Commentary on Joel

Matthew Henry :: Commentary on Joel 1

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His call to repentance is enforced by promises. The pity of the Lord, His readiness to bless if the conditions are fulfilled, the removal of the scourge, the plentiful rain and abundant crops, and the outpouring of the Spirit.

Who wrote the book?

Promise of the Spirit. This brings us to the great central promise of the book. He tells us that the blessing shall flow forth from Jerusalem Joel 2: It no doubt has a further fulfillment yet to come after the great Day of the Lord, which is described in Joel 3, when unquestionably the prophet looks forward to a final day when the Lord shall come in judgment.

Christ speaks of this day in the same figure of a great harvest Joel 3: A Lesson for Today. The whole book contains a beautiful spiritual lesson for today. First, the desolated condition of the Church of Christ. It is laid waste by many spiritual foes, well described in Joel 1: There is famine and drought on all sides.

The call goes forth afresh today to the Church of God to come down into the very dust before the Lord in true repentance of heart. This repentance should begin with the leaders, the ministers, the elders, the vine-dressers. But it may be the work will begin with the little ones, as it has been so often in times of revival. If only there is this turning of heart to the Lord we may count on the fulfillment of His promise of the abundant outpouring of His Spirit, and that He will restore the years that the canker-worm hath eaten.

Although Joel 3 is one of judgment we may take it also in a spiritual sense, and see the Church, prepared by the fulness of the Spirit, ready to fight the battle of the Lord against the hosts of darkness, ready for a great ingathering of souls, and multitudes, multitudes shall be brought into the valley of decision. Although the book of Joel contains only three chapters and is seldom read, it is one of the most stirring of all the prophetic writings.

The date of the book is uncertain because it names no kings. However, many feel that Joel must have prophesied during the reign of Joash 2Chronicles If so, he was a contemporary of Elisha. His name means, ''Jehovah is God,'' and he prophesied to a people who had forgotten that. This prophecy surveys the history of Israel, from the time it was given, to the second advent of Christ. The book is an illustration of how God makes the future known to man; in fact, it illustrates the way all biblical truth is revealed.

It demonstrates that revelation is progressive. Joel unfolds and develops a new concept, ''the day of the Lord,'' as do the prophets that follow him. The three aspects of his vision increase in scope as the book progresses. Every book of the Bible has its own key to its interpretation. Sometimes the key is at the front door of the book; other times at the back door. The key to the prophecy of Joel is found near the front door: For the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come'' Joel 1: The land of Palestine had been a wonderful place.

The hills were dotted with fig and olive trees, the slopes were covered with luxuriant vineyards, and the valleys were filled with corn. It had previously been described in metaphor as ''a land that floweth with milk and honey'' Joshua 5: But when Joel was called to prophesy, a terrible judgment had befallen it. Four plagues had come upon the land: Some of the best authorities on the locust, as well as Hebrew scholars, maintain that four stages of the development of the locust are described here.

The context shows what they did to their fair land. The advance column destroyed every leaf and blade of grass.

Those that followed even devoured the bark from the trees. The noise of their wings was heard for miles, and the land looked as though it had been swept by fire.

The prophet revealed the cause for the plagues. These scourges had come from God as chastisement upon the people because of their sin.

Commentaries on Joel

Although the judgment was regional in nature, it was filled with prophetic importance. The Lord said through Joel, ''For a nation is come up upon My land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion'' 1: The primary reference is to the impending invasion by Assyria, but the fuller picture is of the day of the Lord. The Assyrian invasion was but a shadow of something far more terrible to come. The devastation by the invading Assyrians fulfills the prophecy, but a complete and greater fulfillment will occur in the day of the Lord.

In chapters 2 and 3, Joel spans the centuries and gives to us, by inspiration, a detailed description of the time that will close this age and usher in the next. The armies will surround Jerusalem. As the locusts had attacked and destroyed the land, and as the nations of Babylon and Assyria would attack and destroy, so the endtime will be characterized by warfare and destruction. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened'' Mat Men have always failed to take Jehovah into account. Read again the story of Sennacherib and the Assyrians [2Kings All of this is a picture of what will happen in the future. Joel declared the intent of Jehovah when he wrote, ''I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and will judge them there for My people and for My heritage, Israel We know that many of the signs accompanying the prediction were not witnessed on the day of Pentecost.

There was no blood or fire or vaporous smoke. The sun was not turned into darkness, nor the moon into blood.

God Will Not Be Mocked

These signs did not follow the coming of the Spirit in Peter's day because Israel was not repentant and obedient. But they will appear just before the glorious return of Christ. They will surely be seen in that future day.

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; for He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem'' Isaiah 2: Joel sets forth the mighty works of Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ, both in judgment and blessing upon His covenant people, Israel.

