Joel
Purpose
Joel seizes on a locust plague of devastating proportions as a divinely sent alarm, calling every layer of society — elders, priests, children, bridegroom and bride — to wake up and turn back to the LORD with fasting, weeping, and a wholehearted rending of the heart rather than the garments. The ruined harvest and the withered vines are not merely an economic disaster; they are a foretaste of the coming "day of the LORD," that day of darkness and judgement which Joel unfolds as the decisive pattern for every future act of God in history. In answer to genuine repentance, the LORD promises to restore the years the locusts have eaten, to defend and vindicate Jerusalem, and above all to pour out his Spirit on all flesh — sons and daughters, old and young, servants — so that whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. The book closes with the nations gathered for judgement in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and the LORD dwelling as the eternal security of a restored, cleansed people.
Author
Joel, son of Pethuel
Time Period
Date debated — often placed in the 9th c. BC or the post-exilic period (c. 5th-4th c. BC)
Key Themes
- The day of the LORD
- Repentance
- The locust plague
- The outpoured Spirit
- Judgement of the nations
- Restoration
Outline
The locust plague and call to lament (ch. 1:1–2:17): the unique, devouring horde; the drunkards' mourning; the priests' call to a sacred assembly; the army of the LORD at the head of whose columns destruction marches — "rend your hearts and not your garments." The LORD's answer (ch. 2:18–32): pity for his people; restoration of grain and wine; the Spirit poured out on all flesh; wonders in the heavens; "everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." The nations judged and Zion restored (ch. 3): the gathering in the Valley of Jehoshaphat; the harvest is ripe and the winepress overflows; the LORD roars from Zion; Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through her.