Joel

The Mercy of the Lord and Judgment against the Nations. The second part of Joel is signaled by the appearance in 2:18 of the Hebrew narrative tense for the first time in the book.

Pronouncements about the day of the Lord often speak of its imminence—it will come soon, it is impending. Three times Joel declared that the day of the Lord was “near” (v. 1; 1:15; 3:14), and most of the other prophets who referred to the day of the Lord also spoke of it as “near” (Is 13:6; Ezk 30:3; Ob 15; Zph 1:7,14). Zephaniah added that the day was “rapidly approaching”(Zph 1:14). Since well more than two millennia have passed since these prophets wrote, it may seem strange that they used such an expression for an event that is yet to occur.

Christian interpreters who have pondered this biblical phenomenon have arrived at different explanations for it. One consideration is that, because the prophets who spoke of the imminence of the day were themselves widely separated in time (spanning a period of 350 years or more), they did not mean that it would have to arrive within a few years. Their unified witness to the coming of the day speaks not of its timing but of its certainty and of the foreboding associated with it. The devastating judgment could come at any time; this urgency was what they sought to convey.

The tension between the imminence and delay of the day of the Lord is a question taken up in the NT. Peter pointed out that God’s timing may differ from human expectations and that a delay in his timetable for judgment is due to his grace. He wants to afford every possible opportunity for people to repent before bringing the judgment (2Pt 3:8-10).

Army Invasion: The Arrival of the Day of the Lord. Joel describes the coming of an army, whose arrival may yet be averted by wholehearted return to the Lord. Verses 1–11 describe the coming of this great army, and vv. 12–17 describe the command to return to the Lord.

Zion is the place of the Lord’s throne. The word generally refers to the temple region but could also signify Jerusalem in its entirety.

Darkness recalls the Lord’s appearance at Sinai (Ex. 19:16–19; Deut. 4:11; 5:22–23). God’s appearance at Sinai foreshadows his “day” in the future (Amos 5:18–20; Zeph. 1:14–15).

Fire devours … flame burns. In keeping with biblical imagery regarding God’s coming (Ps. 50:3; 97:3; Isa. 30:27; 66:15), the army is associated with destructive fire (see Joel 1:19). like the garden of Eden … a desolate wilderness. The destructive power of this “great … people” (Hb. ‘am rab, 2:2) can only be compared to the devastation wrought to God’s original creation by mankind’s fall (Gen. 2:8, 10; 3:17–19; 13:10).

like … horses. (Cf. Job 39:19–20; Jer. 51:27.) Locusts and armies have an analogous appearance, movement, and sound; both are used by Joel to capture the presence of the ultimate powerful army (lit., “mighty people” [Hb. ‘am ‘atsum]).

they do not swerve. … They do not jostle. This army cannot be thwarted from its assigned course as every member of the unified ranks advances. It executes its actions (leap, run, climb, enter) at will, moving from outside to inside (city, walls, houses, windows).

before them (lit., “before him”; as in vv. 3, 6). quakes … tremble. … darkened. Only the day of the Lord could produce this “cosmic shakedown.” In many cases in the Prophets, the Hebrew verb ra‘ash (here translated “tremble”) was associated with the end of the age, the return of chaos, and God’s final judgment (Isa. 13:13; 24:18; Jer. 4:23–24; Amos 8:8–9; Nah. 1:5; Hag. 2:6, 21).

utters his voice. Thunder is associated with the cosmic events of v. 10 (cf. Job 37:4; Ps. 18:13; 77:17; Jer. 10:13). his army. The force that brings such dread and terror is under God’s command. he who executes. The parallelism suggests that “he” refers to the army as executor of the Lord’s command (cf. Ezek. 9:1–11).

Yet even now … return. There is still time for the people to return to the Lord, that is, to repent of their coldness toward him. all your heart. God calls for undivided devotion.

Rend your hearts is an expression of internal anguish. This command, coupled with the wholehearted devotion prescribed in v. 12, echoes Deut. 30:6, where a circumcised heart is one that loves God completely. gracious and merciful. God’s unchanging character, described throughout Scripture, is the grounds for his people’s repentance (cf. Ex. 34:6–7).

Who knows. The sovereign God acts according to his own purposes. turn and relent. The language leaves open the possibility that the Lord, in keeping with his revealed character (cf. Jonah 3:9; 4:2), will bring blessing instead of disaster.

Consecrate the congregation. As in 1:14, every segment of the religious community assembles for worship, readying themselves to call upon the Lord with a fast (2:15). Even nursing infants, i.e., children still being breast-fed, and newlyweds are not exempt.

The place of prayer was between the entrance hall to the temple (the vestibule or portico) and the altar. Your people is an appeal to God’s covenantal care for his people. A byword means a “proverb” or “common saying,” often used in scorn. An alternative translation is “to rule over them” (see esv footnote), which makes sense if a foreign, human invasion is in view. Where is their God? is a mocking question from those who doubt that God defends his people (Ps. 79:10; 115:2).

The Lord responded to the people’s repentance, spared the land, and promised a new era of prosperity. After speaking of the “great army” of destruction that the Lord had sent against Judah (v. 25), Joel turned to his promise of restoration (see 3:1). Many of the Minor Prophets stress that the Lord personally brings disaster for the purpose of punishment or judgment (2:25; Hs 5:14; Am 1:4; Mc 1:12; Nah 1:2; Zph 1:17; Hg 2:17; Zch 8:10). In the prophetic worldview, God is ultimately behind everything that takes place, orchestrating the course of history even when injustice is seemingly allowed to prevail.

