JOEL (meaning "one to whom Jehovah is God," that is, worshipper of Jehovah) seems to have belonged to Judah, as no reference occurs to Israel; whereas he speaks of Jerusalem, the temple, the priests, and the ceremonies, as if he were intimately familiar with them (compare Joe 1:14; 2:1, 15, 32; 3:1, 2, 6, 16, 17, 20, 21). His predictions were probably delivered in the early days of Joash 870-865 B.C.; for no reference is made in them to the Babylonian, Assyrian, or even the Syrian invasion; and the only enemies mentioned are the Philistines, Phœnicians, Edomites, and Egyptians ( Joe 3:4, 19). Had he lived after Joash, he would doubtless have mentioned the Syrians among the enemies whom he enumerates since they took Jerusalem and carried off immense spoil to Damascus ( 2Ch 24:23, 24). No idolatry is mentioned; and the temple services, the priesthood, and other institutions of the theocracy, are represented as flourishing. This all answers to the state of things under the high priesthood of Jehoiada, through whom Joash had been placed on the throne and who lived in the early years of Joash ( 2Ki 11:17, 18; 12:2-16; 2Ch 24:4-14). He was the son of Pethuel.
The first chapter describes the desolation caused by an inroad of locusts--one of the instruments of divine judgment mentioned by Moses ( De 28:38, 39) and by Solomon ( 1Ki 8:37). The second chapter ( Joe 2:1-11): the appearance of them, under images of a hostile army suggesting that the locusts were symbols and forerunners of a more terrible scourge, namely, foreign enemies who would consume all before them. (The absence of mention of personal injury to the inhabitants is not a just objection to the figurative interpretation; for the figure is consistent throughout in attributing to the locusts only injury to vegetation, thereby injuring indirectly man and beast). Joe 2:12-17: exhortation to repentance, the result of which will be: God will deliver His people, the former and latter rains shall return to fertilize their desolated lands, and these shall be the pledge of the spiritual outpouring of grace beginning with Judah, and thence extending to "all flesh." Joe 2:18-3:21: God's judgments on Judah's enemies, whereas Judah shall be established for ever.
Joel's style is pre-eminently pure. It is characterized by smoothness and fluency in the rhythms, roundness in the sentences, and regularity in the parallelisms. With the strength of Micah it combines the tenderness of Jeremiah, the vividness of Nahum, and the sublimity of Isaiah. As a specimen of his style take the second chapter wherein the terrible aspect of the locusts, their rapidity, irresistible progress, noisy din, and instinct-taught power of marshalling their forces for their career of devastation, are painted with graphic reality.
Joe 1:1-20. THE DESOLATE ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY THROUGH THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS; THE PEOPLE ADMONISHED TO OFFER SOLEMN PRAYERS IN THE TEMPLE; FOR THIS CALAMITY IS THE EARNEST OF A STILL HEAVIER ONE.
1. Joel--meaning, "Jehovah is God."
son of Pethuel--to distinguish Joel
the prophet from others of the name. Persons of eminence
also were noted by adding the father's name.
2, 3. A spirited introduction calling attention.
old men--the best judges in question
concerning the past (
De 32:7; Job 32:7).
Hath this been, &c.--that is, Hath
any so grievous a calamity as this ever been
before? No such plague of locusts had been since the ones
in Egypt.
Ex 10:14 is not at variance with this verse, which
refers to Judea, in which Joel says there had been
no such devastation before.
3. Tell ye your children--in order that they may be admonished by the severity of the punishment to fear God ( Ps 78:6-8; compare Ex 13:8; Jos 4:7).
4. This verse states the subject on which he afterwards expands. Four species or stages of locusts, rather than four different insects, are meant (compare Le 11:22). Literally, (1) the gnawing locust; (2) the swarming locust; (3) the licking locust; (4) the consuming locust; forming a climax to the most destructive kind. The last is often three inches long, and the two antennæ, each an inch long. The two hinder of its six feet are larger than the rest, adapting it for leaping. The first "kind" is that of the locust, having just emerged from the egg in spring, and without wings. The second is when at the end of spring, still in their first skin, the locusts put forth little ones without legs or wings. The third, when after their third casting of the old skin, they get small wings, which enable them to leap the better, but not to fly. Being unable to go away till their wings are matured, they devour all before them, grass, shrubs, and bark of trees: translated "rough caterpillars" ( Jer 51:27). The fourth kind, the matured winged locusts (see on Na 3:16). In Joe 2:25 they are enumerated in the reverse order, where the restoration of the devastations caused by them is promised. The Hebrews make the first species refer to Assyria and Babylon; the second species, to Medo-Persia; the third, to Greco-Macedonia and Antiochus Epiphanes; the fourth, to the Romans. Though the primary reference be to literal locusts, the Holy Spirit doubtless had in view the successive empires which assailed Judea, each worse than its predecessor, Rome being the climax.
5. Awake--out of your ordinary state of drunken stupor, to
realize the cutting off from you of your favorite drink.
Even the drunkards (from a Hebrew root, "any
strong drink") shall be forced to "howl,"
though usually laughing in the midst of the greatest
national calamities, so palpably and universally shall the
calamity affect all.
wine . . . new
wine--"New" or "fresh wine," in
Hebrew, is the unfermented, and therefore
unintoxicating, sweet juice extracted by pressure
from grapes or other fruit, as pomegranates (
So 8:2). "Wine" is the produce of the grape
alone, and is intoxicating (see on Joe
1:10).
