God Speaks
1 The Lord gave this message to Joel son of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, you leaders of the people.
Listen, all who live in the land.
In all your history,
has anything like this happened before?
3 Tell your children about it in the years to come,
and let your children tell their children.
Pass the story down from generation to generation.
4 After the cutting locusts finished eating the crops,
the swarming locusts took what was left!
After them came the hopping locusts,
and then the stripping locusts, too!
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you wine-drinkers!
All the grapes are ruined,
and all your sweet wine is gone.
6 A vast army of locusts has invaded my land,
a terrible army too numerous to count.
Its teeth are like lions’ teeth,
its fangs like those of a lioness.
7 It has destroyed my grapevines
and ruined my fig trees,
stripping their bark and destroying it,
leaving the branches white and bare.
8 Weep like a bride dressed in black,
mourning the death of her husband.
9 For there is no grain or wine
to offer at the Temple of the Lord.
So the priests are in mourning.
The ministers of the Lord are weeping.
10 The fields are ruined,
the land is stripped bare.
The grain is destroyed,
the grapes have shriveled,
and the olive oil is gone.
11 Despair, all you farmers!
Wail, all you vine growers!
Weep, because the wheat and barley—
all the crops of the field—are ruined.
12 The grapevines have dried up,
and the fig trees have withered.
The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees—
all the fruit trees—have dried up.
And the people’s joy has dried up with them.
13 Dress yourselves in burlap and weep, you priests!
Wail, you who serve before the altar!
Come, spend the night in burlap,
you ministers of my God.
For there is no grain or wine
to offer at the Temple of your God.
14 Announce a time of fasting;
call the people together for a solemn meeting.
Bring the leaders
and all the people of the land
into the Temple of the Lord your God,
and cry out to him there.
15 The day of the Lord is near,
the day when destruction comes from the Almighty.
How terrible that day will be!
16 Our food disappears before our very eyes.
No joyful celebrations are held in the house of our God.
17 The seeds die in the parched ground,
and the grain crops fail.
The barns stand empty,
and granaries are abandoned.
18 How the animals moan with hunger!
The herds of cattle wander about confused,
because they have no pasture.
The flocks of sheep and goats bleat in misery.
19 Lord, help us!
The fire has consumed the wilderness pastures,
and flames have burned up all the trees.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to you
because the streams have dried up,
and fire has consumed the wilderness pastures.
2 Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem!
Raise the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let everyone tremble in fear
because the day of the Lord is upon us.
2 It is a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.
Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains,
a great and mighty army appears.
Nothing like it has been seen before
or will ever be seen again.
3 Fire burns in front of them,
and flames follow after them.
Ahead of them the land lies
as beautiful as the Garden of Eden.
Behind them is nothing but desolation;
not one thing escapes.
4 They look like horses;
they charge forward like warhorses.
5 Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops.
Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots,
like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble,
or like a mighty army moving into battle.
6 Fear grips all the people;
every face grows pale with terror.
7 The attackers march like warriors
and scale city walls like soldiers.
Straight forward they march,
never breaking rank.
8 They never jostle each other;
each moves in exactly the right position.
They break through defenses
without missing a step.
9 They swarm over the city
and run along its walls.
They enter all the houses,
climbing like thieves through the windows.
10 The earth quakes as they advance,
and the heavens tremble.
The sun and moon grow dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord is at the head of the column.
He leads them with a shout.
This is his mighty army,
and they follow his orders.
The day of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing.
Who can possibly survive?
12 That is why the Lord says,
“Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He is eager to relent and not punish.
14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,
sending you a blessing instead of this curse.
Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine
to the Lord your God as before.
15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!
Announce a time of fasting;
call the people together
for a solemn meeting.
16 Gather all the people—
the elders, the children, and even the babies.
Call the bridegroom from his quarters
and the bride from her private room.
17 Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence,
stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.
Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!
Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.
Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,
‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”
18 Then the Lord will pity his people
and jealously guard the honor of his land.
19 The Lord will reply,
“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,
enough to satisfy your needs.
You will no longer be an object of mockery
among the surrounding nations.
20 I will drive away these armies from the north.
I will send them into the parched wastelands.
Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,
and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.
The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”
Surely the Lord has done great things!
21 Don’t be afraid, O land.
Be glad now and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things.
22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,
for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
The trees will again be filled with fruit;
fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
23 Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
Once more the autumn rains will come,
as well as the rains of spring.
24 The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain,
and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
25 The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.
It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
26 Once again you will have all the food you want,
and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
28 “Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.
30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.
32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved,
for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,
just as the Lord has said.
These will be among the survivors
whom the Lord has called.
3 “At the time of those events,” says the Lord,
“when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather the armies of the world
into the valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will judge them
for harming my people, my special possession,
for scattering my people among the nations,
and for dividing up my land.
