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.