Article - Notes on Joel

INTRODUCING JOEL

There will be a long line of Bible students waiting to question Joel in heaven. (And another group trying to avoid him as they never got around to reading his prophecy!) We know very little about this enigmatic prophet who is mentioned nowhere else in the Old Testament. Scholars have tried for centuries to pin him down to a particular period in history. Some think he lived around 800BC and on into the time of Jeroboam II and Amos; others place him just before the nation of Judah was carried off into exile in Babylon around 600BC; but we will place his ministry around 520BC, just after some of the exiles returned to rebuild Jerusalem. This is the period of the prophets Haggai and Zachariah and the Persian Empire; the time of Buddha and the emergence of the Greek city states as an empire.
Ultimately the dating is a very secondary issues. Calvin has commented wisely: 'the import of his doctrine is evident, though his time be obscure and uncertain.' So what is the 'import of his doctrine'? It is that God can speak to us through national disasters and human distress. He can lead us to repentance and bring about restoration by way of unexpected calamity. He can awaken us from self-delusion by personal suffering, which is God's 'megaphone to rouse a deaf world' (CS Lewis). Joel had that prophetic gift of seeing God's hand in current affairs and of calling people to turn to the Lord of history who would in the terrible 'day of the Lord' bring all human history to a just and rightful conclusion. And he had that confident prophetic hope that those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

FRIDAY AUGUST 11
Joel 1:1-2:17
God's Locusts

In an age of deep freezes and worldwide trade it is impossible for most of us to imagine what a locust invasion was like for an agricultural community. The huge black cloud (2:2) containing millions of locusts hovered like a war-time doodlebug above the darkened landscape. With bated breath the villagers watched to see whether it would settle or fly on to destroy another community. Even this century such swarms have been carried into Palestine by the desert winds from Arabia. With a noise like burning straw (1:19), the locusts utterly wipe out all vegetation. They are voracious consumers at every stage in their development (1:4).
Joel does not hesitate to pronounce the famine and drought in the wake of the locust army as God's judgement, and a forerunner of even harsher chastisement (2:11). So he calls for the priests to organise a time of national repentance and mourning. But this must not be a skin deep show of remorse. In 2:12,13 Joel returns to a common prophetic theme: repentance is not a cosmetic one-day wonder, but a genuine change of heart. Repentance is not shown by what we say or do to show how sorry we are, but by a change in our lives and a turning from whatever displeases God.1
Joel had a realistic grasp of the 'state of the nation' and realised the seriousness of what was happening. Reflect on this concerning your nation, your church, your own life.

1 Daniel 9, Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9

SATURDAY AUGUST 12
Joel 2:18-32
Blessings Abound

A common pattern in Old Testament laments is seen here, and the warnings and judgments of God are followed by promise of blessings now and in the future.1 There would be prosperity and fruitfulness throughout the land (18-24) and the marvellous principle of restoration assures Judah (and us) that God "will restore the years the locusts have eaten" (25). If they would but repent, then God could bring good from the calamity and the latter blessings on Israel would be even greater than the former.
Malcolm Muggeridge was well on in life before he came to faith and the autobiography of his youth is sub-titled 'Chronicles of Wasted Time'. But in his latter years God was to restore the years the locusts had eaten. I can think of a man in my congregation who had refused a clear missionary call in his early twenties. He had live for twenty years believing that God could never really use him because of that act of disobedience. But hearing this text preached he realised that, having repented of that earlier hardness of heart, God longed to use him in even more fruitful ways in his present work.
We all have regrets. We can look back on missed opportunities and wrong decisions. But do not be fatalistically resigned to living a second-best life for God. He will restore the years the locusts have eaten and longs to bless you and make you a blessing.
"Praise my soul the king of heaven, to his feet thy tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored forgiven…"

1 II Chron 20

MONDAY AUGUST 14
Joel 3
The Blessing of Judgment

Peter cites Joel 2:28-32 on the day of Pentecost.1 seeing the outpouring of the Spirit as its fulfilment. But the early Christians did not realise that Joel's 'all people' would eventually include the gentiles as well. However, Paul realised this and took up the theme of 2:32 recognising that in the blessings of God's grace there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.2
It is a mark of God's concern for all nations that he therefore judges them and this is the two-edged burden of this last chapter. Included in the additional blessings on God's people will be safety from their enemies(17) and freedom to enjoy the good things of the land(18). In a reversal of Isaiah's3 and Micah's4 prophecy, Joel(10) warns the nations to prepare for God's dreadful judgment upon them. There will be retribution for those who have abused God's chosen people.
But Joel also holds out the promise of God's grace and tender mercy, which before the final, terrible day, will be held out to all nations through Christ. He who roars from Zion will be a refuge for his people.(16) This is why "we dedicate our lives to rescuing men from the righteous judgment of God and likewise we long to share with them the beauty of God's mercies." (Martin Goldsmith, Habakkuk & Joel, Marshalls, 1982)
Joel's prophecy ends on this confident note, that whatever happens to the people of God, "the Lord dwells in Zion", a stronghold for his people. In present difficulties, remind yourself where you will be a hundred years from now!

1 Acts 2:16-21 2 Romans 10:13 and 10:12 3 Isaiah 2:4 4 Micah 4:3