6. nation--applied to the locusts, rather than
"people" (
Pr 30:25, 26), to mark not only their numbers,
but also their savage hostility; and also to prepare
the mind of the hearer for the transition to the figurative
locusts in the second chapter, namely, the
"nation" or Gentile foe coming against
Judea (compare
Joe 2:2).
my land--that is, Jehovah's; which
never would have been so devastated were I not
pleased to inflict punishment (
Joe 2:18; Isa 14:25; Jer 16:18; Eze 36:5; 38:16).
strong--as irresistibly sweeping away
before its compact body the fruits of man's
industry.
without number--so
Jud 6:5; 7:12, "like grasshoppers (or
"locusts") for multitude" (
Jer 46:23; Na 3:15).
teeth . . . lion--that is,
the locusts are as destructive as a lion; there is no
vegetation that can resist their bite (compare
Re 9:8). PLINY says "they gnaw even the doors of
houses."
7. barked--BOCHART, with the Septuagint and
Syriac, translates, from an Arabic root,
"hath broken," namely, the topmost shoots, which
locusts most feed on. CALVIN supports English
Version.
my vine . . . my fig
tree--being in "My land," that is, Jehovah's
(
Joe 1:6). As to the vine-abounding nature of ancient
Palestine, see
Nu 13:23, 24.
cast it away--down to the
ground.
branches . . . white--both
from the bark being stripped off (
Ge 30:37), and from the branches drying up through the
trunk, both bark and wood being eaten up below by the
locusts.
8. Lament--O "my land" (
Joe 1:6; Isa 24:4).
virgin . . . for the
husband--A virgin betrothed was regarded as married (
De 22:23; Mt 1:19). The Hebrew for
"husband" is "lord" or
"possessor," the husband being considered the
master of the wife in the East.
of her youth--when the affections are
strongest and when sorrow at bereavement is consequently
keenest. Suggesting the thought of what Zion's grief
ought to be for her separation from Jehovah, the betrothed
husband of her early days (
Jer 2:2; Eze 16:8; Ho 2:7; compare
Pr 2:17; Jer 3:4).
9. The greatest sorrow to the mind of a religious Jew, and
what ought to impress the whole nation with a sense of
God's displeasure, is the cessation of the usual
temple-worship.
meat offering--Hebrew, mincha;
"meat" not in the English sense
"flesh," but the unbloody offering made of flour,
oil, and frankincense. As it and the drink offering or
libation poured out accompanied every sacrificial
flesh offering, the latter is included, though not
specified, as being also "cut off," owing to
there being no food left for man or beast.
priests . . . mourn--not for
their own loss of sacrificial perquisites (
Nu 18:8-15), but because they can no longer offer the
appointed offerings to Jehovah, to whom they minister.
10. field . . . land--differing in that
"field" means the open, unenclosed country;
"land," the rich red soil (from a root
"to be red") fit for cultivation. Thus, "a
man of the field," in Hebrew, is a
"hunter"; a "man of the ground" or
"land," an "agriculturist" (
Ge 25:27). "Field" and "land" are
here personified.
new wine--from a Hebrew root
implying that it takes possession of the brain, so
that a man is not master of himself. So the Arabic
term is from a root "to hold captive." It is
already fermented, and so intoxicating, unlike the sweet
fresh wine, in
Joe 1:5, called also "new wine," though a
different Hebrew word. It and "the oil"
stand for the vine and the olive tree, from which the
"wine" and "oil" are obtained (
Joe 1:12).
dried up--not "ashamed," as
Margin, as is proved by the parallelism to
"languisheth," that is, droopeth.
11. Be . . . ashamed--that is, Ye shall have the
shame of disappointment on account of the failure of
"the wheat" and "barley . . .
harvest."
howl . . . vine
dressers--The semicolon should follow, as it is the
"husbandmen" who are to be "ashamed
. . . for the wheat." The reason for the
"vine dressers" being called to "howl"
does not come till
Joe 1:12, "The vine is dried up."
12. pomegranate--a tree straight in the stem growing twenty
feet high; the fruit is of the size of an orange, with
blood-red colored pulp.
palm tree--The dates of Palestine were
famous. The palm is the symbol of Judea on coins under the
Roman emperor Vespasian. It often grows a hundred feet
high.
apple tree--The Hebrew is
generic, including the orange, lemon, and pear tree.
joy is withered away--such as is felt
in the harvest and the vintage seasons (
Ps 4:7; Isa 9:3).
13. Gird yourselves--namely, with sackcloth; as in
Isa 32:11, the ellipsis is supplied (compare
Jer 4:8).
lament, ye priests--as it is your duty
to set the example to others; also as the guilt was
greater, and a greater scandal was occasioned, by your sin
to the cause of God.
come--the Septuagint,
"enter" the house of God (compare
Joe 1:14).
lie all night in sackcloth--so Ahab
(
1Ki 21:27).
ministers of my God-- (
1Co 9:13). Joel claims authority for his doctrine; it
is in God's name and by His mission I speak to
you.
14. Sanctify . . . a fast--Appoint a solemn
fast.
solemn assembly--literally, a
"day of restraint" or cessation from work, so
that all might give themselves to supplication (
Joe 2:15, 16; 1Sa 7:5, 6; 2Ch 20:3-13).
elders--The contrast to
"children" (
Joe 2:16) requires age to be intended, though probably
elders in office are included. Being the
people's leaders in guilt, they ought to be their
leaders also in repentance.
