OVERVIEW:
The plague of locusts; Joel’s call to repentance; the great day of the Lord; the Holy Spirit; the restoration of Israel; the judgment of the nations.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
As we embark into the three chapters of the book of Joel, the book begins by saying, “The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.” The name Joel means “Jehovah is God”; and the name Pethuel means “the sincerity of God” or “godly simplicity.” A simple breakdown of the book of Joel is as follows:
- Chapter 1: The Day of the Lord.
- Chapter 2: The Day of the Lord.
- Chapter 3: The Day of the Lord.
Please exert great mental energy in seeking to keep that outline straight. 😊
The book actually begins with a question: “Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?” (1:2b) The inferred answer, of course, is “no.” The “days” Joel is about to describe are so devastating that no one had ever seen anything quite like it. This is much like Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:21 concerning the days of the great tribulation: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
Joel’s prophecy concerning those days is a message God wanted to be handed down generationally through the families. (1:3) The 1st generation (1:2b) was to tell it to their children, the 2nd generation (1:3a), who were to tell it to their children, the 3rd generation (1:3b) who were then to tell it to their children, the 4th generation (1:3c). It is just another biblical reminder that whether we want them to or not, our lives are going to impact the next four generations, whether it be negatively, as in Exodus 20:5 and 34:7, or whether it be positively, as in Psalm 78:4–7. The good news is, we get to choose which it will be!
Verse 4 of chapter 1 describes how there are certain things that seek to “worm” their way into our lives, as it were, and slowly but surely, “eat” away the important things of life. What the “palmerworm” doesn’t eat, the “locust” will. What the “locust” doesn’t eat, the “cankerworm” will, and what the “cankerworm” doesn’t eat, the “caterpillar” will. God’s message is that it’s time we “wake up” (1:5), and “sober up” (1:5), so we can recognize the things we’re allowing to “consume” the important things in our lives, before it’s too late, and before the lives of the next four generations are not completely “devoured” by our adversary! (1st Peter” 5:8)
Notice, even if we’ve been “sleeping” on our watch (1st Thessalonians 5:6), or have allowed ourselves to become “drunk” spiritually (1st Thessalonians 5:7), the good news is, if we’ll obey Joel 1:5, and both “wake up” and “sober up”, God can and will “restore to us the years that the locusts hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar and the palmerworm…” (2:25) Hallelujah! Obviously, this is simply the devotional application of these verses as they apply to us. Historically, or from the standpoint of the historical application, Joel is preaching these truths to the people of Judah. He reminds them of what they had seen take place in their land by the destruction of a recent plague of locusts. That judgment, however, would pale in comparison to the judgment that was about to be unleashed by an invading army from the north (the Assyrians). Their only hope was through repentance.
But even the historical application doesn’t address the real purpose of Joel’s prophecy. Remember, the doctrinal application, as already mentioned, has to do with the days of the great tribulation (“those days” — 2:29; 3:1), just prior to and leading up to “the day of the Lord” (i.e. “that day” — 1:15; 2:1, 2, 11; 3:14, 18). Joel is prophesying about the judgment of God that will be taking place during the Tribulation Period as a northern confederacy converges upon the nation of Israel just prior to her restoration; in that day when the nation will finally repent and the Lord Jesus Christ will establish His millennial kingdom.
Seeing these three layers of application (the historical, prophetic and devotional) will help to keep us “between the white lines” as we seek to navigate through this book because, there is a lot of false teaching/doctrine that is propagated out of this little book of the Bible! Most of it surrounds chapter 2, because Peter quotes Joel’s prophecy in Acts 2 when he was preaching on the day of Pentecost. Peter basically says, “THIS” (the events taking place at Pentecost in Acts 2) “was THAT” (the events Joel was prophesying in Joel 2)!
Because of a failure to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2nd Timothy 2:15), both in Joel 2 and Acts 2, these two chapters have been used to give credence to the modern tongues movement. The modern tongues movement (1901 – present), however, actually has nothing whatsoever to do with anything prophesied in Joel 2 or that was supposedly “fulfilled” in Acts 2 — and everything to do with some crazy stuff that was taking place at the Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas in 1901, and out on the west coast in Los Angeles, California at the Azusa Street Mission in 1906! There are a few key things we need to make sure that we are taking note of in these two extremely misunderstood and controversial chapters:
- Note in Acts 2, Peter is very careful NOT to say that the speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost was the “FULFILLMENT” of the things Joel prophesied! Just that Joel had “SPOKEN” of it.
- Note also, that on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Spirit was NOT poured out “upon all flesh” as was prophesied in Joel 2:28.
- Note that in Joel’s prophecy, he DOESN’T mention anything about “tongues” anywhere in the entire chapter!
- Note that none of the “wonders” that Joel DOES mention in Joel 2:20 took place on the day of Pentecost.
Yes, had the nation of Israel exercised a national repentance on the day of Pentecost, even up to Stephen’s audience with, and message to the ruling counsel of Israel in Acts 7, what took place at Pentecost could have become the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy! Because of Israel’s refusal to repent, however, Joel’s prophecy was put on hold, and will not pick up again until the Tribulation Period.
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As the ONE WHO SAID, “I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH” — Joel 2:28 (Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 54:13; Ezekiel 39:29)