Joel 2

The Day of the Lord

Open your Bibles to…

Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,

And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;

For the day of the LORD is coming,

For it is at hand:

Pray

Intro

√ The Day of the Lord

In chapter 1 Joel described a time of great trial that had come upon the nation of Judah.

Specially the nation was suffering under a plague of locusts that stripped every plant, crop and tree of it’s fruit, leaves and bark.

Worse once the locusts were gone and the people went to replant their crops a drought took hold on the land so that nothing they planted grew!

In chapter 2 Joel’s prophecy turns from the present difficulties facing Judah and looks ahead to a future time of trouble that will come upon them in the Last Days…

…the Day of the Lord!

Ap. Very contemporary

As with our study of Ezekiel the prophet Joel records events that our generation may very well see!

Just as Ezekiel and Joel were called by God to be watchmen for the nation of Judah…

…so we have been called to warn our generation of the approaching doom and to save as many as we can from the wrath of God!

What a privilege to know the future that we might find salvation and deliverance from the wrath that is coming!

The Call to Alarm (vs. 1-11)

Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,

And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;

For the day of the LORD is coming,

For it is at hand:

Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and gloominess,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.

A people come, great and strong,

The like of whom has never been;

Nor will there ever be any such after them,

Even for many successive generations.

Joel 2:3 A fire devours before them,

And behind them a flame burns;

The land is like the Garden of Eden before them,

And behind them a desolate wilderness;

Surely nothing shall escape them.

Joel 2:4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;

And like swift steeds, so they run.

Joel 2:5 With a noise like chariots

Over mountaintops they leap,

Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,

Like a strong people set in battle array.

Joel 2:6 Before them the people writhe in pain;

All faces are drained of color.

Joel 2:7 They run like mighty men,

They climb the wall like men of war;

Every one marches in formation,

And they do not break ranks.

Joel 2:8 They do not push one another;

Every one marches in his own column.

Though they lunge between the weapons,

They are not cut down.

Joel 2:9 They run to and fro in the city,

They run on the wall;

They climb into the houses,

They enter at the windows like a thief.

Joel 2:10 The earth quakes before them,

The heavens tremble;

The sun and moon grow dark,

And the stars diminish their brightness.

Joel 2:11 The LORD gives voice before His army,

For His camp is very great;

For strong is the One who executes His word.

For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible;

Who can endure it?

√ The call to alarm

In the first section of this prophecy God tells Joel to…

“Blow the trumpet in Zion” ~ vs. 1

It’s a call of alarm, or warning to the people of Jerusalem and Judah that they are in grave danger because a powerful army is quickly approaching!

The people’s response as recorded in vs. 1 is to tremble with terror as they realize that they are doomed to destruction!

Why? Because the army that is coming is more numerous and powerful than they are able to withstand!

They cover the horizon ~ vs. 2

They are a great & strong people ~ vs. 2

Unlike any army before or after ~ vs. 2

Destroy everything in their path ~ vs. 3

Swift as horses ~ vs. 4

Overcome obstacles with ease ~ vs. 7

Disciplined ~ vs. 8

Can’t be resisted ~ vs. 9

And in vs. 11 they are identified as the Lord’s army…

“The LORD gives voice before His army,

For His camp is very great;

For strong is the One who executes His word.

For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible;

Who can endure it?”

So we understand that Joel is warning the people of Judah of a coming great battle against an army that they cannot resist…

…the question is, what battle is Joel talking about?

√ The battle

Bible students have a number of different ideas about what battle is being described here!

Some suggest that the army described are the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar.

Some think it’s the battle of Gog and his allies described in Ezekiel 38-39.

Others believe it is the final battle of Armageddon.

I tend to think it’s the latter based on the clues that Joel provides us…

The battle comes at the time called the “day of the Lord” and while that can mean any judgment of God, the description of the army, the battle and the distress in Nature seems to suggest the day of the Lord ~ the battle of Armageddon is in view.

The army is described as being unlike any in history, and any that would come after it. That sounds a lot like Jesus’ description of the time of the Great Tribulation, not the other judgments brought upon Judah.

