Exposition on Joel -42 - 3:9-21

1.    Vv. 9-16—Images of war – for everyone

a.    Vv. 9-12—Joel foretold of a time when God would provoke the nations of His enemies to war.

                           i.      V. 9—all people great in statue and small were warned to prepare.

1.       The enemies of God need all the help they can get.

                         ii.      V. 10—time for harvesting grain & grape would be replaced by time for God to harvest enemies.

1.       God’s enemies were being called to fight but it has they who would be harvested.

2.       10c—even the weak must fight, there is no longer a choice.

                        iii.      V. 11a—the nations are called to gather quickly.

                       iv.      V. 11b—A shift in the proclamation.

1.       Joel prayed that God would call His army (mighty men) to battle these Gentile armies.

                         v.      V. 12—God stirred the nations to judgment.

1.       12a—Joel invited the nations to battle, almost like a taunt.

2.       12b—the armies are called to the Valley called, “The Lord has Judged”.

3.       12c—God’s justice is proclaimed. He declared intentions to judge the nations by this war.

b.    V. 13—Joel shifted his voice to utter God’s call to His people for their participation.

                           i.      God called the people to do battle with the nations, ensuring their destruction.

1.       God’s people are to finally judge even those God used to judge them.

2.       Like Rev. 14:18 Joel used agricultural bounty to describe fullness of time of judgment.

c.    V. 14—Battle in the Valley of Jehoshaphat is compared to the DotL.

                           i.      Many people are there in this valley of “judicial declaration”.

d.    V. 15—Familiar imagery for the darkness of destruction/vindication.

                           i.      Apocalyptic language doesn’t have to be interpreted literally to be taken seriously (2:10, 30).

                         ii.      Hebraism describing darkness of a day—the DotL which may in fact be more than 1 – 24 day.

                        iii.      Image represents the natural order turned on its head.

1.       Think of the recreation or the resurrection of the Heavens and the Earth.

2.       There must be death for there to be resurrection.

e.    V. 16—this is a transition verse. The Lord is a Judge and Advocate.

                           i.      16a—the Lion of Judah devours His prey. This is a statement of His power over His enemies.

                         ii.      16b—the Lion of Judah delivers His people (Ps. 142:5; Jer. 16:19).

2.    V. 17-21—Images of Peace – for Judah/Jerusalem

a.    17a—Section book ended by declaration of God being the Lord of His people.

                           i.      Lion’s actions demonstrate great power of deliverance/affiliation with Holy Place—Zion.

b.    17b—Jerusalem (place & people) are Holy by virtue of their association with the Lord.

                           i.      Never invaded again—complete reversal of curse of invasion/exile (2:27—thesis of Joel).

c.    V. 18-19—Description of Kingdom consummation

                           i.      18—this is the final reversal of the covenantal curses—consummated at “that day” of eternity.

1.       18a—wine, milk, honey, & produce were all images of Heaven that Jews could understand.

2.       18b—the Valley of Shittim (surrounding Jordan from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea)

a.     Dry and barren place where only Acacia trees grow, will one day flourish with greenery.

b.     The fountain that irrigates the inhabited eternal Land comes from a place and a people, both of which are used as instruments of blessing through dominion.

                         ii.      19—the final destruction of God’s enemies is part of the final deliverance of His people.

1.       Punished for their treatment of God’s people is like the punishment they inflicted.

d.    Vv. 20-21—Summary of the effects of the DotL

                           i.      20—Promise of eternal inhabitation reverses the curse of exile.

1.       Some say this is only the redeemed Jews inhabiting an eternal/recreated physical land.

a.     Land is recreated but Judah/Jerusalem is an image of the eternal Land for all God’s elect.

                         ii.      21—Promise of final vindication

1.       In the midst of the terrorization of His people, God encouraged remnant by this promise.

2.       The Promise of God’s eternal presence is the bookend of the section of verses—17-21.

Exposition on Joel -41 - 2:28-3:8

1.      Overview 2:28-3:8

a.       Joel described the New Covenant age using 2 primary elements:

                           i.      Out pouring of the Spirit.

1.      Compressed its beginning (Spirit pouring out) with its end (prophesy, dreams, & visions).

                         ii.      The coming DotL.

