Joel 1

Introduction

When we come to Joel we come to one of the most exciting books in the Old Testament and a book that greatly figures into the establishment of the church on the day of Pentecost.

The only things we know about the prophet Joel are what we can find in the text, and that is not very much. We know he was the son of Pethuel, which separates him from all the other Joels in the Bible. The name Joel in Hebrew means “Yahweh is God.” It is a common name in the Bible and in modern Israel today. Since there is no “J” sound in the Hebrew language, the name is pronounced “Yo-el.”

From textual evidence it appears that Joel had a good knowledge of the temple and its services. However, since he castigates the priests, it is not likely that he was a member of their group. [1] It does appear that the setting of his prophecies was in Judah and Jerusalem.

There has been a lot of discussion among commentators concerning the date of Joel. It seems that scholars either place him very early or very late. Since there is no reference to a ruling king, several put him early, during the reign of Joash (or Jehoash) in Judah at about 830 BC. Joash was a boy king who was hidden away as a baby from wicked queen Athaliah. He served under the tutelage of the good priest Jehoiada, who arranged for his coronation at age seven (2 Ki. 11:4-16). The northern kingdom was apparently already in captivity since it is not mentioned, and “Israel” is used for the southern kingdom of Judah. [2]

Bible teacher and broadcaster, Warren Wiersbe, thinks that Joel might even have been the first writing prophet. [3] There are a number of verse comparisons with early Bible books that seem to place Joel in early times: In Joel 3:16, we see God roaring like a lion and uttering his voice from Jerusalem. This statement is duplicated in Amos 1:2. In Joel 3:18, the prophet speaks of the mountains dropping down sweet wine and the hills flowing with milk and this is virtually duplicated in Amos 9:13.

It might be interesting to compare Joel 1:15 with Isaiah 13:6 and Joel 3:10 with Isaiah 2:4. More comparisons can be found in our notes. [4] English theologian, Peter Pett says, “There are a number of occasions when Joel appears, either to have copied phrases from other prophets, or to have had his phrases copied by others…It would appear from these examples that one had unquestionably read the other or had heard his prophecies cited.” [5]

Also, for the same reason that no king is mentioned, some scholars place Joel late in post-exilic times, even as late as 400 BC. That would have been after the times of Ezra, Nehemiah and even Malachi. With all due respect to scholarship, Joel just does not seem to fit in these late times. Some have favored the later date because the Greeks or Ionians are mentioned in 3:6. Bible scholars, Pfeiffer and Harrison say, “Intercourse between Greece and Tyre could have occurred at an early date, for Greece is not here referred to as a nation.” [6] Adam Clarke, the early British Methodist theologian mentions that St. Jerome and many other church fathers believed that Joel was a contemporary with Hosea and that would have placed him in a very early period. [7]

The clear theme of Joel’s prophecy is “The Day of the Lord.” This is quite a complicated subject which includes some great events of God’s judgment in the past, and also the final judgment and consummation of God’s kingdom in the future. There are so many angles to this subject that we will try to discuss it bit by bit as we go through Joel’s book.

The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. Joel 1:1

As we have mentioned, there is very little information on the prophet Joel. We know that his father’s name was Pethuel. Everything else we can know about him must be gleaned from his little book itself. Authority on Jewish history, Charles L. Feinberg says it is likely that he ministered around Jerusalem and the temple (cf. 1:9, 13, 14; 2:15). [1] Other references seem to also place him around the Judah and Jerusalem areas (cf. 3:17, 20).

It is interesting that Joel does not touch on idolatry or on other great sins that the prophets normally dealt with. Rather, his main emphasis is on the Day of the Lord and upon the great northern power that would eventually invade Israel. [2]

“Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?” (1:2). Joel first quizzed the elders since they had been around a long time and had much experience. Then he simply asked other folks if they had ever seen such a thing. They would all surely have to agree with the magicians of Egypt, that what was going on was nothing short of the “finger of God” (Exo. 8:19). [3]

“Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation” (1:3). In Israel’s early days the people lived very much as an oral society. Important things had to be remembered and handed down orally from one generation to the next. We can almost hear the grandchildren later asking, “Grandpa, tell us again about the great plague of locusts!”

Calvary Chapel’s founder Charles Ward (Chuck) Smith sadly remarks about our modern day. He says that in our times, “the tradition of conversation began to suffer with the advent of radio. And, of course, TV almost has devastated the tradition of oral transmission of knowledge… part of the breakdown of our society is surely traceable to the advent of entertainment in the home by way of radio and television.” [4] All this is a terrible loss for any society. Smith, however, says nothing about the ubiquitous computers, smart phones and social media that take up so much of our time today.

Despite out technological advances we still have a sacred obligation to tell our children about the word of God. Deuteronomy 4:9 says: “ Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (cf. Deut. 6:6-7; 20-24; 11:19; Psa. 78:5-7).