As objectionable as such a view of history may appear to people with a modern Western worldview, the Bible clearly presents it. But lest that understanding of history be thought to attribute injustice to God, the Bible also recognizes more immediate causes for things that happen. Such immediate causes could be the natural operating conditions of global life (severe weather, earth tremors, the cycles of living creatures such as locusts) with which God would not interfere without disrupting the stability of his creation. Or they might be the cultural effects of human disregard of God’s directives for conduct and worship (e.g., social disintegration and inequality, violence, crime, international conflict). For Joel, both of these immediate causes combined to present a foretaste of divine judgment, which only God’s gracious purpose in the ultimate establishment of his kingdom can override.

Mercy: The Lord Responds by Restoring His People. The Lord answers the prayer of v. 17. He restores the reputation of his people (vv. 18–20), the land (vv. 21–27), and his presence through pouring out the Spirit (vv. 28–32). Much of this unit is spoken by the Lord himself in the first person.

jealous. Jealousy here is a deep devotion that leads the Lord to intervene, saving his people for the sake of his own glory (Ezek. 39:25; Zech. 1:14; 8:2).

answered. The Lord hears the prayers of his people.

The northerner may be the locusts, an invading army, or a final apocalyptic enemy of Israel. Arguments for the third option include: (1) reference to locusts as the “northerner” would be unusual, as they typically came from the south or the east; (2) Jeremiah and Ezekiel portray a great enemy coming from the north (see Jer. 1:14–15; 4:6; 6:1, 22–23; Ezek. 23:24; 26:7; 38:6, 15; 39:2); and (3) the words vanguard … rear guard (lit., “his face” and “his end”) show that destruction is complete and final. eastern sea … western sea. The Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.

Ironically, the “foul smell” (v. 20) of corpses is all that remains of the great deeds of this enemy (Isa. 34:3). This contrasts with the great things done by the Lord, whose acts of salvation form the basis of the command to fear not.

are green. The underlying Hebrew verb (dasha’) is found elsewhere in Scripture only at Gen. 1:11. Perhaps Joel wants his readers to envisage the restoration of the land to an Eden-like state (see Joel 2:3).

early rain (Hb. hammoreh) … vindication (Hb. litsdaqah). The clause by itself can also be understood as “the teacher [Hb. hammoreh] for righteousness,” a figure mentioned in the Qumran Scrolls of the Dead Sea. But the word moreh in the final line of the verse clearly means “early rain,” and thus the context supports the esv translation.

Being human often means bearing loss never to be regained (the years that the swarming locust has eaten), and yet the Lord, the bringer of the calamity (Ps. 90:15), is also the Lord of mercy and abundant grace who is fully able to recompense: I will restore to you. On “locust,” see Joel 1:4. my great army … I sent. As at 2:11 and elsewhere (e.g., Amos 4:6–13), those whom the Lord uses to judge his people are under his authority.

You shall know. The great purpose of the nation’s trauma is for them to know God’s presence, that he is the covenant-keeping God, and that he will remove their shame. I am the LORD your God is a recognition of God’s covenantal bond with Israel (Ex. 6:7; Deut. 5:6; Isa. 43:3; Ezek. 20:5). The perpetual removal of shame unites God’s provision (Joel 2:26) with his presence and peerless nature (v. 27).

Some past Jewish interpreters understood this passage to be referring to the messianic age. The early church followed this line of thinking, as Peter quoted this passage on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17–21).

Afterward refers to a time after the assurances of vv. 18–27 and a time that is parallel with in those days (v. 29). pour out my Spirit. The abundant, life-giving rains (v. 23), which God will shower on his people, illustrate the way in which God will pour out his Spirit on his people in the future (cf. Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 39:29). all flesh. All God’s people will experience the outpouring of the Spirit and intimate communication with the Lord. The sign of this outpouring will be that not just a few but all (sons and … daughters, old … and … young, male and female) will prophesy and dream dreams and see visions.

Universal wonders related to the day of the Lord are war-like activities on earth (fire … columns of smoke) and unnatural events in the sky (darkness, see 2:10; 3:15; Isa. 13:10; Amos 8:9). Some interpreters hold that these events of judgment, which did not take place at Pentecost (see notes on Acts 2:17; 2:19–21), will still take place sometime in the future, at the return of Christ. These interpreters hold that OT prophecies should often be understood in terms of both a near-term and a long-term fulfillment—with some long-term events being fulfilled when Jesus brought the good news of salvation at his first coming, but with other long-term events being fulfilled when he will return in judgment at his second coming. Other interpreters hold that the language used here should be understood as prophetic symbolism for God’s judgment, and that no specific literal fulfillment is intended.

everyone. Salvation is extended beyond the devastation caused by the locusts. calls on the name. This implies exclusive, covenantal worship of the only God who is able to save (Ps. 116:4; Prov. 18:10; Isa. 44:5–8). Paul quotes this in Rom. 10:13 because he, along with other Christians, understood these verses to describe events in the messianic age, when Jews and Gentiles alike would be saved. The words as the LORD has said may refer to Isa. 4:3; Joel 2:27; or Obad. 17. Those who escape are parallel to survivors … whom the LORD calls. Those whom the Lord calls are those who respond by calling on his name (Gen. 12:8; 13:4; Isa. 51:2).