Joel 2

1 Blow the horn in Zion;^[a] sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming; in fact, it is near-

2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dense overcast,^[b] like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a great and strong people [appears], such as never existed in ages past and never will again in all the generations to come.

3 A fire destroys^[c] in front of them, and behind them a flame devours. The land in front of them is like the Garden of Eden,^[d] but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland; there is no escape from them.

4 Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like war horses.

5 They bound on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for war.

6 Nations writhe in horror before them; all faces turn pale.^[e]

7 They attack as warriors [attack]; they scale walls as men of war [do]. Each goes on his own path, and they do not change their course.

8 They do not push each other; each man proceeds on his own path. They dodge the missiles, never stopping.

9 They storm the city; they run on the wall; they climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like thieves.

10 The earth quakes before them; the sky shakes. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars cease their shining.

11 The Lord raises His voice in the presence of His army. His camp is very large; Those who carry out His command are powerful. Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful- who can endure it?

God's Call for Repentance

12 Even now- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration- turn to Me with all your heart,^[f] with fasting, weeping, and mourning.^[g]

13 Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster.^[h]

14 Who knows? He may turn and relent^[i] and leave a blessing behind Him, [so you can] offer grain and wine to the Lord your God.

15 Blow the horn in Zion! Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly.

16 Gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged;^[j][k] gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom, and the bride her honeymoon chamber.

17 Let the priests, the Lord's ministers, weep between the portico^[l] and the altar.^[m] Let them say: "Have pity on Your people, Lord, and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace, an object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "^[n]

God's Response to His People

18 Then the Lord became jealous for His land^[o] and spared His people.

19 The Lord answered His people: Look, I am about to send you grain, new wine, and olive oil. You will be satiated with them, and I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations.

20 I will drive the northerner far from you and banish him to a dry and desolate land, his front ranks into the Dead Sea, and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise; yes, his rotten smell will rise, for he has done catastrophic things.

21 Don't be afraid, land;^[p] rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things.^[q]

22 Don't be afraid, wild animals, for the wilderness pastures have turned green,^[r] the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.

23 Children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, because He gives you the autumn rain for your vindication.^[s][t] He sends showers for you, both autumn and spring rain as before.

24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.

25 I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust ate, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust- My great army that I sent against you.

26 You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. You will praise the name of Yahweh^[u] your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. My people will never again be put to shame.^[v]

27 You will know that I am present in Israel and that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.^[w] My people will never again be put to shame.

God's Promise of His Spirit

28 ^[x] After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions.

29 I will even pour out My Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days.^[y]

30 I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes.

32 Then everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved,^[z] for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised,^[aa] among the survivors the Lord calls.

Joel 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

God's judgments. (1-14) Exhortations to fasting and prayer; blessings promised. (15-27) A promise of the Holy Spirit, and of future mercies. (28-32)

Verses 1-14 The priests were to alarm the people with the near approach of the Divine judgments. It is the work of ministers to warn of the fatal consequences of sin, and to reveal the wrath from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The striking description which follows, shows what would attend the devastations of locusts, but may also describe the effects from the ravaging of the land by the Chaldeans. If the alarm of temporal judgments is given to offending nations, how much more should sinners be warned to seek deliverance from the wrath to come! Our business therefore on earth must especially be, to secure an interest in our Lord Jesus Christ; and we should seek to be weaned from objects which will soon be torn from all who now make idols of them. There must be outward expressions of sorrow and shame, fasting, weeping, and mourning; tears for trouble must be turned into tears for the sin that caused it. But rending the garments would be vain, except their hearts were rent by abasement and self-abhorrence; by sorrow for their sins, and separation from them. There is no question but that if we truly repent of our sins, God will forgive them; but whether he will remove affliction is not promised, yet the probability of it should encourage us to repent.

Verses 15-27 The priests and rulers are to appoint a solemn fast. The sinner's supplication is, Spare us, good Lord. God is ready to succour his people; and he waits to be gracious. They prayed that God would spare them, and he answered them. His promises are real answers to the prayers of faith; with him saying and doing are not two things. Some understand these promises figuratively, as pointing to gospel grace, and as fulfilled in the abundant comforts treasured up for believers in the covenant of grace.

Verses 28-32 The promise began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it was continued in the converting grace and miraculous gifts conferred on both Jews and Gentiles. The judgments of God upon a sinful world, only go before the judgment of the world in the last day. Calling on God supposes knowledge of him, faith in him, desire toward him, dependence on him, and, as evidence of the sincerity of all this, conscientious obedience to him. Those only shall be delivered in the great day, who are now effectually called from sin to God, from self to Christ, from things below to things above.

Footnotes

• [a]. Jl 2:15; Jr 4:5; 51:27
• [b]. Isa 60:2; Zph 1:15
• [c]. Lit consumes
• [d]. Gn 2:8-15; Ezk 36:35
• [e]. Nah 2:10
• [f]. 1 Kg 8:35-40; 2 Ch 7:14
• [g]. Est 4:3
• [h]. 1 Ch 21:15; Jr 18:8; Jnh 4:2
• [i]. Jnh 3:9
• [j]. Or elders
• [k]. 2 Ch 20:3; Neh 9:1; Jr 36:6,9
• [l]. the temple porch; 1 Kg 6:3; 7:6-21
• [m]. Jl 1:13; Hs 10:5
• [n]. Ps 42:3,10; 79:10
• [o]. Ezk 36:5,6; Zch 1:14; 8:2
• [p]. Jl 1:10
• [q]. Jl 2:23; Ps 126:2-3
• [r]. Jl 1:19; Ps 65:12; Jr 9:10
• [s]. Or righteousness
• [t]. Dt 11:13-15
• [u]. Ps 113:1; 135:1; 148:5,13
• [v]. Isa 45:17
• [w]. Dt 4:35,39; 1 Kg 8:60; Isa 45:5-6
• [x]. Jl 3:1 in Hb
• [y]. Ezk 39:29
• [z]. Ac 2:16-21; Rm 10:13
• [aa]. Ob 17

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOEL 2

In this chapter a further account is given of the judgment of the locusts and caterpillars, or of those who are designed by them, Joe 2:1-11; the people of the Jews are called to repentance, humiliation, and fasting, urged from the grace and goodness of God, his jealousy and pity for his people, and the answer of prayer that might he expected from him upon this, even to the removal of the calamity, Joe 2:12-20; a prophecy of good things, both temporal and spiritual, in the times of the Messiah, is delivered out as matter and occasion of great joy, Joe 2:21-27; and another concerning the effusion of the Spirit, which was fulfilled an the day of Pentecost, Joe 2:28-29; and the chapter is concluded with the judgments and desolations that should come upon the land of Judea after this, for their rejection of Christ, though the remnant according to the election of grace should be delivered and saved from the general destruction, Joe 2:30-32.