We are not waiting for the rain of the Spirit. It is a provision He has already made. The need is to appropriate the provision already made. Paul spoke of the provisions God has made for us in Ephesians 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Also II Peter 1:3: His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. The great things are already provided. We need to learn how to appropriate them.
Joel 2:23c …and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
The early and latter rain are taking place at the same time. That is completely impossible in the natural, but it is not impossible spiritually. The former rain is called the teacher rain because it comes to teach the little seeds to grow. The latter rain comes at the end of the growing season to bring forth the harvest. Spiritually, this means that some Christians will be coming into the Kingdom while at the same time others are being matured. Two spiritual rains at the same time.
Joel 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
This is speaking spiritually of the fruitfulness God is bringing forth in the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ will overflow with the wine of the Kingdom and the oil of the Spirit. God has done great things!
Copyright © 2003 by Henry DuBose