BIG IDEA:
THE ANTICIPATION OF A FUTURE COMING DAY OF THE LORD (EMPHASIS ON POSSIBLE IMMEDIATE INVASION BUT DEFINITE ESCHATOLOGICAL FULFILLMENT) PROMPTS PLEA FOR HEARTFELT REPENTANCE
INTRODUCTION:
David Baker: The description of the Day builds up throughout this passage, starting with the warning (v. 1), a description of the darkness of the Day (v. 2a), which is compared to the approaching army (v. 2b). The metaphor changes to overwhelming fire (v. 3) and then to an inexorable army (vv. 4–9). Its coming results in an apocalyptic cataclysm affecting the entire universe (v. 10). Possibly even more devastating than its physical presence is the identity of the army’s commander, God himself (v. 11).
John Barton: The major debate among commentators about this passage concerns its relationship with chapter 1. A decision about this both depends on and itself influences what is taken to be the reference of the lengthy description of the invading hordes. One possibility is that, whereas chapter 1 is about a locust plague, this chapter concerns military invasion; another is that the locusts of chapter 1 are seen as the precursors for something on a larger scale, the invasion of an “apocalyptic army,” as Wolff calls it. Some commentators, as we have seen, believe both chapters are about an enemy army, under the figure of locusts. It is possible to think that they concern two successive incursions of locusts, and we might point in support of this to 2:25, with its reference to the “years” (plural) that the swarming locust has eaten
My own hypothesis is that chapter 2 represents a second description of the same calamity as related in chapter 1, namely, the locust invasion. I see no difficulty in the idea that the prophet might have formulated a response to the same event in two different ways. I believe that the enemy of chapter 2 are still locusts and that there is no more of an “apocalyptic” element here than in chapter 1. What is predicted is a perfectly literal locust invasion, described with magnificent poetic hyperbole, rather than some event that breaks the mold of human history; and I would distinguish this from the language and imagery of 2:28 – 3:21, where we are in a different world and can genuinely begin to use the term apocalyptic..
Daniel Epp-Tiessen: 2:1-11 has features suggesting we should not read it as only a metaphorical account of invasion by a locust army. The vocabulary is primarily military rather than locust related, with particular focus on conquering and looting Jerusalem. The consequences of the invasion rock the cosmos and shut off all light from the heavenly bodies (2:10), indicating that more is going on than locusts. The text fuses imagery of a locust plague with military invasion and with biblical theophanies, passages where God appears with awe-inspiring splendor and cosmic signs. Through this sophisticated melding of images, the locust crisis of chapter 1 becomes intensified into the ultimate threat in chapter 2 (Wolff 1977: 42). This fusing of images indicates that the present day of the Lord locust crisis and the future day of the Lord invasion crisis are two sides of the same reality (Jeremias 2012: 81). This reality is Israel’s encounter with a God who can be terrifying in judgment. . .
The appeal in 2:12-17 to turn to God comes at a pivotal point in the book. With horrifying imagery, Joel has sketched out the terrors of the already present and yet imminent day of the Lord. The present passage suggests that a bleak future is not inevitable.
Duane Garrett: We misread Joel if we think the text demands we exclusively see either locusts or a human army. On the contrary, Joel consciously drew the two ideas together here so that an army is described under the metaphor of a locust invasion. He spoke of chariots, armies drawn up for battle, and the scaling of walls, but the picture of the locust plague from chap. 1 still prompts and to some degree determines the descriptions. Thus the fact that a locust swarm may sound like wildfire and look like horses does not contradict but contributes to the vision of the fury of the northern army. The locusts were both the symbol for that army and its precursor, and Joel used language that projected both pictures into the readers’ minds. To use an example from the modern world of computer-aided multimedia, it is as if we see the locusts of chap. 1 “morphing” into soldiers and cavalry before our eyes.
