Joel

When disaster comes, people often respond in one of two ways. Some people turn to God. They grow closer to him and understand his nature and character more clearly. Other people turn away from God. They blame him or blame other people for their troubles. Some people even say that God does not exist.

The people of ancient Israel also faced disasters. They had to make the same choice. Would they turn away from God in their time of trouble? Or would they turn to him and seek his blessing?

Setting

The prophet Joel spoke God’s message to the people of Judah and Jerusalem during a terrible disaster. This disaster threatened their lives. A locust plague had struck the land.

Millions of hungry locusts came again and again. They ate every green plant. They ate vegetable gardens, grain fields, grapevines, fruit trees, and even the grass where sheep and goats fed. Because of this disaster, both people and animals were in danger.

In the ancient world, people had no chemicals to kill insects. They had no stored emergency food that would last a long time. They also had no relief groups to bring food. This kind of plague could cause many people to die, especially young children and older people.

During this dangerous time, the people of Judah and Jerusalem likely asked hard questions about God’s justice and mercy. Is God truly ruling over heaven and earth? Is God good?

They also thought about their own sin and their responsibility for the plague. Did God send the locust plague to punish them because they had not lived in a right relationship with him? Would God show mercy to them? Did they still have a future?

The prophet Joel gave God’s word to the people in answer to these questions.

Summary

The book of Joel has two main parts that are almost the same length. In the first part, Joel describes the terrible locust plague that harmed Judah and Jerusalem (1:1–2:17). The plague was very severe. It destroyed the whole land, including the grain, vines, and trees.

A drought made the disaster even worse. A drought is a long time with little or no rain. The land became dry and burned. As a result, both people and animals suffered from hunger. The people also had nothing left to bring to the temple as an offering to the Lord.

Because of this, Joel calls the people to turn away from sin and turn back to God in 2:12–17. Joel tells the people to seek mercy from their compassionate God.

Some Bible scholars understand this passage in another way. They see it as an apocalyptic description, or a picture of events connected to the day of the LORD and the end of this present age. In this view, Joel uses the language of a locust plague to describe a human army that will invade the land.

In the second part of Joel, the Lord promises to show pity to his people and restore their land after the locust plague (2:18–3:21). In 2:18–27, Joel describes how God will restore their daily life soon. God will fill their fields, orchards, vineyards, and flocks again.

In 2:28–3:21, Joel looks to a more distant future. God will restore the people’s spiritual life, or their relationship with him. At that time, God will pour out his Spirit on all people who respond to him in faith. God will also judge the peoples and nations that refuse to accept his authority as Lord.

Date of Writing

We do not know when the prophet Joel lived and spoke God’s message. Joel does not name the kings who ruled during his ministry. Other prophets, such as Amos and Micah, do name the kings of their time (Amos 1:1; Micah 1:1). Joel also does not give any other clear historical details. For this reason, Bible scholars have suggested many different dates for Joel.

In the Hebrew Bible and English Bible, Joel comes between Hosea and Amos. Hosea and Amos prophesied during the 700s BC. Because of this, some Bible scholars think Joel may have been an early prophet. He may have lived even before Amos and Hosea.

The book does not mention a king. It also speaks well of the priests. For these reasons, some scholars think Joel prophesied while Joash was still a child. At that time, Jehoiada the priest helped lead the kingdom (see Joel 2:17; see also 2 Kings 12:1–21). Joash ruled from 835 to 796 BC.

On the other hand, several details seem to point to a much later date for Joel. Joel never mentions the northern kingdom of Israel or its capital city, Samaria. This may suggest that Joel lived after they were destroyed in 722 BC. Joel also does not mention Assyria or Babylon. These nations were Israel’s great enemies from the 700s to the 500s BC. Because Joel does not mention them, many scholars think these empires were already in the distant past.

Israel's monarchy, or rule by kings, ended with the exile in 586 BC. The exile was the time when many Jewish people were taken away from their land. For this reason, many scholars place Joel in the postexilic period. This means the time after the exile, when the Jewish people began to return to their land in 538 BC.

Finally, Joel seems to use words and ideas from other prophets. These prophets include Amos, Zephaniah, Obadiah, and Ezekiel. Joel may even quote some of their words. It is possible that Joel served before these prophets. If so, they may have used his words. But it is also possible that Joel used earlier prophetic words. He may have used them to speak God’s message to people who faced a new situation.

These details do not prove that Joel lived and spoke God’s message after the exile. But they are strong enough that most Bible scholars accept a postexilic date. This means they think Joel prophesied after the Jewish people began returning to their land.

Thankfully, we do not need to know the exact date of Joel’s ministry to understand his message. For Joel, the date is less important than it is for some other prophets. His message speaks about issues that matter in every age.

Meaning and Message

Throughout the book of Joel, we clearly see that God rules over all creation. He is Lord over the natural world and over human society.

The locust plague was not only a natural event. The army of insects came at God’s command (2:11). The Lord controls rain and drought. He controls fruitfulness and famine, blessing and destruction.

All people are subject to God's judgment. This includes Israelites and non-Israelites. But God’s rule over everything does not remove human responsibility.

Because human sin has deeply harmed the natural world, Joel calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent (to turn away from sin and turn back to God). Joel can call the Israelites to repent because he knows that God is merciful and compassionate. God is ready to forgive those who repent. He wants to restore his people, not destroy them.

Joel quotes an ancient text from Exodus 34:6–7). Through this quote, he gives God’s gracious invitation to the Israelites: “return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion” (Joel 2:13).

For Joel, the right way to show repentance was through official temple worship led by the priests. This may seem surprising. Several other prophets spoke against official worship because many priests and leaders were corrupt, or sinful and dishonest (see Isaiah 1:10–18; Amos 5:21–24).

But Joel saw that worship had value when people came to God with sincere hearts. A sincere heart is honest and fully open to God. This kind of attitude is also seen in prophets after the exile, such as Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

In worship, physical objects and actions can point to unseen and eternal truths. But Joel reminds the Israelites that true religion is more than outward actions. True worship begins with inward change (Joel 2:13). The answer to corrupt worship is not to stop worshiping. The answer is to worship God in spirit and in truth (see John 4:23–24).

Joel spoke to people who faced disaster. He told them that God was fully in control of the future.

Joel promised that on the day of the Lord, God would act in the world. God would judge the wicked and bring peace and justice (Joel 1:15; 2:1). Then God would pour out his Spirit on all kinds of people. This included people from every social group, both men and women, and people of every age. God would make it possible for his people to live according to his law.

Sin has damaged our world. The wrongs in it will be made right only when God fully and finally comes into his creation (Joel 2:28–3:21; see Matthew 16:27; Acts 2:16–40; Colossians 2:13–22; Revelation 21–22).