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by Steven Van de Berg (Author)
Joel was an Old Testament prophet, little is known about his life and history. What is known is the name of his father Petuel. His prophecies were spoken in Jerusalem. His life must have been lived in Judah. He was not a priest, but he had a keen interest in the temple and those who served in it. His prophecies were addressed to the people.
The book of Joel was written at an unknown time. The period of his ministry is also questioned. It may have been when King Joash (835-796 BC) was still a child. Joel means 'YHWH is God. It prophesies the descent of the Holy Spirit and links God's work in the OT to the birth of the Church in the NT. It shows the intense desire that God has to maintain intimacy with all His people. Joel calls them to turn to Him. He describes a plague of locusts (Joel 1:1-20) which attacked successively in flocks of staggering size, devouring the husks of fig trees, wheat fields, vineyards and orchards, extinguishing the materials for the sacrifices of the priests. The plague is symbolic of divine wrath and His punishment against sin. The disasters of nature mentioned in chapter 1 are figurative language in relation to the foreign enemies that would ravage Judah, some invading army, Assyrian or Babylonian (Joel 2:1-11).
The Jews were to mourn on the day of God's indignation, that is, on the day of His judgment (Joel 1: 13-16). The prophet mentions The Day of the Lord several times, that is, the day on which He rises to execute His judgment. However, it is never too late for repentance, and a new call for special worship in the temple is issued, both for the priests and the people (Joel 1: 13-16 cf. Joel 2: 12-17). The devastation of the locusts will then be replaced by the abundance that the Lord will provide (Jl 2: 18-27) through the outpouring of the Spirit (Jl 2: 28-32 - the early and latter rain), fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 17-21); the manifestations of nature may have apocalyptic significance (Jl 2: 30-32; cf. Rev 6: 12-13). Thus, after repentance will come the restoration of the people. In Jl 3: 8 the Lord mentions the name of a people, the Sabeans, referring to the first progenitors of a district in Ethiopia. Another interesting quote is in Joel 3: 18, where the prophet speaks of a fountain of water that will come out of the House of the Lord and water the valley of Shittim (or valley of the acacias).