1.      Described the restoration/vindication/deliverance of God’s people.

2.      Described the retribution/destruction of their enemies.

2.      2:28-29—The Spirit in the NT

a.       Joel continues in his prophetic perfect verb tense.

                           i.      Indication of timing: “afterward”. After the restoration of the physical remnant to Jerusalem.

b.      Prophesy of the pouring out of the Spirit (Acts 2)

                           i.      Spirit in OC/NC

1.      No lack of controversy over this difference. Not as much difference as some perceive.

a.       Spirit always illuminates and regenerates—OC & NC

2.      Localization of the Spirit – OC

a.       Spirit filled the Community as a whole

3.      Democratization of the Spirit – NC

a.       Spirit fills every individual in the Community now—same Community.

b.      This is the primary function of Joel’s mention of the Spirit—poured out on all flesh.

c.       Didn’t adopt universalism but the expansion of Kingdom to all tribes & tongues.

                         ii.      Evidences of the differences

1.      Great Commission

2.      Democratization within the Kingdom

a.       Signs

                                                                     i.      Prophesy

                                                                   ii.      Dreams

                                                                  iii.      Visions

b.      Scope

                                                                     i.      Spirit’s inhabitation is no longer “officially oriented”. (Priesthood of believer).

                                                                   ii.      Trans-class inhabitation.

3.      2:30-32—Prediction of the NC era—the beginning to the end is compressed.

a.       Signs of the end of the age.

                           i.      Wonders in the heavens & on Earth.

                         ii.      Blood, fire, & columns of smoke.

b.      Salvation is in Zion; salvation is in Jerusalem.

                           i.      Images of the Eternal City—Heaven.

4.      3:1-4—The DotL

a.       Fortune is found in Judah & Jerusalem.

                           i.      Indication of timing: “in those days…” In or associated with the NC era (described in 2:28-32).

                         ii.      When does this restoration take place? Only a few options:

1.      Physical restoration of remnant in 516.

2.      Physical restoration in some future era (Rom. 11:24-25).

3.      Prophetic account of  the final DotL

a.       Final deliverance for believers throughout all ages.

b.      Final Judgment for unbelievers.

b.      Judgment is found in the nations gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (see 3:12 also).

                           i.      2:20—God judged Babylonian army specifically for invading (historical import).

                         ii.      3:2-3—God judged all the nations for terrorizing His people/Land (eschatological import).

                        iii.      Reasons for the destruction of the nations.

1.      Took nation into exile.

2.      Divided up the Land.

3.      Traded people as slaves and prostitutes.

                       iv.      God forsakes Tyre and Sidon (coastal cities in Lebanon— >100 miles north of Jerusalem).

1.      These two cities represented the enemies of God’s Kingdom.

a.       Calvin notes that the “Greeks” in v. 5 are “people beyond the [Mediterranean] sea”.

b.      Similar prophesy against Tyre in the OT—Is. 23, Jer. 27; 47, Zech. 9

c.       NT—Matt. 21:11, Luke 10:13.

2.      Relationship described in terms of debt and payment.

3.      God reverses the curse He sent on Judah and hands it to the destroying nation.

a.       God would punish the punisher by giving them to the Judeans.

b.      God would exile the very nation He used to judge Israel to a distant land—Sabeans: (Job 1—murdered his children, Is. 45—given to Judah as retribution, Men of Sheba—1 Kings 10:1-13; Jer. 6:20.)

Exposition on Joel -41 - Chap 3

Because of circumstances altering my study habits I will not be providing a manuscript for the rest of my comments on Joel. Instead, I will likely post the outlines for the passages as I would teach them. I don't know if that would be helpful to anyone, but I pray that it will.