“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” (1:4).

Now we are told that the problem is a massive locust invasion. There are nine words for locust in Hebrew. Four are used here: gazam,‘arbeh, yeleq, hasil. These probably do not refer to separate species or plagues. They might very well refer to the stages of a locust’s growth. D. Guthrie of London Bible College says, “Hebrew often heaps up words, in order to stress the total nature of an event.” [5] Clarke says: “…these different names are used here by the prophet to point out the locust in its different states, or progress from embryo to full growth.” [6]

In each of its stages of growth the locust can be terribly destructive. Of course, there could be a reference here to different species since there are about eighty or ninety species of locusts in the east. [7] David Guzik, pastor, teacher and author, tells of an awful modern infestation of locusts that affected the Middle East in modern times:

In 1915, a devastating plague of locusts covered what is modern-day Israel and Syria. The first swarms came in March, in clouds so thick they blocked out the sun. The female locusts immediately began to lay eggs, 100 at a time. Witnesses say that in one square yard, there were as many as 65,000 to 75,000 eggs. In a few weeks they hatched, and the young locusts resembled large ants. They couldn’t fly yet, and got along by hopping. They marched along 400 to 600 feet a day, devouring every speck of vegetation along the way. After two more stages of molting, they became adults who could fly – and the devastation continued. [8]

John Phillips of Moody School and broadcasting, gives some more ideas of the vast destructive nature of the locust infestation:

The desert locust, ranging a territory of some eleven million square miles, threatens sixty-five countries where 10 percent of the world’s population live. Locusts have been called “the teeth of the wind” and even more expressively, “the incarnation of hunger.”… Each female will lay at least three hundred pods in her lifetime and each pod contains up to one hundred eggs…A medium-sized swarm may comprise more than a billion locusts, and some swarms reach prodigious proportions with an estimated million million locusts extending over two hundred square miles…locusts simply ride the prevailing winds. During its five or six months of life, each locust travels between two and three thousand miles, breeding as it goes…The locusts invaded towns and houses and devoured food, linen, woolen garments, and leather belts. [9]

“Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips” (1:5). Wiersbe comments: “Except for pointing out the insincerity of some of the worshippers (2:12-13), drunkenness is the only sin that Joel actually names in his book.” [10] A quick way of sobering up was to suddenly realize that the locusts had destroyed everything, even the vines that would have produced their future wine.

Guthrie says: “A sleepiness and unreality, like that of the half-intoxicated man, has come over the whole nation…” [11] We must stop to realize that such an intoxication and sleepiness has come over America. God has richly blessed our nation so that it is the envy of the whole world. Yet, we are rapidly rejecting the God who has given us all the blessings. We surely must notice that God is now snatching the food right out of our mouths. Inflation, shortages, broken supply chains, drought and a hundred other ills are in some ways worse than an invasion of locusts. We seem helpless and stupefied in the face of all these creeping woes. How sin stupefies the sinner! [12]

“A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white” (1:6-7). Here the Hebrew goi speaks of a nation or people. James Burton Coffman, twentieth century Churches of Christ commentator says: “Such a personification of locusts is in keeping with the biblical description of ants and conies as ‘folk’ and ‘people’ (Proverbs 30:25-27).” [13] In several places the Bible speaks of the devastation caused by locusts (cf. Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Jer. 46:23; Nah. 3:15).

We have seen earlier that the locust invasion was called “the teeth of the wind.” Here locusts are compared to the teeth of a lion and lioness that tares their prey to pieces.

The locusts literally ate everything. After eating green and growing things they ate the bark off the trees and left their branches stripped and white. Of course, when all the bark was stripped off, the trees died. Nineteenth- century American theologian, Albert Barnes, notes: “Even the reeds, wherewith the huts were thatched, though quite dry, were not spared.” [14]

A Mournful Plague

Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth. Joel 1:8

The picture here is a supreme symbol of grief. It is the picture of a girl whose fiancé has died or else been killed before the wedding day. [15] The poor betrothed girl was left a widow before even being married. It is a grief and sorrow like that which has come upon the Jews after the plague of locusts. It is a deep grief and an almost hopeless grief of having all material things stripped away. Wiersbe says: “Having one’s own vineyard and fig trees was a symbol of success and contentment in the East (2:22; Isa. 36:16; Amos 4:9; Ps. 105:33).” [16] Now all thoughts of success and contentment were snatched away.

“Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails” (1:9-10). Not only were the people mourning but the priests were also mourning. Their living was supplied through the offerings that were made at the temple. Now these offerings would be scarce. Pfeiffer and Harrison say: “In later Judaism nothing was more dreaded than the suspension of the Thamid (meal & drink offerings).” [17] The sight of the groves and fields must have been horrible.

