Joel 2:21

21 Fear not, earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things.

Joel 2:21 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 2:21

Fear not, O land
O land of Israel, as the Targum, and the inhabitants of it; neither of the locusts, who had so terrified them, and had done so much mischief, and threatened more; nor of their enemies, the Assyrians or Chaldeans, and their powerful armies, or any other; but, on the contrary, be glad, and rejoice;
at the removal of the locusts, and at the destruction of their enemies: for the Lord will do great things;
good things, in opposition to the evil things done by the locusts, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech observe; or by the destroying army of the king of Assyria, by delivering the Jews out of the Babylonish captivity; and in the times of the Maccabees, and especially in the times of Christ, which are quickly prophesied of in this chapter; and which prophecies some interpreters begin here, it not being unusual for the prophets to pass directly from things temporal to things spiritual, and especially to the great deliverance and salvation by Christ, and also by temporal blessings to design spiritual ones.

Joel 2:21 In-Context

19 God answered and spoke to his people, "Look, listen - I'm sending a gift: Grain and wine and olive oil. The fast is over - eat your fill! I won't expose you any longer to contempt among the pagans.
20 I'll head off the final enemy coming out of the north and dump them in a wasteland. Half of them will end up in the Dead Sea, the other half in the Mediterranean. There they'll rot, a stench to high heaven. The bigger the enemy, the stronger the stench!" The Trees Are Bearing Fruit Again
21 Fear not, earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things.
22 Fear not, wild animals! The fields and meadows are greening up. The trees are bearing fruit again: a bumper crop of fig trees and vines!
23 Children of Zion, celebrate! Be glad in your God. He's giving you a teacher to train you how to live right - Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.