15. day of the Lord-- ( Joe 2:1, 11); that is, the day of His anger ( Isa 13:9; Ob 15; Zep 1:7, 15). It will be a foretaste of the coming day of the Lord as Judge of all men, whence it receives the same name. Here the transition begins from the plague of locusts to the worse calamities ( Joe 2:1-11) from invading armies about to come on Judea, of which the locusts were the prelude.
16. Compare
Joe 1:9, and latter part of
Joe 1:12.
joy--which prevailed at the annual
feasts, as also in the ordinary sacrificial offerings, of
which the offerers ate before the Lord with gladness and
thanksgivings (
De 12:6, 7, 12; 16:11, 14, 15).
17. is rotten--"is dried up," "vanishes
away," from an Arabic root [MAURER].
"Seed," literally, "grains." The
drought causes the seeds to lose all their vitality and
moisture.
garners--granaries; generally
underground, and divided into separate receptacles for the
different kinds of grain.
18. cattle . . . perplexed--implying the restless
gestures of the dumb beasts in their inability to find
food. There is a tacit contrast between the sense of the
brute creation and the insensibility of the people.
yea, the . . .
sheep--Even the sheep, which are content with less
rich pasturage, cannot find food.
are made desolate--literally,
"suffer punishment." The innocent brute
shares the "punishment" of guilty man (
Ex 12:29; Jon 3:7; 4:11).
19. to thee will I cry--Joel here interposes, As this
people is insensible to shame or fear and will not hear, I
will leave them and address myself directly to Thee
(compare
Isa 15:5; Jer 23:9).
fire--that is, the parching
heat.
pastures--"grassy places";
from a Hebrew root "to be pleasant." Such
places would be selected for "habitations"
(Margin). But the English Version rendering
is better than Margin.
20. beasts . . . cry . . . unto thee--that is, look up to heaven with heads lifted up, as if their only expectation was from God ( Job 38:41; Ps 104:21; 145:15; 147:9; compare Ps 42:1). They tacitly reprove the deadness of the Jews for not even now invoking God.
Joe 2:1-32. THE COMING JUDGMENT A MOTIVE TO REPENTANCE. PROMISE OF BLESSINGS IN THE LAST DAYS.
A more terrific judgment than that of the locusts is foretold, under imagery drawn from that of the calamity then engrossing the afflicted nation. He therefore exhorts to repentance, assuring the Jews of Jehovah's pity if they would repent. Promise of the Holy Spirit in the last days under Messiah, and the deliverance of all believers in Him.
1. Blow . . . trumpet--to sound an alarm of coming war ( Nu 10:1-10; Ho 5:8; Am 3:6); the office of the priests. Joe 1:15 is an anticipation of the fuller prophecy in this chapter.
2. darkness . . . gloominess . . .
clouds . . . thick darkness--accumulation of
synonyms, to intensify the picture of calamity (
Isa 8:22). Appropriate here, as the swarms of locusts
intercepting the sunlight suggested darkness as a
fit image of the coming visitation.
as the morning spread upon the
mountains: a great people--Substitute a comma for a colon
after mountains: As the morning light spreads itself over
the mountains, so a people numerous [MAURER] and
strong shall spread themselves. The suddenness of
the rising of the morning light, which gilds the mountain
tops first, is less probably thought by others to be the
point of comparison to the sudden inroad of the foe. MAURER
refers it to the yellow splendor which arises from
the reflection of the sunlight on the wings of the immense
hosts of locusts as they approach. This is likely;
understanding, however, that the locusts are only the
symbols of human foes. The immense Assyrian host of
invaders under Sennacherib (compare
Isa 37:36) destroyed by God (
Joe 2:18, 20, 21), may be the primary objects of the
prophecy; but ultimately the last antichristian
confederacy, destroyed by special divine interposition, is
meant (see on Joe 3:2).
there hath not been ever the
like--(Compare
Joe 1:2; Ex 10:14).
3. before . . . behind--that is, on every
side (
1Ch 19:10).
fire . . .
flame--destruction . . . desolation (
Isa 10:17).
as . . . Eden
. . . wilderness--conversely (
Isa 51:3; Eze 36:35).
4. appearance . . . of horses-- (
Re 9:7). Not literal, but figurative locusts. The fifth
trumpet, or first woe, in the parallel passage (
Re 9:1-11), cannot be literal: for in
Re 9:11 it is said, "they had a king over
them, the angel of the bottomless pit"--in the
Hebrew, Abaddon ("destroyer"), but in the
Greek, Apollyon--and (
Re 9:7) "on their heads were as it were
crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of
men." Compare
Joe 2:11, "the day of the Lord . . .
great and very terrible"; implying their ultimate
reference to be connected with Messiah's second coming
in judgment. The locust's head is so like that of a
horse that the Italians call it cavalette. Compare
Job 39:20, "the horse . . . as the
grasshopper," or locust.
run--The locust bounds, not
unlike the horse's gallop, raising and letting down
together the two front feet.
5. Like the noise of chariots--referring to the loud sound
caused by their wings in motion, or else the movement of
their hind legs.
on the tops of mountains--MAURER
connects this with "they," that is, the locusts,
which first occupy the higher places, and thence descend to
the lower places. It may refer (as in English
Version) to "chariots," which make most noise
in crossing over rugged heights.