Apparently, the locust plague was accompanied by a serious drought. The two things brought devastation over the whole land. The loss of olive oil was a very serious matter since it was necessary for food, for cooking oil, for medicinal purposes and oil for lighting the lamps.

“Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed. The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree – all the trees of the field – are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away” (1:11-12). I grew up on a farm. Quite often our crops were badly burned and dried out for lack of rain. I can still remember the despair we felt, knowing that there would not be much money when these crops were harvested. It was worse for the Israelite of old since they lived in a mostly agricultural society. Crop loss meant hunger and possibly starvation.

A Call To Repentance

Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Joel 1:13

All the gruesome descriptions so far were for one purpose. They were all designed to call Israel to sincere repentance. This call to repentance began with the priests. The people of Israel often showed their repentance by wearing sackcloth. This word originated from the Hebrew sak. Sackcloth was a dark, coarse, fabric often made of goat’s hair. It was uncomfortable when worn next to the skin. Sackcloth was worn by mourners (2 Sam. 3:31; 2 Ki. 19:1-2) and by prophets (Isa. 20:2; Rev. 11:3). [18] It must have felt something like clothing oneself today with a burlap bag. The priests needed to repent first, for often their laxity caused the common people to drift away from God. The priest would also be affected first by the plague since the people’s offerings would begin to slacken, which caused their own lack to become obvious.

God desired that his people truly repent of their sins so that the awful plague could be lifted. It seems that we have less and less repentance in our society today. My old pastor used to say, “A lot of our repentance needs to be repented of.” People are prone to put off their repentance. William Mason said: “If we put off repentance another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in.” The great D. L. Moody said: “If God’s today be too soon for thy repentance, thy tomorrow may be too late for God’s acceptance.” Wiersbe comments: “Too often we drift along from day to day, taking our blessings for granted, until God permits a natural calamity to occur and remind us of our total dependence on him…then we discover the poverty of our artificial civilization and our throwaway society.” [19]

“Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD” (1:14). This was a call to stop normal activities, to cease all work, to begin a holy fast, to give themselves to prayer and supplication (cf. 1 Sam. 7:5-6; 2 Chron. 20:3-13). [20] They were to come together at the house of the Lord. God really moves when his children get desperate and cry out to him.

I remember on one occasion, when our three children were young, that we desperately needed a thousand dollars to pay off a loan. We needed it the next day. No one else but my wife knew of this need and we kept our needs secret. On that occasion the need was so desperate that I got into my car, rolled up the windows and began screaming for help to God as I drove around the countryside. That very day in the afternoon someone entered our house and left exactly one-thousand dollars inside an envelope on our kitchen range. We never found out who that “angel” was. We did call together all our close Christian friends for a meeting of celebration and thanksgiving.

The Day Of The Lord

Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Joel 1:15

The prophet now comes to the particular burden he wished to share, that being the Day of the Lord. Man has his day, the devil has his day, but God certainly will have his day. It will come with destruction because all the trash that man and the devil have accumulated will be destroyed.

We need to take some time and try to understand the Day of the Lord. It appears five times in this book and twenty-two times in the Bible. It even appears in our New Testament. Guthrie sums up the term saying, “the phrase means God’s clear vindication and manifestation of himself in earthly history.” [21]

Prophetic fulfillment is often a strange and puzzling thing. The word of God can be partially fulfilled on more than one occasion leading up to the final fulfillment. Sometimes we see prophecy related to the partial and final fulfillments woven tightly together as in Matthew 24. In this chapter it is almost impossible to separate events relating to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, with events concerning the end of the age. Both are in fact “Days of the Lord.” [22] Thus we can see that the Day of the Lord was coming in Joel’s day and also in Jesus’ day. It was partially fulfilled at least three times, in the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians In 722 BC, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC and by the Romans in AD 70.

There seems to be no good reason for us to separate the concepts of “the Day of the Lord,” “the Day of Christ,” “the Day,” and “that Day” as they are used in scripture. All these speak of the same event. The entire book of Revelation likewise speaks in detail of this day. It is sometimes confusing because we are attempting to peek into a time frame that is partially hidden from us. In other words: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face…” (1 Cor. 13:12). It is much like a prehistoric man trying to glimpse the wonders of the electronic age in which we now live. It simply was not revealed to him. Electronic wonders for him were limited to occasional flashes of lightning.

There are two clear aspects to the Day of the Lord according to world renowned professor Renald Showers. [22] The first one, which is most obvious in the Old Testament, is the aspect of judgment upon the wicked. The prophets see that the Day of the Lord will bring down the proud and lofty. Isaiah says, “The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day” (Isa. 2:11). It is a day of disaster and destruction upon the ungodly (Isa. 13:6). We see this also pictured in Revelation 6:17: “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” God will shake the earth terribly (Isa. 2:19).

