Connection to Christ
Nothing like this has been seen
Joel 1:2-3, “Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.”
Matthew 9:33, ‘when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”’
Withered hope
Joel 1:12, “The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away.”
Mark 11:13-14, ‘seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”’
The day of the Lord
Joel 2:10-11, “Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 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?”
Matthew 27:54, ‘When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”’
Call to authentic religion
Joel 2:13, ‘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.”
Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.”
Inaugurating of the age of the Spirit
Joel 2:28-29, “And afterward, 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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
Quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17-18
Calling on the name of the Lord
Joel 2:30-32, “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Quoted by Peter in Acts 2:19-21
Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The coming judgment
Joel 3:12-13, “there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.”
Matthew 3:12, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Truths to Remember
Wrath can always make life worse
Joel 1:4, ‘What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.”
God ordains means to escape wrath but they must be taken
Joel 1:13-14, “Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.”
When God’s people behave like the nations, He treats them like the nations
Exodus 10:4-5, “If you refuse to let [my people] go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen.”
Joel 2:3, “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.”
No one can endure the wrath of God
Joel 2:6… 11, “At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale… The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?”
God offers mercy until the last moment
Joel 2:11-12, ‘The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”’
The Lord can more than return what sin has taken
Joel 2:25, “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.”
God will make everything right
Joel 3:3, “There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel…”
Connection to rest of Scripture
The New Testament borrows heavily from Joel’s Day of the Lord
Overlaps between Joel and Amos
Many historical references within this book
Themes Overview
The Day of the Lord Genre: Later prophets - minor
Creation and covenant-breaking Author: Joel
The coming of the Spirit Date: between 835-800 BC or the 5th to 4th
century BC
Outline
1:1-1:20 Locusts and Lament
2:1-2:32 The Day of the Lord
3:1-9:15 Worldwide Judgment