Today in our journey through the 66 books of the Bible we come to the book of Joel. This is the second part of what the Hebrew Bible calls “The Twelve”. Christians often refer to this section of the Old Testament as the minor prophets. We call this section of Scripture the minor prophets not because The Twelve are less important than Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel,[1] but simply because these books are shorter. In ancient times, perhaps as early as the 2nd century BCE, all twelve of the minor prophets were put together on one scroll.
Author
The prophet Joel cannot be identified with any of the 12 other figures in the Hebrew Scriptures who have the same name. Joel’s name is the reverse of “Elijah,” but the meaning is the same (“My God is the Lord”). Joel is not mentioned outside the books of Joel in the Old Testament and Acts in the New. (See Acts 2:16.) There are non-biblical legends about Joel, but these do not help us in understanding the historical situation of this book. Joel’s father, Pethuel, is also unknown. Considering his concern for Judah and Jerusalem it seems likely that Joel lived in that region.
Date
The book of Joel contains no references to datable historical events. Some traditional scholars tend to date the book early, even as early as the ninth century BCE. But most scholars today date the book somewhere in the postexilic period, sometime between the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE. The reference to Ionians (Greek inhabitants from Ionia, a region in western Asia Minor, today’s Turkey) in Joel 4:6 is often mentioned among the grounds for a later dating of this book. In any case, the message of the book is not greatly affected by its date.
There are linguistic parallels between Joel, Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. If Joel was written early, then these other prophets borrowed from him. If Joel was written late, then the influence worked the other way around.
Themes
Joel envisions a massive locust plague and severe drought devastating Judah. Palestine is in the path of locust movements that have occurred throughout history and even in recent times. Joel refers to the locusts as the Lord’s army and their coming is a reminder that the day of the Lord is near (2:31). The locusts Joel mentions in 1:4 and 2:25 are perhaps best understood as real, not as allegorical representations of some foreign army, though many scholars have guessed that the locusts represent the Assyrians, Babylonians, or Persians. It could also be that Joel was thinking of the locusts as symbolic of all the invasions the Israelites experienced throughout their history.
Confronted with this crisis, Joel calls on all the people of God to repent. The popular notion of the “day of the Lord” was that it would be a day of judgment for all the nations except Israel. But Joel includes God’s people in the judgment. Joel agrees with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Zephaniah in this regard. Restoration and blessing will come only after judgment and repentance.
Startling apocalyptic elements appear in the book of Joel from time to time. (See 2:31 and 3:16 for examples.) This genre is developed more in the books of Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. Jewish apocalyptic literature envisions an overturning of nature at the end of time, after which there will be no more problems.
To put the theology of Joel in a nutshell: the invaders have come as punishment (though the book never specifies the crimes). So, Israel must repent through worship and fasting. The “day of the Lord” predicted of old has come. This is a time (not necessarily a twenty-four-hour period that can be dated), when the Lord will see to it that all his promises will be fulfilled, whether for punishment or prosperity. If the Israelites repent and return to the Lord, the army will leave and never again return, then their land will be fertile forever.
Structure
Standard Christian translations divide the book into three chapters. The division of biblical books into chapters dates to medieval times and originated within Christianity. The first rabbinic Bible (1517) shows the then popular division of the text of Joel into three chapters, but the second rabbinic Bible and all subsequent Hebrew Bibles divide the book into four chapters. In any case, the content of the book is the same; it is the chapter and verse numbers that differ.
Joel 2:15-27 is included as a reading for the Sabbath that precedes Yom Kippur in some Jewish traditions because of its theme of repentance, lamentation, divine forgiveness, and restoration.
The structure of the book of Joel works out like this…
- Title (1:1)
- Judah Experiences a Foretaste of the Day of the Lord (1:2-2:17)
- Judah is Assured of Salvation in the Day of the Lord (2:18-3:21)
Key Concept—I Will Pour Out My Spirit
I would like to focus on a few verses from Joel 2:28-32 for the rest of our time together. As we will see, these verses are quoted in the New Testament as well. Listen for God’s word to you…
And 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.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
whom the Lord calls.
Let’s look at Joel’s prophecy phrase by phrase. He begins with the words, “And afterwards…” Joel seems to be talking about a distant time after the restoration of God’s people. Earlier in the chapter he tells the people that the Lord will repay them for the years the locusts have eaten. So, though we do not know the exact date of Joel’s prophecy, it is not too far-fetched to assume that Joel is talking about a time after the people of Judah return from exile.
Though Joel is vague about the timing for the fulfillment of this prophecy, he is clear about the promise. Joel states the promise twice in this short passage. The Lord says: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”
We have seen the Spirit active in various ways throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. The Spirit hovered over the waters of creation in Genesis 1:2. We have also seen the Spirit filling various individuals and enabling them to accomplish certain functions like the crafting of the tabernacle. (Exodus 31:3; 35:31) The Spirit worked through Moses, and the Spirit that was upon Moses was shared with the elders of the people (Numbers 11:17). At the same time Moses said, “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” So, in a sense, what Joel predicted was the fulfillment of Moses’ wish. But in between the time of Moses and Joel we see the Spirit coming upon the judges, on the kings, and on the prophets.