Tchavdar Hadjiev: At its most basic level we have here a metaphorical description of the locust swarm from chapter 1. The description, however, is outlandish and ends on an apocalyptic note, with the cosmos writhing in darkness and fear. The fantastic imagery conveys effectively the dread caused by the locust plague. It offers a theological interpretation of the meaning and significance of a specific natural disaster: the locusts are a manifestation of the terrible Day of the Lord (Allen 1976: 75–76). Simultaneously, the imagery allows the locusts to be interpreted symbolically, as pointing beyond themselves (Assis 2013: 137–138). The text possesses a liturgical dimension which transcends the narrow confines of one particular historical event and addresses a variety of possible future crises. The picture of a natural disaster morphing into a military attack of universal proportions makes that possible. The key is not the precise nature of the enemy but the feeling of weakness and the inability to resist. The relentless advance of a vast unstoppable host draws the gaze of the reader and dominates the passage. Nothing else attracts attention, not even the reactions of the besieged citizens of the holy hill. Transfixed by the march of the attackers, the reader is filled with a sense of complete and utter impotence. Judah has now taken the place of Egypt from the exodus story and Babylon from Isaiah 13. God is about to fight his people in a battle they cannot win.
I. (:1-11) PICTURE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD –
LIKE AN INVADING, CONQUERING ARMY
Attention-getter — “Blow a trumpet in Zion
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!”
Leon Wood: Joel portrayed a coming army, in particular, that of the Assyrian armies of the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. The appearance and martial activities of the locusts were analogous to those of a real army. . . The locust plague of chapter 1 was a precursor of the locust-like plague of the Assyrian armies of chapter 2. The judgment affected by the Assyrian armies was in turn to be a harbinger of a still greater eschatological judgment (2:28 – 3:21).
David Baker: The place where the alarm is raised is called “Zion” (cf. Joel 2:15, 23, 32; 3:16, 17, 21) and “my holy hill.” In 3:17, the latter modifies the former in apposition. As the site of the temple, the dwelling of God himself (Ps. 76:2), it is the natural source for his warnings. It is also where the people gather to meet the onslaught. During war, they man the battlements from whence comes the call (Ezek. 33:2–4), but this type of attack rendered by nature demands a different type of response, a cultic one, which is also an occasion for trumpet and cry (Lev. 25:9).
Analogies derived from the assault of locusts described in chap. 1
Twelve notable characteristics of this Day of the Lord:
- Fearsome event – directed against Jerusalem and Judah
“Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble”
- Imminent event – certain and coming soon
“for the day of the Lord is coming; Surely it is near”
- Characterized by darkness and gloom
“A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness”
Robert Chisholm: Darkness and clouds-often associated with the Lord in His role as the mighty victorious Warrior (cf. Deut. 4:11; 5:22-23; Pss . 18:9, 11; 97:2)- here symbolize both judgment and destruction (cf. Jer. 13:16; Ezek. 30:3, 18; 32:7-8; 34:12; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph. 1:15).
- Characterized by innumerable troops
“As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a great and mighty people”
Robert Chisholm: The innumerable size of the invading force receives special attention. Like the rays of the morning sun (dawn) its hosts will cover the horizon. This army is said to be more awesome than any that had ever come or would come. The hyperbolic language may echo Exodus 10:14. If so, it emphasizes that the “locusts” of Joel 2:1-11 would be even more overwhelming than those that overran Egypt. Something even worse than the Egyptian plagues was about to engulf the land!
James Nogalski: Beginning with 2:2b and continuing through the end of the unit in 2:11, the poem focuses upon the army that is attacking on the day of Yahweh, its effects, and its progression toward Jerusalem. Joel 2:2b describes the location, the power, and the uniqueness of the army. In contrast to the darkness of 2:2a, the army fills the horizon like the dawn over the mountains. Several interpreters assume that this army is an extension of the locust imagery from 1:4. This reading is possible; it is more likely, however, that this army represents yet another threat rather than a reprise of the locusts. Following the logic of Joel 1, the locust plagues have already occurred, while 2:1 anticipates an impending attack. Relatedly, the location of this army in 2:1 also flows from the simile it uses to describe the army. The reader’s imagination is drawn to the mountaintops as the place from which the attack begins. The power of the army reflects its massive size. A people many and mighty accentuates the size of the army in terms of its numbers and power. Finally, Joel 2:2b expresses the uniqueness of the army in chronological terms; neither the past nor the future has seen an army like this.
