OT: Joel
Background
We don’t know much about the prophet Joel. We do know he was located in the Southern Kingdom of Judah because his prophecy is aimed at Judah and Jerusalem. Debate exists over exactly when to date his ministry, but the best arguments seem to be for dating it sometime in the mid 9th century BC. This would make Joel a contemporary with Obadiah and Elisha.
We don’t know anything about Joel’s background, other than his dad’s name, Pethuel.
Overview
Unlike the other prophets we’ve looked at so far, Joel doesn’t call the people out for idolatry. Instead he calls them out for apathy. He announces God’s coming judgment vividly. The Day of the Lord, the day on which God will judge the nations, is the main theme of Joel. This day also includes a message of hope for those who belong to the Lord. So like the other prophets Joel exposes sin, announces judgment, and gives hope of redemption. His focus is the coming judgment.
Outline
Judgment of Judah, Day of the Lord (1:1-2:17)
Mercy of the Lord, Judgment of nations (2:18-3:21)
Apathy and Repentance
Joel’s exposure of the people’s sin isn’t as obvious as Hosea or the other prophets. The prophet is addressing the people’s apathy and complacency. The people just aren’t concerned with their sin, or with God’s anger over it. Joel issues a wake up call.
The prophet begins by pointing out a natural disaster, an infestation of locusts that has resulted in the destruction of all crops.
2 Hear this, you elders;
give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.
4 What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten. (ESV)
It seems this is the worst locust plague in generations.
28:1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, 29 and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless. 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, 34 so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
36 “The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away. 38 You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. 41 You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. 49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, 50 a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. 51 It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.
52 “They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the Lord your God has given you. 53 And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. 54 The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left, 55 so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. 56 The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter, 57 her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.
58 “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. 60 And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. 62 Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. 63 And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
64 “And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. 67 In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see. 68 And the Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.” (ESV)
(v38) had specified the curses that would be brought on the people for breaking the covenant, and this is one of those curses. Joel uses it as his sermon illustration.
Joel 1:5
Even in the face of such a calamity, the people are complacent and apathetic. They don’t seem concerned about it. Joel sees it as a sign of God’s judgment for the nation’s sins, but the people don’t see it all.
Joel 1:13-14
Even the spiritual leaders are apathetic. They haven’t prayed to God about the situation. They haven’t called the people to repentance. They don’t even care that the crops have been eaten and they won’t have grain for offerings to the Lord. The prophet calls them to their tasks.
Joel 2:1
Joel is sounding the alarm, calling the people to repent of their sin, and their lack of concern for sin. God’s fury is stirred up against the people because of sin, and they don’t care.
Consider the context of the Minor Prophets, and you’ll see the progression. Hosea pointed out the nation’s unfaithfulness to God, and Joel is pointing out the people’s lack of concern about it. These two things (unfaithfulness and apathy) are a very dangerous combination.
Our Apathy
Ask yourself this. “Am I any different?” Are you concerned about your sin? Are you broken over it? Or do you just take it in stride?
Too often I think we’re apathetic about our sin. We like to be concerned about the sin of others, but we most often choose to ignore our own sin.
Do you even examine your life looking for idols and sin? When there is sin you become aware of, are you angered by it? Do you hate your sin? God does.
Do you have a particular sin you are prone to? Anger, lust, pride, greed, gluttony, vanity, gossip, envy, lying…
Are you provoked by your sin, or do you tolerate it? Even embrace it?
I challenge you. Identify one particular sin that you are prone to, which you have overlooked or been apathetic about in the past. This week I want you to identify this sin. Think about the roots of this sin. Ask yourself, what kind of idolatry is resulting in this sin? Pray about it, fast over it, ask God to stir up your spirit and provoke you concerning this sin. Don’t remain apathetic!
The Day of the Lord
Moving into chapter 2, Joel begins to describe the awesome and terrible day of judgment that is coming, known as The Day of the Lord. He’s already told us it involves destruction.
Joel 1:15
Using the imagery from the locust plague he described at the beginning of the book, the prophet now presents a terrifying picture of this coming judgment.
Joel 2:1-2
He describes God’s judgment as an invading army, numerous as the locusts that had recently plagued the nation. So numerous that the army appears as a thick dark blackness sweeping over the land.
Joel 2:3
While the locusts ate all the crops, this judgment of God is portrayed as a destroying fire that consumes everything in its path. Compared with the devastation left in its wake, the locust plague had left the country looking like the garden of Eden.
Joel 2:4-5
Joel even describes the sound of this army of the Lord. There is the rumble of chariots, and crackling of a fire consuming brush. Think about that sound, now imagine it is menacingly headed toward you. Joel is not just painting a picture, he presenting a total sensory experience here!
Joel 2:6-9
Mingled with the menacing sound Joel has already described, there is also a terrifying silence. There are not the normal sounds of soldiers jostling one another, for this army is frightening in its efficiency. Like a massive, numerous army of special forces troops,
“Most of the people he killed weren’t even aware he was in the room with them.”
