Exposition on Joel - 14 - Outline of Verses 5-18

     In Stuart’s outline of this section he labels verses 2-3 a “call to reflection/reaction”. Verse 4 is a “description of tragedy”, verses 5-18 he labels a “call to mourning”, which breaks down into these four sections: verses 5-7—the mourning of drunkards, verses 8-10—a general call to mourning, verses 11-12—a call for the farmers to mourn, verses 13-18—a call for priests to mourn

What’s interesting about verses 5-18 is that Joel calls the drunkard, the farmer, and the priests to mourn, but to mourn the loss of their earthly goods, or the temporal items that brought them satisfaction. The drunkard got great satisfaction from the numbing provided by his wine, the farmers reveled in the production of their crops, and the priests based their identity on offering material sacrifices to the God who is a Spirit. But God removed all of those blessings to punish the nation for its disobedience and even the righteous among them would suffer that loss. Ultimately though, we must say that Joel and all the other prophets for that matter call the people to lament their sin and the sin of the nation. Joel initiates that mourning by calling the various groups to lament the loss of the things they held dear. There is nothing that will cause a person to either cry out to God or cry out against Him like the removal of the idols that have captured his attention. God doesn’t visit His wrath upon them in Person or without mediation; He sends the instrument of a foreign army to crush the people’s disobedience. Likewise, through His lawyer Joel, God calls the people to mourn: first to mourn the loss of their things taken from them by the invading army, but later, He calls them to mourn their sin, for that is why the army was sent in the first place, to curse their covenantal disobedience through the removal their creaturely comforts. The powerful invading army is the means serving God’s end.

Exposition on Joel - 13 - Verses 4-6 Concluded

     Now for a few evidences that lead me to believe that the foe in v. 4 and in v. 6 are the same, and that this is an army of men that Joel equates with a plague of swarming locusts. The locust plague of v. 4 serves as an image that promoted the comprehensive nature of the effects described in the devastation inflicted by this invader. What more can we make of this rhetorical question asked by Joel back in verse 2? If Joel is referring to the invasion by a literal army of desert locusts then the people might have been tempted to answer, “Yes! We have (or our fathers have) seen such a thing in our day!” But the way the question is posed, the answer must be no. This debate is why the relationship of v. 5 to verses 4 and 6 is so important: If v. 5 is an ending for the curse of verses 2-5, then one could easily conclude that the locusts in v. 4 were literal. If v. 5 is the beginning of the description/explanation for all of chapter 1, then the figurative interpretation surfaces. The figurative interpretation would stand in line with the historical fact of God’s sending of a great and terrible nation to punish even Judah for her covenantal disobedience. One’s interpretation relies heavily on whether they regard v. 5 as an ending to a five verse section or as the preamble of the passage from verse 5-7.

      The infrequency with which the locusts are mentioned when the entire book is considered is another indicator that they are not literal. If the locusts in v. 4 are literal, assuming verses 1-5 are a separate curse, then Joel gives very little information about the happenings surrounding the 1^st curse and virtually no introduction to the army in 6-18. The only other mention Joel makes of locusts is in 2:25, which obviously refers back to v. 4. All in all, that is a negligible portion of the 1^st 2 chapters which he uses to proclaim the destructive force of covenantal judgment.

The language In the ESV lists four types or classifications of locusts are described. But if you look at the ASV or Calvin’s commentaries, they translate these stages as a variety of bugs and invertebrates: locusts, canker worms and caterpillars. One thing is for sure, Joel isn’t giving the people a lesson in entomology and the four designations are therefore not to be used to describe four types of solders or armies as has been tried by some over zealous speculators. If the locusts are figurative then this is simply a poetic declaration of the comprehensive nature of this calamity. Nothing will be left. Current scientific evidence shows that the desert locust actually has 6 stages of development. I’m not saying that this observation alone is reason enough to abandon the literal interpretation of the locusts in v. 4. Again, one’s orthodoxy isn’t won or lost there; scholars within the same theological camps tend to differ. Though it is the minority opinion, I believe Joel uses the image of locusts to describe the way an army of men would come and leave nothing but death in their path, taking the cities and fields by force. Farmers wielding hoes and axes and pruning hooks as weapons were no match for a swordsman on horse or afoot; when this army in chapter one invaded, those brave enough to try and defend their families’ lives and freedom would simply be cut down where they stood. The people in Judah who were not murdered would go into captivity as God had intended.