- Unique in its manifestation and devastation
“There has never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it.”
- (:3) Accomplishes complete devastation
“A fire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them
But a desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.”
- (:4-5) Deploys the strongest imaginable war machinery
“Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
With a noise as of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.”
David Baker: Verses 4–5 provide five different comparisons of the invader with an army. Thus, this is not a literal army but rather a metaphorical one—the locust horde (cf. 1:4, 6). The first three liken the locusts to cavalry forces: the fierce look of charging horses, the swiftness of war horses (NIV “cavalry”), and the sound of the careening chariots. The description of the latter indicates the figurative nature of these analogies, since chariots cannot operate in mountain heights but need level terrain (Josh. 17:16). The verb is appropriate, since “skipping, skittering around” (rqd) applies to both animals (and insects) and chariots (Ps. 29:6; Isa. 13:21; Nah. 3:2). This poetic heightening of the actual illustrates the dread this unprecedented force brings on those who encounter it. Habakkuk 3:8 also uses this image of Yahweh as a divine charioteer with horses.
Constable: It is interesting that locusts look like tiny armored horses, and they behave like them as well (cf. Job 39:19-20; Rev. 9:7). The Italian word for locust means “little horse,” and the German word means “hay horse.” Thus the correspondence between the army of locusts that had recently swept through the land swiftly and this future invading army is unmistakable. Even their sounds were similar. However, the point of the comparison is probably the horse as a symbol of power and might (cf. Isa. 31:1-3; Hos.14:3; Mic. 5:10; Hag. 2:22; Zech. 9:10; 12:4; Rev. 9:7).
Duane Garrett: When chariots in full charge erupted over the tops of hills and down onto a plain, the sound that had been muffled by the intervening hillside suddenly and deafeningly would have exploded on the people below. One can imagine troops caught in a valley who abruptly find themselves facing a mass of chariots they had neither seen nor heard. The image is one of a surprise attack and of the terror it inspires. A raging grass fire similarly overwhelms the senses with sound as well as smoke and heat, and it drives people to fear and frantic helplessness. Again the emotional impact of these sights and sounds, not the sights and sounds themselves, drive the imagery. In short, this army is absolutely terrifying.
- (:6) Spreads fear and panic and hopelessness and despair
“Before them the people are in anguish;
All faces turn pale.”
David Baker: The second clause in verse 6 apparently indicates a physiological response to the stress of the situation. It involves the peoples’ faces (a play on the first word in the verse, [lit.] “because of,” which in Hebrew derives from the word for “face”). Literally they are said to “gather a glow/glory.” The verb is straightforward, used for collecting such things as people, crops, or water (2:16; 3:2, 11; cf. Isa. 22:9; 62:9). Most translations understand this as the color caused by blood flow being removed, resulting in a pallor, which is indeed a result of fear. What appears more likely, based on word meaning as well as context, is that this refers to the glow or pinkness from the collected blood in the face, resulting in flushing, which is the opposite physiological phenomenon to pallor. The verb usually indicates a gathering toward, not away from a place. Also, flushing is more in keeping with labor contractions and strain than is pallor, which more often follows delivery. An almost verbatim parallel to this clause occurs in Nahum 2:11, also in the context of enemy attack, but with no mention of labor pains. This is yet another place where Joel uses material from another source. He also structures his material to provide a multileveled chiasm.
- (:7-9) Organized, relentless, thorough assault
“They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each march in line, nor do they deviate from their paths.
They do not crowd each other, they march everyone in his path;
When they burst through the defenses, they do not break ranks.
