Joel 1:1 ¶ The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
This statement is not very helpful in identifying the prophet Joel. The Accordance timeline shows that he was a contemporary of Elisha, and he ministered in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. I liked the meaning of his name (according to Eastman’s), “Jehovah is his God.” His name is evidence that his father was a man of faith in the LORD.
This opening verse is clear in stating that Joel is delivering a message from YHWH, the self-existent, eternal God.
Joel 1:2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Joel 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
The prophet is calling for the people to pay attention to what he is going to say. He seems to be saying that the circumstances of the time are unique in Israel’s history. These are times about which they should instruct their children to make sure that their children and grandchildren know about them. Why would the prophet be encouraging the people to tell their children about these times? Scripture indicates that this is a tool of teaching.
In my study of Genesis I remember noting that God told Abraham why he was judging Sodom and Gormorrah because he knew Abraham would use that event to instruct his own children.
Genesis 18:17-19 “And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”
Moses was careful to instruct the people to teach their children the commandments of God.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Moses had also specifically told the people how God would judge them if they refused to obey Him.
Deuteronomy 28:15 “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:”
Deuteronomy 28:38-39 “Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.”
It is clear throughout scripture that parents should be faithful to teach their children and grandchildren about the events recorded in scripture that declare God as a loving father, righteous judge and covenant-keeper.
Joel now details a terrible locust plague.
Joel 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
All the Hebrew words used in describing the palmerworm, locust, cankerworm and caterpiller are references to some form of locust. It seems to be describing wave upon wave of these creatures that have completely destroyed the grass, trees and crops of the land.
Ironside: “The various forms of insect-life here spoken of are not generally supposed to be diverse, unrelated creatures, but are probably the various stages assumed by the locust as it advances from the larvae form to that of maturity.”
As I am doing this update in August 2020, I am reminded of the severe locust swarms that have devastated crops in several countries this year, including India, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. A National Geographic article dated May 12 states, “Swarms can swell to 70 billion insects—enough to cover New York City 1.5 times—and to decimate 300 million pounds of crops in a single day.”
Joel 1:5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
As a result of the destruction of the harvest, there would be no new wine in the foreseeable future, and this would be bad news indeed to drinkers of wine—especially the drunkards.
Joel 1:6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
Joel 1:7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
The Hebrew for the word nation includes not only a reference to foreigners or Gentiles, but also figuratively to an invasion of locusts. This invading swarm is impossible to number. Their teeth are compared to a lion because of the power and effectiveness of their attack. They have left the land desolate of plants, trees and crops. Their destruction is so complete that the vines are described as ruined and the fig tree as stripped bare, even of its bark.
I am reminded that the vine and fig tree are symbols of the nation of Israel in scripture, so the description has a deeper application. Notice that the LORD identifies the vine and fig tree as belonging to Him.
Isaiah 5:3-4 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?”
Jeremiah 24:5 “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.”
Hosea 9:10 “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time….”
Joel 1:8 ¶ Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
The prophet calls the people to a state of mourning. He compares their mourning to that of a young woman whose fiancé died before they could get married or a young bride whose husband dies shortly after the marriage. In conjunction with the thoughts of verse 2-3, this is a call to repentance in light of God’s judgment.
Joel 1:9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’S ministers, mourn.
The devastation of the crops would have a direct impact on the ability of the people to make their offerings to YHWH. This is of special concern to the priests.
Joel 1:10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
Joel 1:11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
Joel 1:12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
These verses go on to emphasize the utter devastation of this locust invasion. There was absolutely nothing left for the people to be joyous about. Israel was an agricultural society; there was no fallback position.
Constable quoting Dillard: “Grain, wine, and oil represent the three major types of vegetation in Israel: grasses, shrubs, and trees. Used together, as they often are in the Old Testament, they stand for all agricultural products.”
Joel 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
Joel 1:14 ¶ Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
The prophet turns his address to the spiritual leaders of the people, the priests. To lament in sackcloth was an expression of sincerity and urgency as they called out to YHWH. He not only encourages them to wear sackcloth, he also encourages them to call for the elders to lead the people in observing a fast and joining together in crying out in repentance to God.
Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joel 1:16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Joel 1:17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.
Joel 1:18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Joel 1:19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
Joel 1:20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
These closing verses of the first chapter seem to be summarizing the cry of the people to God as they prayed. It’s interesting that we often feel the need to “give God the facts” surrounding our requests like He doesn’t already know what is going on.
