Who Was the Prophet Joel and What Does He Have to Say to Us Today?

The sun rose over Judah, but it brought no comfort. Once abundant fields lay stripped and desolate. Vineyards once heavy with grapes were barren. Grain silos sat empty, echoing with the silence of famine. The land looked like the aftermath of a destructive force had burned it with fire. Crops were gone. Joy had withered. Worship was hollow. Even the animals groaned.

In the heart of this national disaster, a man stood in the city of Jerusalem, not with sword or shovel, but with the word of the Lord. His name was Joel, the son of Pethuel. His name meant, “Yahweh Is God,” and never had this truth needed to be proclaimed more boldly. 

The Prophet Joel bursts onto the biblical scene like a thunderclap in a drought. We know almost nothing about his personal life, no birth record, no timeline, no dramatic backstory. And yet, his words have echoed across thousands of years, still unsettling and inspiring hearts today.

The Day the Sky Turned Black

The land had been invaded by wave after wave of locusts, so thick they blocked the sunlight. Farmers were helpless. Priests mourned. Children cried for bread. 

“What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten” (Joel 1:4).

Joel walked the ruined streets and saw not just a physical tragedy but a spiritual one. He saw a divine wake-up call. God was using the locusts to stir His people from spiritual slumber. The people had grown complacent. Their hearts had turned cold, and though they still performed sacrifices at the temple, their love for God had faded.

The Heart of God Revealed

The locusts weren’t punishment as much as an invitation from God to realign their hearts with Him. In a voice that echoed in the hearts of the people, Joel spoke on God’s behalf. “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Joel 2:12-13). This was no heartless command from a distant God. Joel revealed something profound: God was moved by sincere repentance. 

It was not too late. Joel called the entire nation to “declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly” (Joel 2:15-16). He urged the leaders to “weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, ‘Spare your people, Lord’” (Joel 2:17). And then, Joel revealed hope beyond judgment. God doesn’t want fake religion. He wants hearts, not ceremonial rituals. 

Forgiveness and Restoration 

The Lord is waiting, not to punish, but to embrace. God is more ready to forgive than people are to repent. “Then the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people. The Lord replied to them: ‘I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations’” (Joel 2:18).

God doesn’t just forgive, He restores. “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25). Only He can take broken seasons and produce new growth. The losses they faced were not too far gone for God.

The Spirit Will Come 

Then Joel goes even further. After promising restoration of grain, wine, and oil, Joel gave one of the most powerful prophetic promises in all of Scripture. He sees a future where God’s Spirit is no longer limited to prophets and priests, but poured out on everyone. 

“Afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28-29).

This was not just a promise for Joel’s time. It pointed ahead to a coming day when God’s Spirit would no longer dwell just among priests or prophets, but on all believers. Joel’s words reached beyond famine, beyond Judah’s borders, and beyond centuries.

Hundreds of years later, a great crowd gathered in Jerusalem. This time not because of disaster, but because of a sound from heaven like a rushing wind. Tongues of fire appeared, and followers of Jesus began speaking in languages they had never learned.

The crowd was amazed, and confused. Some mocked. But Peter stood up, filled with the Holy Spirit, and said: 

“These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy’” (Acts 2:15-18).

Peter quoted Joel directly, declaring that Joel’s prophecy had come true. The Holy Spirit was now available to all through Jesus Christ. Joel, long gone from this earth, had spoken of this moment. And now, in the streets of Jerusalem, it had come to pass.

The Day of the Lord

When locusts swarmed Judah in the days of the prophet Joel, the people saw devastation. Joel saw a divine warning. The locust plague was only a taste, a shadow, of a more terrible judgment to come. With prophetic vision, he pulled back the curtain of time and described a day unlike any other. “The day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand — a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (Joel 2:1-2).

That phrase, so fierce, so final, reappears throughout Scripture. But few paint it with such dramatic force as Joel. He describes a future invasion. Smoke rises. Fire burns. The earth quakes. The sky turns dark. The moon turns to blood. His prophecy in chapters 2 and 3 not only shook his generation, but his words set the stage for what Revelation will later unveil in full detail. Much of what Joel foresaw explodes onto the scene in symbolic detail through the apostle John’s vision.

Joel doesn’t just describe the day; he urges people to respond. Even amid warning, Joel speaks of hope: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32). Joel saw a day when God would rise to both judge and redeem. John saw the same. They speak with one voice. The Day of the Lord will bring judgment for the wicked, salvation for the faithful, and the triumphant reign of the Lord. Both men call God’s people to wake up, turn around, and lift their eyes.

The Legacy of a Watchman

Joel was a watchman, blowing the trumpet (Joel 2:1), warning of danger. But he was also a herald of hope, pointing toward the dawn. Joel is not a book of gloom; it’s a trumpet blast of grace, repentance, and Holy Spirit power.

Despite our limited knowledge of Joel’s personal life, his words remain more powerful than any biography. His warnings. His hope. His picture of a God who judges but also restores. A God who longs for hearts, not rituals. A God who promises to dwell within His people.

Joel may have lived centuries ago, but his words strike the heart of today’s believer:

When the locusts come, turn to God.

When you feel empty, seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

When you feel lost, remember God is a restorer.

When judgment looms, run to the cross of Jesus — and bring others with you.

We may not face literal locusts, but our lives get eaten by busyness, compromise, fear, and distraction. Joel speaks directly to our generation. Let God redeem your past. He promises to repay what the enemy devoured. 

Photo credit: Sparrowstock

Brad Simon has shared God’s Word for over forty-five years, with a unique blend of storytelling and Bible exposition. He is a retired Master Jeweler and relies on the God-given creativity that won him several national and international jewelry design awards to craft Biblical Narratives and Life Stories that are engaging and thought-provoking. Once a speaker, author, and publisher for the jewelry industry, now he is putting those skills to work to promote the beauty and appeal of God’s Word. Download a free copy of his devotional on prayer.