They rush on the city, they run on the wall;
They climb into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.”
David Baker: Verse 9 describes the actual progression of events for the marauding forces: ranging around the city (Isa. 33:4; Nah. 2:5), attacking the walls, and climbing up to and into the house windows. The final comparison to a thief likely does not refer to their means of entry, by stealth at night (Jer. 49:9; Obad. 5), but to their purpose, taking what is not rightfully theirs (Gen. 31:19, 20, 26, 27; Ex. 22:6–7). This, then, is the awe-inspiring picture of an unswerving foe.
Duane Garrett: Breaking in through windows like a thief implies the idea of violation. Just as a thief has no regard for property rights or for entering a house only with the permission of the owner, so these soldiers cared nothing for the persons or property of their victims. They intruded suddenly from every direction.
James Nogalski: The location of the army changes from the distant mountaintops (2:2, 5) to the city. The unstoppable force rushes the city and scales the wall. The army moves forward en masse, collectively forming an invincible force that is greater than the sum of its parts. The army runs like elite soldiers (gibbôrîm). A gibbôr is not the average foot soldier but represents the most formidable fighter (1 Sam 17:51) or the commanders of military units (1 Chr 11:15). The verbs describing the movement of the army convey speed and discipline. The army runs and ascends the city wall. Each soldier travels in his own path as assigned and they do not veer from those paths. Hence, they advance speedily, as a disciplined unit, each part of the whole following the other. This imagery conveys the idea that resistance is futile because, even if a member of this army is felled by an arrow or a spear, the army moves forward undeterred.
- (:10) Accompanied by cosmic upheaval
“Before them the earth quakes, the heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.”
- (:11a) Authorized by the Omnipotent Lord Himself
“The Lord utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.”
David Baker: The mounting litany reaches its climax in verse 11. The focus moves from humans (attacker and attacked) to the earth and heavens, and now specifically to the Creator of all, Yahweh (1:1), Israel’s own covenant God. He now reveals what is going on from his perspective, and it is not a comforting message to his people.
- (:11b) Unparalleled and Unstoppable
“The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?”
Daniel Epp-Tiessen: Using a bracketing device called an inclusio, the final statement of the passage returns to the theme of the day of the Lord (2:11b), with which the passage began (2:1b), thereby enclosing everything described in between within the embrace of this day. To summarize, Joel utilizes an expression also found in Malachi to describe this day as great and terrible (Mal 4:5), closing with a paraphrase of the ominous question from Malachi 3:2, who can endure it? (Joel 2:11b). This cry of hopelessness sums up the communicational goal of the entire passage. Joel takes readers into the abyss of terrors that potentially await, only to make them receptive to the hope to which the next verse points.
II. (:12-17) PLEA FOR REPENTANCE
Daniel Epp-Tiessen: This unit falls into two closely related parts. First, God calls the community to turn to him, a summons on which Joel builds by holding out the possibility that God might relent (2:12-14). Then Joel issues a series of commands regarding the concrete steps required for turning to God (2:15-17). God begins by declaring, Yet even now … Even at this late time, when the destructive day of the Lord has already dawned and more of its fury is imminent, God refuses to be done with Israel, yearning to grant life rather than death (Achtemeier 1996a: 319). God, the source of the threat, now proposes a potential way out. The significance of this Yet even now possibility is heightened by the words declares the Lord (NIV), a common prophetic formula to designate divine speech. It stands out here because this is the only occurrence of the formula in Joel.
Lloyd Ogilvie: Outline
The Response God Wants (2:12–16)
A Petition with Motivation (2:17)
How God Calls Us to Repent (2:13)
A. (:12A) Gracious Offer — Patience of Longsuffering Lord
“’Yet even now,’ declares the Lord”
David Baker: The appropriate response to the devastation brought by God is repentance (v. 12). Triple transition indicators mark it. “Even” (cf. 2:3, 29) and “now” (Gen. 50:21; Ps. 2:10) indicate a new, sequential element to what precedes. It allows a brief window of opportunity to respond in the face of the rapidly approaching Day of Yahweh. The direct discourse indicator (“declares the LORD”) identifies the exhortation to repent as originating from Yahweh himself (e.g., Gen. 22:16; Hos. 2:15; Obad. 8). Yahweh does not wait for the people to turn to him; he initiates the discussion.