3 They threw dice to decide which of my people
would be their slaves.
They traded boys to obtain prostitutes
and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.
4 “What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. 5 You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. 6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland.
7 “But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia, a nation far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
9 Say to the nations far and wide:
“Get ready for war!
Call out your best warriors.
Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.
10 Hammer your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Train even your weaklings to be warriors.
11 Come quickly, all you nations everywhere.
Gather together in the valley.”
And now, O Lord, call out your warriors!
12 “Let the nations be called to arms.
Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I, the Lord, will sit
to pronounce judgment on them all.
13 Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Come, tread the grapes,
for the winepress is full.
The storage vats are overflowing
with the wickedness of these people.”
14 Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision.
There the day of the Lord will soon arrive.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will no longer shine.
16 The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth will shake.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
a strong fortress for the people of Israel.
17 “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
live in Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy forever,
and foreign armies will never conquer her again.
18 In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and the hills will flow with milk.
Water will fill the streambeds of Judah,
and a fountain will burst forth from the Lord’s Temple,
watering the arid valley of acacias.
19 But Egypt will become a wasteland
and Edom will become a wilderness,
because they attacked the people of Judah
and killed innocent people in their land.
20 “But Judah will be filled with people forever,
and Jerusalem will endure through all generations.
21 I will pardon my people’s crimes,
which I have not yet pardoned;
and I, the Lord, will make my home
in Jerusalem with my people.”
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Joel 1 calls the leaders to gather the people to remember, record, and relate to future generations an unprecedented attack of locusts. The time frame of this event is not given. The devastation was extensive.
Joel 2 continues this call of alarm. There is a before and after depiction as well as a report of people’s emotional reactions. Beginning at verse 11, Joel says that the LORD is leading this attack in order to get all the people to gather together, repent, and turn back to Him. Beginning in verse 18, the rest of Joel relates what will happen as a result.
Joel 3 proclaims that after God has drawn His people back to Himself and restored their prosperity, He will draw the nations that have offended both Him and His people to a great battle and judgment in the valley of Jehoshaphat. There will be a great day of the LORD, but He will protect and provide for His people: “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” (Joel 2:32a NLT). The book of Joel concludes with a comforting note. The LORD declares, “I will pardon my people’s crimes, which I have not yet pardoned; and I, the LORD, will make my home in Jerusalem with my people.” (Joel 3:21 NLT)
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/joel/ This link connects to a video of an animated overview of the book of Joel.
Prayer: LORD God, You are both a God of judgment and a God of love, mercy, and compassion. Even Your fierce judgment is (or the various disasters You allow are) meant to cause me and others to cry out, “LORD, help us! LORD, save us!” In this current crisis (whatever it is), I turn to You and give You my heart. I know full well You are merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry, and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to relent and not punish. Please grant me a reprieve from Your just judgment. Please send a blessing instead of this curse. Oh, for the day when I can offer appropriate sacrifices to You, O God. May all who reverence You gather together and cry out in prayer, “Spare Your people, LORD.” Come, O God, and commiserate with the people who cry out to You for mercy. Please respond by meeting our physical needs. Surely, You do great things, O LORD! Nothing or no one needs to be afraid if they are doing as You, LORD God, planned for them. We can rejoice in Your faithfulness. You are in the business of restoration and reconciliation. I will praise You, LORD God, for doing miracles at my request. As I follow You, Jesus, I will never be disgraced. I realize that You allow all the crises so that all people will know (beyond all doubt), that Ja (YHWH), the great I AM, is indeed LORD. There is no other. Pour out Your Spirit on all people (including me) young and old, male and female, masters and slaves, rich and poor. You promise that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. After this You will send prosperity on Your people and call them together. You will also call the nations to account for how they have treated Your people. You will sit to pronounce judgment on them all. In the midst this judgment, we thank You, that You, LORD, are a refuse for Your people, both those You have chosen (descendants of Abraham, by faith) and those who are called by Your name (Christians). Thank You that both the prosperity and the judgment from You are meant to help us know that I AM is the LORD our God, Creator and Sustainer. You are also the God who pardons His people who repent. To You be the glory, O LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will read and study Joel and other Old (Original*) Testament prophets who both warn of judgment and proclaim restoration of people to the LORD.
- I will cry out to the LORD for mercy, forgiveness, and rescue for myself, my family, my congregation, my community, and my nation.
- I will gather with others to first repent and then rejoice in the LORD.
- I will pray for and help others I know to do the same.
*Because in some people’s understanding the word old has come to connote something that is wore out and is no longer useful, and since the Old Testament of the Bible is the foundation of all the teaching of New, it is the intention of this blogger to refer to OT as meaning Original Testament. It came first and is the basis of (and is often referred to and/or quoted in) the new testament (NT). Together they form the whole Word of God.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.