So, there is much activity of the Spirit of God depicted in the Hebrew Scriptures. But the different thing that Joel prophesies is that the Spirit will come upon all people at once. Joel does not spell out whether “all people” means just Jews, or whether it includes Gentiles as well.
But Joel goes on to fortify this notion of God’s Spirit being poured upon all people. “All people” includes male and female: “Your sons and daughters will prophesy.” “All people” includes young and old: “your old men will dream dreams; your young men will see visions.” The Spirit will pour out revelation in all the forms we have seen demonstrated throughout the Hebrew Scriptures: through prophecy, dreams, and visions.
Then Joel seems to indicate that disturbances in the heavens will accompany these signs of the Spirit’s activity. “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth.” Those specific wonders include blood, fire, and billows of smoke. Each of these elements have their counterparts in the exodus narrative. In Exodus we have the blood of the lamb. There is the pillar of fire by night that leads the Israelites through the wilderness. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke when Moses received the Law. So, in this future outpouring of the Spirit there will be something of equal significance to the exodus and the giving of the Law.
Next, Joel speaks of something even more momentous: “The sun will be turned to darknessand the moon to blood.” Similar language is used in Isaiah 13:10, Isaiah 34:4, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:25, and Revelation 6:12-13. In Isaiah, the language was associated with the cataclysmic fall of Babylon and Edom. Therefore, such language is not meant to be taken literally. The apocalyptic language in these verses does not necessarily refer to a complete breakup of the universe. This was language commonly used to describe God’s visitation. Such a visitation will be an earth-shattering experience, a shake-up of the universe, so to speak.
Next, Joel says, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This verse is quoted by Paul in Romans 10. Paul especially emphasizes the “everyone” aspect of this verse. According to Paul, Jews and Gentiles who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. That includes everyone. That includes you and me.
If you want to be sure of spending eternity with the Lord, all you must do is call on his name in prayer. As it says about Jesus in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Have you called on the name of the Lord? Have you asked Jesus to save you for now and for all eternity? If not, you can call on his name today. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
Next, Joel says, “for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance.” I do not know what Joel was thinking when he made this prophecy. Perhaps he was thinking of deliverance coming through the sacrifices of the Temple in Jerusalem. But I believe this prophecy was wonderfully fulfilled in Jesus. When Jesus showed up on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, when Jesus taught in the Temple and elsewhere in the Holy City, when Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead in Jerusalem, he brought deliverance not only to the people of his time, but to all people who have ever lived or ever will live.
The Apostle Peter also thought of Joel’s prophecy as being fulfilled in Jesus, for the Holy Spirit was indeed poured out on all people beginning on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection. Let’s read about the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy in Acts 2…
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 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…
And then Peter goes on to quote the passage from Joel that we have been talking about. At the conclusion of his sermon, Peter says…
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Then we read Luke’s conclusion to the matter…
With many other words he [Peter] warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
All of this, what Joel prophesies and what Luke describes as happening on the day of Pentecost two thousand years ago, this is not simply ancient history. I believe that we too can experience the Holy Spirit of God today. As Joel says, all we must do is call on the name of the Lord.
If you have never asked for God’s Spirit to come into your life, why not ask him to come into your life today? Jesus promises that God the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. (Luke 11:13) So, why not ask God to pour his Spirit into your life? And if you have asked the Holy Spirit to come into your life, why not ask him for a “top-up” today?
I think I have shared with you before the story of the man who went to the tent revival meetings many years ago. Every night he prayed loud enough for everyone in the tent to hear, “Fill me, Lord, fill me.” Finally, on the last night of the revival meetings, someone else in the tent had enough. When the man prayed again, “Fill me, Lord, fill me,” someone else in the crowd said, “Don’t fill him Lord, he’s got a leak!”
Well, that summarizes the truth of all our lives. Even when we have the Holy Spirit in us, we leak. We go about our everyday lives. We get distracted. Sometimes we wander from the Lord. Oftentimes we do or say or think things that grieve the Holy Spirit. God promises that he will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) So, we don’t have to worry about losing the Holy Spirit completely. But we do need fresh infillings of the Spirit.
As Paul says in Ephesians 5:18, “Be filled with the Spirit.” Literally, that verse should read, “Be being filled with the Spirit.” It’s an ongoing need that we have. Paul compares it to being filled with wine. When we are literally filled with wine, we get drunk, and if we are stupid, we drive under the influence. But then, when the level of alcohol in our bloodstream decreases, the influence of the wine wears off. It works the same way with the Holy Spirit. God wants us to be filled to overflowing with his Spirit. He wants us to drive under the influence of his Spirit. But when the amount of the Spirit in us decreases, the Spirit’s influence also decreases.
So, my encouragement to you today is: “be being filled with the Spirit!” Go forth from this place today and drive under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God.
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