Introduction to Joel

The Day of the Lord is a phrase that Joel uses repeatedly in his message to the nation of Judah.  This phrase is often misunderstood in Scripture because we have a tendency to try to make it refer to only one event or period of time.  In some passages interpreters try to make it refer to the single event of the rapture.  In other passages it is taken to mean the seven year Tribulation that we see being discussed in Daniel and Revelation.  Still other instances it seems to be describing a current or recently experienced event.  I believe it is best to interpret the phrase “Day of the Lord” as simply a time of judgment in which the Lord interrupts the course of history to judge the sins of men in such a way that He intends to bring sinning men to repentance.  This interpretation allows the phrase to refer to a great multitude of events in the past, future and in certain respects to the present.  Since Joel does not mention the name of the king or make reference to other known events it is hard to know exactly when he wrote but the content and style of his writing as well as the order in which it appears in our Bible’s seems to indicate that he was one of the early prophets to write, possibly as early as the ministry of Elisha.  He writes for the purpose of warning the nation that God’s judgment will fall upon them because of their sinfulness.  He calls for a genuine repentance the flows from a heart that is broken over recognition of sin as opposed to the traditional outward demonstration of repentance of ripping one’s clothes.  We often have a tendency to be more concerned about outward appearances than we are about the condition of our hearts.  Men can only judge what they see on the outside; but God judges our hearts.

THE DAY OF THE LORD THAT WAS: It appears that Joel writes during a time or just after a severe famine in the land that was brought about by an invasion or multiple invasions of locusts.  The crops had been devastated and the land stripped down to the bones by this plague.  This happened as a result of the hardness of the hearts of people and their insistence of living in sin.  The consequences of sin are always much greater than the passing pleasure that sin affords.  God has made it known repeatedly throughout the history of the world that He will not simply stand by and watch His children rebel without consequence.  God will step into our lives and He will bring about trials that are intended to discipline our sinfulness as a means of motivating us to repent and return to Him.  God uses any number of means to do this work: everything from locusts to illness to war.  Joel writes to explain to the nation of his day why they are facing this time of judgment and then call them to turn back to the Lord in genuine repentance.  God’s discipline is never for the purpose of rejecting His children; it is always intended to bring about restoration.  Not all difficulties in our lives are due to God’s intervention or judgment; but they can all be used in our lives to draw us closer to Him.  The “day” of the Lord’s judgment is always focused on drawing us into a “day” in which we walk closer to Him.

THE DAY OF THE LORD THAT WILL BE: Many times throughout the history of the world as well as our own personal lives, we find ourselves asking the question: can things get any worse than this?  The answer is yes!  The devastation and desolation of the days of Joel was bad, but it was only a foretaste of God’s judgment that is yet to come.  Joel warns the nation that a time is coming when God will interrupt the course of history once again in a very intentional and dramatic way.  Judgment will be experienced at a completely different level than the people were experiencing in Joel’s day.  This future judgment will be different in nature and purpose but more similar to the flood of Noah’s day. The invasion of nations will be coupled with supernatural plagues sent by God that will rock the nation and the entire world to its very core.  This coming judgment, like all judgments, is for the purpose of bringing people to repentance.  When the prophecies of God’s Word begin to be fulfilled in obvious and dramatic ways people will either need to recognize the Bible as authoritative, repent of their sin and be reconciled to God through faith in Christ, or they will be hardened in their sinfulness, reject God and align themselves with Anti-Christ and Satan.  There will be a distinct line in the sand that will eliminate all ambiguity.  Despite the great suffering on that Day of the Lord that is still in the future; the resulting repentance will bring about an unprecedented revival in the world and particularly in the nation of Israel.  God will bring Israel back into a place of prominence.  He will pour out His Spirit on the believers in a way reminiscent of but superior to the day of Pentecost.  The result of this time of judgment will be a physical, national and spiritual restoration for Israel that will be used of God to bless all the nations of the world.  The coming judgment of the Tribulation will bring about catastrophic devastation all over the world; but it will also bring about gracious reconciliation with God thro