Joel 2

Joel 2

Garland comments on the Day of the LORD in Revelation 6 - The great day is The Day of the Lord, a unique time yet future when God will radically intervene in history to demonstrate in an irrefutable way Who He is. The primary Old Testament passages from which the images in the sixth seal are drawn prove that the great day must be the Day of the Lord (Isa. 2:10-11, 19-21; 13:9-13; 34:4, 8; Eze. 32:7-8; Hos. 10:8; Joel 2:11, 30; Zep. 1:14; Mal. 4:5).104 First, the expression the Day of the Lord refers to God’s special intervention into world events to judge His enemies, accomplish His purpose for history, and thereby demonstrate who He is—the sovereign God of the universe (Isa. 2:10-22; Eze. 13:5, 9, 14, 21, 23; Eze. 30:3, 8, 19, 25-26). Second, several Days of the Lord already have occurred in which God demonstrated His sovereign rule by raising up nations to execute His judgement on other nations. For example, He raised up Babylon to judge Egypt and its allies during the 500s B.C. (Jer. 46:2, 10; Eze. 30:3-6). However, the Bible also foretells a future Day of the Lord.105 At the outset of the day of the Lord, human trials will be prolonged and comparable to a woman’s labor before giving birth to a child (Isa. 13:8; 26:17-19; 66:7-9; Jer. 30:6-8; Mic. 4:9, 10; cf. Mat. 24:8; 1Th. 5:3). This phase of growing human agony will be climaxed by the Messiah’s personal return to earth to terminate the period of turmoil through direct judgment.106 The great day which has been on the horizon for thousands of years has finally arrived. Men will experience unparalleled fear and conditions that have never before prevailed upon the earth: Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames. Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. (Isa. 13:6-9) The proud technologies of man, and infrastructure upon which it depends, will quickly collapse in the midst of this time of divine retribution. Death will be so common that burial will be uncommon as the flesh of men is treated as so much garbage: The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. “I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.” (Zep. 1:14-17) [emphasis added] “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.” (Mal. 4:1-2) Not only will God pour forth his wrath upon the Gentile nations, but the Jewish nation will also undergo a time of unparalleled trouble designed to purge out the unbelieving rebels and turn the remainder back to God. In the midst of this intense judgment, God has promised that a believing remnant will survive (see Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation): Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah. “For thus says the LORD: ’We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” (Jer. 30:4-7) [emphasis added] Jesus also spoke of this fearful time: And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26) This is that great day for which the angels who did not keep their proper domain are reserved for judgment—they will be used in judgment against men (Rev. 9+). See The Day of the Lord, Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation. The wrath is said to be of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16). This is extremely significant because those who are covered by the blood of the Lamb prior to this day (1Pe. 1:17-19) are exempted from experiencing His wrath—they are His bride (Luke 21:36; Rom. 5:9; 1Th. 5:9; Rev. 3:10). See commentary on Revelation 3:10. See Rapture. And so when the Day of the LORD begins to unfold on planet earth, the godless men ask the same question as here in Joel 2:12 "who is able to stand" or "who is able to endure it?" And while this question assumes a negative response, it sets the stage for a ray of hope to shine into the darkness, much like the last half of Joel 3:16-note. Joel discusses this "ray of hope" in the great and awesome Day of the LORD in the next verse. Duane Garrett - To this point we have focused on the scholarly question of whether Joel 2:1–11 concerns only locusts or looks beyond the locusts to an enemy army. This question is unavoidable, and we have argued that Joel’s language and the parallels to other prophetic texts require us to see a human army here. On the other hand, this debate is somewhat skewed in that it misses the real point of Joel. His real concern was not with locusts, or enemy soldiers, or even with the last judgment: the real subject matter of the Book of Joel is the day of the LORD. Every event in the book is subordinated to that concept. It is here described as “great” and “dreadful” (lit. “fearful, awesome”; cf. 2:31; Mal 4:5), two words often found in the Old Testament describing the Lord. When Yahweh moves, Joel asserted, the old order is inverted, the familiar disappears, and false security collapses. No one can withstand that day because there is nothing left to stand on. On the other hand, as we shall see, Yahweh brings new life and a new world into being. (New American Commentary - Volume 19A - Hosea-Joel) John Phillips sums up this section from an eschatological perspective - We know from many Old and New Testament prophets that the Antichrist will take over the world in the day of the Lord. A number of wars will be fought during the antichrist's rise to power, and Israel will have a significant role in his strategy. Once the Jewish nation and people have served his purpose, however, the antichrist will turn against them and the blood bath of the great tribulation