Joel 2

The locust plague described in vivid imagery (vs. 1-11)—Announce it to all that the day of the Lord is coming (v. 1). The “day of the Lord,” in Scripture, is always a day of judgment, in this case, not a pleasant one: “A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness” (v. 2). The locusts were God’s “judgment” on Israel in Joel’s day, and is described in this section as an army: “They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down” (vs. 7-8). Verse 3 presents a pretty good description of what happens during one of these locust attacks: “The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them.” They are as swift as horses (v. 4), and sound like chariots (v. 5). Nothing stops them (v. 9); “The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness” (v. 10). The locusts are the Lord’s army, and again, represent a day of reckoning for the people of Israel: “For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?” (v. 11).

Full judgment can be avoided with repentance (vs. 12-27)—The Lord “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (v. 13), but first, the people must “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning" (v. 12). And if they do, “Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him” (v. 14). But the people must be sincere, and it must be more than just a verbal acknowledgment of wrong doing: “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly,” (v. 15), “let the priests who minister to the Lord weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not give Your heritage to reproach” (v. 17). And if they will do this, “Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people” (v. 18). He will bless them (v. 19), and “remove far from you the northern army”—the locusts (v. 20). The rest of this section is a picture of the good things Jehovah will do for them. The “fig tree and the vine [shall] yield their strength” (v. 22); “He will cause the rain to come down for you” (v. 23); “the threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.” He would restore what the locusts had eaten, (v. 25), “My great army which I sent among you.” They would eat and be satisfied and “praise the name of the Lord your God” (v. 26). “My people shall never be put to shame” (v. 27). If we would only believe and trust the Lord, how “wondrously” He would deal with us (v. 26).

The ultimate blessing—the Messianic age (vs. 28-32)—Verse 28 starts out “And it shall come to pass afterward.” Joel nowhere says how long “afterward,” but we know the answer to that because in Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes these five verses and applies them to the events of that day: ”But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God…” (Acts 2:16-17). So we have an inspired commentary on what Joel 2:28-32 means; there can be no doubt about it, and no arguing with it. The point in the book of Joel, however, is very important. In the previous section (vs. 12-27), the Lord told them that, upon repentance, He would provide material blessings for Israel—He would restore what the locusts had taken. Now, beginning in 2:28-32, He informs them that spiritual blessings are on the way. Those spiritual blessings are found in Christ and the Christian age, but that’s the only place forgiveness can ever be found; even the sins of ancient Israel were ultimately forgiven at the cross. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins…we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:4, 10). Ultimately, everything in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus—“Christ is coming” is the theme of the Old Testament, and forgiveness of sins is the greatest blessing we could ever have. For there is one, final “day of the Lord,” and nothing of material value will mean anything, or be of any use, on that day.