Exposition on Joel -40- 2:26-27

     After all that had happened, Joel affirmed that the Lord had dealt wondrously with them. This adverb doesn’t carry the connotation of pleasance and delightful, but more of the sort of description of awe striking. The Lord dealt with the people in such a way as to drop their jaws in wonder. As though he says that the people, when they look back on all that had happened in their recent history, they would say to one another, “I can’t believe all this that has happened to us and our fathers. So, the Lord’s hand was in this all the time; how could we have been so blind to His work?” And so there you have it, even after their disobedience, the Lord had pity on them because He commanded them to repent and He gave that gift to them. He invested in the people the capacity to see their sin and plea for God’s mercy. And so He did have mercy on them and He kept His promise to Abraham and He would maintain the representation of His Kingdom on Earth until He brought forth David’s Great Son, Christ. That Anointed One who would suffer as a Lamb in the fulfillment of all the Law and triumph as the Lion over sin, temptation, and the Devil. As he says in v. 27, they will never see shame, for Christ (just as with all believers) bore that shame in their place. And thereafter, He would expand His Kingdom to all tribes, tongues and nations, filling the earth with the gospel until His return in glory whereby He will finally rid His universe of sin and death forever through the intrusion of His Kingdom. So we pray, Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Exposition on Joel -39- 2:20-25

The beasts of the field are told no longer to fear, why? Because God has returned to them the green pastures and the fruit of the fig and the vine are to produce plenty. So if the beasts are provided for then how much more diligently will God provide for the people? This is a reversal of the curse we observed back in 1:17-19. Not only the beasts, but the Children of Zion are to be glad and rejoice. That Holy Mountain to which Joel referred in v. 1, is here used to identify the true, spiritual remnant of God, for they were not to fear but those wicked among them still, even then had no cause to rejoice. But this is to the remnant, the promises being fulfilled to that group who God would lead back into the Land. And their rejoicing too is anchored to the hope of the return of their earthly things. How can we describe Heaven and God’s eternal blessing except in terms we understand…”Heaven is like the abundant rain and fruitful harvest. The Kingdom of God is like grain and wine and oil overflowing.”? And thus the Land was a picture of the New Heavens and New Earth that are to come, and the Children of Zion were an illustration of the redeemed community that will one day worship at the very throne of God in that restored Realm. In the judgment of God the people experienced the curse of drought and famine, invasion and exile. Here Joel described the reversal of those curses from 1:4,7,9,10 and 12. And in verse 25 we see again this image of an army of locusts, God’s army of locusts who had ravaged the land for years. So God is essentially saying that He will move this army, which in reality is the army of Babylon, out of the Land so He can restore His remnant there—He would restore to them all the 70 years of harvest they had missed from the Land He had given them—that is true bounty, providing true temporal satisfaction. And like that bounty and satisfaction, the remnant of all the elect people of God, all those who would ever believe, from Adam to the last, will receive over-abounding Spiritual and physical satisfaction in the bounty of All Mighty God for eternity when His ushers in that New Land, that “Platonic Land” if you will, the New Jerusalem, the New heavens and the New Earth.

Exposition on Joel -38- 2:20 - The Great Northerner versus The Great God

Joel is lead in verses 20-21 to describe this northern invader and its destruction. Note here that armies who invaded Palestine typically did it from the North. This designation of Northern Army does not necessarily indicate that they are a nation situated geographically in a northern direction in relation to Palestine. The strategically shrewd army would avoid the desert to Israel’s east and the Mediterranean Sea to their west by descending from the north, thus their designation as Northern. I believe that loads of confusing conclusions about end times might be cleared up if this fact was examined. So speculation of a premillennial sort that has been promulgated over the past 150 years that Israel (“God’s People”) will one day toward the end, be attacked by Russia or some other nation that resides north of Israel can be challenged. Their foul stench and horrible smell rises with the wind. Imagine the stench of war here; the aroma of massive casualties. It is difficult from the various translations to decide if the pronoun “he” in v. 20 refers to the Northerner or to Yahweh. If God is in view here then it is a repetitious way Joel used to describe God’s great and marvelous act in removing the threat from the Land. It would sound like this, God will remove the army from His Land and the stench of their rotting corpses fills His nose, He has done great things. So do not fear O Land, rejoice for Yahweh has done great things! On the other hand, if “he” refers to the northerner then a contrast is being made. If that is true then, apparently this army did great things—God used them to punish His people for their disobedience. They were God’s army in the sense that He used their wicked desires for conquest and plunder to accomplish His righteous purposes in the punishment which lead eventual to the restoration of a remnant; He purged and purified Israel. Now the odor of their defeat will rise and waft in the noses of the remnant because what they meant for evil, God meant for good. I believe it is this last interpretation that is true, and most of the translations treat it this way. I love this contrast the prophet makes between what the northern army has done and what God has done. He had said that the foul smell of the army will rise because it has done great things, but in contrast to that, God truly has done great things and the Land can rejoice because the aroma of plenty and bounty and satisfaction in harvest rises on account of God leaving behind a blessing. That is a marvelous thing that we really cannot comprehend.

