Joel uses a recent calamity in the nation of Judah to teach his hearers a prophetic lesson. A locust plague had invaded the land, destroying every green thing in its path. Grapevines were stripped clean; grain fields lay bare; fruit trees stood leafless and unproductive. The devastation was so complete that even grain offerings to God were impossible. Joel uses the locust invasion as the starting point of his sermon. As bad as the locust plague was, it would pale by comparison with what God was about to bring upon His people. An army from the north would come to attack the nation, leaving behind devastation even more complete than that of the locusts. The only hope for Joel’s hearers: heartfelt repentance before that terrible day arrives. (1.)
Joel 1:1 “The Word of the Lord that came to Joel” – this underscores that this is the very word of God, and I don’t think we can be reminded of this too often.
What Joel received, Judah heard, and today we’re reading it.
Joel 1:15, Joel 2:1, Joel 2:11, Joel 2:31, Joel 3:14
The day of the Lord has several fields of meaning, but at the heart of this phrase is God’s coming judgment. We will either enter that judgment repentant or unrepentant.
Joel is also speaking of the end times. We can safely conclude Joel understood a single future event where God will intervene to destroy His enemies, restore His people, and ultimately deliver believers from all enemies.
The day of the Lord, as other Scriptures show, will include other events:
According to Scripture passages besides those in Joel, “the day of the Lord” will be a lengthy time period including both judgment and blessing. It will begin soon after the Rapture and will include the seven-year Tribulation, the return of the Messiah, the Millennium, and the making of the new heavens and new earth. (2.)
To outline simply, we could think of Joel in two parts:
The most frequently repeated phrase in the book is, “I will,” underscoring that God will act, He will judge, He will fulfill every promise, every judgment, every blessing, every word that He has said.
Every word the Lord has spoken can be trusted.
In terms of repetition, land occurs 11 times, underscoring God’s promises again and again: He will be faithful to the promise He made to Abraham and to Israel regarding the land.
Joel’s prophecies are specifically noted in the New Testament.
Joel 2:28-29 clearly prophesies of a coming time, a precise and specific time, when the Holy Spirit will come–yet some of the prophecy looks further into the future.
Joel is referenced several times in the New Testament. Two in particular:
The bottom line of this whole book, to me, is: we need to repent.
Repentance is sometimes a misunderstood idea. We’re not making our flesh better. We’re not ‘cleaning up our act.’ We’re turning from sin.
The word is simply to turn. Are you going to turn?
It is never too late to repent and humbly seek God’s mercy, forgiveness, and grace.
God is more merciful, gracious, and compassionate than any human on the planet.
When we humble ourselves and come before Him, He always forgives.
Dr. Mark Chavalas, Dr. Wendy Widder, and Dr. Kevin Zuber join Michael to wrap up The Big Book—Cover to Cover with a discussion about the value of studying and understanding scripture as a whole, from Genesis to Revelation.
Dr. Mark Hitchcock joins Michael to discuss the complex and valuable book: Revelation.
It’s remarkable to step back on this Big Book and see that it begins and ends with connections that are impossible to ignore. In this episode, Michael teaches an overview of the book of Revelation.