Joel

The day of the LORD: a devastating locust plague as a warning of greater judgment, followed by the outpouring of God’s Spirit and Israel’s restoration.

A plague of locusts had swept Judah in successive waves—palmerworm, locust, cankerworm, and caterpillar—stripping the vines and fig trees, leaving the fields bare, and cutting off even the grain and drink offerings from the temple. Joel called the old men to tell their children about it and the priests to lead the nation in a fast. This was no ordinary disaster; it was a foretaste of “the day of the LORD.”

From the locust invasion Joel looks to a greater army that will come against Jerusalem, a day of darkness and gloominess such as never was. He calls the nation to rend their hearts and not their garments and turn to the LORD. If they do, God will restore “the years that the locust hath eaten” (2:25).

Then Joel’s horizon widens. God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, with wonders in heaven and earth before “the great and the terrible day of the LORD.” He will gather the nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment, and Judah shall dwell for ever. Peter quoted Joel on the day of Pentecost.

Writer: Joel
Written: Probably early, about 835 BC, in the days of the boy-king Joash.
Name: The Lord is God

Title and authorship

Yoel means “Jehovah is God.” He is often called the prophet of Pentecost because Peter quoted him in Acts 2.

Joel the son of Pethuel wrote the book (1:1). Nothing else is known of him; his interest in the temple and priests suggests he lived in or near Jerusalem.

Historical background

Judah, probably early in the pre-exilic period. The book mentions Tyre, Zidon, Philistia, Edom, and Egypt, but not Assyria or Babylon, which fits an early date such as the reign of the boy-king Joash (about 835 BC).

The people and priests of Judah, called to repentance by a national calamity.

Locust plagues

Desert locusts can form swarms of billions, darkening the sky and stripping vegetation for miles. Joel’s four names may describe successive swarms or stages in the insect’s growth. Such plagues were among the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28:38–42.

Early date

Joel names Tyre, Zidon, Philistia, Egypt, and Edom as enemies, and mentions the Greeks only as buyers of Jewish slaves (3:6). The absence of Assyria, Babylon, and any king suggests the time of Joash, when the priests led the nation.

Pentecost

On the day of Pentecost, when the disciples spoke with other tongues, Peter answered the charge of drunkenness with Joel 2:28–32. The wonders in heaven—sun turned to darkness and moon to blood—did not occur at Pentecost; they await the day of the LORD (Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:12).

Key passages

Joel 2:12–13

“Turn ye even to me with all your heart... rend your heart, and not your garments.”

Joel 2:28–31

The outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh, with signs before the great and terrible day of the LORD.

Joel 2:32

“Whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered” (Romans 10:13).

Joel 2:11

The greatness of the Lord’s day demands attention to the coming judgment.

Joel 2:28–32

The promised Spirit and accompanying signs place Israel’s future within a wider prophetic horizon.

Outline

1 · The land devastated

The locust plague interrupts food, joy, and offerings and calls the community to lament.

2:1–17 · The warning and the call

The coming day is described with urgency, and the people are summoned to wholehearted repentance.

2:18–32 · The Lord answers

Restoration of the land leads to promises concerning the Spirit and the Day of the Lord.

3 · The nations judged and Judah restored

The Lord judges hostile nations and establishes his presence among his people.

Original language

יוֹם יְהוָה (yom YHWH, H3117) — “the day of the LORD”

Joel’s theme, used five times (1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14). It describes God’s direct intervention in judgment and blessing, climaxing in the Tribulation and the Second Coming.

שָׁפַךְ (shaphak, H8210) — “pour out”

To pour, as water. God will pour out His Spirit “upon all flesh” (2:28)—not a trickle but a flood.

עֵמֶק יְהוֹשָׁפָט (emeq Yehoshaphat, H3092) — “valley of Jehoshaphat”

“Jehovah judges.” God will gather all nations there and plead with them for His people Israel (3:2, 12). Joel also calls it the valley of decision (3:14).

אַחֲרֵי־כֵן (acharei khen, H310) — “afterward”

“And it shall come to pass afterward” (2:28). The outpouring follows Israel’s repentance and restoration in the preceding verses. Peter said “this is that,” identifying Pentecost with the kind of thing Joel described, while the full fulfillment awaits the last days.

Doctrinal study

Pentecost and Joel

Peter said, “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). Pentecost was a real outpouring of the Spirit on Israel’s believing remnant and a pledge of what Joel promised. But Joel’s whole prophecy—blood, fire, pillars of smoke, the sun darkened before the great day of the LORD—was not fulfilled then. The complete fulfillment belongs to the end of the Tribulation, when Israel repents and the Spirit is poured on all flesh.

Rend your heart

True repentance is inward. Tearing the garments was the outward sign of grief; God wanted torn hearts. He is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (2:13).

Judgment of the nations

Joel 3 describes the nations gathered for battle against Jerusalem and judged by the LORD, who roars out of Zion. The nations are judged for scattering Israel and parting the land (3:2). This parallels Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19.

Commentary notes

Wasted years

Joel describes a people grown careless, a land stripped bare, priests at their wits’ end, and offerings cut off from the house of God. “There was no hope, but God.” Yet God promised to restore the years that the locust had eaten.

Swords and plowshares reversed

Joel tells the nations to “beat your plowshares into swords” (3:10) for the final battle. Isaiah and Micah describe the reverse in the kingdom that follows (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3).

Pay attention to every word

The word “afterward” in 2:28 matters. Read carefully, Joel shows that Pentecost was not the complete fulfillment of his prophecy; the full outpouring comes after Israel’s restoration.

Christ in the book

  • The LORD dwelling in Zion (3:17, 21)
  • The Judge of the nations in the valley of decision (3:12–14)
  • The one on whose name whosoever calls shall be delivered (2:32; Romans 10:13)

Applications

Historical

  • Joel’s message to Judah uses a terrible locust plague as an object lesson to warn of judgment and promise restoration.
  • The immediate disaster is agricultural and national: field, vine, flock, priest, and offering are all affected.
  • The absence of a named reigning king requires care in assigning a precise date; the historical message remains a call to Judah in calamity.

Doctrinal

  • The day of the LORD, the battle of Armageddon and the judgment of the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat, the outpouring of God’s Spirit on Israel at the end of the Tribulation, and Christ dwelling in Zion.
  • Peter quotes Joel at Pentecost. The full prophecy also includes future cosmic signs, the Day of the Lord, and national deliverance.

Devotional

  • Repentance is better than suffering the consequences of sin. God is faithful to judge and merciful to restore; He can give back the years the locust has eaten.
  • Joel calls the entire community to lament its condition, seek the Lord, and return to him in repentance.
  • The command to rend the heart requires inward repentance expressed in changed dependence and worship.

Answering the critics

Critics argue over the date of Joel, placing it anywhere from the ninth to the fourth century BC, and question the unity of a book that moves from a historical locust plague to apocalyptic prophecy.

Israel needed to be reminded of its ultimate future and of the intensity of the coming day of the LORD. Joel, like the other prophets, spoke to an audience beyond his own time. The move from a present event to a future judgment is the prophetic pattern, not evidence of multiple authors.