It seems that they believed Joel’s message and recognized this horrible invasion of locusts to be a judgment from YHWH. I wonder why people today find it so hard to recognize the destroying forces of nature as possible judgment from God. They can’t seem to connect with the thought that a loving God will choose to do things that will cause people to repent of their sin and turn to Him in faith. Maybe we should take a longer look at Deuteronomy 28.
Deuteronomy 28:15-34 “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies:thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.”
These verses declare that it is God’s hand that will bring about these judgments upon the people. It is also clear that He will utilize the forces of nature, things we would classify as disease (physical and/or mental), and the enemies of the people to accomplish His purposes. Scripture is very clear in stating that God is unchanging; He is always the same. Why would we refuse to consider the possibility that similar things today are acts of His judgment?
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not….”
Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Joel 2:1 ¶ Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Point is made that this message is directed to “Zion,” “my holy mountain.” This would be a reference to the city of Jerusalem in general.
Ironside: “The figure of the trumpet, twice used in the chapter (vers. 1 and 15), connects intimately with Numbers, ch. 10. There we find the “two trumpets of silver” were used for a double purpose- to blow an alarm, and to summon the whole congregation to the presence of the Lord. The first was to arouse; the second, to instruct. We find the same thing here. In vers. 1 to 14 the trumpet of alarm is blown, and the people are warned of the dreadful events about to take place in the day of the Lord, which is declared to be nigh at hand, events so grave that the visitation of the locusts under which they had been suffering was but a feeble picture of what is yet in store for the land and the people of Judah. Then, in ver. 15 to the end of the book, at the sounding of the trumpet to call a solemn assembly, instruction is given in detail regarding the results in blessing which will follow the judgments already depicted.”
As is often the case with the prophets, the message seems to jump forward in application from Joel’s generation to a future generation. In the first chapter he was referring to an event that was unique in their history to that point (cf verse 2). This part of the message references another judgment that will be unique in the nation’s history to that point, but there will never be another like it. This seems to connect directly to the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
I think this connects the application of this message to the 7-year tribulation period, the 70th week of Daniel, the time preceding the return of Jesus as King to establish His Kingdom, the time about which He was teaching in Matthew 24. The people to whom Joel was ministering, and even the prophet himself, probably didn’t understand its application to the far future; but this is often true of the messages of the prophets. I would assume that there was an application to the events of their day of which we are unaware today; however, the reference to something the likes of which would never be seen again tells me that it has to jump to an end time application.
Though there are many scriptures that tell of the light of the sun and moon being darkened as part of end times judgments, I tend to think the main reference here is to the predominance of wickedness and evil. There are many verses that equate darkness with evil.
Job 30:26 “When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.”
Matthew 6:23 “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
John 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
This darkness seems to come with the arrival of a very large army of a powerful enemy. At first this would seem to correspond directly to the armies of Antichrist gathering at Armageddon. I am reminded, however, that the armies at Armageddon are gathering for war against Jesus, the coming King. These armies are specifically targeting Judah and Jerusalem.
Joel 2:3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
This army is advancing leaving a wake of destruction behind them. The land before them as they advance is described “as the garden of Eden.” I don’t think that will be an appropriate description of the land of Israel at the end of the tribulation period. It will have suffered much due to the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments. So that rules out Armageddon. This could, however, make reference to the armies that are part of Gog’s coalition as detailed in Ezekiel 38-39. There are also many similarities to the demonic locust army of Revelation 9 that are part of 5th trumpet judgment. Even with these similarities, I’m stymied by the idea of the land being compared to “the garden of Eden,” which I think is a reference to producing bountifully, since several judgments precede this locust army (if in reference to Revelation 9).
Joel 2:4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Joel 2:5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
At this point, I can only comment on comparisons to the most obvious scriptural connections and keep praying for understanding.
Ezekiel 38:4 & 9 “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen….Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.”
Revelation 9:7-9 “And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle….and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.”
I note that the language of the prophet indicates that he is trying to describe something unknown to him by making reference to things that are known to him—“as” the appearance…”like” the noise x 2, “as” a strong people. It seems to me that this language seems to connect more readily with the passage in Revelation.
Joel 2:6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
I could not find a comparable reference in Ezekiel. This verse also seems to connect with Revelation.
