Intro to Joel


And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. 

Joel 2:32 

The book of Joel is a fascinating prophetic book, not just because it is three chapters in our English translations and four in Hebrew Bibles, but because this book is all about the Day of the Lord. The majority of this book focuses on a devastating event in the history of the Israelites when a swarm of locusts swept over the land and consumed everything. Verse 4 expresses vividly the event as Joel writes, “What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.” If there was any hope that anything was left for the people, this verse makes it very clear that all of the harvest has been eaten up by these invaders. That catastrophic event is what Joel spends the first half of the book describing.

And this event has a purpose. It was meant to act as a warning for the future Day of the Lord where all would be judged. Therefore, the lesson to be learned is very clear: repent lest you be swept away. In the second half of the book, Joel focuses on the restoration that will be made by God after the judgment. Famously, as part of this restoration, Joel writes of how God promises to pour out His spirit on mankind. This event, of course, is fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. We know this is the case not because we read it into history, but because God’s Word tells us in Acts 2:16-21.

When considering both parts of Joel’s prophecy, we come to know that the Day of the Lord will be even more devastating than any locust swarm. His judgment will come swiftly and there will be no second chance. Just like the Israelites could do nothing to stop the swarm, so too can we do nothing to delay God from executing His purposes and plan. Just as the Israelites would need to turn to God with their whole hearts, so too do we need to repent from our sins and turn to Him. We do not know when the time will come, but we can be sure that He will come to judge and we can only escape the wrath of God by finding our rest in the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ. As you read through the book of Joel, see how God has and is working out his plan and give praise to Him who is faithful to keep His promises and just in executing judgment. Give praise to Him because He is faithful and just also to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us of all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez

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