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Joel 1-3     Listen Podcast

An introduction to Joel
Theories about the date of the writing of the Book of Joel vary from the ninth century B.C. all the way down to the second century B.C. There is no king mentioned in this book to give us a time reference point. Some have suggested that because the priests seem to be in the lead rather than a king, it must belong to the period after the exiles return to their land in the late sixth century when the priests were the de facto leaders of the people. There is no lineage given to Joel that might help us find an absolute century for him. You'll see from my comments in chapter 2, that I favor the way the prophecy seems to fit into the events surrounding the unsuccessful siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. by the Assyrians (see notes on II Kings 18:13-19:37; II Chronicles 32:9-22; Isaiah 36-37).

Have you ever seen so many locusts? (Joel 1:1-12)

1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, you elders,
And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!
Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or even in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation.
4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
Because of the new wine,
For it has been cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has come up against My land,
Strong, and without number;
His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
7 He has laid waste My vine,
And ruined My fig tree;
He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;
Its branches are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
For the husband of her youth.
9 The grain offering and the drink offering
Have been cut off from the house of the LORD;
The priests mourn, who minister to the LORD.
10 The field is wasted,
The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine is dried up,
The oil fails.
11 Be ashamed, you farmers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine has dried up,
And the fig tree has withered;
The pomegranate tree,
The palm tree also,
And the apple tree—
All the trees of the field are withered;
Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.

Something terrible has happened in israel that prompts Joel to write the words of this prophecy. These verses talk about a terrible invasion of locusts on the land, as described in verse 4, "What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten." They ate everything. The fact that four different Hebrew words are used in verse 4 to describe these locusts probably is to emphasize their thoroughness in the devastation left behind.

It's interesting to remember that God sent locusts as one of the steps leading up to the release of Israel from Egyptian captivity. Furthermore, just prior to Israel's entry into Canaan in Deuteronomy 28 (see notes) we see Moses issuing a decree to Israel that rebellion will lead to curses upon Israel, including locusts (the grasshopper's cousins). In II Chronicles 7:13 (see notes), God, speaking to Solomon at the time of the temple dedication, includes locusts as a potential judgment of God if Israel ceases to serve the one true God. Their massive numbers in these periodic swarms that engulfed the whole region gave locusts a reputation - a bad reputation as we see incidental references to them in Judges 6:5 (see notes), Judges 7:12 (see notes) and Jerermiah 46:23 (see notes). In those passages we see their reference regarding soldiers that were too many to number...like a swarm of locusts. Having passed through, it was common that all crops in the land would have been destroyed. This phenomenon still occurs from time to time in that region today. In November/December, 2004 the inhabitants of that region, including the southern portion of Israel, were once again fighting massive swarms of locusts.

Joel calls for national repentance (Joel 1:13-20)

13 Gird yourselves and lament, you priests;
Wail, you who minister before the altar;
Come, lie all night in sackcloth,
You who minister to my God;
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the LORD your God,
And cry out to the LORD.
15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the LORD is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes,
Joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The seed shrivels under the clods,
Storehouses are in shambles;
Barns are broken down,
For the grain has withered.
18 How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are restless,
Because they have no pasture;
Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
19 O LORD, to You I cry out;
For fire has devoured the open pastures,
And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 The beasts of the field also cry out to You,
For the water brooks are dried up,
And fire has devoured the open pastures.

Joel directs the priests (verse 13) to call for "a sacred assembly" (verse 14), which is to consist of "the elders and all the inhabitants of the land." You will notice that no king is mentioned here. That has caused some to believe that this call by Joel must have taken place when there was no king on the throne...like after the exiles returned to the land. However, the warning of verse 15 says, "Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty." That "day of the LORD" commonly referenced one of two events by the prophets in the Old Testament, the destruction by the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C. or the destruction by the Babylonians in the seventh century. See the notes on chapter 2 for greater insight. So...here's the bottom line: The land is experiencing a national crisis as a result of the locusts that have just passed through. Likewise, the nation needs to repent in order to avoid a greater chastisement from God.

Joel warns of a bigger judgment (Joel 2:1-27)

1 Blow 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 is coming,
For it is at hand:
2 A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
A people come, great and strong,
The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.
3 A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like the Garden of Eden before them,
And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like swift steeds, so they run.
5 With a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain;
All faces are drained of color.
7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break ranks.
8 They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not cut down.
9 They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They enter at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
11 The LORD gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible;
Who can endure it?
12 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
14 Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave a blessing behind Him—
A grain offering and a drink offering
For the LORD your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
17 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
19 The LORD will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But I will remove far from you the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done monstrous things.”
21 Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the LORD has done marvelous things!
22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And rejoice in the LORD your God;
For He has given you the former rain faithfully,
And He will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.
27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:
I am the LORD your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.