In conclusion, I believe it makes the most sense of the chapter 1, Joel’s first oracle, to see verses 6, 10-13 as a result of these invaders which are first illustrated in v. 4 in the image of a swarm of desert locusts. But whether these locusts were in fact an army themselves or whether they symbolized an army of men, Joel insures that this was going to be a plague of special magnificence. Just like the swarms that had ravaged the fields in the past, this army of invaders would ravage God’s Land and His people—this is the very point. In the wake of the temporal administration of God’s wrath against the nation’s covenantal disobedience, the righteous along with the wicked were subject to the pain and suffering caused by the invasion, the desolation inflicted on the Land and the exile of its people. It is interesting to note here that, just like the Devil himself, this army is God’s army. Look at 2:25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. To be sure, the invading army had their own evil motives and would likely be punished for their actions in the future, but I believe the same could be said of their attack and pilfering as was said of Joseph’s brothers. What they meant for evil, God meant for good (Gen. 50:20). So the horror of an enemy’s army on the horizon was described by Joel as an invasion of desert locusts, and the destruction it would leave in its path was illustrated by the prolonged destruction that would be wrought by an army of locusts.

Exposition on Joel - 12 - Verses 4-6 Continued

     V. 4 is one of the places where one’s interpretation of the passage may be influenced by one’s view of Joel’s place in history, or vice versa. If one accepts the interpretation that the locusts in v. 4 are figurative and the army in v. 6 is literal, then this prophesy of Joel’s must have occurred at or just before one of the noted invasion in Judah. As mentioned previously, in 701 BC, the Assyrians invaded but not to the point of Judah’s destruction and exile. The Babylonians came in their first major assault on Judah in 588 BC. In 586, they successfully sacked Jerusalem and overran Judah taking the people into captivity. So it could be said that Joel gave these oracles during one of those ominous events.

Based on the verb tenses in our English translations, it appears as though the invasion has already begun. The prophet calls the event to Judah’s attention in v. 2 and asks them in v. 3 to memorialize this horrible day when God’s judgment came upon a stiff-necked people. It seems to me that Joel is calling the people to repent because of their suffering, indicating that the crisis of verses 4-18 is current, which lends credence to the speculation that he prophesied during one of the invasions and not entirely before, not between, and not after those historic and calamitous events. There is however, the possibility that this verb tense is “prophetic perfect” like in the oracles of other prophets. So, even though this event hasn’t happened yet, its occurrence is so certain that the prophet speaks of it as though it has already happened. This also could be the case in Joel’s oracle here. So if you consider the idea in verse 15, that the day is near, and destruction yet comes, one might be inclined to believe this prophecy happened at least before the Babylonian invasion. If Joel gave this prophecy before that time, then it seems clear that the purpose was to call the people to lament their present hardships (whatever they may have been) and repent so to avoid the judgment of God through the Babylonian invasion. In that case, this 1^st oracle would serve as both a “call to communal lamentation” and as a warning, such as the one near the end of Deut. 28.

