Joel 2:1-32

The Day of the Lord

Joel

Roy Rohu

Chapter 2

The army of *locusts

v1 Blow the *trumpet in *Zion.

Tell the people on the *Lord’s hill to watch for trouble.

All the people who live in this country will be afraid.

They will be afraid because the Day of the *Lord is coming.

It is very near.

v2 That day will be sad and dark.

It will be cloudy and black.

A very big army is coming.

It comes across the sky as light comes in the morning.

A great army like this has never come before.

It will never come again in future.

v3 Fire goes in front of the army.

It burns everything behind them.

The land in front of them is like the garden in Eden.

Behind them, it is like a desert.

They leave nothing behind them.

See Genesis 2:8 for the garden in Eden.

For the Day of the *Lord, see note about Joel 1:15.

v4 They behave like horses.

They run fast to the war.

v5 Their noise is like the noise that many feet make.

They jump over the mountains

as fast as a fire burns dry grass.

They are like a great army that is ready for a fight.

v6 Nations that see them are very afraid.

Every face shows their fear.

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.

In Chapter 1, Joel tells how dry the country is. Now, the *locusts come to eat up any plants that are left.

v7 *Locusts run together as an army runs into a fight.

They climb up walls like soldiers.

They march forward in a straight line.

They do not turn away.

v8 They do not push each other away.

Each one goes straight ahead.

People can put defences in their path

but they go straight ahead.

v9 They run towards the city.

They run along the wall.

They climb into houses.

They go through the windows like thieves.

v10 The earth in front of them moves.

The sky itself moves.

The sun and moon are dark

and the stars do not shine.

v11 The *Lord shouts aloud

as he leads his army.

We cannot count his soldiers.

Those who obey him are very strong.

The Day of the *Lord is powerful.

It makes us afraid.

Nobody can manage to live through it.

‘The sun and the moon are dark.’ Look also at Joel 3:15. We can read about something similar in Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7-8 and Matthew 24:29.

It is very sad that God’s people do not listen to him. But he needs to make his own people think. For this, he must use people that do not love him. That is very sad, too.

Show to the *Lord that you are sorry

v12 ‘Even now’, the *Lord says,

‘return to me and respect me.

Eat no food. Weep and be very sad.

v13 Show to me that you are really sorry.

It does not help if you tear your clothes into pieces. That does not help if you are not really sorry.’

Return to the *Lord, your God.

He is kind and he is full of *grace.

He does not get angry quickly and he is full of love.

He is sad that he had to send troubles to you.

v14 Perhaps he will decide to act differently.

He may send to you food and drink as blessings (good gifts).

Then you can offer gifts to the *Lord, your God.

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. Look at Joel 2:15-17.

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.

v15 Blow the *trumpet in *Zion.

Tell the people to eat no food.

Call them to *worship him.

v16 Call the people together.

Make them all ready to serve the *Lord.

Bring the old people together.

Bring the children, even the smallest ones.

Let the new husband leave his wife.

Let the wife leave her room.

v17 There are *priests who go in front of the *Lord.

Let them weep between the porch (doorway with a roof) of the *temple and the *altar.

Let them say to the *Lord, ‘Do not hurt your people.

Do not let people in other nations laugh at your own people.

They will laugh. And they will say that your own people are no good.

They will say, “Your God is no help to you now.” ’

The *Lord’s answer

v18 Then the *Lord will pity his country.

He will be kind to his people.

v19 He will answer them.

‘I am giving to you new *wine and food and oil.

You will have enough to fill you.

I will never again let people from other nations laugh at you.

v20 I will send away the army that comes from the north. I will send it far from you.

I will push it into an empty country where nothing grows.

I will send the front of that army one way.

It will go into the sea on the east.

The back of that army will go the other way. It will go into the sea on the west.

There will be a strong smell from dead bodies.

This will happen because that army has done great things.’

v21 Do not be afraid, you people in this country called *Israel.

Be very happy.

Be sure that the *Lord has done great things.

The *Lord sends their enemies to make his people sorry. Now they are sorry. Joel says that the enemies have done ‘great things’. (Look at verse 20.) 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. (Look at verse 21.)

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.

v22 Do not be afraid, wild animals.

The fields are becoming green.

Fruit is growing on the trees.