He ''shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel'' Joel 3: First, the good news - Calvin's prayers are excellent, and are very convicting - Suggestion: Read them aloud, very slowly and as a sincere prayer to the Almighty God.

On the other hand the careful Berean Acts Furthermore, he makes no mention of a future Millennial Reign of Messiah as described in passages like Joel 3: Commenting on Joel 3: Contrast commentaries such as Driver below Joel 3: This resource is listed because it has numerous commentary notes that relate to the OT Prophetic Books.

See Gaebelein's longer commentary below. Be cautious Acts Does not always interpret the Scripture Literally and sometimes replaces Israel with the Church note. Comment on this Commentary: John Gill unfortunately all too often offers a non-literal interpretation in the Old Testament especially the prophetic books as shown in the following example from Joel 3: Yet there is nothing in the context that allows for the spiritualizing Jerusalem. The interpretation as a literal city is clear from the context.

Comments of this ilk can be very misleading and cause one to completely miss God's intended meaning of the passage being studied! John Calvin, Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke are among a number of older commentators who exhibit a similar propensity to identify OT references to the literal nation of Israel as references to the New Testament church. Jamieson's commentary is generally more literal see his notes on 3: The best rule to apply in the interpretation of the OT especially the prophetic passages is to remember the maxim that if the plain sense of the text the literal sense makes good sense in context, seek to make no other sense lest it turn out to be nonsense!

James Rosscup writes "This work supplies much help on matters of the text, word meaning, resolving some problems, etc. Some have found it one of the most contributive sources in getting at what a text means. An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Works. For example, his interpretation of "Jerusalem will be holy" Joel 3: To make the beloved literal holy city of God "the church" is nonsense and makes the text almost impossible to comprehend See Tony Garland's article - Rise of Allegorical Interpretation.

Where are we?

So why is Henry even listed? But " Caveat emptor! Millennium and the Israel of God. Does Not always interpret literally. While Keil and Delitzsch generally in my opinion interpret the text literally, unfortunately they also occasionally spiritualize the text as attested by their comments on Joel 3: Note also the non-literal interpretations of Joel 3: It is noteworthy that these three commentators end up with different interpretations Henry and Gill differ from Keil in stating that Jerusalem is actually the church!

See discussion of the Rise of Allegorical Interpretation. To the contrary, there is nothing in the text or context of Joel 3: To be sure, the "hills will drip with sweet wine" is figurative language, but remember that even figurative language has a literal meaning and in this context this description speaks of the extreme fertility of the land that will follow the Lord's return Joel 3: When one begins to spiritualize God's Word, the range of interpretations is limitless as illustrated in the previous paragraph.

Literal interpretation is always the safest road to accurate interpretation. Remember that commentaries even those that are conservative and literal should be secondary resources. It is always best to first make your own observations of the Scriptures and arrive at your own interpretation see Inductive Bible Study before consulting the commentaries. In so doing, you will be better prepared to " comment on the commentaries "!

See Consult Conservative Commentaries. Arno Gaebelein who wrote in the early 's is an excellent expositor of the prophetic books because he assiduously adheres to the literal approach to interpretation. Compare his comments on the same passage Joel 3: It is the literal Zion and not something spiritual.

The exact opposite of Keil and Delitzsch! Even good expositors of the Bible have missed the mark.

Select a book of the Bible

One good commentator says: James Rosscup writes that "This Keil and Delitzsch is the best older, overall treatment of a critical nature on the Old Testament Hebrew text verse by verse and is a good standard work to buy. The student can buy parts or the whole of this series.

Sometimes it is evangelical , at other times liberal ideas enter. Complete Commentary of Joel on one zip file. Search by book You can also search by chapter like: John 1 or Gen. The locust plague was only a forerunner of much greater judgment in the coming day of Yahweh. This judgment would take the form of an invading army 2: All of the prophets build upon common themes of the call to repentance, judgment of the nations and eventual blessing for Israel.

It is possible, indeed probable, that 2: The context clearly calls for Messiah's presence 2: Summary Outline of Joel I. The locust plague--calling for repentance Joel 1: The invader from the North--calling for repentance Joel 2: The day of Yahweh revealed Joel 2: The Witness of Joel By many scholars Joel is regarded as the oldest of the writing prophets, and thus the first to use the term "the day of the LORD," so often taken up in the prophetic literature. Thus who but the Messiah could speak in Joel 1: He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree; he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

Again in Chapter 2, we read: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit" Joel 2: Christians, according to Hebrews 12, have come to Mount Zion. They are in the good of the Kingdom of GOD. Seven times does Joel bring in Zion as GOD's resource, when the utter failure of man is made evident, as historically Zion does not appear in Scripture till everything established by GOD and committed to human responsibility had broken down; Priesthood in the house of Eli; the prophet in the evil sons of Samuel; the monarchy in the hands of Saul; the ark in captivity, and then hidden away in Kirjath-jearim, neglected and forgotten, etc.

