The first and third installments in The Twelve both begin by dating the prophecies that follow by the reigns of both southern and northern kings. Those two books in this collection also were written primarily to the northern kingdom. But Joel, the second installment in The Twelve, begins with a simple subtitle: “The word of YHWH that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.” And Joel was written primarily for the southern kingdom, suggested by the concern for Judah and Jerusalem in the text.
The fact that it offers no kings by which to date the prophecy that follows probably means either that this Joel was well-known to the Ancient Israelite or it is purposely not included to make the application more universal. That is, it could have been any number of locust plagues and so it serves as a standing warning. We know that it was written at some point when the Temple is operating (whether the Solomonic Temple or the Second Temple we do not know for certain).
Also we see in the book that the elders and priests are the primary leaders, which means either that it was written when the monarchy was weak (ninth century) or when the monarchy was no longer reigning (postexilic, late 6th century to mid 5th century). An argument for the latter appears the most likely because Judah is called “Israel” and there is no mention of a northern kingdom.
In the Septuagint, Joel comes after Micah. Thankfully our English Bibles ignore the Septuagint order for The Twelve and follow the Hebrew canonical order.
The Hebrew Canon puts Joel between Hosea and Amos. Moreover, Hosea is stitched to Joel as we saw when looking at Hosea 14:7 and Joel 1:10 and Joel 3:15. And Joel is stitched to Amos as we saw looking at Joel 3:16 and Amos 1:2 and Joel 3:18 and Amos 9:13. And in the Hebrew Canon the order goes geographically with these three books from north, to south, to north.
Dillard says, “Several features suggest that the Book of Joel as a whole is either a liturgical text intended for repeated use on occasions of national lament or at least a historical example of one such lament.” This may be one of the reasons it is difficult to date the book with certainty – it needed to be generic enough to be used for various situations. It explains why the text calls for repentance, for example, but never tells us what particular sin(s) led to the plague and call for repentance. The structure of the book alternates from the immediate disaster to the impending day of YHWH (A, B, A’, B’).
The place where this communal lament would happen is the Temple. Solomon had prayed that YHWH would hear the prayers of the people during locust outbreaks (1 Kings 8:37-40) and so this was a prayer of lament to use in such a situation. These locust plagues have historically been a huge problem usually followed by an outbreak of diseases and famines. In 1921 we discovered that locusts are ordinary grasshoppers but under the right conditions they change in character drastically.
For its length, Joel is disproportionally quoted in the New Testament. In fact, Peter preaches from Joel 2:28-32 (3:1ff in Hebrew) on Pentecost. Paul cites Joel 2:28 in Romans 10:12 to show that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles as the Spirit was poured out on all kinds of people (“all flesh”). The verse that says, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved” in the New Testament is understood to be the name of the Lord Jesus and the idea of calling on the Lord or the name of the Lord is mentioned often. And Joel’s prophecy points forward to what Paul says in Galatians 3:28 – neither Jew/Greek, slave/free, male/female.
The famous passage begins, “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, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” Note the chiastic order of the passage: “and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit” is answered by “in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” The sons and daughters are answered by the male and female servants. And the old men (elders) by the young men.
The reason that dreams and visions are the two things mentioned is that these were the primary forms of revelation for the prophets (Numbers 12:6). Thus the passage is describing the prophethood of all believers.
No longer would the Spirit of God only rest upon the elders of Israel. Remember when the Spirit was poured out upon the elders in the book of Numbers they were able to speak in tongues briefly as a sign that they had received the Spirit. And there were two elders who were back in the camp instead of with the rest like they should have been. And they were prophesying. And when Joshua told Moses, Moses said that he wished that everyone would have the Spirit. The prayer of Moses, Joel sees as fulfilled after the latter days.
The sign that the Spirit had been poured out on Pentecost was the people briefly spoke in tongues – and in keeping with the fire theophany of the next verse in Joel – there were the tongues of flames. Joel 2:30-31 says, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of YHWH comes” (see verse 10 and Rev 6:12). The phrase “the great and awesome day of YHWH comes” is also at the end of Malachi saying Elijah will be sent before it.
To be sure on the day that Christ was crucified the sun was turned to darkness. Remember too that this language of what happens to the sun and moon represent invisible heavenly realities since the sun and moon are in the visible “heavens.” The passage is describing a cosmic change, which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ began and Pentecost completes.