Exposition on Joel -11 - Verse 4-6

     In v. 4-18 Joel describes the enemy and its effects and calls the people to lament. In v. 4 in particular, Joel imagines an unrivaled swarm of locusts. As Yahweh God, their Father was drawing them out of Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart against the descendants of Abraham and God sent a series of plagues to convince Pharaoh to let His people go but also displaying the power that the One True Creator God had over the very images of created things the Egyptians had worship. They idolized the beetle and the frog and other living things. So God sent them those gods in abundance. So the Jew in Joel’s day would be reminded of the locust plague God sent through Moses and also of the past “invasions” of locusts that had left their fields desolate, and left their harvest bare for a season or more. Considering again, v. 2, it is as if Joel was saying, this tragic event will surpass all those other things in your minds. It is very likely that, if not the people themselves, their parents or their grandparents would have endured a swarm of locusts that ruined a season or even several years of crops. Thinking of verses 2-4 together is a bit like me reflecting on the economic pressures we face today and asking my parents how it compares to the recession in the ‘70s. Or, if there were still living, it would be like me asking my grandparents if this present difficulty is similar to the Great Depression. Of course both of those former tragedies have so far, proven to be more terrible than the one we now face, but the point is the perception of similar types of tragedies through time. So the sound of the onslaught of locust’s wings made the people shudder with fear, but so would the sound of a company of horsed men and men on foot. Is this swarm of locusts literal or figurative? To introduce this topic, a little information about desert locusts: As they swarmed and foraged they were aptly described as a plague by Mediterranean peoples even 4000 years ago. A single locust that lays her eggs in June will, by September, have nearly 8 million descendants. That is a veritable army of locusts. As a matter of fact, no human army has ever amassed such substantial numbers. But the theological ramifications of Joel’s imagery should be recognized here as he uses “Pentateuchal Curse” language—this is a curse for disobedience. You’ll remember the passage in Deut. 28 (specifically v. 25-59) where, in the context of the punishment of invasion and exile, God warned the people of an army of men which would be used to destroy them and remove them from the Land.  In Deut. 28:38 and 42, in addition to the invasion of a foreign army, God promised that locusts would also be used to punish the people by destroying the Land. You’ll also notice there in Deut. 28 that the locusts and the army are mentioned in the context of the same curse, which has given Stuart and others the liberty to interpret the locusts of Joel 1:4 and the powerful nation of 1:6 as a single consequence of Judah’s disobedience. Regarding the debate over the literalness of these locusts, several options present themselves. Bear in mind that this could be considered a comparison/contrast of verses 4 and 6: 1) the locusts in v. 4 are figurative, and the nation in v. 6 is literal. 2) The locusts in v. 4 are literal and the nation in v. 6 is also literal. 3) The locusts in v. 4 are literal and the nation in v. 6 is figurative. If the nation described in v. 6 is literal, then verses 4 & 5 are one curse being fulfilled, and verses 6-18 represent a second curse being fulfilled. If the locusts in verse 4 are literal and the nation in v. 6 is figurative, then it could actually be considered a metaphor for the locust swam in v. 4. A view for which 2:18-25 could be used for support. Perhaps 2:25 alone may lead the interpreter to think of the description of the invaders in 2:1-11 as an illustration of the literal swarm of locusts described in an extended metaphor of an army of men. In any case, Joel is careful to call the people’s attention to the uniqueness of this invading army.

Exposition on Joel - 10 - Verses 1-3

     In verses 1-3 we find Joel’s introduction and call on the people to hear the Word of the Lord. This entire chapter and the 1^st part of chapter 2 have to do mainly with the destruction coming on Judah and the call for the people to lament its effects. Verses 2-3 give Joel’s hearers and us as well, a call to remember the destructive force of locusts from the plague that occurred in the Exodus. Joel is setting the people up to compare their present suffering through invasion to the desolations of the past. They are what can be referred to as a “call to communal lamentation”. It can be difficult to distinguish this type of lamentation from that of a funeral song or some sort of elegy, but the two verses contain several key elements as pointed out by Stuart (239). Joel commands the people to recall their recent history and to memorialize this event.