Revelation 9:4-6 “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
Joel 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Joel 2:8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
Joel 2:9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
Although I couldn’t find a similar thought in either Ezekiel or Revelation, I did find a section in Ezekiel that seems to eliminate that connection. This army in Joel will not break ranks and cannot be injured by the sword. Ezekiel states that God will cause the armies of Gog to turn on one another, and they will be killed.
Ezekiel 38:18 & 21-22 “And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face….And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”
Ezekiel 39:3-4 “And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.”
Joel 2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
This description is similar to some of God’s judgments during the tribulation period as described in Revelation. In fact, the locust army of Revelation 9 causes the sun and air to be darkened.
Revelation 9:2 “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”
The 4th trumpet judgment that precedes this judgment of demonic locusts also brings darkness.
Revelation 8:12 “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”
Another thought that enters my mind is that the trumpet judgments are not confined to Israel, but that doesn’t necessarily preclude the prophet Joel from making specific application to Israel. I realized a while back that I had allowed preconceived ideas to blind me from making a distinction between the wrath of God being directed against the unbelieving world and the refining work that God was performing on the Jewish people. He will obviously utilize many of the same judgments in accomplishing both purposes since they will occur during the same timeframe.
In reference to this same time period, the prophet Isaiah also declares that there will be darkness and that the heavens and earth will be shaken.
Isaiah 13:9-13 “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.”
Joel 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Though this is a prophecy concerning the invasion of Judah by a great enemy army, YHWH is clear to state that this army is doing His bidding. Also clear is the fact that its effects will be devastating.
Joel 2:12 ¶ Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joel 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Joel 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
“Therefore also now” – back to present day of Joel
At this point the LORD calls for His people to turn to Him in repentance with a sincere heart as evidenced by fasting, weeping and mourning. The custom of the time was to tear your garment as a sign of mourning. God wants a sign that only He can see that testifies to true repentance—a heart that is broken in repentance for sin.
Scripture is full of the truth that YHWH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and kind.
Exodus 34:6 “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth….”
Nehemiah 9:17 “… but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness….”
Psalms 103:8 “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”
Psalms 117:2 “For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.”
Nahum 1:3 “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power….”
There are also examples of God’s willingness to withdraw judgment due to the prayers of the righteous or due to repentance and obedience in light of pronounced judgment. I immediately think of his agreement with Abraham to spare Sodom if there were but ten righteous men in the city (Genesis 18). He relented from destroying the Israelites through the intercession of Moses (Deuteronomy 9). And much to Jonah’s disappointment, He spared Nineveh for repenting when Jonah declared God’s message of judgment.
Jonah 3:5-10 “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them….let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands….And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
Eventually, however, there comes a point when repentance will no longer forestall judgment. I am reminded of the verses in Romans when God states that He will give the people over to their sin.
Romans 1:21-24 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts….”
An even more important truth to the people that will experience future judgment during the tribulation—the door of mercy will close to those who choose to take the mark of the beast.
Revelation 14:9-10 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb….”
S. Lewis Johnson: “So the prophet likewise says the time for repentance is now. Incidentally, my good Christian friend, the time for repentance is always now. It should never be put off. The more we put off repentance for sin that we have committed the less likely we are to repent. For the more we put off repentance the harder becomes our heart. And so repentance is something that is always to be carried out now.”
Another great quote from Johnson: “It’s like a thermometer. If you look at a thermometer you might say a thermometer is a very changeable thing for the mercury goes up and down on the thermometer in accordance with the heat. But strictly speaking the thermometer is unchangeable. It operates according to an unchangeable principle. So it is unchangeable in its essence. It’s changeable as we look at it. That’s what the Bible means when it says God repents. It’s only as we look at it. He acts according to his well defined and scripturally presented principles.”
Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Joel 2:16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Joel 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
Once again the prophet encourages the spiritual leaders of the people to heed his message and call the people to unite in fasting and repentance. Just as Moses did, the people are encouraged to seek God’s mercy in honor of His name among the heathen.
Numbers 14:13–16 “And Moses said unto the LORD….Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.”
Though I am confident that the ultimate application of this passage is to the future, I am also sure that the people of Joel’s day made application to the events of that time. Again, that is not unusual in prophecy. Events of the past often foreshadow events yet to occur in the future. I am sure that many Jews of the tribulation period will understand the application to themselves.
I can’t help but wonder if this is not referring to the time that the Jews will call out in recognition of the Messiah and in desire of His return…
Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
…because the following verses indicate that the Lord will eventually intervene to bring about the final destruction of this enemy, the land of Israel will once again become fruitful and prosperous and the people of Israel will never again be ashamed.