Joel continues, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” At the end of the passage Joel is quoting (“as YHWH has said”) from Obadiah 17a. Later he will quote the second half of Obadiah 17a in Joel 3:17 (English numbering). The fiery ordeal of Pentecost should lead then to people calling on the name of the Lord Jesus for salvation.
Returning to the beginning of the prophecy, Joel 1:2-3 serve to open the invitation to this lamentation to be prayed by the community. The elders and all the inhabitants of the land are called to listen. The elders would be in a place to answer the question, “Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?” And they are to teach their children, and their children their children, and their children to another generation. The destruction by the locusts was total (Joel 1:4).
Dillard says, “a locust plague would be a ‘sobering’ thought indeed for heavy drinkers.” This is because the supplies for alcoholic drink would disappear rather quickly and it would take some time before new drinks could be available unless imported (which was very expensive). Thus verse five says, “Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.”
The next couple verses describe the locusts as being like the Babylonians were (remember too that often Israel is likened to a vine and fig tree): “For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white” (Joel 1:6-7).
But not only are those who are drunkards and those who enjoy wine to weep and wail, but really the whole people are to lament these things. “Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth” (Joel 1:8). This locust plague judgment makes the grain offerings end and drink offerings dry up at the Temple and so the priests mourn (cf. Joel 1:9). The priests are called “the ministers of YHWH.” All of this is described in poetic verse, we will not see prose until the end of chapter 2 in English.
The poetry says that the ground mourns and says that because the grain is gone the wine dries up and the oil languishes. Next the tillers of the soil are told to be ashamed (a verb that sounds like the Hebrew for dry up) and the vinedressers to wail. The locusts left nothing. The Promised Land that had been flowing with milk and honey is now barren. It is paradise lost.
In Joel 1:13 the priests are told to put on sackcloth and to lament, the ministers of the altar are told to wail and pass the night in sackcloth. They are told in the next verse to consecrate a fast and call a solemn assembly (a worship gathering), gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the Temple and “cry out to the LORD.”
Now that everyone has been thoroughly summoned, verse 15 begins the lament itself “Alas for the day!” The lament consists of their complaint (v.15-18) followed by a prayer for relief (v.19-20). The locust plague is seen as a sign that the day of the LORD is near.
Joel 1 gave us the immediate disaster of the locust plague and then Joel 2 (English Joel 2:1-17) tells us of the coming disaster of the day of the LORD. The sound of the trumpet warns of an attack “on my holy mountain” (Joel 2:1). The disaster then is described as like a locust plague. “The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them like a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them” (Joel 2:3). Also, “The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining” (Joel 2:10).
That last verse should sound familiar given how it is taken up in the Lord’s answer that we saw in the passage quoted by Peter at Pentecost. As should this phrase from the next verse: “For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?” Of course, we said earlier that those who can endure it are those who call upon the name of the LORD for salvation. And what takes place next in the text of Joel 2:12-14 is an invitation to repentance with famous words.
“Yet even now,” declares YHWH, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to YHWH, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal-love; and he relents [repents] over disaster. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for YHWH your God? (Joel 2:12-14).
Joel 2:15-17 then is a summons to the Temple for fasting and prayer. “A solemn assembly” where they will pray for relief, “Spare your people, O YHWH, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
Joel 2:18-27 then shows us the LORD’s answer to the immediate disaster of the locust plague. It ends with a double, “And my people shall never again be put to shame” with this in the middle: “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am YHWH your God and there is none else.” The answer is one of good news – both the LORD relenting of the disaster and sending blessings.
Then Joel 2:28 (3:1 in Hebrew) through the end of the prophecy tell us YHWH’s answer to the coming disaster of the day of the LORD. It is the passage that we began with that Peter quoted on Pentecost. But then the passage continues after that in Joel 3 (chapter 4 in Hebrew) by describing judgment on the nations. In this section we again see the phrases: “The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining” (compare Joel 2:10 and 3:15 in English). The passage describes the nations assembling for war and being harvested but the new Jerusalem and Judah being inhabited forever.
It is worth noting the recognition formula again in Joel 3:17 (English numbering): “So you shall know that I am YHWH your God, who dwell in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it” and the whole book ends, “for YHWH dwells in Zion” (Joel 3:21, English numbering).
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