In v. 2 Joel calls the elders and in fact all of the people to see the uniqueness of this event. The reason being is that people become complacent and unhurried when events occur on a regular basis, regardless of their intensity.  As much difficulty as the periodic swarm of locusts would have caused, even that they had gotten used to—most likely and most appropriately marking their invasions up to the nature of things. But when an unusually strong calamity is sent their way, the people’s sensibilities tremble, such as it is with this invading army in verse 6. It seems to be the opposite in our day.  We try to shrug off the big stuff and we tend to get hung up on the small things. Many of us actually spend a lot of time trying either to avoid or cover up the discomforts that intrude into our lives. Symptoms of it can be seen in the way we entertain ourselves. Many of us lose ourselves in movies and television almost like a drug, one that helps us forget about life’s larger troubles, even if only momentarily. We also try to shrug off the big stuff in less benign ways, consider the way we try to ignore death as a reality.  The way we talk about it and even some of the burial customs we embrace are actually symptoms of our desire to disengage from reality when it bites. Our technological advances have given us such control over our circumstances that even the smallest discomfort or disruption will frequently send us into a spiral of anxiety. Just to be sure, I’m not suggesting that these intrusions on our comfort like death or chronic pain or relational angst are necessarily judgments God has sent to call us to repentance like the invasion in Joel was intended, but I mention them just to highlight the fact that the Judeans had taken the common things for granted. Joel makes it a point to remind them that this particular invasion and its effects are anything but common. It’s a bit like the Californians who have gotten used to the occasional tremor. Joel is telling the people that this is not tremor; it is as though he asks them, “has an earth quake of this magnitude happened in your recent history?” The answer to this rhetorical question posed in verse 2 is obviously, no.

In v. 3 Joel also calls on the people to tell their children about this day of trouble. This verse could be a Hebraism whereby the audience is being asked to remember and being asked to tell their entire household to remember these events, whether they are present or future. It reminds me of Joshua 4 when God brought the people across the Jordan and commanded that 12 stones be piled up as a memorial. God wanted His people and their children to remember it so every time they saw that “monument” they could point to it and say to their children, “see there, these stones were put there to cause us to remember the day when God did…” In a similar way, Joel calls the people to stack stones as it were, to remember this day when the Lord your God, in His terrible justice, sent an army to punish the nation. Little did the hearers of Joel’s oracle know they would likely be reminding their children and their grand children, who would be born in a land other than their own. Perhaps if they were lucky, their great, great grand children would be born in Judah (70 years later) after the return of the remnant. They could finally hear of this invading army while the people sat once again in Abraham’s Land.

Exposition on Joel - Introduction - 9

     In this introduction to the prophesy of Joel we have seen the difficulties scholars have had placing Joel’s ministry on a timeline: we’ve made a brief survey of the history of the Old Kingdom and the possible kings who reigned during the ministry of Joel. We’ve also considered God’s other prophets who might have ministered His Word at around the same time. And in addition to those topics we also considered several themes of the book, the major ones being: First, we see in Joel, as with nearly all the other prophets, that the threat of God’s imminent judgment demands the repentance of all peoples, a sort of contrition that in Joel’s day typically manifested itself in the rending of a nation’s heart and her true cry for mercy through prayer and fasting.—Secondly, the future Day of the Lord with its promises both of the deliverance of believers and the destruction of the wicked. And we discussed how Joel uses that Day to describe the day when God’s wrath will come upon Judah in invasion, desolation and finally, exile. But, just as the trusting Jew did some 2 ½ thousand years ago, we too can take heart in the comfort of being assured that all of God’s promises are being fulfilled and that they are yes and amen in Christ Jesus our Lord. So as you consider Joel’s prophesy, think of how the visible church relates to the nation of Israel. Do this so you don’t lose sight of the importance of his prophecy to us, and not just the future aspect of the DotL but the warnings of present temporal consequences for disobedience. The threat of judgment on and the call of repentance to Israel in that day might have very similar meaning for the visible church today. But don’t stop there; don’t meditate on the imperatives of the Law too long without preaching the indicatives of the gospel to yourself. Believers must finally reflect on the promise of deliverance that awaits us at the DotL, and remember that, as a believer you never suffer the damning face of God’s wrath. Perhaps at times you will feel the pressure of His Fatherly displeasure but He who is faithful will never forsake us because He forsook His Son on the cross. He who adopted us will never disown us because on the cross, He disowned Christ in our place. He who married us as a bride will never divorce us because Christ our husband suffered the divorce in our stead, on the cross. Yet His work was ratified in His resurrection, so that we too may look forward to that Great Day when our resurrected spirits will be united forever with the bodies that God will raise. So when you hear the threats of judgment and the call to repentance, do take them very seriously; hear the Law through the criticisms that Joel and the other prophets level at the nation Israel and also at the surrounding wicked nations and reflect on your own sin and the sin of the church, but know that you can’t use the application of the Law that condemns you in order to do what it asks. Trying to use the Law to do what it commands is a bit like trying to use a road sign as a map. If you are traveling to Chicago, the sign that says, “CHICAGO 1500 MILES” only lets you know how far off you are, it doesn’t give you the power or knowledge of how to get there. No, the power to obey is no where but in the gospel itself—the truth that Christ has obeyed perfectly and suffered the punishment for all our sins past, present and future, therein lies the power to be set free from sin. And even so, that only in part until we are completely rid of our personal wickedness and the very desire to sin at the time of our changing when we are finally and forever glorified.

