Joel 2

Joel 2 is the second of the three chapters of the Book of Joel. It continues the account of the locust plague and drought in Joel 1 and expands it into a warning about the coming day of the LORD. In the Hebrew Bible, verses 28–32 are numbered as 3:1–5.

Outline

• Verses 1–11: A trumpet is to be blown in Zion to sound the alarm. An army like horses and horsemen keeps its ranks and climbs over the walls into the city, and the sun, moon, and stars grow dark.
• Verses 12–14: The people are called to return with all their heart, with fasting and weeping. They are told to rend their hearts rather than their garments.
• Verses 15–17: A fast and a solemn assembly are proclaimed, and everyone is to be gathered, from the elders to nursing infants, even the bridegroom and the bride. The priests weep and pray between the porch and the altar.
• Verses 18–27: The LORD answers that He will send grain, new wine, and oil and will drive away the northern army. He promises to send the former rain and the latter rain and to restore the years that the locust, the cankerworm, the caterpiller, and the palmerworm have eaten.
• Verses 28–32: Afterward, God says, He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, including menservants and maidservants. There will be wonders in the heavens and in the earth, but whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be delivered.

Key Verses

• Joel 2:13: "And rend your heart, and not your garments." This is a classic verse calling for inward repentance rather than outward show.
• Joel 2:28: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh." The New Testament cites this verse to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
• Joel 2:32: "Whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered." Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:13–14.

People and Places

• Zion: The place where the trumpet is blown and the solemn assembly is held, and where those who escape will remain.
• Priests: The leaders who weep on behalf of the people.
• The porch and the altar: The vestibule of the temple in Jerusalem and the altar of burnt offering.
• The east sea and the utmost sea: Generally understood to be the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Points for Reflection

• Interpretations of the army in verses 1–11 fall into three main views. Some see a poetic depiction of an actual locust swarm, others a foreign enemy such as Assyria or Babylon, and still others a portrayal of the final judgment. Because the date of the Book of Joel is uncertain, none of these views can be established with certainty.
• The description of God's character in verse 13 also appears in Exodus 34:6 and Jonah 4:2.
• Peter quotes verses 28–32 on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16–21). Denominations read this promise in different ways. Pentecostal and charismatic traditions understand it in terms of ongoing experiences and gifts of the Spirit today. Those who hold to cessationism emphasize that it was fulfilled at Pentecost as a unique, unrepeatable event (see cessationism and continuationism).

In the Korean Church

• Verses 1–2 and 12–17 are among the Revised Common Lectionary readings for Ash Wednesday. As a result, churches that follow the liturgical calendar read them at the beginning of Lent.
• The "former rain and latter rain" of verse 23, along with verse 28, are frequently used in sermons at revival meetings and Holy Spirit gatherings. In Pentecostal circles, the latter rain is sometimes interpreted as the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days.