For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Joel 2:1-6     

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,
    for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand –
2     a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
    a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
    nor ever will be in ages to come.

3 Before them fire devours,
    behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
    behind them, a desert waste –
    nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;
    they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
    they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
    like a mighty army drawn up for battle. 6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
    every face turns pale.

A. Find Out:

1. What does Joel call for and why? v.1
2. What sort of day will that be? v.2a
3. What will cause it? v.2b
4. How do they transform the land? v.3
5. What are they like? v.4,5
6. What effect do they have? v.6

B. Think:

1. What does Joel clearly think about ‘the day of the Lord’?
2. Check 2:25 . What is this army?
3. Why do people turn pale at the sight or sound of them?

C. Comment:

Accounts in history of the coming of a plague of locusts are terrifying. The accounts speak of a massive black cloud that comes with a thunderous sound and which descends and totally ravishes the land. You can try and kill or burn some of them but there are so many it is an impossible task. Joel is speaking of such a coming – again!

Joel, like some of the other prophets speaks of ‘the day of the Lord’, a day of God’s judgement and, as far as he’s concerned, it is coming very soon. He believes these locusts that have come once already, will come again. (An alternative is that 1:4 and its surrounding verses is simply prophetic insight to what is yet to happen). Whatever is the truth here, he is sure there is coming a major devastation of the land and therefore there is a need to call an alarm to warn the people to do something (pray?).

When this ‘army’ (described as the locusts in v.25) comes, the sky will go black, the hills will go black (v.2) and when they’ve gone it will look like a fire has left a desert wasteland (v.3). When they first appear there will be terror in the people (v.6), for there will be a recognition that the people are helpless before this incredible force and nothing can be done. Joel keeps on painting this picture for he wants everyone to understand what is God’s plan for this nation!

D. Application:

1. None can withstand the judgement of the Lord.
2. Such judgement is only stopped by whole-hearted repentance.

Passage: Joel 2:7-14

7 They charge like warriors;
    they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
    not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
    each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defences
    without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
    they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
    like thieves they enter through the windows.

10 Before them the earth shakes,
    the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
    and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders
    at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
    and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
    it is dreadful.
    Who can endure it?

12 ‘Even now,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting and weeping and mourning.’

13 Rend your heart
    and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
    and leave behind a blessing –
grain offerings and drink offerings
    for the Lord your God.

A. Find Out:

1. How are these invaders like an army? v.7,8
2. How irresistible are they? v.9
3. How do they seem to change everything? v.10
4. What is this? v.11
5. So what is the call that follows? v.12,13
6. With what hope? v.14

B. Think:

1. Why do you think Joel describes this ‘army’ with such detail?
2. What is his ultimate hope?

C. Comment:

Joel has been painting a picture of the coming of this invading ‘army’ and its effect upon the land. Now he seeks to convey the awfulness of them as they approach, almost in individual detail. Locusts don’t just come individually; it is as if they are a drilled army (v.8) that comes purposefully (v.7) and gets in everywhere (v.9). There are so many of them the sky goes dark and the earth vibrates (v.10). This is God’s army (v.11), so many they cannot be numbered. This is the day of the Lord, the day of judgement, a terrible judgement that leaves the land naked.   

But then comes a call from the Lord. It is a call to whole-hearted repentance, accompanied by fasting and tears (v.12). Don’t just make a show of it with torn clothes (v.13), says the Lord. Make sure it’s an anguishing heart, a real repentance. Why do this? Because the picture that has been conveyed is so terrible we can’t just sit around doing nothing; we must cry out to the Lord for help, but as we do that we must realise how far from Him we have gone. We must do this in the hope that the Lord will relent from bringing this judgement (v.13c) for we know from of old, His nature, and we know He would rather bless than curse. It may just be that He will heed our heart felt repentance and will turn and bless us instead of bringing this terrible judgement upon us. This must always be the hope. This prayer is driven by the awfulness of the judgement portrayed, but also our knowledge of the Lord.

D. Application:

1. Face the truth about the nation and call on the Lord.
2. Trust in the Lord’s goodness as you call on Him.

Passage: Joel 2:15-22

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
    declare a holy fast,
    call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
    consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
    gather the children,
    those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
    and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
    weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, ‘Spare your people, Lord.
    Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
    a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘‘Where is their God?”’

18 Then the Lord was jealous for his land
    and took pity on his people.

19 The Lord replied to them:

‘I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,
    enough to satisfy you fully;
never again will I make you
    an object of scorn to the nations.

20 ‘I will drive the northern horde far from you,
    pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
    and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench will go up;
    its smell will rise.’ Surely he has done great things!
21     Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
    be glad and rejoice.
Surely the Lord has done great things!
22     Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
    for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
    the fig-tree and the vine yield their riches.