Exposition on Joel - Introduction - 8

     Well, if at this point you’re still asking yourselves, “What does this really have to do with Joel?” Recall that I mentioned the confusion that may have occurred in the typical Jewish mind; as circumcised members of visible Israel, they largely didn’t expect God’s wrath to ever befall them, and they especially didn’t expect the judgment contained in the prophesy of the DotL to be directed toward them because it was a day where they all expected salvation. And that’s just like people today not resting their faith in what Christ has done, but rather in their baptism or their parent’s faith. I think I can rightly claim that confusion based on the topics that the New Testament writers had to address, and the manifest difficulties seen in that transition. So the discussion of this view of covenant signs and linage has to do with the Jewish expectation at the DotL. Joel had been sent, in part, to disabuse the people of their misinterpretation of that coming Day, a Day that Joel spends a great deal of time talking about. And I believe we’ve sufficiently covered that theme in Joel. Even though we will have given more time to the theme of the DotL, now we must consider what is like to be regarded as the main theme in Joel. Repentance appears to be the overarching theme, as it is in many of the prophets. Many times the prophets were instructed to call the nation to repentance and when it eventually occurred it would generally manifest in one primary outward aspect: The corporate expression of grief over the nation’s sins. And in the Old Covenant paradigm this grief was supposed to result in: individuals pleading for God’s covenant mercy through prayer and fasting.

Regarding this outward display of repentance, in addition to Joel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel all mention fasting, and part of Isaiah’s ministry was to criticize the nation’s misuse of the regulation of fasting and Joel was careful to call the people not just to an outward expression of repentance; not to rend their clothes alone, but more importantly, to rend their hearts—it’s a bit like when Jeremiah spoke of the Law being written not only on tablets of stone but upon our very hearts.

In the midst of all this talk of destruction which resulted from their lack of repentance, the one thing we can’t afford to forget is that, Joel gives us a glimmer of hope. In the context of promises made directly to the divided Jewish nation, Joel gave the people, and he gives all who are counted among God’s people a pledge that one day our suffering will be vindicated and that God will bring us peaceably through whatever wrath He may pour out upon the heads of the wicked. But in the end, and somehow to God’s glory, both justice and mercy will be done; justice for all those who have spurned God’s general call to believe, and mercy for all who do believe. We see this glimmer of hope beginning in chapter 2:18 &19 where the Lord is said to have pity on the people because of the jealousy He has for His Land, which is actually an allusion to the former promise God made to Abraham. Verses 19 and 20 God’s acts of mercy are described. In the passage from verse 21-27, God declares His plan to vindicate and restore that which is His, and He goes on to describe the way in which He will do it. And finally in verses 28 and 29, somewhat book-ended by the terrorizing aspect of the Day of the Lord, God promises the blessing of His Spirit, a blessing that we have seen come to pass at the Day of  Pentecost..