Joel
If books of the Bible were judged on literary merit, Joel would rate very highly. This book contains graphic descriptions of devastation by locusts, heart-rending calls for repentance, vivid declarations of ‘the day of the Lord’ and spectacular depictions of God’s judgement on the nations of the world. But Joel is also the prophet of hope who foresees revival and the prospect of God’s Spirit-filled people having a prophetic impact on a sin-ravaged world.
Disasters often turn people’s minds towards God, either to blame him for what has happened or to seek his consolation and relief. Joel uses a massive disaster to bring a strong message to a people who have had every area of their lives affected by successive waves of locusts. With agriculture devastated, the economy is in a mess, food supplies are minimal, there is no seed for future sowing, and the priests are unable to minister by bringing grain or drink offerings.
There is no better situation in which to remind people that God is our Judge as well as our Deliverer. Through Joel, God shows that justice, righteousness and holiness are his nature as well as mercy, grace and love. He will use nations to bring judgement on his chosen people, but the nations themselves will be judged.
The Day of the Lord
This phrase is used five times in these three chapters, usually as a warning, but also as a stimulus to people to expect that God is going to intervene supernaturally. One of those five uses of the phrase relates to a day about 800 years later when the Holy Spirit came powerfully upon one hundred and twenty followers of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. When Peter stands with the other apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 2) to explain that manifestation of the Holy Spirit, it is from the book of Joel that he quotes: ‘What you are seeing happen here is what was prophesied centuries ago.’
The day of the Lord is also a foreshadowing of the time when Jesus began his ministry and declared that ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand’. He initiated the era in which the powers of darkness are overthrown as the gospel is preached and the Kingdom advanced.
The Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament there are occasions when the ‘Spirit of the Lord’ comes upon people to enable them to fulfil particular tasks as God directs them; these are almost invariably individuals (e.g. Bezalel, a multi-talented craftsman chosen to do much of the skilled work on the construction of the tabernacle). What Joel here foretells – and Pentecost fulfils – is an exciting era in which the Holy Spirit comes upon ‘all flesh’ with manifestations: prophecy comes from the mouths of young and old, male and female alike; salvation is open to all who call on the name of the Lord; and deliverance is extended to God’s people.
Repentance and Restoration
God’s announcements of judgement on a nation are conditional. If a person or nation repents from the sins that made the judgement necessary, God will relent. As the locusts swarm across the land, Joel declares that even now it is not too late for Judah. When priests and people gather to call on the Lord, God hears and responds with a promise of restoration and fruitfulness in the land. In our generation, the Church has the responsibility of coming before God to intercede for the nations, praying that many will repent and find salvation in Jesus Christ.
Written by David Raynor, an elder of The Community Church In the North West of England