Joel 2:18 ¶ Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
Joel 2:19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
At the heartfelt prayer of repentance and desire for deliverance from the Jewish people, God will hasten to respond. He is going to abundantly bless the land and position His people in a place of honor among the nations, never again to suffer shame or disgrace. That can only reference the time when Jesus is ruling from Jerusalem during the millennium.
Joel 2:20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
In looking at the Hebrew for the word northern, it was interesting to note that the reference was to a root word defined as “hidden, dark, used only of the north as a quarter (gloomy and unknown).” Many of the enemies of Israel are described in scripture as coming from the north. In this verse, however, I wonder if the emphasis is more on the connection to verse 2 (“a day of darkness and gloominess”) and the unfamiliar army described in verses 4-9.
I have to keep reminding myself how the messages of the prophets often seem to be jumbled so to speak. He can be speaking of something current, then jump forward in time, then jump back in time, etc.
Maybe this is a reference to how the Lord destroys the demon locusts of Revelation 9 that are only allowed to operate for a 5-month period. I am reminded of the time Jesus healed the possessed man in the land of the Gadarenes. The expelled demons were given permission to enter the swine, and the demon-possessed swine jumped into the lake and were drowned.
Luke 8:30-33 “And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.”
Note that the “devils” in Luke did not want to go to the deep, the abussos, the place from which the demon locusts of Revelation 9 ascended. The locusts from Revelation 9 will inhabit some type of body. When their reign of terror ends, maybe the Lord is going to drive them into the Dead Sea [the east sea] and the Mediterranean Sea [the utmost sea]. Maybe the stink will be so great because there will be so many and their the stink will be increased due to the utter wickedness of their being.
The only way I can justify saying that they have done great things is due to the fact that they are acting in accordance to God’s will. After looking at the Hebrew, maybe it was because of the pride they had in what they had done.
Joel 2:21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.
The prophet again turns his focus to the fact that the land will have great cause to rejoice and be glad because YHWH will do great things; He will deliver His people and their land.
Joel 2:22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
The time is coming when no one in the land of Israel—beast or human—will fear going hungry because the fruit of the land will produce abundantly.
Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the firstmonth.
The time is coming when the “children of Zion,” the people of Israel, will rejoice in YHWH as their God. No longer will they be in rebellion against Him. I like the CJB translation of the next part of the verse: “….For he is giving you the right amount of rain in the fall, he makes the rain come down for you, the fall and spring rains — this is what he does first.”
It’s basically another statement of how God will provide for the land to produce abundantly.
Joel 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
The land of Israel will once again become a flourishing, prosperous nation as it was during the reign of Solomon.
In light of all the connections of the locusts with demonic spirits, it seems plausible to me that this verse is referencing all the years of rebellion since the rejection of Messiah. Though the people cannot be excused for the choices they made, they have definitely been under the constant attack of the enemy (Satan) and his forces of evil as they have sought to defeat God’s plan. Israel has ever been essential to the fulfillment of that plan. Much if not most of Satan’s energies have been directed toward the destruction of Israel and toward encouraging the Jews to reject the Messiah, their Deliverer, in hopes of achieving his goal and thwarting God’s plan.
When God’s people call out to Him in repentance and acknowledgement of their Messiah, God is going to recompense (from the Hebrew) Israel for all those wasted years. Their future blessing will greatly exceed the suffering of their past judgment.
It is interesting to note that these wonderful words of blessing are tempered with the truth that their judgment as decreed by God had been deserved.
Spurgeon: “It will strike you at once that the locusts did not eat the years: the locusts ate the fruits of the years’ labor, the harvests of the fields; so that the meaning of the restoration of the years must be the restoration of those fruits and of those harvests which the locusts consumed. You cannot have back your time; but there is a strange and wonderful way in which God can give back to you the wasted blessings, the unripened fruits of years over which you mourned. The fruits of wasted years may yet be yours.”
Joel 2:26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
Joel 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
The abundance of the land will assure that in this future time of blessing the people will never experience want or hunger. They will be satisfied; they will want for nothing. Their lips will be full of praise for God in recognition of the truth that He is the source of their blessing.
The Hebrew for the word never includes the idea of “time out of mind…eternal.” From the time that God again establishes the nation in blessing and abundance, they will never again experience shame or disappointment. Why? Because YHWH will dwell in their midst, and they will worship Him as their LORD, the God of Israel. No thought of false gods will ever tempt them again. This can only reference the millennial kingdom.
