Joel

1. A lament concerning the destructive Day of the LORD (1.1-2.17). In Joel’s mind, the locust plague was an agricultural precursor to a militaristic advance against the land. The former was so severe that Joel reported: “What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten” (1.4). It may be that Nebuchadnezzar’s first siege of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kgs 24.10) was in the back of Joel’s mind when he said, “a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness” (1.6). The prophet interpreted Moses’ words of agricultural judgment (cf. Deut 28.15-51) as having immediate significance for those yet in Judah: “Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished” (1.11). If the people of Judah did not reform their ways, they would experience an even more severe punishment at the hands of the Babylonian king: “Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; in fact, it is near—a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dense overcast, like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a great and strong people appears, such as never existed in ages past and never will again in all the generations to come” (2.1-2). Joel’s counsel was clear: “Dress in sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come and spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God…Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land at the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD” (1.13-14). Joel announced the LORD’s declaration: “turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster” (2.12-13)
2. The promise of a future Day of the LORD, bringing salvation (2.18-3.21). After Joel urged the people to repent and turn to the LORD, saying: “Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, so you can offer grain and wine to the LORD your God” (2.14), he turned to announce a word of God’s jealousy: “Look, I am about to send you grain, new wine, and olive oil. You will be satisfied with them, and I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations” (2.18). Joel’s sudden change in tone paralleled various lament Psalms—when the poet looked away from the present difficulty and gazed upon the abundant mercy of the LORD (cf. Pss 60, 85), and Jeremiah’s poem of Lam 3. Joel predicted that the LORD would not only provide His people with food, but that He would “drive the northerner far from you and banish him to a dry and desolate land…His stench will rise; yes, his rotten smell will rise, for he has done catastrophic things” (2.20). Even though the nations had scattered His people, the LORD said: “I will gather the nations and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there because of My people, My inheritance Israel” (3.2). The retribution of the LORD would come upon Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia (3.4-16; cf. Is 15-24). While Egypt and Edom would experience destruction, Judah and Israel would be restored (3.17-21). This restoration would be concomitant with the outpouring of the Spirit (2.28-32)

1. The promise of the Spirit was realized after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Joel prophesied that in the day the LORD would become jealous for His land, He would spare His people (2.18), and send His Spirit upon them. The Apostle Peter announced that Joel’s prophecy had been realized in the presence of the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost, enabling men to speak in various languages the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection (Acts 2.17-21)
2. The promise of a victory for God’s people will be realized at Christ’s return. Joel announced that many would be saved “before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the LORD comes” (2.31). But when it arrived, the nations who opposed them would be gathered for destruction. The themes of the prophet echo in the words of the Apostle John in the Revelation. In 3.13 Joel prophesied the LORD’s wrath against those who opposed His people, “Swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample the grapes because the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is great,” and John witnessed the same concerning the great day of battle when the Lord would return and execute vengeance upon His enemies: “Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. Another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out in a loud voice to the One who was seated on the cloud, ‘use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe’” (Rev 14.14-15; cf. 19.11-16). In 3.16 the prophet wrote concerning the future Day of the LORD, the day of victory, “The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will shake. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the Israelites,” and John reported news of a great earthquake (6.12; 8.5; 11.13, 19; 16.18), and the preservation of the elect (13.8-9; 14.1-5). In 3.17, Joel prophesied, “Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will never overrun it again,” themes John witnessed in his vision of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem: “Look! God’s dwelling is with men, and He will live with them” (21.3a), and “Nothing profane will ever enter it: no one who does what is vile or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life” (21.27).