B. (:12B-13) Genuine Repentance — Inward Orientation –
Whole-hearted, Sincere, Penitent Repentance
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
And rend your heart and not your garments.
Now return to the Lord your God.
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting of evil.
John Goldingay: Joel then provides his gloss on Yahweh’s invitation and challenge (v. 13), adding that (on the other hand), neither is the turning to be one that is merely outward. In addition to being body as well as inner self, it’s to be inner self and not just externals. It means an inner circumcision, not just an outward one (cf. Deut. 30:6). The basis for a confident turning is who Yahweh is: gracious, compassionate, long-tempered, and big in commitment. The description corresponds more or less word for word with his self-description at Sinai (Exod. 34:6), which is often alluded to in the First Testament. Joel’s words correspond particularly to the version in Jon. 4:2, which also adds the additional note that he is “relenting about dire action.” These words resonate further with Sinai (see Exod. 32:12, 14), though the formulation in Joel and Jonah is even closer to Jer. 18:8. Joel thus invites people to turn to Yahweh on the basis of the assurance that he will behave in a way consistent with his behavior at Sinai (a fortiori if they do not have apostasy to turn from) and consistent with his dealing in relation to Nineveh (a fortiori if they do not have gross waywardness to turn from). While the exhortation to fast, cry, and lament thus recapitulates chapter 1, the motivation is different—not the awfulness of the calamity but the graciousness of Yahweh. . .
Joel characterizes the one to whom people may turn as gracious, compassionate, long-tempered, and big in commitment. He thereby nails key characteristics of God. Graciousness means that the relationship between God and his people has its basis in God’s love and generosity and not in what they deserve. Compassion means that God has the feelings of a mother for the children of her womb, especially when they are threatened by disaster. Commitment means that God is not only faithful when his people are faithful to him but that he stays faithful even when they have forfeited any right to faithfulness. Long-temperedness means that God looks in the eye the shortcomings of the people of God but keeps resisting the temptation to act in anger against this people, even though it doesn’t mean that God is incapable of letting his temper have its way eventually. God’s being long-tempered is thus a key expression of his love. It opens up the possibility of response; indeed, it exists in expectation of response. “Everything that God is, is implied and included in the statement that He is patient.”
Lloyd Ogilvie: When you do not know where to turn, return to the Lord. Why? Because He is not some cosmic policeman or sadistic headmaster who delights in our suffering, but is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Joel 2:13). We see these qualities of God through the pages of the Old Testament and in the Book of Joel which we are considering, but nowhere do we see them more clearly than in Jesus, the Son of God and the Word of God to us.
C. (:14) Goodness Restored
“Who knows whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Even a grain offering and a drink offering, for the Lord your God?”
James Nogalski: Joel 2:14 presents a rhetorical question that simultaneously represents an affirmation of Yahweh’s sovereignty and an expression of hope in Yahweh’s compassion. The question begins with the phrase Who knows … ? For the prophet, while the outcome is uncertain, the phrase implies that God alone is the only one who can change the situation. The prophet does not dare to claim this knowledge for himself. Nevertheless, the lexical connections also imply hope that genuine repentance on the part of the people (2:12–13) will prompt Yahweh to respond positively as well. Likewise, the hope that Yahweh will leave behind a blessing anticipates a reversal of the current situation in which the land has experienced curses for its covenant disobedience.
Attention-getter — “Blow a trumpet in Zion”
D. (:15-16) Gathering the People
“Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.”
E. (:17) Glory of God = Best Grounds for Appeal for Mercy
“Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,
Weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say, Where is their God?’”