6. much pained--namely, with terror. The Arab proverb is,
"More terrible than the locusts."
faces shall gather blackness-- (
Isa 13:8; Jer 30:6; Na 2:10). MAURER translates,
"withdraw their brightness," that is, wax pale,
lose color (compare
Joe 2:10; Joe 3:15).
7-9. Depicting the regular military order of their advance, "One locust not turning a nail's breadth out of his own place in the march" [JEROME]. Compare Pr 30:27, "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands."
8. Neither shall one thrust another--that is, press upon so
as to thrust his next neighbor out of his place, as usually
occurs in a large multitude.
when they fall upon the sword--that
is, among missiles.
not be wounded--because they are
protected by defensive armor [GROTIUS]. MAURER translates,
"Their (the locusts') ranks are not broken
when they rush among missiles" (compare
Da 11:22).
9. run to and fro in the city--greedily seeking what they
can devour.
the wall--surrounding each house in
Eastern buildings.
enter in at the windows--though
barred.
like a thief-- (
Joh 10:1; compare
Jer 9:21).
10. earth . . . quake before them--that is, the
inhabitants of the earth quake with fear of them.
heavens . . . tremble--that
is, the powers of heaven (
Mt 24:29); its illumining powers are disturbed by the
locusts which intercept the sunlight with their dense
flying swarms. These, however, are but the images of
revolutions of states caused by such foes as were to invade
Judea.
11. Lord . . . his army--So among Mohammedans,
"Lord of the locusts" is a title of God.
his voice--His word of command to the
locusts, and to the antitypical human foes of Judea, as
"His army."
strong that executeth his word-- (
Re 18:8).
12. With such judgments impending over the Jews, Jehovah
Himself urges them to repentance.
also now--Even now, what none
could have hoped or believed possible, God still invites
you to the hope of salvation.
fasting . . . weeping
. . . mourning--Their sin being most heinous
needs extraordinary humiliation. The outward marks of
repentance are to signify the depth of their sorrow for
sin.
13. Let there be the inward sorrow of heart, and not the
mere outward manifestation of it by "rending the
garment" (
Jos 7:6).
the evil--the calamity which He had
threatened against the impenitent.
14. leave . . . a meat offering and a drink offering--that is, give plentiful harvests, out of the first-fruits of which we may offer the meat and drink offering, now "cut off" through the famine ( Joe 1:9, 13, 16). "Leave behind Him": as God in visiting His people now has left behind Him a curse, so He will, on returning to visit them, leave behind Him a blessing.
15. Blow the trumpet--to convene the people ( Nu 10:3). Compare Joe 1:14. The nation was guilty, and therefore there must be a national humiliation. Compare Hezekiah's proceedings before Sennacherib's invasion ( 2Ch 30:1-27).
16. sanctify the congregation--namely, by expiatory rites
and purification with water [CALVIN], (
Ex 19:10, 22). MAURER translates, "appoint a
solemn assembly," which would be a tautological
repetition of
Joe 2:15.
elders . . . children--No
age was to be excepted (
2Ch 20:13).
bridegroom--ordinarily exempted from
public duties (
De 24:5; compare
1Co 7:5, 29).
closet--or, nuptial bed, from a
Hebrew root "to cover," referring to the
canopy over it.
17. between the porch and . . . altar--the porch
of Solomon's temple on the east (
1Ki 6:3); the altar of burnt offerings in the court of
the priests, before the porch (
2Ch 8:12; compare
Eze 8:16; Mt 23:35). The suppliants thus were to stand
with their backs to the altar on which they had nothing to
offer, their faces towards the place of the Shekinah
presence.
heathen should rule over them--This
shows that not locusts, but human foes, are intended. The
Margin translation, "use a byword against
them," is not supported by the Hebrew.
wherefore should they say
. . . Where is their God?--that is, do not for
thine own honor's sake, let the heathen sneer at the
God of Israel, as unable to save His people (
Ps 79:10; 115:2).
18. Then--when God sees His people penitent.
be jealous for his land--as a husband
jealous of any dishonor done to the wife whom he
loves, as if done to himself. The Hebrew comes from
an Arabic root, "to be flushed in face"
through indignation.
19. corn . . . wine . . . oil--rather, as Hebrew, "the corn . . . the wine . . . the oil," namely, which the locusts have destroyed [HENDERSON]. M AURER not so well explains, "the corn, &c., necessary for your sustenance." "The Lord will answer," namely, the prayers of His people, priests, and prophets. Compare in the case of Sennacherib, 2Ki 19:20, 21.
