Lecture Notes from
Minor Prophets of the Old Testament
--Nothing is known about Joel personally.
--The name Joel (laewyo)
means, “Yahweh is God.”
--The name
is common in the OT.
--Highly Debated Topic
--860-850—During the reign of
Joash. This was a time when conflicts with Edom are mentioned, as they are in
the Book of Joel. However, the mention of Greeks & no mention of Israel, Samaria,
or any king, makes this less likely. ***(no slide) It always seems to me
that there is a concerted effort to move as much OT material as possible to as
early a date as possible. This, I think, is an attempt to remove the tendency
to suggest that everything in the OT was late & a product of Judaism rather
than a product of ancient Israel. But is this necessary here?***
--Near the end of the kingdom of
Judah, 600-586. This was a time of violence and upheaval.
--End of the 6th
century, when the 1st return from exile has taken place.
--Mid 5th century,
during and/or following Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls.
--Conclusions on Date—
--The
evidence is not conclusive, thus leading to the widely variant opinions.
--The 9th
century argument seems the weakest.
--Any of the other three are
possible, but a 6th century date makes most sense, and as Stuart
argues, 600-586 seems to be a strong candidate, with the siege & the
already present theme that Judah will be punished for her sin.[1]
--Which era is chosen for setting
affects the message of the book very little, since much of the message is
universal. Sin is always judged, and God is always available for
reconciliation, as long as a person is willing to call to Him. And, especially
as Peter applies the text in Acts 2, God’s Spirit is available to any person
who come to Him for salvation.
--Most certainly Judah.
--Yahweh’s Sovereignty—Yahweh controls all things, all
nations, every army, & all the world.
--Day of Yahweh—The Day of the Lord is in essence
three-fold:
1. A day of
judgment for Judah. This is the major theme of much of the book.
2. A day of
judgment for the nations, when Yahweh will restore Judah & Jerusalem.
3. A day of
God’s spirit, when He will restore his people spiritually & miraculously.
--The Spirit of Yahweh—The book teaches that a day will come
when Yahweh will pour out His Spirit on all people, i.e. there will be no need
for intermediaries such as priests & prophets.
I. 1:1 Superscription
II. 1:2-20 First Word of Judgment
A. The Locust
Invasion (1:2-12)
B.
The Call for Repentance (1:13-20)
III. 2:1-17 Second Word of Judgment
A.
A Great Invasion (2:1-11)
B.
A Call to Return to Yahweh (2:12-20)
IV. 2:18-32 Restoration
A.
Yahweh restores the land (2:18-27)
B.
Yahweh pours out His Spirit (2:18-32)
V. 3:1-21 Final Word of Judgment
A.
Yahweh will judge the nations (3:1-16, 19)
B.
Yahweh will bless His people (3:17-18, 20-21)
1:2-20—First Word of Judgment
--Description
of Total Devastation (1:2-12)
--Past
Judgment (immediate)
--The prophet is astounded at the
destruction. It is unparalleled devastation. Nothing has ever been like it.
--The locusts have destroyed
everything. In v. 4, four words for “locust” are used. The meaning of the terms
is debated, as seen in the multitudinous ways in which they are translated. But
the picture is obvious, the locusts have devoured everything.
--The prophet calls on the people
to “wake up.” Thus the apparent problem leading to the disaster was
complacency. Drunkenness is a sign of complacency & denial. Drunks rarely
see things as they actually are, & that is the case here.
--The locusts are called a
“nation” (v. 6).
--The nation of locusts attacks
with the power of a lion.
--This nation of locusts has
devoured all of the produce—vines, trees, & field.
--The nation of locusts have
caused even the offerings of the Lord to be lost.
--Locusts—Literal or symbolic—
--Many scholars would suggest that
a real locust plague is in mind here. The description of the stripping of the
land is reminiscent of locust invasions. Thus the “nation” is metaphorical
& the locusts are literal.
--Many others would argue that the
language is purely symbolic. The locusts are used metaphorically to refer to an
invading army. Thus the locusts are metaphorical, while the “nation” is
literal.
--Could it be both? Perhaps the
actual locust plague preceded or coincided with the foreign invasion. This
would add to the devastation, esp. the understanding of the judgment of God
against His people.
--Call to
Repent (1:13-15)
--The
priests are called upon to:
--Mourn.
They are to put on sackcloth.
--Call a sacred assembly. They are
to gather with the people at the temple to fast & cry out to God,
presumably for deliverance.
--The Day of the Lord—
--Like in Amos 5, the “Day of the
Lord” is not a day of deliverance for Judah, but a day of judgment against
Judah.
--Unlike Amos, however, Joel includes
no justification for the judgment, i.e. no reference to sin or rebellion.
--The day is “destruction from the
Almighty (shaddai).”
--The day is past, present, &
future. The suggestion would be that the judgment is begun, but it is not
completed, at least not in Joel’s eyes.
--More Description of Destruction
(1:16-18)—Note that the herds are still intact, but they wander without pasture
because the feed is destroyed & the infrastructure is destroyed.
--The prophet’s call to the Lord
(1:19-20)—The prophet calls to the Lord, again presumably for deliverance. It
is a word of mourning to God, without clear content in the prayer. Isn’t this
how prayer is in time of desperation? We cry out to God in complete surrender
& utter dependence because there is no longer any place to turn. Wasn’t
that, in fact, God’s intention with judgment, i.e. dependence upon Him.
