Major Profit in the Minor Prophets: Introduction to Joel and Joel 1:1-7

Introduction to Joel:

Joel was a prophet to Judah. Hosea was primarily addressing the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Most Bible scholars and Christian historians believe Joel prophesied during the reign or leading up to the reign of King Joash. Amos and Joel were contemporaries, along with Hosea, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah and Isaiah.

Most scholars believe Joel was prophesying around or a little after 800 BC, which is about over 200 years before Judah would face the much of the judgement that Joel spoke of. We know Joel had to be before prophesying before 586 BC because he calls on the people to assemble at the Temple to call on the Lord for help. The First Temple, Solomon’s Temple, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. So Joel would have had to of been calling the people to repentance prior to the Babylonian invasion.

The Setting:

In Joel’s day, the Kingdom of Judah had become powerful and prosperous and that led to passivity and complacency. They had begun to take God’s provision and protection for granted and fell into self-centeredness, pride and eventually, idolatry. If the majority of Bible scholars and historians are correct, there was also great turmoil in the royal family during this time because the wicked Queen Athaliah had seized power in Judah by killing nearly all the royal male offspring in murderous coup. She was finally overthrown a few years later by the followers King Joash, who was 7 years old when he was crowned king.

The Theme:

Joel’s major theme is the “Day of the Lord”. In the Bible, that phrase refers to different periods of time, depending on the context, when God sent judgement. Joel addresses 3 different “days of the Lord”.

The immediate day of the Lord in chapter 1, is was what Judah was experiencing in Joel’s day.

The imminent day of the Lord is what is referred to in chapter 2. Joel warns Judah about the judgement soon to come.

The ultimate day of the Lord is the final judgement when Jesus returns to judge the whole world. Joel starts talking about this at the end of chapter 2 and for the entirety of chapter 3.

In Joel, just as with Hosea and the majority of the Minor Prophets, we see a pattern. The people are living in widespread collective sin, God sends a prophet to call them to repentance, if they will not repent, then God promised a coming judgement and punishment for their sin, but, it wasn’;t too late and there was an offer of forgiveness, and a promise of restoration after repentance.

Joel 1:1–7 (NASB)

1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: 2 Hear this, O elders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days Or in your fathers’ days? 3 Tell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons, And their sons the next generation. 4 What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten. 5 Awake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, On account of the sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness. 7 It has made my vine a waste And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white.

Who was Joel?

(v. 1) The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel…

1 Samuel 8:1–2 (NASB)

1 And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.

1 Chronicles 11:26–47 (NASB)

26 Now the mighty men of the armies were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 27 Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, 28 Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, 29 Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, 30 Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, 31 Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, 32 Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, 33 Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, 34 the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, 35 Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, 36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, 37 Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai, 38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, 39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 41 Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, 42 Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, 43 Hanan the son of Maacah and Joshaphat the Mithnite, 44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, 45 Jediael the son of Shimri and Joha his brother, the Tizite, 46 Eliel the Mahavite and Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel and Obed and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

1 Chronicles 15:1–7 (NASB)

1 Now David built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.” 3 And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place which he had prepared for it. 4 David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and 120 of his relatives; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and 220 of his relatives; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and 130 of his relatives…

1 Chronicles 27:20 (NASB)

20 for the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah;

2 Chronicles 29:12 (NASB)

12 Then the Levites arose: Mahath, the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of the Kohathites…

Ezra 10:43 (NASB)

43 Of the sons of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah.

Nehemiah 11:6–9 (NASB)

6 All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 able men. 7 Now these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah; 8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai, 928. 9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second in command of the city.

Joel was a very common Hebrew name. Probably because what it means. Joel means “The Lord is God” or more exactly, “Yahweh is God”.

His father’s name, Pethuel, means, “Vision of God”.

These two names are given at the beginning of Joel’s prophecy, I believe, because that’s the message and purpose of the prophecy.

The book starts off by saying “The Lord is God” and that comes from the “vision” of God. That’s a clear message right at the start and as you read the book it becomes even more clear. God wants all people (everyone) to recognize that He is the one true God and there is no other. We see that emphasized in the text…

Joel 2:27 (NASB)

27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.

“Thus” is telling us that all that is prophesied before was for the purpose of them learning or remembering (“thus you will know”), that Yahweh, the Lord, is the one true God and they owe Him their love and devotion. The consequences that were coming upon them because of their sin and rebellion were for the purpose of reminding them that God is their only hope. They needed Him and because they had forgotten Him, they needed a fresh vision from the Lord that would remind them that He alone is God. We see it again in chapter 3…

Joel 3:17 (NASB)

17 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more.

“Then” indicates that once the prophecy is fulfilled, all will know the truth and God will be glorified in the minds of man because He is the one true God. The “then” would come to be for them when they repented and returned to the Lord. If only they would have accepted that truth when they were preached to, they could have been spared great suffering. Instead they chased after other gods, literal idols and idols in the forms of money, sex and power, and God took His power and protection away from the kingdom of Israel as a result.

The message of Joel is for us today as well. Do we know and acknowledge that the God of the Bible is the one true God? If we know and acknowledge that, the next question is, do we live like it? Do we live in such a way that our lives show that “Jesus is Lord”?

(v. 2-3) 2 Hear this, O elders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days Or in your fathers’ days? 3 Tell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons, And their sons the next generation.

2 Kings 21:10–12 (NASB)

10 Now the Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols; 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.

Jeremiah 19:3 (NASB)

3 …say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold I am about to bring a calamity upon this place, at which the ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle.

Matthew 24:21–22 (NASB)

21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

Deuteronomy 4:10 (NASB)

10 “ the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

Deuteronomy 6:4–7 (NASB)

4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up…

Psalm 78:5–7 (NASB)

5 For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, 6 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, 7 That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments…

Judges 2:10 (NASB)

10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

2 Peter 3:10–11 (NASB)

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

(v. 4-7) 4 What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten. 5 Awake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, On account of the sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness. 7 It has made my vine a waste And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white.

Exodus 10:12–15 (ESV)

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

Revelation 9:1–12 (NASB)

1 Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them. 7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. 11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. 12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

5 Awake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, On account of the sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth.

Isaiah 51:17 (ESV)

17 Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.

Ephesians 5:14–16 (NASB)

14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.