20. the northern army--The Hebrew expresses
that the north in relation to Palestine is not
merely the quarter whence the invader comes, but is his
native land, "the Northlander"; namely, the
Assyrian or Babylonian (compare
Jer 1:14, 15; Zep 2:13). The locust's native
country is not the north, but the south, the
deserts of Arabia, Egypt, and Libya. Assyria and Babylon
are the type and forerunner of all Israel's foes (Rome,
and the final Antichrist), from whom God will at last
deliver His people, as He did from Sennacherib (
2Ki 19:35).
face . . . hinder part--more
applicable to a human army's van and
rear, than to locusts. The northern invaders are to be
dispersed in every other direction but that from which they
had come: "a land barren and desolate," that is,
Arabia-Deserta: "the eastern (or front)
sea," that is, the Dead Sea: "the utmost (or
hinder) sea," that is, the Mediterranean. In
front and behind mean east and west; as, in
marking the quarters of the world, they faced the
east, which was therefore "in front"; the west
was behind them; the south was on their
right, and the north on their left.
stink--metaphor from locusts,
which perish when blown by a storm into the sea or the
desert, and emit from their putrefying bodies such a stench
as often breeds a pestilence.
because he hath done great
things--that is, because the invader hath haughtily
magnified himself in his doings. Compare as to
Sennacherib,
2Ki 19:11-13, 22, 28. This is quite inapplicable to the
locusts, who merely seek food, not self-glorification, in
invading a country.
21-23. In an ascending gradation, the land destroyed
by the enemy, the beasts of the field, and the
children of Zion, the land's inhabitants, are
addressed, the former two by personification.
Lord will do great things--In contrast
to the "great things" done by the haughty foe (
Joe 2:20) to the hurt of Judah stand the "great
things" to be done by Jehovah for her benefit (compare
Ps 126:2, 3).
22. ( Zec 8:12). As before ( Joe 1:18, 20) he represented the beasts as groaning and crying for want of food in the "pastures," so now he reassures them by the promise of springing pastures.
23. rejoice in the Lord--not merely in the springing
pastures, as the brute "beasts" which cannot
raise their thoughts higher (
Isa 61:10; Hab 3:18).
former rain . . . the rain
. . . the former . . . the latter
rain--The autumnal, or "former rain," from the
middle of October to the middle of December, is put first,
as Joel prophesies in summer when the locusts' invasion
took place, and therefore looks to the time of early sowing
in autumn, when the autumnal rain was indispensably
required. Next, "the rain," generically,
literally, "the showering" or "heavy
rain." Next, the two species of the latter, "the
former and the latter rain" (in March and April). The
repetition of the "former rain" implies that He
will give it not merely for the exigence of that particular
season when Joel spake, but also for the future in the
regular course of nature, the autumn and the spring rain;
the former being put first, in the order of nature, as
being required for the sowing in autumn, as the latter is
required in spring for maturing the young crop. The
Margin, "a teacher of righteousness," is
wrong. For the same Hebrew word is translated
"former rain" in the next sentence, and cannot
therefore be differently translated here. Besides, Joel
begins with the inferior and temporal blessings, and not
till
Joe 2:28 proceeds to the higher and spiritual ones, of
which the former are the pledge.
moderately--rather, "in due
measure," as much as the land requires; literally,
"according to right"; neither too much nor too
little, either of which extremes would hurt the crop
(compare
De 11:14; Pr 16:15; Jer 5:24; see on Ho 6:3). The phrase, "in due
measure," in this clause is parallel to "in the
first month," in the last clause (that is, "in
the month when first it is needed," each
rain in its proper season). Heretofore the just or
right order of nature has been interrupted through
your sin; now God will restore it. See my Introduction to Joel.
24. The effect of the seasonable rains shall be abundance of all articles of food.
25. locust . . . cankerworm . . . caterpiller . . . palmer worm--the reverse order from Joe 1:4, where (see on Joe 1:4) God will restore not only what has been lost by the full-grown consuming locust, but also what has been lost by the less destructive licking locust, and swarming locust, and gnawing locust.
26. never be ashamed--shall no longer endure the "reproach of the heathen ( Joe 2:17), [MAURER]; or rather, "shall not bear the shame of disappointed hopes," as the husbandmen had heretofore ( Joe 1:11). So spiritually, waiting on God, His people shall not have the shame of disappointment in their expectations from Him ( Ro 9:33).
27. know that I am in the midst of Israel--As in the Old
Testament dispensation God was present by the Shekinah, so
in the New Testament first, for a brief time by the Word
made flesh dwelling among us (
Joh 1:14), and to the close of this dispensation by the
Holy Spirit in the Church (
Mt 28:20), and probably in a more perceptible manner
with Israel when restored (
Eze 37:26-28).
never be ashamed--not an unmeaning
repetition from
Joe 2:26. The twice-asserted truth enforces its
unfailing certainty. As the "shame" in
Joe 2:26 refers to temporal blessings, so in this verse
it refers to the spiritual blessings flowing from the
presence of God with His people (compare
Jer 3:16, 17; Re 21:3).
28. afterward--"in the last days" (
Isa 2:2) under Messiah after the invasion and
deliverance of Israel from the northern army. Having
heretofore stated the outward blessings, he now raises
their minds to the expectation of extraordinary spiritual
blessings, which constitute the true restoration of
God's people (
Isa 44:3). Fulfilled in earnest (
Ac 2:17) on Pentecost; among the Jews and the
subsequent election of a people among the Gentiles;
hereafter more fully at the restoration of Israel (
Isa 54:13; Jer 31:9, 34; Eze 39:29; Zec 12:10) and the
consequent conversion of the whole world (
Isa 2:2; 11:9; 66:18-23; Mic 5:7; Ro 11:12, 15). As the
Jews have been the seedmen of the elect Church gathered out
of Jews and Gentiles, the first Gospel preachers being Jews
from Jerusalem, so they shall be the harvest men of the
coming world-wide Church, to be set up at Messiah's
appearing. That the promise is not restricted to the
first Pentecost appears from Peter's own words:
"The promise is (not only) unto you and to your
children, (but also) to all that are afar off (both
in space and in time), even as many as the Lord our God
shall call" (
Ac 2:39). So here "upon all
flesh."