Exposition on Joel -37- 2:20 - Compatibilism

     In any case, we hear God describe the foul smell of these offenders. These few verses should raise a question in our minds about God’s intentions. In 2:11 God calls this invading army, “His army”. Yet here in v. 20-21 He is destroying that army for what they have done. The skeptic will look at this and ask, “what kind of god does this, who is he and how can you call him righteous?” So we must deal with questions such as these. How does the Christian who takes the Bible seriously answer such objections? Clearly God does work like this (Gen. 50:20, Is. 10:12-14; 45:7). And ultimately we must say that it is not our job to question Him (Dan. 4:34-35) but you can’t really begin this conversation with the skeptic like that. Instead, showing your willingness as a believer to approach weighty topics such as this in humility and by admitting that you don’t understand all the ways of the Creator of the Universe will help to soften the objection. But philosophically speaking, the conversation with naturally progress into a discussion of God’s intentions and man’s intentions coming to the same ends but beginning with different purposes. The fact that we creatures do not know the future as God does, allows us to both, be used as instruments by Him, and make our own decisions about what we want to do in a way that our experience is that we had not been coerced by God—this is the reformed doctrine of compatibilism.

Exposition on Joel -36- 2:19

     So now in verse 19 God removed this reproach. The implication here is that the people and the nation had experience reproach and now, because of His mercy, God decided to end it and restore the people to right relationship. This must refer to the restoration of the kingdom 70 some odd years after verse 17. Here Joel must be giving a predictive account of the hope that the people could hang their hats of joy on. The next verse does pose an interpretive challenge though. If the people were being punished from 1:4-2:11 by invasion, desolation and finally exile to Babylon, then the restoration spoken of in 2:19 is likely the return of the remnant to the Land around 517BC, that much seems to be clear. However, v. 20 indicates that God would remove the invader of 2:1-11 as a form of the blessing—how are we to interpret that? This is where the interpretation that favors this invader from 1:6 and the beginning of chapter 2 as the Assyrian army from 701 gains ground. Perhaps then this previous invader is the Assyrian army thus placing Joel at a slightly earlier date. How can God restore the remnant to the Land by removing the Northern invader from their own land if they are not even there? That actually may be the answer. It is quite possible that the Babylonians came in around 600 and destroyed the Land, terrorized the people, took them into exile, and the held the Land as their own for 70 years until God ran them out as described in v. 20. This explanation clears up any confusion that may be deduced from the army being run out of the land and the remnant being restored to the Land. And remember how we are related to this event, this is all a picture of the church and the final day of our restoration/redemption. We are the remnant currently exiled, and like Israel was brought back into the Land, we will one day be brought into the New Heaven’s and the New Earth.

Exposition on Joel -35- 2:18

     Immediately following Joel’s description of how the priests were to pray and petition the Lord to bless the people instead of curse them, we are told that God became jealous for His Land and that He pitied His people. It is interesting that there is no intermediate notation of their actual repentance that we have been led to believe would have been a prerequisite for such a blessing to occur. That would cause us to assume that the people did repent in fasting, weeping and mourning and that the priests did offer up this prayer prescribed by Joel. Now we are given a description of God’s answer to that repentance. Joel says that God had pity on the people—how is this pity expressed? For one thing, it is manifested in the blessing of the people and Land through the restoration of those things that had been previously removed by the curse for their covenantal disobedience. God told the people that He was going to send them grain, wine and oil—all items that were taken from those who idolized them in the first chapter. But here Joel describes the reversal of their circumstances in terms of sustenance. Here He turns fasting into feasting; not only where those crops returned, but they were returned in plenty. Furthermore, God answered their petition from verse 17. He decided to remove the reproach they had experienced from other nations. But this must mean that they had experienced reproach of some sort. In 2:17 the priests prayed that God would not allow the nation, God’s very people, to become a byword before the nations; they didn’t want God’s name to be tarnished in the world by the perception of other nations; they did not want the nations of the world to think that Yahweh had forsaken them.