seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.
3 Before them fire devours,
behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
behind them, a desert waste—
nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;
they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
behind them, a desert waste—
nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;
they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face turns pale.
7 They charge like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
like thieves they enter through the windows.
every face turns pale.
7 They charge like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
like thieves they enter through the windows.
10 Before them the earth shakes,
the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
12 “Even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13 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,
and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the Lord your God.
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the Lord your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
18 Then the Lord was jealous for his land
and took pity on his people.
and took pity on his people.
19 The Lord replied[a] 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.
enough to satisfy you fully;
never again will I make you
an object of scorn to the nations.
20 “I will drive the northern horde far from you,
pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench will go up;
its smell will rise.”
pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench will go up;
its smell will rise.”
Surely he has done great things!
21 Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
be glad and rejoice.
Surely the Lord has done great things!
22 Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Be glad, people of Zion,
rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
21 Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
be glad and rejoice.
Surely the Lord has done great things!
22 Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Be glad, people of Zion,
rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]—
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]—
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
28 “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.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 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.[c]
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.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 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.[c]
a. Joel 2:19 Or Lord will be jealous … / and take pity … / 19 The Lord will reply
b. Joel 2:25 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain.
c. Joel 2:32 In Hebrew texts 2:28-32 is numbered 3:1-5.
When I first read this.... I thought of a mountain..... that mountain in verse 2. This mountain was more like a volcano.... with a plume of sunset colors..... and then I saw the bugs..... and the fire..... and I figured.... whoops... not done with the locusts yet.... that cloud was just the locusts.... and the sun colors... that's the sun glinting off their backs. That's a lot of protein. Then I saw verse 14 "Who knows?" and then it says "He may turn and relent".
This is from the easy English site.
Joel speaks about locusts. But now he may also mean armies of men. These armies may come when the armies of locusts come. Or they may come after the locusts come. However, in verse 7, he does say that they are ‘like soldiers’. He does not say that they are soldiers. God is using these armies or these locusts to make his people think about Joel’s message.
God’s people sometimes tore their clothes. This showed that they were sorry. If they were really sorry, they would do more than that. They would love God and they would obey him. They would do what is right.
God does not change as human people do. He can send good things like a good harvest, and he can send troubles. He sees if we do good things in our lives. Then he sends what is best for us.
God never changes. But we change. God knows what we need then. He really loves us. So he does whatever we really need. Perhaps at that time we do not appreciate what he does. But we must believe that he is helping us to be good people.
In verse 13, Joel uses words from Exodus 34:6. With these words, he reminds the people what God is really like.
The Lord sends their enemies to make his people sorry. Now they are sorry. Joel says that the enemies have done ‘great things’. Next, God sends the enemies away because his people are ready to listen to him. That is the ‘great thing’ that the Lord has done.
Joel mentions ‘the army that comes from the north’. Locusts do not come from the north. But the armies in Daniel 11 and Revelation 9 do. So students say that real locusts ate the plants. But real armies from the north came against God’s people.
Joel mentions blood and darkness. This seems to mean an unusual time, when the sun and moon will not give their light. It will make people very afraid.
God’s call here is a call to love him and to obey him. His promise is one that he gives to all his people. God has called them.
This is from enduringword.com.
A people come, great and strong: It’s hard to know what invasion Joel predicted here. Probably Joel warned of an invasion that never happened because Judah responded to the invitation to repent and God held back this army. The 40-year godly reign of King Joash in Judah began soon after the time of Joel’s prophecy.
There are some commentators who believe that Joel refers back to the army of locusts and describes them poetically. This is possible, but it seems best on balance to say that he wrote of a literal human army ready to come against an unrepentant Judah. Like an army of locusts, if they came they would be massive, destructive, and unstoppable.
A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns: The urgent nature of this prophecy probably prompted Jehoiada to depose the wicked Queen Athaliah and set Joash on the throne, even though he was only seven years-old (2 Kings 11:4-21). Perhaps Jehoiada would have waited until Joash was older, but Joel’s prophecy showed him that it had to be done immediately.
Rend your heart, and not your garments: One expression of mourning in Jewish culture was and is the tearing of the clothes. It was a way to say, “I am so overcome with grief that don’t care if my clothes are ruined and I look bad.” Joel knew that someone could tear their garments without tearing their heart, and he described the kind of heart-repentance that really pleases God.
Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved: This is another glorious promise associated with the time Joel said shall come to pass afterward. In this time of the poured-out Spirit of God, salvation will no longer be a matter of association with national Israel. Instead, whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved – no matter what nation they come from.
Once again... I think the commentaries missed a mark. Joel is about God....not humans.... God. If God wants the locusts to invade from the North.... then God will have the locusts invading from the North. He's using these locusts as a show and tell. Humans don't understand wordy preaching.... humans sleep through most sermons.... but humans respond well to a visual lesson. Here..... Joel shows that God's lesson, using the locusts..... is not only a visual warning.... it's combined with the audio.... there were so many locusts in this swarm.... they sound like an army invading with horses and chariots.
All the way through the prophets..... God kept telling humans not to count on the things humans craft to defend themselves. The lesson here.... IMHO....is count on God. In verse 13 Joel says "rend your heart not your garments". In the last book.... Hosea said the priests were preaching feel good stuff and the people were throwing any old mutton in the line to be thrown on the altar. Those stupid humans were thinking quantity not quality.
In all fairness to the prophetic abilities of Joel.... the people he was talking to had been through their own version of hell on earth. They had seen rape, murder, castration, and mutilation...... and they had been forced into slavery. They didn't have a lot to look forward to. I've been thinking of them throwing mutton on the altar instead of their prize lamb..... but they didn't even have an altar or a lamb to offer.
I think God had to get their attention. Joel's words weren't going to cut it..... He needed an audio/visual tool..... and God gave him a dark mountain plume that turned out to be a huge swarm.... that would obliterate their food supply..... and apparently.... that devastation was followed by a fire that swallowed up the rest of the crops..... sending wild animals of prey into the area ahead of the devastation.
IMHO..... this chapter says that God can do anything He needs to do to call me to Him. Joel said.... "don't just tear your clothes.... rip your hear open"..... in other words..... Love God with all your heart and with all your sole.