You think this is bad (the locusts), hang on for an even greater judgment of God on his people. If Joel prophesied between the fall of Israel (721 B.C.) and the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.), then this coming judgment could be a reference to another wave of the Assyrian army or perhaps even the Babylonian army. Whatever the coming judgment, it was likened to the army of locusts in chapter 1. You will recall that at the demise of the Northern Kingdom, Jerusalem (aka Zion) was surrounded by the Assyrian army, and all food and supplies were cut off from the city. Famine was prevalent in Jerusalem because of this. It would make sense to assign this prophecy to that period, likening the massive Assyrian army to the locust plague of chapter 1. There is a call for repentance here to avert this judgment. You will recall that, in fact, Jerusalem was spared from the Assyrian army - miraculously. I like the way this passage seems to fit here in this time period. Verse 20 could have reference to the retreat of the Assyrian army ("the northern army") after God miraculously killed 185,000 troops around Jerusalem in 701 B.C. The historical record is found in II Kings 18:13-19:37; II Chronicles 32:9-22; Isaiah 36-37 (see notes). Hezekiah did turn to God for deliverance from the Assyrian army as Joel proclaims must be done if deliverance is to be possible. You know...Joel's prophecy just fits nicely here during this era.

Back to the future (Joel 2:28-32)

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
32 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the LORD has said,
Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

Whatever the time period of the immediate crisis, Joel takes his prophetic word to a yet-future period of restoration for Israel beginning in verse 28. Peter takes off on this passage in Acts 2:16 (see notes) on the day of Pentecost. He sees the miraculous events of that day as a presentation of the kingdom of God to Israel once again for their acceptance. However, while many Jews were saved that day, as a whole the Jews rejected the Gospel message he preached in Acts 2. The events of Joel 2:28-3:21 were not fulfilled at that time. As a matter of fact, note the similarity of Joel 2:31 with Revelation 6:12 (see notes), "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood." The happenings are identical. Those events will actually take place during the tribulation very near the midpoint of that period.

So, while Joel's prophecy is not to be fulfilled until the days leading up to the second coming of Jesus at the end of the Tribulation, the internalization of God's spirit in Believers is the aspect of the New Covenant that Peter emphasizes in Acts 2. In fact, since Peter and Paul made references in their writings with regard to the imminent return of Jesus, Peter was probably anticipating these cataclysmic tribulation events mentioned in Revelation 6 to follow within his lifetime.

Israel's Restoration (Joel 3)

1 “For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
3 They have cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
4 “Indeed, what have you to do with Me,
O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?
Will you retaliate against Me?
But if you retaliate against Me,
Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head;
5 Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My prized possessions.
6 Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
You have sold to the Greeks,
That you may remove them far from their borders.
7 “Behold, I will raise them
Out of the place to which you have sold them,
And will return your retaliation upon your own head.
8 I will sell your sons and your daughters
Into the hand of the people of Judah,
And they will sell them to the Sabeans,
To a people far off;
For the LORD has spoken.”
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am strong.’ ”
11 Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD.
12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”
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 moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
16 The LORD also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the LORD will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.
17 “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God,
Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
18 And it will come to pass in that day
That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD
And water the Valley of Acacias.
19 “Egypt shall be a desolation,
And Edom a desolate wilderness,
Because of violence against the people of Judah,
For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall abide forever,
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
For the LORD dwells in Zion.”

The prophetic events of chapter 3 must be assigned to the judgment of the Battle of Armageddon at the end of the tribulation and the restoration of Israel at the beginning of the millennium. The wording regarding Jerusalem in verses 20-21 cannot be plausibly fulfilled any other way. We see the judgment of the nations which Christ addressed in Matthew 25:31-46 (see notes) in that passage as well. Israel will be restored in Joel's prophecy, just as will take place immediately following the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:11-21, see notes) leading into the millennium where Joel's prophecy will find complete fulfillment.

Notice the river in verse 18. It extends from the millennium temple all the way to the Dead Sea through the "Valley of Acacias." Ezekiel also mentions this river in Ezekiel 47:1-12 (see notes).

Incidentally, "Palestine" in verse 4 (KJV, Philistia in NKJV) is translated from the Hebrew word "Plesheth" and should be understood as "Philistines." The KJV also translates this word as "Palestina" in Exodus 15:14 (see notes) and Isaiah 14:29 & 31 (see notes). In the other four usages, all found in the Psalms (60:8, 83:7, 87:4 and 108:9), the word is appropriately translated Philistines or Philistia. The actual name of "Palestine" to describe the region of today's Israel was a late designation of the second century ascribed to it by the Romans in an attempt to prevent the Jews from laying claim to the land after the Bar-Kokhba revolt of the early second century A.D. Today, "Palestine" is still used as a universally accepted designation for the whole region of the "Holy Land" which is deemed to be politically correct in that it conveys no God-given rights of ownership to the Jewish people. You'll pardon me if I continue to refer to that region as "The Holy Land." During the millennium, that designation will be indisputable.