I will pour out--under the new
covenant: not merely, let fall drops, as under the
Old Testament (
Joh 7:39).
my spirit--the Spirit "proceeding
from the Father and the Son," and at the same time one
with the Father and the Son (compare
Isa 11:2).
sons . . . daughters
. . . old . . . young--not merely on a
privileged few (
Nu 11:29) as the prophets of the Old Testament, but men
of all ages and ranks. See
Ac 21:9; 1Co 11:5, as to "daughters," that
is, women, prophesying.
dreams . . . visions-- (
Ac 9:10; 16:9). The "dreams" are attributed
to the "old men," as more in accordance with
their years; "visions" to the "young
men," as adapted to their more lively minds. The three
modes whereby God revealed His will under the Old Testament
(
Nu 12:6), "prophecy, dreams, and visions,"
are here made the symbol of the full manifestation of
Himself to all His people, not only in miraculous gifts to
some, but by His indwelling Spirit to all in the New
Testament (
Joh 14:21, 23; 15:15). In
Ac 16:9; 18:9, the term used is "vision,"
though in the night, not a dream. No other dream is
mentioned in the New Testament save those given to Joseph
in the very beginning of the New Testament, before the full
Gospel had come; and to the wife of Pilate, a
Gentile (
Mt 1:20; 2:13; 27:19). "Prophesying" in the
New Testament is applied to all speaking under the
enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and not merely to
foretelling events. All true Christians are
"priests" and "ministers" of our God
(
Isa 61:6), and have the Spirit (
Eze 36:26, 27). Besides this, probably, a special gift
of prophecy and miracle-working is to be given at or before
Messiah's coming again.
29. And also--"And even." The very slaves by becoming the Lord's servants are His freemen ( 1Co 7:22; Ga 3:28; Col 3:11; Phm 16). Therefore, in Ac 2:18 it is quoted, "My servants" and "My handmaidens"; as it is only by becoming the Lord's servants they are spiritually free, and partake of the same spirit as the other members of the Church.
30, 31. As Messiah's manifestation is full of joy to believers, so it has an aspect of wrath to unbelievers, which is represented here. Thus when the Jews received Him not in His coming of grace, He came in judgment on Jerusalem. Physical prodigies, massacres, and conflagrations preceded its destruction [JOSEPHUS, Wars of the Jews]. To these the language here may allude; but the figures chiefly symbolize political revolutions and changes in the ruling powers of the world, prognosticated by previous disasters ( Am 8:9; Mt 24:29; Lu 21:25-27), and convulsions such as preceded the overthrow of the Jewish polity. Such shall probably occur in a more appalling degree before the final destruction of the ungodly world ("the great and terrible day of Jehovah," compare Mal 4:5), of which Jerusalem's overthrow is the type and earnest.
32. call on . . . name of . . .
Lord--Hebrew, JEHOVAH. Applied to Jesus in
Ro 10:13 (compare
Ac 9:14; 1Co 1:2). Therefore, Jesus is JEHOVAH; and the
phrase means, "Call on Messiah in His divine
attributes."
shall be delivered--as the Christians
were, just before Jerusalem's destruction, by retiring
to Pella, warned by the Saviour (
Mt 24:16); a type of the spiritual deliverance of all
believers, and of the last deliverance of the elect
"remnant" of Israel from the final assault of
Antichrist. "In Zion and Jerusalem" the Saviour
first appeared; and there again shall He appear as the
Deliverer (
Zec 14:1-5).
as the Lord hath said--Joel herein
refers, not to the other prophets, but to his own words
preceding.
call--metaphor from an invitation to a
feast, which is an act of gratuitous kindness (
Lu 14:16). So the remnant called and saved is according
to the election of grace, not for man's merits, power,
or efforts (
Ro 11:5).
Joe 3:1-21. GOD'S VENGEANCE ON ISRAEL'S FOES IN THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT. HIS BLESSING ON THE CHURCH.
1. bring again the captivity--that is, reverse it. The Jews restrict this to the return from Babylon. Christians refer it to the coming of Christ. But the prophet comprises the whole redemption, beginning from the return out of Babylon, then continued from the first advent of Christ down to the last day (His second advent), when God will restore His Church to perfect felicity [CALVIN].
2. Parallel to
Zec 14:2, 3, 4, where the "Mount of Olives"
answers to the "Valley of Jehoshaphat" here. The
latter is called "the valley of blessing"
(Berachah) (
2Ch 20:26). It lies between Jerusalem and the Mount of
Olives and has the Kedron flowing through it. As
Jehoshaphat overthrew the confederate foes of Judah,
namely, Ammon, Moab, &c. (
Ps 83:6-8), in this valley, so God was to overthrow the
Tyrians, Zidonians, Philistines, Edom, and Egypt, with a
similar utter overthrow (
Joe 3:4, 19). This has been long ago fulfilled; but the
ultimate event shadowed forth herein is still future, when
God shall specially interpose to destroy Jerusalem's
last foes, of whom Tyre, Zidon, Edom, Egypt, and Philistia
are the types. As "Jehoshaphat" means "the
judgment of Jehovah," the valley of Jehoshaphat
may be used as a general term for the theater of
God's final judgments on Israel's foes, with an
allusion to the judgment inflicted on them by Jehoshaphat.
