Joel 3

Judgment on the nations

1 Truly, in those days and in that time, I will bring back to Judah and Jerusalem those who were sent away.

2 I will gather all the nations, and I will bring them to the Jehoshaphat Valley. There I will enter into judgment with them in support of my people and my possession, Israel, which they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land,

3 and have cast lots for my people. They have traded boys for prostitutes, and sold girls for wine, which they drank down.

4 What are you to me, Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, then in a flash I will turn your deeds back upon your own heads.

5 You have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.

6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, removing them far from their own border.

7 But now I am calling them from the places where you have sold them, and I will repay you for your deeds.

8 I will sell your sons and your daughters as a possession of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away; for the Lord has spoken.

Declaration of war

9 Announce this among the nations: Prepare a holy war, wake up the warriors; let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!

10 Beat the iron tips of your plows into swords and your pruning tools into spears; let the weakling say, "I am mighty."

11 Come quickly, all you surrounding nations; gather yourselves there; bring your mighty ones, LORD.

12 Let the nations prepare themselves, and come up to the Jehoshaphat Valley; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

13 Cut with the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go and crush grapes, for the winepress is full. The jars overflow with wine, for their wickedness is great.

14 Crowd after crowd fills the valley of judgment, for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of judgment.

15 The sun and the moon are darkened; the stars have ceased shining.

Salvation for God’s people

16 The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge for his people, a shelter for the people of Israel.

17 So you will know that I am the LORD your God, settle down in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, and never again will strangers pass through it.

18 In that day the mountains will drip sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah will flow with water; a spring will come forth from the LORD's house and water the Shittim Valley.

19 Egypt will become desolate and Edom a desolate wilderness. This is because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood

20 . But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for all generations.

21 I will forgive their bloodguilt, which I had not forgiven. I will act on their account; I will not pardon the guilty. The LORD dwells in Zion.

Joel 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

God's judgments in the latter days. (1-8) The extent of these judgments. (9-17) The blessings the church shall enjoy. (18-21)

Verses 1-8 The restoration of the Jews, and the final victory of true religion over all opposers, appear to be here foretold. The contempt and scorn with which the Jews have often been treated as a people, and the little value set upon them, are noticed. None ever hardened his heart against God or his church, and prospered long.

Verses 9-17 Here is a challenge to all the enemies of God's people. There is no escaping God's judgments; hardened sinners, in that day of wrath, shall be cut off from all comfort and joy. Most of the prophets foretell the same final victory of the church of God over all that oppose it. To the wicked it will be a terrible day, but to the righteous it will be a joyful day. What cause have those who possess an interest in Christ, to glory in their Strength and their Redeemer! The acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favour to some, will be a day of remarkable vengeance to others: let every one that is out of Christ awake, and flee from the wrath to come.

Verses 18-21 There shall be abundant Divine influences, and the gospel will spread speedily into the remotest corners of the earth. These events are predicted under significant emblems; there is a day coming, when every thing amiss shall be amended. The fountain of this plenty is in the house of God, whence the streams take rise. Christ is this Fountain; his sufferings, merit, and grace, cleanse, refresh, and make fruitful. Gospel grace, flowing from Christ, shall reach to the Gentile world, to the most remote regions, and make them abound in fruits of righteousness; and from the house of the Lord above, from his heavenly temple, flows all the good we daily taste, and hope to enjoy eternally.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOEL 3

This chapter, which some make the fourth, contains a prophecy of God's judgments on all the antichristian nations at the time of the Jews' conversion, and the reasons of them, Joe 3:1-3; a threatening of Tyre and Zidon, by way of retaliation, for carrying the riches of the Jews into their temples, and selling their persons to the Greeks, Joe 3:4-8; an alarm to prepare for the battle of Armageddon, or the destruction that shall be made in the valley of Jehoshaphat, Joe 3:9-15; and after that an account of the happy state of the church of Christ, their safety and security, plenty, prosperity, and purity, to the end of the world, Joe 3:16-21.