The destruction brought by the army is said to be like a fire that burns everything in their path. That sounds a lot like the 200 million man army described in Rev. 9 that participates in the battle of Armageddon.

Cosmic disturbances accompany the battle, once again that sounds like the days leading up to Armageddon as described by Jesus in Matthew 24.

So, I would suggest that Joel has the battle of Armageddon at the end of the Great Tribulation in view here.

√ The Lord’s army?

Verse 11, however, adds some confusion to the question of which battle is in view…

Joel 2:11 The LORD gives voice before His army,

For His camp is very great;

For strong is the One who executes His word.

For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible;

Who can endure it?

That is, how can it be the Lord’s army if the soldiers are enemies of the Jewish people?!

Probably better to understand that the army is the Lord’s tool,…

…not “His” army as in His saints and angels.

That is, God is simply using the armies who gather in the valley of Megiddo to battle against Israel…

…as He has throughout history used pagan nations, peoples, and armies to accomplish His will.

Ex. Nebuchadnezzar

Jer. 27:6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.

Ex. Cyrus

Is. 45:1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed,

To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—

To subdue nations before him

And loose the armor of kings,

To open before him the double doors,

So that the gates will not be shut:

Ex. Pharaoh Necho

2Chr. 35:22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

So, in the battle of Armageddon the army is the Lord’s in the sense that they will do His will…

…attacking Israel in the Last Days so that the Jewish people might turn to Jesus as their Messiah (Zech. 12:10) providing Him an opportunity to save Israel and judge the Antichrist and those who follow him.

The Call to Repent (vs. 12-17)

Joel 2:12 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD,

“Turn to Me with all your heart,

With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

Joel 2:13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;

Return to the LORD your God,

For He is gracious and merciful,

Slow to anger, and of great kindness;

And He relents from doing harm.

Joel 2:14 Who knows if He will turn and relent,

And leave a blessing behind Him—

A grain offering and a drink offering

For the LORD your God?

Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,

Consecrate a fast,

Call a sacred assembly;

Joel 2:16 Gather the people,

Sanctify the congregation,

Assemble the elders,

Gather the children and nursing babes;

Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,

And the bride from her dressing room.

Joel 2:17 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,

Weep between the porch and the altar;

Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,

And do not give Your heritage to reproach,

That the nations should rule over them.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

√ The call to repent

For the second time a call goes out to…

“Blow the trumpet” ~ vs. 15

But this is not the trumpet of the watchman issuing a warning…

…it is the trumpet of the priest calling the people of the land to repent that the Lord might deliver them from the invading army

The priests were to call the nation to assemble in Jerusalem (Zion) at the Temple (vs. 17) so that they might repent before the Lord with whole-hearted sincerity.

Notice that God calls them to…

“Turn to Me with all your heart,

With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

vs. 12

And…

“So rend your heart, and not your garments…”

vs. 13

In other words, God isn’t interested in a phony show of religious activity…

…He’s looking for real repentance born from hearts that are broken over their sinfulness.

Ap. Repentance

Reminds us that true repentance only comes when we are ready to acknowledge our sin.

As long as we are not willing to see our behavior as sinful, or to make excuses for it…

…we will not truly repent and thereby cannot receive God’s forgiveness and blessing!

Jesus said…

“He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.” ~ Mark 7:6

The point here in Joel’s prophecy is that God is calling the people throw out their phony religious rituals and fake prayers…

…and to get real with Him.

√ National repentance

Observe also that God instructs the priests to call for a national time of repentance, note that…

The people are to gather ~ vs. 16

The elders are to assemble ~ vs. 16

The children & babies are to come ~ vs. 16

The priests in the Temple are to weep ~ vs. 17

Even the newlyweds are not exempt! ~ vs. 16

That’s because this crisis is so serious that all of Israel must come together as a nation if they are to avert the disaster that God had determined for them!

Ex. Nineveh

Recalls to mind the story of Jonah’s ministry to the wicked city of Nineveh.

Jonah was to proclaim God’s impending judgment on the nation.

“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

Jonah 3:4

The wicked people of Nineveh responded to his message and everyone from the king to the lowest servant repented with fasting, prayer and sackcloth.