The definite mention of the Mount of Olives in
Zec 14:4, and the fact that this was the scene of the
ascension, makes it likely the same shall be the scene of
Christ's coming again: compare "this same Jesus
. . . shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen Him go into heaven" (
Ac 1:11).
all nations--namely, which have
maltreated Judah.
plead with them-- (
Isa 66:16; Eze 38:22).
my heritage Israel-- (
De 32:9; Jer 10:16). Implying that the source of
Judah's redemption is God's free love, wherewith He
chose Israel as His peculiar heritage, and at the
same time assuring them, when desponding because of trials,
that He would plead their cause as His own, and as if He
were injured in their person.
3. cast lots for my people--that is, divided among
themselves My people as their captives by lot. Compare as
to the distribution of captives by lot (
Ob 11; Na 3:10).
given a boy for . . .
harlot--Instead of paying a harlot for her prostitution in
money, they gave her a Jewish captive boy as a slave.
girl for wine--So valueless did they
regard a Jewish girl that they would sell her for a draught
of wine.
4. what have ye to do with me--Ye have no connection with
Me (that is, with My people: God identifying Himself with
Israel); I (that is, My people) have given you no cause of
quarrel, why then do ye trouble Me (that is, My people)?
(Compare the same phrase,
Jos 22:24; Jud 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; Mt 8:29).
Tyre . . . Zidon
. . . Palestine-- (
Am 1:6, 9).
if ye recompense me--If ye injure
Me (My people), in revenge for fancied wrongs
(
Eze 25:15-17), I will requite you in your own coin
swiftly and speedily.
5. my silver . . . my gold--that is, the gold and silver of My people. The Philistines and Arabians had carried off all the treasures of King Jehoram's house ( 2Ch 21:16, 17). Compare also 1Ki 15:18; 2Ki 12:18; 14:14, for the spoiling of the treasures of the temple and the king's palace in Judah by Syria. It was customary among the heathen to hang up in the idol temples some of the spoils of war as presents to their gods.
6. Grecians--literally, "Javanites," that is, the
Ionians, a Greek colony on the coast of Asia Minor who were
the first Greeks known to the Jews. The Greeks themselves,
however, in their original descent came from Javan
(
Ge 10:2, 4). Probably the germ of Greek civilization in
part came through the Jewish slaves imported into Greece
from Phœnicia by traffickers.
Eze 27:13 mentions Javan and Tyre as trading in
the persons of men.
far from their border--far from Judea;
so that the captive Jews were cut off from all hope of
return.
7. raise them--that is, I will rouse them. Neither sea nor distance will prevent My bringing them back. Alexander, and his successors, restored to liberty many Jews in bondage in Greece [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 13.5; Wars of the Jews, 3.9,2].
8. sell them to . . . Sabeans--The Persian Artaxerxes Mnemon and Darius Ochus, and chiefly the Greek Alexander, reduced the Phœnician and Philistine powers. Thirty thousand Tyrians after the capture of Tyre by the last conqueror, and multitudes of Philistines on the taking of Gaza, were sold as slaves. The Jews are here said to do that which the God of Judah does in vindication of their wrong, namely, sell the Phœnicians who sold them, to a people "far off," as was Greece, whither the Jews had been sold. The Sabeans at the most remote extremity of Arabia Felix are referred to (compare Jer 6:20; Mt 12:42).
9. The nations hostile to Israel are summoned by Jehovah to
"come up" (this phrase is used because Jerusalem
was on a hill) against Jerusalem, not that they may
destroy it, but to be destroyed by the Lord (
Eze 38:7-23; Zec 12:2-9; 14:2, 3).
Prepare war--literally,
sanctify war: because the heathen always began war with
religious ceremonies. The very phrase used of Babylon's
preparations against Jerusalem (
Jer 6:4) is now used of the final foes of Jerusalem. As
Babylon was then desired by God to advance against her for
her destruction, so now all her foes, of whom Babylon was
the type, are desired to advance against her for their
own destruction.
10. Beat your ploughshares into swords--As the foes are
desired to "beat their ploughshares into
swords, and their pruning hooks into
spears," that so they may perish in their
unhallowed attack on Judah and Jerusalem, so these latter,
and the nations converted to God by them, after the
overthrow of the antichristian confederacy, shall, on the
contrary, "beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks," when
under Messiah's coming reign there shall be war no more
(
Isa 2:4; Ho 2:18; Mic 4:3).
let the weak say, I am strong--So
universal shall be the rage of Israel's foes for
invading her, that even the weak among them will
fancy themselves strong enough to join the invading
forces. Age and infirmity were ordinarily made valid
excuses for exemption from service, but so mad shall be the
fury of the world against God's people, that even the
feeble will not desire to be exempted (compare
Ps 2:1-3).
11. Assemble--"Hasten" [MAURER].
thither--to the valley of
Jehoshaphat.
thy mighty ones--the warriors who
fancy themselves "mighty ones," but who are on
that very spot to be overthrown by Jehovah [MAURER].