As it is said in Job 38:13, God’s plan is to shake the wicked out of the earth. Then the people will cast their idols of gold and silver to the moles and bats (Isa. 2:20). Gold, silver and other treasures will be a liability on the last day. Earth’s great and mighty ones will cry for the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of the Lamb (Rev. 6:15-16). The cry of that day will be bitter (Zep. 1:14). Wicked hearts will faint as they are seized with terror (Isa. 13:7-8). The heavenly bodies will no longer give their light (Isa. 13:10-13). A devouring fire will break out on the earth as the Lord comes.

In Malachi 4:1, the prophet says: “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty.’ ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them’” (Mal. 4:1). So, the present evil earth will be judged and then it will be remade to be a place of joy, peace, beauty and of God’s righteousness.

It is clear in the Bible that the Day of the Lord will also be a day of blessing for the righteous. The prophet Malachi says that the righteous will go forth leaping like calves released from a stall. In Malachi 4:3 he says: “‘Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,’ says the LORD Almighty.” We who love and serve the Lord will be able to lift up our heads as the Day of the Lord approaches (Lk. 21:28).

We will have great confidence and boldness on that day (2 Tim. 1:12; 1 Jn. 4:17). After all, when Jesus appears we will appear with him in glory (Col. 3:4) and be like him (1 Jn. 3:2-3). In 2 Thessalonians 1:10, we see that he will come “…to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed…”

On that blessed day, Jesus will come with all his saints (1 Thess. 3:13). Even those who sleep in Jesus will be brought in that great triumphal procession. Those saints still alive will be glorified and become like the Lord. For the saints of the Lord, the Day of the Lord has nothing for us to fear. It is a day of blessing and glory. In Proverbs 10:25 we read: “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.” In verse 29 we also read: “The way of the LORD is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil.”

Joel goes on to describe the great devastation of God’s judgment in his day. He says: “Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes – joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down, for the grain has dried up” (1:16-17). When the food is plentiful it usually brings celebration but when it is lacking it brings sorrow and even a sense of panic. In my farming days I remember seeing seed rot beneath the clods due to the weather.

“How the cattle moan! The herds mill about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering” (1:18). Also, in my experience I have heard animals moan, usually for lack of water, but sometimes from lack of pasture. It is a very sad and pitiful sound. Pfeiffer sighs, “The poor, innocent, helpless beasts have to bear the guilt of man’s sin.” [24]

“To you, LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness” (1:19-20). When people get desperate enough, they finally cry out to God for help. We also see here that there is a special relationship between the beasts and all other creatures with God, for it is God who provides for them all (cf. Job 38:41; Psa. 104:11-16; 147:9).

Footnotes

1. Charles F. Pfeiffer & Everett F. Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), p. 819.

2. Ibid.

3. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 1407.

4. Also compare Joel 2:32 with Obadiah 1:17; Joel 3:4 with Obadiah 1:15; Joel 2:6 with Nahum 2:10; Joel 2:17 with Psalms 79:10; Joel 2:28-29 with Ezekiel 39:29.

5. Peter Pett, Commentary on Joel, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, 2013, v. 1:1. https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/pet/joel.html.

6. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 819.

7. Adam Clarke, Commentary on Joel, The Adam Clarke Commentary, 1832, Intro.

Chapter 1

1. Charles L. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, Joel (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1948, 1990), p. 71.

2. John Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, Joel (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1998), p. 69.

3. D. Guthrie, ed. The New Bible Commentary: Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970), p. 718.

4. Charles Ward Smith, Smith’s Bible Commentary, Commentary on Joel, 2014, vs. 1:1-20. https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/csc/joel-1.html.

5. Guthrie, ed. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 718.

6. Clarke, Commentary on Joel, The Adam Clarke Commentary, v. 1:4.

7. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 821.

8. David Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Joel, v. 1:4. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/joel-1/.

9. John Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, Joel, pp. 71-72.

10. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1408.

11. Guthrie, ed. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 719.

12. Albert Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Joel, 1870. v. 1:5. https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/joel-1.

13. James Burton Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Commentary on Joel (Abilene TX: Abilene Christian University Press, 1983-1999), v. 1:6. https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/joel-1.html.

14. Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Joel, v. 1:7.

15. Guthrie, ed. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 719.

16. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1409.

17. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 821.

18. J. D. Douglas & Merrill C. Tenney, The New International Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), p. 878.

19. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1409.

20. Robert Jamieson, D.D.; A. R. Fausset; David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Joel, 1871-8, v. 1:14. https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/jfb/joel-1.html.

21. Guthrie, ed. The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 720.

22. Renald E. Showers, The Biblical Concept of the Day of the Lord, https://israelmyglory.org/article/the-biblical-concept-of-the-day-of-the-lord/

23. Ibid.

24. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 822.