A. Find Out:

1. What call is repeated? v.15
2. Who are told to come? v.16
3. What are the priests to do? v.17
4. What will be the Lord’s response? v.18,19
5. What will He do with the army? v.20
6. Who are told not to be afraid and why? v.21,22

B. Think:

1. What is the part the people of Israel are to play?
2. Of what confidence has Joel when they do that?

C. Comment:

A second time Joel calls for the trumpet to be blown to warn of impending disaster (v.15). The trumpet blown was the equivalent to our modern air raid siren. It let people know something was about to happen and action was needed. The action needed here is seen in a call for everyone to gather to God, whoever they were, however young or old, or whatever they were doing (v.16). Nothing was so important that they should not respond. The priests whose role it was to present the people to God, were to gather in the temple and weep and pray before the altar and cry out to God for Him to spare His inheritance.

Then comes something quite remarkable: Joel’s knowledge of the Lord leads him to declare what he is sure will happen – God will respond favourably. In other words, whenever God’s people cry out to Him in heart-felt repentance, He always responds favourably and relents from his judgement and will, instead, bring a blessing. The Lord will drive away the army of locusts (v.20) and will restore the land speedily so that grain, wine and oil will be readily available again (v19), and so that the wild creatures will find pasture (v.22) and the fruit trees will bear much fruit again.

Observe: on the one hand Joel brings this terrible picture of judgement with a call to repentance, but on the other he offers a vision of the outcome if they do repent, as encouragement to repent, and to bring hope for a new future, life with God’s blessing.

D. Application:

1. Do we see that repentance is necessary to counter godlessness?
2. When repentance is heart-felt, God will bless.

Passage: Joel 2:23-27

23 Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
    both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing-floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

25 ‘I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten –
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm –
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

A. Find Out:

1. What will the Lord give? v.23
2. What will result? v.24
3. For what will the Lord repay them? v.25
4. What will be their state? v.26
5. What will they then know? v.27

B. Think:

1. What is the threefold order of God’s provision?
2. How will that contrast with the disaster?
3. What is it to show them?

C. Comment:

The focus of the prophecy now turns whole heartedly to the theme of restoration after the natural disaster. The disaster is mentioned (v.25) but only to remind them that it had been at God’s hand, and also to contrast with the greatness of His subsequent provision. As much as the disaster had been terrible, now the blessing of provision will be wonderful. This needs observing carefully.

The first element of the Lord’s provision is rainfall (v.23). There is nothing like rain to restore the eaten down vegetation. We mustn’t take rain for granted for there could have been drought brought by the Lord, but instead He’s bringing plenty of rain to restore the Land. The second element of His provision is abundant fruitfulness (v.24). Note the words ‘filled’ and ‘overflow’. There is nothing half hearted about this and that in itself is a sign of the Lord’s blessing. The final element of the Lord’s provision is abundance of food for them to eat. There will be no shortage, they will eat until they are full (v.26). Again, don’t take abundance for granted; it is the goodness of God.

The outcome is that these people will see the contrast between the disaster and the subsequent abundant provision and will praise and thank the Lord. They will realise that these contrasts are no mere chance, they are the hand of God that has brought both disaster and blessing to their land. He is the Lord.

D. Application:

1. Do we take our provision for granted?
2. Are we thankful?

Passage: Joel 2:28-32

28 ‘And afterwards,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
    whom the Lord calls.

A. Find Out:

1. What will the Lord then do? v.28a
2. Who will be recipients? v.28b,c,29
3. What will be in the skies? v.30,31a
4. When will that happen? (Be careful!) v.31b
5. Who will be saved? v.32

B. Think:

1. When will God pour out His Spirit?
2. What will follow?
3. What will all that precede?

C. Comment:

There are FOUR things (events/seasons) to be noted here. First there is all that has been spoken about previously, repentance of Israel followed by the blessing and restoration by the Lord. We might suggest this is the period between the prophecy and the day of Pentecost. Then, second, there is coming a time when God pours out His Spirit (v.28,29), first seen on the day of Pentecost and then on numerous revivals during the period of church history. The third period is of that near the very end times when they will be increasing natural catastrophes (v.30,31 & Matt 24:29) and this will act as a signpost warning that the ‘day of the Lord’, the day of the Lord’s final judgement (v.31c) is very near, for that will be the fourth and final phase mentioned here.

We should note that verse 32 would appear to apply to both that present time and the time of blessing and restoration that would follow and the time of the church history that would follow that. The great day of the Lord would appear to be (from Scripture generally) the time of final judgement when it is too late to repent, but up until then, at any time, crying out to the Lord in repentance brings salvation. However dark the times are, there will always be survivors, a remnant called by the Lord, who will remain on the earth as a testimony to the Lord. It happened then and it happened subsequently. Salvation will always be seen on the earth.

D. Application:

1. God is working out a long-term plan. Are we aware of that?
2. At any time before the end, repentance will bring salvation.