Joel 2:28 ¶ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Joel 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
At this point the prophet’s message seems to make a jump back in time from the preceding verses. It seems to me to pick up with the flow of the message from verse 17. It’s like his mind got sidetracked thinking about the future time of blessing.
I was listening to Joe Focht teach on this section, and he pointed out that verses 28-32 begin chapter 3 in the Hebrew Bible. He also noted that this is a description of God’s Holy Spirit working through believers during the church age among “all” peoples. This is not a reference specific to the Jewish people. In fact, Peter (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) made application of these verses to the events at Pentecost (Acts 2). The context was in reference to the ability of those empowered by the Spirit to declare the gospel message without being hindered by language limitations. I think this gifting of the Spirit throughout the body of believers to facilitate the preaching of the gospel message is unique to the church age.
Guzik: “Joel looked forward to the glorious New Covenant, when the Spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh….This was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the disciples gathered in the upper room, waiting in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would come….Now, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon all who believe and receive, even the common folk. Now God offered a New Covenant relationship, and part of the New Covenant was the outpouring of the Spirit for all who receive in faith.”
Ironside: “Be it noted, Peter does not say that “this is the fulfilment” of the prophecy. He simply finds, the explanation of the remarkable events of that day of wonder in these words of Joel; and he declares, “This is that!” In other words, he did not identify the events. He did identify the power. That which had taken place on Pentecost was the very same thing that Joel said would take place when the day of the Lord had come. That the day spoken of had not come, Peter very well knew, and elsewhere has plainly declared it.
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night….”
Personally, I believe the manifestation of the Spirit in the ministry of believers will once again increase in supernatural manifestation as it was in the early church as the time draws ever nearer to the return of Jesus as King.
Joel 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
It stands out to me that this will be a time of judgment “in the heavens and in the earth.” In other words, it won’t be limited to Israel. I couldn’t help but think back to the fact that God used signs and wonders to declare Himself to Pharaoh, and He will do the same again in declaring Himself not only to His own people, but to the nations as well during the coming “great and terrible day of the LORD.” The same Hebrew word for wonders is used in verse 30 as is used in Deuteronomy below.
Deuteronomy 6:22 “And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes….”
The book of Revelation is full of descriptions of the wonders that God will do in heaven and earth using blood, fire and smoke.
Only in Acts and Revelation do we find companion verses for verse 31.
Acts 2:20 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come….”
Revelation 6:12 “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood….”
The verse in Acts and the next indicate that Peter is also prophesying about the coming time of God’s judgment with the intent of producing repentance in the heart of those who hear the message.
Acts 2:21 “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This ties directly to the next verse in Joel.
The verse in Revelation is a result of the opening of the 6th seal that is specifically identified as the beginning of the day of God’s wrath (in anger and vengeance against His enemies), and I think is the specific reference being made here.
Revelation 6:16-17 “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Even in the midst of God’s most severe time of judgment upon His people (to refine and produce a remnant) and upon the nations (in wrath and vengeance on His enemies), mercy is yet available for those who will call out to God in faith and repentance.
Spurgeon: “Now, by the word ‘name’ we understand the person, the character of the Lord. The more, then, you know about the Lord, and the better you know his name, the more intelligently will you call upon that name. If you know his power, you will call upon that power to help you. If you know his mercy, you will call upon him in his grace to save you. If you know his wisdom, you feel that he knows your difficulties, and can help you through them.”
The prophets are full of declarations of God’s intention to preserve a believing remnant of Israel and to rule and reign from Mt. Zion in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 2:2-3 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Micah 4:1-2 “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Zechariah 8:3 “Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.”
This will obviously come to pass when the Lord Jesus returns as King of kings to take the throne of David in Jerusalem at the end of the tribulation.
Revelation 20:4 “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
When I looked at the Hebrew for deliverance, it was very interesting to note that it made specific reference to an “escaped remnant.” The preservation of this remnant has also been clearly recorded throughout scripture.
Isaiah 10:20-21 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.”
Jeremiah 23:3-6 “And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Micah 2:12-13 “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.”
Every time I read through Revelation I am amazed that any survive that awful time of judgment, let alone enough for Antichrist to muster a huge army and others be left to be judged regarding worthiness to enter Messiah’s kingdom—not only from Israel but from among the nations.
The chapter break is unfortunate. Chapter 3 will pick right up with the flow of this chapter.