Joel

• Introductory Matters
• • The prophet
  • • Probably lived in Jerusalem (2:6-9) during the Persian period
    • Familiar with the priests and their responsibilities (1:9,13-16) but it is unlikely he was a priest himself since he tended to speak of the priests objectively (1:13, 2:17)
    • Name means "the Lord is God" - a fairly common name in biblical times
  • Date
  • • Factors involved in dating
    • • Seems to depend on earlier prophets (e.g., 1:15 and Isa. 13:6, 2:2 and Zeph. 1:15, 3:10 is the reverse of Isa. 2:4 and Micah 4:3, 3:16 and Amos 1:2, 3:18 and Ezek. 47:1-12)
      • Language is late biblical Hebrew
      • Historical situation seems late
      • • Priests and elders were leaders (1:13-14, 2:15-17)
        • Continual offering was typical of post-exilic community (1:9,13; 2:14)
        • Destruction of Judah and Jerusalem seemed in distant past (3:1-3)
        • Assume the Temple and city walls were rebuilt (1:9,14,16; 2:7,9,17; 3:18)
    • Above factors argue for a date after the work of Ezra and Nehemiah probably 400-350 B.C.E.
  • Literary form
  • • Book divides into two parts
    • • 1:1-2:27 - a dramatic description of a locust plague and drought and their removal by God - the plague and drought were viewed as signs of the imminent Day of the Lord
      • 2:28-3:21 - promises of Israel's restoration and the judgment of the nations
    • These two parts have led some to believe two authors worked on the book - this is possible but not necessary
• Message of the Book
• • The two sections
  • • Plagues (1:1-2:27)
    • • Two plagues
      • • Locusts (1:2-12)
        • • Locusts destroy everything in an unprecedented plague
          • Not only is there no food to eat, there is nothing to present to God as a cereal or drink offering
        • Drought (1:19-20)
        • • The devastation brought by the locusts paved the way for drought and fire
          • The situation was desperate
      • A sign of the Day of the Lord (2:1-11)
      • • Joel saw in the present disaster a foretaste of what the Day of the Lord would be like
        • The drastic nature of this disaster implied the Day of the Lord was very near (2:1)
      • Call to repentance (2:12-17)
      • • People are urged to repent internally as well as externally (2:13)
        • The nature of God is such that repentance will help (2:14) - God does not want to destroy but to save (2:13)
      • Restoration (2:18-27)
      • • Either deliverance from the plague is promised or has already been experienced
        • After the people repent and experience deliverance, they will know the Lord is God and there is no other God (2:27)
        • • Good comes out of evil
          • The issue of knowing God as a result of plagues and disasters is typical of Egypt during the plagues before the exodus and of the prophets who prophesied the destruction of Israel and Judah
    • Apocalyptic vision (2:28-3:21)
    • • Outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord (2:28-29)
      • • In the new age, God will have an intimate fellowship with His people - knowledge, understanding, and commitment will characterize this fellowship
        • Although here the promise is confined to Israel, it paves the way for a universal application
      • Deliverance for those who believe (2:30-32) - the last days are to be horrible but those who believe will escape
      • Judgment of the nations (3:1-8)
      • • Judah and Jerusalem are restored (3:1)
        • Nations are judged based on their treatment of Israel (3:2-3)
        • Phoenicia and Philistia are singled out for particular judgment (3:4-8)
      • Summons to the Day of the Lord (3:9-17)
      • • Although the nations are told to prepare for battle (3:9-10), there is never a battle - God simply sits in judgment
        • God will protect and restore His people Israel and they will know He is God (3:16-17)
      • Nature of restoration (3:18-21)
      • • Judah will be a paradise (3:18)
        • Egypt and Edom will be deserts because of their evil treatment of Judah (3:19)
        • Judah is restored to last forever (3:20) but the nations that mistreated Judah will be judged until the innocent blood they shed is avenged (3:21)
  • Some interesting theological points
  • • God helped Joel see the present plague of locusts as an indication of what the future Day of the Lord will be like - the past helps us understand the future
    • Joel used the thoughts and words of earlier prophets - the prophets' words were and are living on

Artwork by Michelangelo from the Sistine Chapel