will threaten to exterminate the Hebrew people completely. This terrible persecution will purge Israel of radical unbelievers and the stage will be set for the battle of Armageddon. By that time the land of Israel will have been ravaged by foreign troops and thousands of her people will be dying daily. When Israel is in her last extremity, the Lord Jesus will return to rescue the beleaguered Hebrew people from the final conflict at Megiddo. Joel was the first prophet to catch a glimpse of this great climax, which he described in Joel 2:11: "The Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" We know from the Apocalypse that the One who will execute the divine decree is the Lord Jesus. Followed by the armies of Heaven, He will descend from the sky arrayed in great glory. A sharp sword (the Word of God) will come out of His mouth, and with it He will smite the nations (Revelation 19:11-21). One word from Him and the battle will be over. Moved by the sight, Joel appealed to latter-day Israel to prepare for the Lord's return by fasting, weeping, mourning, and returning to the Lord, who will be "gracious and merciful" (2:13). "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly," pleaded the prophet (2:15). He urged the priests to take the lead in intercession and pray, "Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?" (2:17) (Exploring the Minor Prophets) Morning and Evening C H Spurgeon “His camp is very great.” — Joel 2:11 Consider, my soul, the mightiness of the Lord who is thy glory and defence. He is a man of war, Jehovah is his name. All the forces of heaven are at his beck, legions wait at his door, cherubim and seraphim;, watchers and holy ones, principalities and powers, are all attentive to his will. If our eyes were not blinded by the ophthalmia of the flesh, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about the Lord’s beloved. The powers of nature are all subject to the absolute control of the Creator: stormy wind and tempest, lightning and rain, and snow, and hail, and the soft dews and cheering sunshine, come and go at his decree. The bands of Orion he looseth, and bindeth the sweet influences of the Pleiades. Earth, sea, and air, and the places under the earth, are the barracks for Jehovah’s great armies; space is his camping ground, light is his banner, and flame is his sword. When he goeth forth to war, famine ravages the land, pestilence smites the nations, hurricane sweeps the sea, tornado shakes the mountains, and earthquake makes the solid world to tremble. As for animate creatures, they all own his dominion, and from the great fish which swallowed the prophet, down to “all manner of flies,” which plagued the field of Zoan, all are his servants, and like the palmer-worm, the caterpillar, and the cankerworm, are squadrons of his great army, for his camp is very great. My soul, see to it that thou be at peace with this mighty King, yea, more, be sure to enlist under his banner, for to war against him is madness, and to serve him is glory. Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is ready to receive recruits for the army of the Lord: if I am not already enlisted let me go to him ere I sleep, and beg to be accepted through his merits; and if I be already, as I hope I am, a soldier of the cross, let me be of good courage; for the enemy is powerless compared with my Lord, whose camp is very great. Joel 2:12 "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; Return to Me with all your heart: De 4:29,30 1Sa 7:3 1Ki 8:47-49 2Ch 6:38,39 7:13,14 Isa 55:6,7 Jer 4:1 29:12,13 La 3:40,41 Ho 6:1 12:6 14:1 Zec 1:3,4 Acts 26:20 And with fasting, weeping and mourning: Jdg 20:26 1Sa 7:6 2Ch 20:3,4 Ne 9:1,2 Isa 22:12 Jon 3:5-8 Zec 7:3,5 12:10-14 Jas 4:8,9 KJV Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: NJB 'But now -- declares Yahweh- come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.' (Joe 2:12 NJB) YET EVEN NOW! A CALL TO REPENT! At Joel 2:12 there is a break too clear to miss. It is marked, in our Authorized Version, by the word "therefore"; and from Joel 2:12 to Joel 2:17 there is an imploring appeal to the nation of Israel to repent before the dread stroke of the Day of the LORD falls. And while there is a break, there is clearly a link to the previous section, especially the previous verse which says "The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?" Joel 2:12-17 is the answer to who can endure it! It is only the one who humbles himself and repents and returns to Jehovah. There is no other way to endure the wrath of God what will fall on the entire world in these last days which are capped off by THE DAY of the LORD. Yet even now - What a mercy filled word from the LORD! The time is late for the Day of the LORD is coming and is near but even now there is hope if Israel turns to Yahweh. This offer of grace is similar to the great "BUT GOD" of Ephesians 2 where we read And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (Ephesians 2:1-3-note, Eph 2:4-5-note, cf some other great "but God" occurrences - Ge 8:1, Ge 50:20, Romans 5:8, Gal 3:18 and "but now" - Jn 15:22, Ro 3:21, Ro 6:22, Ro 7:6, Ro 11:30, 1 Cor 13:13, 1 Cor 15:20, Gal 3:25, Eph 2:13, Eph 5:8, Col 3:8, 2 Ti 1:10, Heb 9:26, 1 Pe 2:10, 25) Paul gives a somewhat similar warning to all mankind in Acts 17 writing “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance (agnoia), God is NOW declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, (metanoeo) (Acts 17:30-note) S Lewis