2:1-17—Second Word of Judgment
--The
coming Day of the Lord (2:1-2a, 11b)
--These
verses form a bracket around a description of the Day of the Lord.
--The
Day of the Lord—darkness, gloom, clouds, blackness—is coming.
--The
day is “great” & “dreadful” (also translated “fearful” or “awesome”).
--In
fact, no one will be able to stand in the face of such a day.
--The
coming army of judgment (2:2b-11a)
--It is “close at hand.” Thus the
judgment that has already begun will soon be brought to a close. This suggests
to me that this is a time of upheaval when invasion follows invasion. Thus the
time between 605-586 would seem to be the context.
--This army is worse than any ever
seen. They turn the garden of Eden into a wasteland.
--V. 10 is obviously meant to be
hyperbole. It is one of the apocalyptic images in the book. It describes the
power of this army.
--This is Yahweh’s army, even
though they are the enemy. Yahweh controls every army, and He can use the army
of his choice to do His will. At the present time, His will is to judge his
people. Thus the foreign army (Babylon) is His army.
--Call to
Return to the Lord (2:12-17)
--In
the face of the day of the Lord, there can only be one response: repentance.
--The call is to:
--“Tear your heart,” not just the
clothes, which was the normal act of repentance and/or mourning. Thus the call
is for an internal change, i.e. true repentance. Nor outward action will work.
The response must be internal.
--“Return” (bWv shuv)
to the Lord. This is a call to turn back to the Lord. Once again, Joel does not
include the actions to turn from, but presumably there were some, & they
probably knew what those sins were.
--Gather all of the people before
the altar in the temple to fast, weep, & mourn.
--Why should they repent?
--Yahweh
is gracious.
--Yahweh
is compassionate.
--Yahweh
is loyal (love, chesed=ds,j,).
--He
“relents” or “is sorry” for the evil He does.
--Perhaps He will “turn,” or
“repent,” (bWv) from the destruction He has brought & leave a
blessing after the judgment. Note that the same word is used for the people
“returning” to Yahweh and Yahweh “turning” from His destruction.
--In other words, perhaps if they
“return” to Yahweh, then He will “return” to them!
2:18-32—The Restoration
--The
Restoration of the Land (2:18-27)
--If the people return to Yahweh, He
will be “jealous” for the land & “take pity” on His people. As mentioned
above, this is in fact His character, i.e. compassion.
--Yahweh will drive the “northern
army” into the sea. This concept of “enemy from the north” is fairly common in
OT prophecy, esp. in Jeremiah & Ezekiel.
--He will send grain, wine, &
oil again to His people. The fields, trees, & vines will again produce
their fruit.
--He will send the rain that is
needed.
--NOTE—v. 23—
--“food” & “autumn rains” read
“teacher” in Hebrew, although the word is similar to the word for “rain.”
--The LXX has “food” in the 1st
instance. Most scholars suggest that a textual error has occurred in the Hebrew
in the 1st instance.
--The Qumran sect, in the Dead Sea
Scrolls, took this as a reference to their “teacher of righteousness” & saw
it as a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.
--v. 27 describes the renewed
covenant. They will know Yahweh, & He will be their God.
--The
Restoration of the Spirit (2:28-32)
--When this restoration of the
covenant happens, Yahweh will pour out His Spirit on His people.
--The Day of the Lord—This
outpouring for the renewal/salvation of Yahweh’s people is described as the day
of the Lord.
--This outpouring emphasizes two
aspects of the renewal.
--Fullness of God’s Spirit—The
Spirit will be “poured out,” not selectively placed on certain individuals for
certain tasks. This fullness will be seen in miraculous revelations.
--Democratization of God’s
Spirit—All of God’s children will receive this outpouring of the Spirit—young, old,
men, women, slave, free. What an incredible statement! God would know no longer
be selective, rather all of His children would have access to His Spirit, if
only they would call upon Him.
--“Everyone who calls . . .”—The
secret to this new salvation is humbly acknowledging dependence upon Yahweh by
calling upon him. This should be seen as the cry described earlier in the
chapter. When we come to a point of complete reliance upon Yahweh, we find our
salvation.
--Acts 2—Peter quoted this to
describe the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation.
--It is
ultimately an eschatological event (see also Ezek 36:24-26).
--Would Israel of Joel’s day have
recognized this eschatological nature? Probably not, they were consumed with
the daily grind of being a nation & a people. But in the coming years,
decades, & centuries, Joel’s prophecy was recognized as an eschatological
& messianic text, i.e. Qumran.
3:1-21—Final Word of Judgment
-- Yahweh
will judge the nations (3:1-16, 19)
--The Lord will gather all the nations
& judge them. They will be held accountable for their treatment of Yahweh’s
people. Note that Yahweh may use the wicked for His purposes, but this does not
dismiss their responsibility for their actions.
--NOTE—Reversal of Micah 4 in
3:10. The nations are encouraged to bring all of their weapons to fight Yahweh.
This is actually not a battle, but a day of judgment on the nations.
--NOTE—The “Day of the Lord” in
3:14. This judgment on the nations is also a Day of the Lord.
-- Yahweh will
bless His people (3:17-18, 20-21)
--The
land will produce bounty in the restoration.
--All
of their sins will be pardoned.
CONCLUSION—“The Day of the Lord” (hw:hyÒ µwyo yom
YHWH)
--A
Day of Judgment upon Judah
--A
Day of Outpouring of God's Spirit upon His restored people.
--A
Day of judgment on the nations.