Compare "the mighty men" (
Joe 3:9). Rather, Joel speaks of God's really
"mighty ones" in contrast to the self-styled
"mighty men" (
Joe 3:9; Ps 103:20; Isa 13:3; compare
Da 10:13). AUBERLEN remarks: One prophet supplements
the other, for they all prophesied only "in
part." What was obscure to one was revealed to the
other; what is briefly described by one is more fully so by
another. Daniel calls Antichrist a king, and dwells on his
worldly conquests; John looks more to his spiritual
tyranny, for which reason he adds a second beast, wearing
the semblance of spirituality. Antichrist himself is
described by Daniel. Isaiah (
Isa 29:1-24), Joel (
Joe 3:1-21) and Zechariah (
Zec 12:1-14:21), describe his army of heathen
followers coming up against Jerusalem, but not Antichrist
himself.
12. See
Joe 3:2.
judge all the heathen round
about--that is, all the nations from all parts of the earth
which have maltreated Israel; not merely, as HENDERSON
supposes, the nations round about Jerusalem (compare
Ps 110:6; Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3, 11-13; Zep 3:15-19; Zec 12:9;
14:3-11; Mal 4:1-3).
13. Direction to the ministers of vengeance to execute God's wrath, as the enemy's wickedness is come to its full maturity. God does not cut off the wicked at once, but waits till their guilt is at its full (so as to the Amorites' iniquity, Ge 15:16), to show forth His own long-suffering, and the justice of their doom who have so long abused it ( Mt 13:27-30, 38, 40; Re 14:15-19). For the image of a harvest to be threshed, compare Jer 51:33; and a wine-press, Isa 63:3 and La 1:15.
14. The prophet in vision seeing the immense array of
nations congregating, exclaims, "Multitudes,
multitudes!" a Hebraism for immense
multitudes.
valley of decision--that is, the
valley in which they are to meet their "determined
doom." The same as "the valley of
Jehoshaphat," that is, "the valley of
judgment" (see on Joe 3:2).
Compare
Joe 3:12, "there will I sit to judge,"
which confirms English Version rather than
Margin, "threshing." The repetition of
"valley of decision" heightens the effect and
pronounces the awful certainty of their doom.
15. (See on Joe 2:10; Joe 2:30).
16. (Compare
Eze 38:18-22). The victories of the Jews over their
cruel foe Antiochus, under the Maccabees, may be a
reference of this prophecy; but the ultimate reference is
to the last Antichrist, of whom Antiochus was the type.
Jerusalem being the central seat of the theocracy (
Ps 132:13), it is from thence that Jehovah discomfits
the foe.
roar--as a lion (
Jer 25:30; Am 1:2; 3:8). Compare as to Jehovah's
voice thundering,
Ps 18:13; Hab 3:10, 11.
Lord . . . the hope of his
people--or, "their refuge" (
Ps 46:1).
17. shall ye know--experimentally by the proofs of favors
which I shall vouchsafe to you. So "know" (
Isa 60:16; Ho 2:20).
dwelling in Zion--as peculiarly
your God.
holy . . . no strangers pass
through--to attack, or to defile, the holy city (
Isa 35:8; 52:1; Zec 14:21). Strangers, or
Gentiles, shall come to Jerusalem, but it shall be in order
to worship Jehovah there (
Zec 14:16).
18. mountains . . . drop . . .
wine--figurative for abundance of vines, which were
cultivated in terraces of earth between the rocks on the
sides of the hills of Palestine (
Am 9:13).
hills . . . flow with
milk--that is, they shall abound in flocks and herds
yielding milk plentifully, through the richness of the
pastures.
waters--the great desideratum for
fertility in the parched East (
Isa 30:25).
fountain . . . of
. . . house of . . . Lord
. . . water . . . valley of
Shittim--The blessings, temporal and spiritual, issuing
from Jehovah's house at Jerusalem, shall extend even to
Shittim, on the border between Moab and Israel, beyond
Jordan (
Nu 25:1; 33:49; Jos 2:1; Mic 6:5). "Shittim"
means "acacias," which grow only in arid regions:
implying that even the arid desert shall be
fertilized by the blessing from Jerusalem. So
Eze 47:1-12 describes the waters issuing from the
threshold of the house as flowing into the Dead Sea, and
purifying it. Also in
Zec 14:8 the waters flow on one side into the
Mediterranean, on the other side into the Dead Sea, near
which latter Shittim was situated (compare
Ps 46:4; Re 22:1).
19. Edom--It was subjugated by David, but revolted under Jehoram ( 2Ch 21:8-10); and at every subsequent opportunity tried to injure Judah. Egypt under Shishak spoiled Jerusalem under Rehoboam of the treasures of the temple and the king's house; subsequently to the captivity, it inflicted under the Ptolemies various injuries on Judea. Antiochus spoiled Egypt ( Da 11:40-43). Edom was made "desolate" under the Maccabees [J OSEPHUS, Antiquities, 12.11,12]. The low condition of the two countries for centuries proves the truth of the prediction (compare Isa 19:1, &c.; Jer 49:17; Ob 10). So shall fare all the foes of Israel, typified by these two ( Isa 63:1, &c.).
20. dwell for ever-- ( Am 9:15), that is, be established as a flourishing state.
21. cleanse . . . blood . . . not cleansed--I will purge away from Judah the extreme guilt (represented by "blood," the shedding of which was the climax of her sin, Isa 1:15) which was for long not purged away, but visited with judgments ( Isa 4:4). Messiah saves from guilt, in order to save from punishment ( Mt 1:21).