A message the Lord God
revealed to Joel the prophet:
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down: for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.-Joel 3:9-17***In Canaan, in the Valley of Shaveh, Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) spoke to the king of Sodom and to Melchizedek the priest, king of Salem. Isaac, the only child born to Abraham and his wife Sarah (Sarai), lived for a while in the Valley of Gerar in Canaan, in the region of the Philistines. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were Israelites from the tribe of Levi, descended from Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and his wife Rebekah, their youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel) and his 1st wife Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. Caleb was from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah. Joshua was an Israelite from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Jacob and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, they led the Israelites away from Egyptian slavery, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, according to the commands of the Lord God. In the desert wilderness of Paran, Moses sent 12 spies, including Joshua and Caleb, to Canaan, the Promised Land, according to the command of the Lord God and the request of the Israelites. In the Valley of Eshcol, Joshua, Caleb and the other spies saw gigantic fruit and people. During the 40-year journey to the Promised Land, Miriam died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses died and was divinely buried in a valley in front of Beth Peor, in the region of the Moabites. The Moabites were the descendants of Abraham and Sarah's nephew Lot, and Lot's oldest daughter, and the son, Moab, born to Lot and his daughter. Joshua was Moses' successor and led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. In the Valley of Achor, Achan (Achar), from the tribe of Judah, was stoned, burned and buried after he disobeyed the commands of the Lord God and took plunder from Jericho. Samson was an Israelite from the tribe of Dan, descended from Jacob and maidservant Bilhah, and Jacob and Bilhah's firstborn son Dam. Samson met Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. Years thereafter, Samuel the priest, prophet and judge from the tribe of Levi anointed Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, to reign as king, according to the command of the Lord God. At least twice, Saul did not obey the commands for the Lord God. While Saul reigned, the Lord God sent Samuel to anoint David, from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah, to reign as king. Sometime thereafter, David began serving as a musician and an armor-bearer for Saul, and David killed and beheaded Goliath the gigantic Philistine in the Valley of Elah. After the Philistines killed Saul's sons Jonathan, Malchishua and Abinadab (Ishui?), and Saul's self-inflicted death on the same battlefield, men from the tribe of Judah anointed 30-year-old David, and David began to reign only over the tribe of Judah. Saul's son Ishbosheth (Eshbaal) reigned over the other Israelite tribes. After Ishbosheth was murdered, the Israelite elders went to David, and David made a covenant with them. The elders anointed 37-year-old David, and David began to reign over all of the Israelites. Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king to reign. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city, and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. King Pekah was the 18th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Pekah's 20-year reign, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom and King Tiglath-pileser, ruler of Assyria, began taking Israelites to Assyria. During the 9th year of the reign of King Hoshea, the 19th king to rule the northern nation, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Less than 125 years after Samaria was conquered, Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) became the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah and Jerusalem and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, began looting the temple of the Lord. Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's 3-month reign, the Babylonians took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. During the 11th year of the reign of Jehoiakim's brother King Zedekiah (Mattaniah), the 19th king to rule Judah, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. In the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the valley of decision, the Lord God revealed to Joel the prophet actions that would take place in that vale. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 27:12-23, 32:1-42, Deuteronomy 1:1-46, 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-8:35, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-16:31, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21, 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 10:1-29:20, 2 Chronicles, Joel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, Hebrews 7:1-28
Reference Information:
Jehoshaphat = yehowosapat = Yehoshaphat = YHWH + shaphat = the Lord + to judge or govern = The Lord has judged