Nothing, and no one, escapes this judgment. There is no refuge or defense, only anguish. Even the earth trembles.
Joel 2:10-11
The prophet’s point with all this is that while it may seem you’re getting away with sin for the time, you will eventually have to answer to God.
Another call to repent
Immediately following this terrifying picture of coming judgment, the prophet presents to us a message of hope bound up with a call to repentance.
Joel 2:12-14
These are perhaps the key verses in the book of Joel. The prophet has pointed out their apathy over sin, and he has announced the frightening horrific judgment that is coming. Now he calls for acts of repentance. Not just worldly sorrow, but godly repentance.
What’s the difference?
Paul discusses the difference in 2 Corinthians.
8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (ESV)
Paul here contrasts godly grief/sorrow with worldly grief/sorrow. The first leads to repentance, the second to death.
Godly grief over sin means to share the heart of God concerning your own sin. Remember in Ezekiel (6:9) we learned that God is broken hearted over our sin and rebellion. If we share God’s heart, we should be broken hearted over our sin and rebellion against God. This kind of brokenness leads to repentance.
…sorrow according to God is that which has an eye to God, while they reckon it the one misery — to have lost the favor of God; when, impressed with fear of His judgment, they mourn over their sins. This sorrow Paul makes the cause and origin of repentance. This is carefully to be observed, for unless the sinner be dissatisfied with himself, detest his manner of life, and be thoroughly grieved from an apprehension of sin, he will never betake himself to the Lord. On the other hand, it is impossible for a man to experience a sorrow of this kind, without its giving birth to a new heart. Hence repentance takes its rise in grief, for the reason that I have mentioned — because no one can return to the right way, but the man who hates sin; but where hatred of sin is, there is self-dissatisfaction and grief. – Calvin (on
2 Corinthians 7:1010 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (ESV)
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Notice that Godly sorrow, guilt over your sin, is not the same thing as repentance. It just leads to repentance. Repentance is the action in your life that results from a changed heart.
Worldly grief, on the other hand does not experience repentance, but instead leads to death. This kind of grief is not concerned so much with our sin, but rather worldly grief is sorrow over being caught, sorrow over being punished, sorrow over the consequences of our sin. Worldly grief is what happens when you are exposed as the imperfect sinner that you are, and you’re sorry people see you that way because you still don’t want to admit that’s who you really are. Worldly grief makes a show of being sorrowful, but the heart is not really renovated. This leads only to hypocrisy, moralism, behavior modification without heart renovation, and self-justification which is spiritual death.
This is why Joel tells the people to repent and rend their hearts rather than their clothes. He’s telling them not to make a show of being sorry for their sin, but to actually experience godly grief in their hearts.
The joyful part of all this is that our God is so loving and forgiving that he is patient, gracious and merciful with unrepentant sinners. His anger is slow to come, his love is steadfast and unchanging, even in the face of our continued rebellion. And he is eager to relent of his judgment. He desires that we repent, so that he may have mercy.
The Lord’s Mercy
The Lord delights to show mercy. The rest of chapter 2 is taken up with descriptions of God’s mercy on the people. Blessings are pronounced. The greatest of which comes in verse 27.
Joel 2:27
God dwelling in the midst of his people has been a key theme throughout the Old Testament. And immediately following this verse is a prophecy concerning a future time in which God’s spirit is to be poured out on his people in great measure.
The apostle Peter quotes these verses in
2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (ESV)
to explain what is happening at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the believers and the explosive growth of the church began. As Christians, we now experience this indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. We experience this promise which was delivered through the prophet Joel. God doesn’t just live in a tent or building in our midst, he lives in us, each of us being a temple for him to dwell in.
And the same promise Joel made in the last verse of chapter 2, still holds true today.
“…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Judgment of the Nations
In chapter 3 Joel returns to his main theme, the Day of the Lord. Here he presents the day as a day of judgment on all the nations of the earth.
Joel 3:1-3
Again the prophet presents a picture of the Day to be feared by the wicked. There is no peace.
Joel 3:10
There will be a harvest, and a pouring out of wrath.
Joel 3:13
This is language that is used again in the book of Revelation to describe the executing of God’s judgment on the nations.
19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (ESV)
This is a Day to be feared by the enemies of God.
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining. (ESV)
But the Lord’s people have nothing to fear on this Day.
Joel 3:16
Future Glory
And so the prophet ends his writing with promises of future glory for the people of God. God will judge his enemies and pour out his wrath on them. But God will bless his people, dwelling in their midst and providing every good thing. These promises closely resemble the promises near the end of Revelation where God promises his people peace and joy in his presence for all eternity.
Conclusion
The message of Joel is a wake up call desperately needed even today. Wake up! Wake up from apathy concerning sin! Rend your heart and experience godly grief for your sins, leading to repentance. Enjoy God’s indwelling Spirit now, and look forward to eternity in his presence.