The *fig tree and the *vine are producing their riches.

v23 Be happy, people in *Zion!

*Rejoice in the *Lord your God.

He has given to you just enough autumn rain.

He has given to you the winter rain.

The rain has come, as it did before.

v24 He will fill your baskets with bread

and he will fill your jars with *wine and oil.

v25 ‘I will give back to you the years that the *locusts have eaten.

I will give back to you everything that the older *locusts and the young *locusts have eaten.

And I will give back to you everything that the oldest *locusts and their groups have eaten.

I will give to you as much as my great army has eaten.

v26 You will have plenty to eat. You will be full.

You will say good things about the name of the *Lord, your God.

He has done great things for you.

My people will never again be ashamed.

v27 Then you will know that I am in *Israel.

You will know that I am your God.

And you will know that there is no other God.

My people will never again be ashamed.’

Zion was the place where the *Israelites built the *Lord’s *temple. Sometimes the people in Jerusalem called themselves ‘Zion’.

In verse 27, the *Lord is reminding his people that he has been with them all the time. The *Lord’s people have not remembered that. Now they must remember the Covenant (agreement) that the *Lord has with his people. Look at Exodus 19:5-6.

The Day of the *Lord

v28 ‘After that, I will send out my *Holy Spirit onto all people.

Your sons and daughters will be *prophets.

Your old men will dream and

your young men will see pictures in their minds.

v29 Then I will send out my Spirit onto all my servants.’

Joel says that the *Holy Spirit will come ‘after that’. We now call that day ‘Pentecost’. Look at Acts 2, but look especially at Acts 2:17-21. Look also at Acts 3:18-26. There, Peter told the people about ‘great things’ that will come. Peter was thinking about Joel 2:30-32 as he was speaking.

v30 ‘I will do strange things in the sky and on the earth.

I will send blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

v31 The sun will become dark and the moon will become red.

Then the great Day of the *Lord will come. That day will make people very afraid.

v32 Some people will call to the *Lord and they will believe in his name.

Everyone who does those things will be safe.

The *Lord will call people on the mountain called *Zion and in Jerusalem.

Everyone there that the *Lord has called

will be safe.’

He has promised this.

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. (Look also at Joel 3:15.)

Joel has told God’s people about the good things that God intends to do (verses 21-29). So the terrible things in verse 31 will not happen to them. Joel explains about God’s people in verse 32. He says more about those terrible things in Chapter 3.

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.

locust ~ an insect that moves in big groups. It is always very hungry and it eats all green plants.
trumpet ~ a bent metal pipe that people blow through to make a loud noise.
Zion ~ a hill where the Israelites built the Lord’s temple at Jerusalem. Sometimes the people in Jerusalem called themselves ‘Zion’.
Israelites ~ people who live in Israel; people who come from Jacob’s family.
Lord ~ a name that we call God when we obey him.
temple ~ a building where people *worship their god and they say good things about him.
Jerusalem ~ the city where God’s temple was.
Israel ~ the country where the Israelites (God’s people) live; or, sometimes the north part of that country.
Lord ~ a name that we call God when we obey him.
locust ~ an insect that moves in big groups. It is always very hungry and it eats all green plants.
grace ~ good gifts that God gives to people who believe him. They get these gifts free, not because they are good people!
priest ~ a man who gave gifts and burned animals as gifts to God for the Israelites; a man whom God chose to serve him and to do special work for him.
Israelites ~ people who live in Israel; people who come from Jacob’s family.
Israel ~ the country where the Israelites (God’s people) live; or, sometimes the north part of that country.
temple ~ a building where people *worship their god and they say good things about him.
altar ~ a place where people burned animals or other things as gifts to God.
Israel ~ the country where the Israelites (God’s people) live; or, sometimes the north part of that country.
Israelites ~ people who live in Israel; people who come from Jacob’s family.
fig ~ sweet fruit that grows on a tree.
vine ~ a plant that climbs. People make *wine from its fruits.
rejoice ~ to be very happy and to say good things about God.
Israelites ~ people who live in Israel; people who come from Jacob’s family.
Israel ~ the country where the Israelites (God’s people) live; or, sometimes the north part of that country.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy; the place where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.
prophet ~ a person who tells God’s message to people. That person can sometimes say what will happen in the future.