God relented and did not destroy that wicked city.

That’s what the priests were to call the people of Israel to do!

To get serious with the Lord as demonstrated by their…

…fasting, weeping and mourning (vs. 12) in the hope that God would relent of the judgment that He had called for.

If, as I suggested, this prophecy has in view the last battle of Armageddon then this section of Joel parallels Zechariah’s prediction of Israel’s national repentance and acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah.

Zech. 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

Zech. 12:11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Zech. 12:12 And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;

Both prophecies then have in view the final days, perhaps hours before Jesus returns to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Antichrist and his armies.

The Deliverance of the Lord (vs. 18-32)

Joel 2:18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land,

And pity His people.

Joel 2:19 The LORD will answer and say to His people,

“Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil,

And you will be satisfied by them;

I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

Joel 2:20 “But I will remove far from you the northern army,

And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,

With his face toward the eastern sea

And his back toward the western sea;

His stench will come up,

And his foul odor will rise,

Because he has done monstrous things.”

Joel 2:21 Fear not, O land;

Be glad and rejoice,

For the LORD has done marvelous things!

Joel 2:22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;

For the open pastures are springing up,

And the tree bears its fruit;

The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.

Joel 2:23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,

And rejoice in the LORD your God;

For He has given you the former rain faithfully,

And He will cause the rain to come down for you—

The former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

Joel 2:24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,

And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

Joel 2:25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,

The crawling locust,

The consuming locust,

And the chewing locust,

My great army which I sent among you.

Joel 2:26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

And praise the name of the LORD your God,

Who has dealt wondrously with you;

And My people shall never be put to shame.

Joel 2:27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:

I am the LORD your God

And there is no other.

My people shall never be put to shame.

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

Your old men shall dream dreams,

Your young men shall see visions.

Joel 2:29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Joel 2:30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:

Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness,

And the moon into blood,

Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass

That whoever calls on the name of the LORD

Shall be saved.

For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,

As the LORD has said,

Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

√ The deliverance of the Lord

In response to the true repentance of His people God steps into the battle to defend Israel, we’re told that He…

1. He saves them from their enemies ~ vs. 20

God promises to drive the “northern army” into a barren land between the “eastern sea” and the “western sea” where they will be killed and left to rot.

Might be a stretch but if you look at a map of Israel the valley of Jezreel, Armageddon, is situated between the Sea of Galilee on the East and the Mediterranean on the West.

Daniel 11 seems to collaborate that view where we find the Antichrist called the “king of the north” who meets his end…

“And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.” ~ Dan. 11:45

2. He restores their land ~ vs. 19, 22-26

God blesses the land with…

Rain, the former and latter rains

Bumper crop

Threshing floors that overflow

Vats that spill over

The abundance will be so great that it will wipe away the memory of the plague and drought.

3. He redeems their hearts ~ vs. 28-29

God promises a new dispensation for His people where everyone will be filled with His Spirit.

Speaks of the New Covenant relationship that Israel will enter into in the Last Days when they receive Jesus as their Messiah.

This will come to pass at the end of the Tribulation.

√ The Last Days

Interesting that the apostle Peter quotes these verses in his Pentecost sermon to explain the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

While Peter certainly wasn’t suggesting the complete fulfillment of Joel 2 which comes at the end of this age…

…the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all believers is a sign that we are living in the Last Days!

Ap. The Lord restores the lost years

In vs. 25 the Lord promises to…

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…”

As we saw in this last section God promised to give the people of Israel such bumper crops that it would make up for all they lost to the locust and the drought.

That is, His blessing would be so abundant that the years of loss would not be remembered.

Charles Spurgeon saw a spiritual parallel in the life of the believer…

“Time once past is gone forever, (while) you cannot have back your time there is a strange and wonderful way in which God can give back to you the wasted blessings, the unripened fruits of years over which you mourned. The fruits of wasted years may yet be yours!”

Be encouraged tonight that no matter how long it took you to come to the Lord, or even how many years as believer you wasted the gifts that God gave you…

…it’s not too late to throw yourself into His work and see what kind of bumper crop of spiritual fruit God can still produce in your life!

Close