Journey Through Joel
We know very little about the prophet Joel. We know the name of his father, and we know that he lived in Judah. Outside of that, nothing else is known of him. His name is such a common name that it is used for at least 12 different people in the Bible. Yet, this man was led by the Holy Spirit to pen one of the most amazing prophetic books in the Old Testament. His name is Joel. Let us now journey through Joel.
Listen: Journeying through Joel
Overview of Joel
Joel’s name means “Jehovah is God” and indeed, Jehovah is God. Many people believe that Joel may be the oldest of the writing prophets. If true, it is possible that this man, Joel, could have actually known people like Elijah or Elisha. He would have gone back that far. This is an ancient message with a very present-day application.
Key Verse of Joel
Consider Joel 2:13. Read it with your eyes, and ponder it with your heart. The Bible says: “and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
Some Bible teachers have referred to Joel as “the prophet of the rent heart.” They take that term from Joel 2:13, where he says that we are to rend our hearts and not our garments. Joel is writing to people — God’s people — who are standing on the edge of captivity; who are looking at impending judgment. God is going to deal with them. As a matter of fact, before they even go into captivity, God is going to judge them right at home in their own land.
Hope Found in a Journey through Joel
Yet, in the face of this judgment, there is hope. What is the hope? The hope is, if you will rend your heart — if you will break down your own stubborn heart and will humble yourself before God — and not merely rend your garments, then God will hear.
To rend their garments was merely an outward religious show. That is not what God is looking for. Man looks at the outward appearance. God sees the heart. God wants to know that you have truly humbled yourself and repented. As His people repent, notice how God responds: “…for he, (God) is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
Repentance is us responding to God’s revelation. When we repent, then God responds to our response to Him.
Key Phrase of Joel
The phrase “the day of the Lord” is used throughout the book of Joel. It is used 30 times in the Old Testament, but it is used five times in this one little book. Anytime you hear the phrase “the day of the Lord,” it is always connected to judgment. One way to remember it is this: we say, “Well, this is the age of man,” and it is. Man’s invention and man’s progress. Men have their day, but eventually this will all end. And at the end of the men’s day, the day of the Lord will come. God always has His day in the end. That is the day of judgment.
The Immediate Day of the Lord
There are two days mentioned in the book of Joel and referred to by this phrase, “the day of the Lord.” The first was an immediate day of the Lord that Judah was facing. It was a locust plague. You can read in chapters one and two about an army coming through. Chapter two actually gives more detail about it. It was not an army of men. It was an army of locusts. Perhaps that does not sound like much to you. We say today, “I hate when the locusts come around every few years, and they make that terrible noise.” That is merely a nuisance. However, the kind of locust that is being discussed here in the book of Joel was extremely destructive. You can read about it in history. It happened in many different parts of the world.
When the locusts would invade, they would literally eat everything in their path. Everything in front of them would be green, and everything behind them would be brown. They would eat up the fields and the fruit of the vine. They would destroy all the trees. In other words, the livelihood, the source of sustenance, would be destroyed.
The Impending Day of Judgment
Even Moses, in Deuteronomy 28, foretold a locust invasion. In some ways, Joel is the prophet of the Pentateuch. He makes 25 references to Moses’ writings. That is significant because he warned about the same type of invasion that Moses alluded to. It was an immediate day of the Lord, eating up everything in its path.
There is a greater day of the Lord, and this was not an immediate day of the Lord. It was an impending day of the Lord. It was the final judgment and restoration.
There are moments, even in our own nation, when God sends judgments. God deals with us in immediate ways in response to our sin. But that is not all. At the end of time, the day of the Lord is coming; there will be judgment, and God will restore all things as He wants them here on this earth.
On that day, man is going to bow in the presence of a Holy God. God will have His way. This is the message of the book of Joel. Notably, one of the most famous verses in the Old Testament prophets is found in Joel 3:14, where the Bible says: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” We all have a decision to make, don’t we? How will we respond to God?
Judgment or Hope?
The first part of this book deals with judgment. The last part of the book deals with hope. You must choose which one you want. Do you want God’s judgment on your disobedience and rebellion? Do you want God to have to rend everything? Or would you prefer to rend your own heart now? Repent, come clean with God. Then, from that, enjoy the fruit in life that only God can bring. Only through repentance do we discover real hope.
Prophecy in Joel
One interesting feature of the book of Joel is that Joel gives us the first promise of Pentecost. He gives us the first promise that there is coming a day when the Holy Spirit is going to come and be poured out on all flesh. That happened in Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost. It is prophesied in Joel 2:28-29. The Bible says, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”
That prophecy came to pass. Aren’t you glad that everything God foretells, He fulfills? The Spirit has been poured out on all who believe in Him. Men and women receive the Holy Spirit at the moment they trust Christ as their Savior. We are living in the age of the Spirit. But do not stop in verse 29. If you read on, you see what God promises to come even after that.
Verses 30- 31, “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”
Was the first part of that promise fulfilled? Yes, literally. If indeed the Holy Spirit came exactly as Joel prophesied, don’t you think judgment will come exactly as Joel prophesied?
Living Between the Verses
We are living right now between verses 29 and 30. These Old Testament prophets did not understand the New Testament church. It was a mystery. Paul tells us that later in Scripture. It was hidden from them. But what they did see were these mountain peaks of prophecy, and they saw the Spirit coming.
Hallelujah! That has happened. They looked beyond that and saw a day of judgment coming. And, my friend, that is going to happen as well. If you want hope and not judgment, “rend your heart and not your garments.” Make today a day of repentance, of turning to the Lord. “for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
Related Article: 5 Ways to Get More Out of Your Bible Reading
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