Then Zion became the center of the national and religious life of Israel. In our generation areas having the potential for a locust outbreak are monitored by international agencies using satellite reconnaissance and other technology; incipient swarms are met by aircraft and trucks carrying powerful pesticides. However, if the locusts are not destroyed or contained shortly after the hatch, once the swarm has formed, control efforts are minimally effective even today. For example, in the civil war in Chad prevented international cooperation in attacking the hatch, and a destructive swarm spread throughout North Africa devastating some of the poorest nations and threatening Europe as well.

It is difficult for modern Western people to appreciate the dire threat represented by a locust plague in earlier periods. Such outbreaks had serious consequences for the health and mortality of an affected population and for a region's economy. Scarcity of food resulting from the swarm's attack would bring the population to subsistence intake or less, would make the spread of disease among a weakened populace easier, would eliminate any trade from surplus food products, and would stimulate high inflation in the costs of food products.

It was only in that the mystery of the locust was solved. Prior to this date researchers wondered what became of the locust during the years in which there were no outbreaks. Uvarov demonstrated that the swarming locust was none other than an ordinary species of grasshopper. However, when moisture and temperature conditions favored a large hatch, the crowding, unceasing contact, and jostling of the nymphs begin to stimulate changes in coloration, physiology, metabolism, and behavior, so that the grasshopper nymphs make the transition from solitary behavior to the swarming gregarious and migratory phases of the dreaded plague.

Plagues continue as long as climatic conditions favor the large hatches. Once entering their gregarious phase, swarms, of locusts can migrate great distances and have even been observed twelve hundred miles at sea. The swarms can reach great sizes: If one assumes that Joel was written around BC, then the coming army could be the Assyrians or Babylonians.

The following diagram would depict this view. It will be a utopia. We also have another promise to the Jews.

Joel Commentaries & Sermons | Precept Austin

The destruction that locusts can cause is almost unbelievable. They strip all crops and green vegetation. In 15 minutes they can completely strip a tree of its leaves. A Desert Locust swarm that crossed the Red Sea in was estimated to cover square miles.

Such swarms are like dark clouds dense enough to hide the sun and they contain countless millions of these "grasshoppers. An Even Greater Judgment - God used this locust judgment to point to an even greater judgment that would come in the future. Joel has much to say about this future time of judgment.

See also G Campbell Morgan's application of following passages in Joel. Understanding the Book of Joel. Lewis described pain as God's megaphone. That is true on the personal level and sometimes it is also true on the national level. The story of the Old Testament is a story of the people of God falling away and then being judged for their sins and then coming back in repentance. It happened again and again in a repeating cycle.

If you are a parent, then you understand this process. We went through it when we were raising our daughter. The pericope for Ash Wednesday falls at the end of this section. The rest of the book contains the prophet's announcement of the advent of the Lord's mercy in new and surprising ways. Unlike the prophets Amos, Micah, or Isaiah, Joel did not emphasize repentance as turning away from evil and toward a life of justice.

Rather, Joel emphasized repentance as turning to the Lord in worship: Joel does not focus on justice, name specific sins, or single out specific people or castes of people for their sins. Rather, Joel bids the people to turn toward God in repentance and worship. Similar to Amos cf. The term "day of the Lord" probably began as a reference to Israel's major religious festival, the festival of Tabernacles - "the day of the festival of the Lord" Hosea 9: At major religious festivals, the "trumpet" Hebrew shophar , the horn of an animal used as a wind instrument was sounded.

The trumpet's call could signal the year of Jubilee Leviticus But the real point of sounding the trumpet is to announce the advent of the Lord Exodus Joel's cry to "blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain" is the announcement that the day of the Lord "is coming, it is near" 2: And like the Amos, Joel was announcing that the Lord's coming was not the good news the people had expected, but bad news.

The people of Israel looked forward to the day of the Lord as a child today looks forward to Christmas. They thought it would be the day when the Lord would act within history to deliver Israel from her enemies, the day when the Lord would defeat Israel's foes. Not so fast, announces Joel! It is "a day of darkness and gloom" 2: And then comes the surprise in Joel's message - at least when compared to Amos 5, Micah 6, or Isaiah 2. The prophet calls on the people to a worship service of repentance: From a Christian, third-millennial perspective, a call to repentance probably seems rather ho-hum, a been-there-heard-that-before kind of theological move.

But Joel's perspective on repentance and the role of worship in repentance is a fresh, new, and exciting word. And to score this point, Joel rhetorically exploits the link between the concepts of "the day of the Lord" as God's coming to judge and "the day of the Lord" as the festival day.

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