Change your heart and not your garment

"Rend your hearts!" (people would repent of their sins and seek the Lord's help. The nation didn't know when this invasion would occur, so the important thing was for them to turn to the Lord now. But they must be sincere. It's easy to participate in a religious ceremony, tear your garments, and lament, but quite some-thing else to humbly confess your sins and bring to God a repentant heart (Matthew 15:8-9). "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart these, O God, You will not despise" (Psalms 51:17, NKJV).

The one thing that encourages us to repent and return to the Lord is the character of God. Knowing that He is indeed "gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love (Joel 2:13, NIV) ought to motivate us to seek His face. This description of the attributes of God goes back to Moses' meeting with the Lord on Mt. Sinai, when he interceded for the sinful nation of Israel (Exodus 34:6-7). You find echoes of it in Numbers 14:18 (another scene of Moses' intercession); Nehemiah 9:17; Psalms 86:15; 103:8, and 145:8; and Jonah 4:2. Such a gracious God would "turn and have pity" (Joel 2:14. NIV). Note that Joel's concern was that the people would once again have offerings to bring to the Lord, not just food on their tables.