2:3The Garden of Eden was Adam and Eve's first home (Genesis 2:8). Known for its beauty, it is used here to describe the beauty of the land prior to the devastation.
Life Application Study BibleJoelChapter 2
Joel 2
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1430, 1431, 1432, 1433
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
2Joel 2
2It is a day of darkness and gloom,a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains,a great and mighty army appears.Nothing like it has been seen beforeor will ever be seen again.
3Fire burns in front of them,and flames follow after them.Ahead of them the land liesas beautiful as the Garden of Eden.Behind them is nothing but desolation;not one thing escapes.
4They look like horses;they charge forward like war horses.*
5Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops.Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots,like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble,or like a mighty army moving into battle.
6Fear grips all the people;every face grows pale with terror.
7The attackers march like warriorsand scale city walls like soldiers.Straight forward they march,never breaking rank.
8They never jostle each other;each moves in exactly the right position.They break through defenseswithout missing a step.
9They swarm over the cityand run along its walls.They enter all the houses,climbing like thieves through the windows.
10The earth quakes as they advance,and the heavens tremble.The sun and moon grow dark,and the stars no longer shine.
11The LORD is at the head of the column.He leads them with a shout.This is his mighty army,and they follow his orders.The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing.Who can possibly survive?
A Call to Repentance
1212 That is why the LORD says,“Turn to me now, while there is time.Give me your hearts.Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the LORD your God,for he is merciful and compassionate,slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.He is eager to relent and not punish.
14Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,sending you a blessing instead of this curse.Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wineto the LORD your God as before.
15Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!Announce a time of fasting;call the people togetherfor a solemn meeting.
16Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies.Call the bridegroom from his quartersand the bride from her private room.
17Let the priests, who minister in the LORD’s presence,stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.Let them pray, “Spare your people, LORD!Don't let your special possession become an object of mockery.Don't let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,‘Has the God of Israel left them?”y
The LORD’s Promise of Restoration
1818 Then the LORD will pity his peopleand jealously guard the honor of his land.
19The LORD will reply,“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,enough to satisfy your needs.You will no longer be an object of mockeryamong the surrounding nations.
20I will drive away these armies from the north.I will send them into the parched wastelands.Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.*The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”Surely the LORD has done great things!
21Don't be afraid, my people.Be glad now and rejoice,for the LORD has done great things.
22Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.The trees will again be filled with fruit;fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
23Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!Rejoice in the LORD your God!
judgment, and only God’s forgiveness will bring rejoicing. Unlessyou repent, your sin will resuit in punishment. Let God intervenein your life. Then you will be able to rejoice in that day becauseyou will have nothing to fear. Before, there were fasting, plagues,and funeral dirges; then, there will be feasting, harvesting, andsongs of praise. When God rules, his restoration will be complete.in the meantime, we must remember that God does not promisethat all his followers will be prosperous now. When God pardons,he restores our relationship with him, but this does not guaranteeindividual wealth. instead, God promises to meet the deepestneeds of those who love him by loving us, forgiving us, givingus purpose in life, and giving us a caring Christian community.
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.Once more the autumn rains will come,as well as the rains of spring.
24The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain,and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
25The LORD says, “I will give you back what you lostto the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.*It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
26Once again you will have all the food you want,and you will praise the LORD your God,who does these miracies for you.Never again will my people be disgraced.
27Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other.Never again will my people be disgraced.
2. The day of the LORD
The LORD’s Promise of His Spirit
28* “Then, after doing all those things,I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy.Your old men will dream dreams,and your young men will see visions.
29In those days I will pour out my Spiriteven on servants—men and women alike.
30And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31The sun will become dark,and the moon will turn blood redbefore that great and terrible* day of the LORD arrives.
32But everyone who calls on the name of the LORDwill be saved,for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,just as the LORD has said.These will be among the survivorswhom the LORD has called.
Judgment against Enemy Nations
3 1*“At the time of those events,” says the LORD,“when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,2 will gather the armies of the worldinto the valley of Jehoshaphat.*
There I will judge themfor harming my people, my special possession,for scattering my people among the nations,
Textual footnotes
- numbered 3:1-5 in Hebrew text.
- in Hebrew text. 3:2 Jehoshaphat means “the LORD judges.”
- 2:1 Hebrew Zion; also in 2:15, 23.
- 2:4 Or like charioteers.
- 2:20 Hebrew into the eastern sea,... into the western sea.
- 2:25 The precise identification of the four kinds of locusts mentioned here is uncertain.
- 2:28 Verses 2:28-32 are
- 2:31 Greek version reads g/orious.
Life Application Notes 10 notes
2:12,13God told the people to turn to him while there was still time. Destruction would soon be upon them. Time is also running out for us. Because we don’t know when our life will end, we should trust and obey God now while we can. Don’t let anything hinder you from turning to him.
2:13Deep remorse was often shown by tearing one’s clothes. But God didn't want an outward display of penitence without true inward repentance (1 Samuel 16:7; Matthew 23:1-36). Be sure your attitude toward God is correct, not just your outward actions.
2:18Joel reached a turning point in his message, moving from prophesying about an outpouring of God's judgment to prophesying about an outpouring of God’s forgiveness and blessing. But this would come only if the people began to live as God wanted them to, giving up their sins. Where there is repentance, there is hope. This section of the book inspires that hope. Without it, Joel's prophecy could bring only despair. This promise of forgivefess should have encouraged the people to repent.
2:20Joel foresaw the invasion from the north by the armies of Assyria and Babylon, typified by the locusts.
2:21Joel contrasts the fear of God’s judgment (2:1) with the joy of God’s intervention (2:21). On the day of the LORD, sin will bring
2:26,27If the Jews would never again experience a disaster like this locust plague (“never again will my people be disgraced”). how do we explain the captivity in Babylon, the Jews’ slavery under the Greeks and Romans, and their persecution under Hitler? It is important not to take these verses out of context. This is still part of the “blessings” section of Joel’s prophecy. Only if the people truly repented would they avoid a disaster like the one Joel had described. God's blessings are promised only to those who sincerely and consistently follow him. God does promise that after the final day of judgment, his people will never again experience this kind of disaster (Zechariah 14:9-11; Revelation 21).
2:28-32Peter quoted this passage (see Acts 2:16-21); the outpouring of the Spirit predicted by Joel occurred on Pentecost. While in the past God’s Spirit seemed available to kings, prophets, and judges, Joel envisioned a time when the Spirit would be available to every believer. Ezekiel also spoke of an outpouring of the Spirit (Ezekiel 39:28, 29). God's Spirit is available today to anyone who calls on the LORD for salvation (2:32).
2:30These “wonders” would give a hint or a picture of a coming event.
2:31,32The “day of the LORD” is used here as God's appointed time to judge the nations (see the note on 1:15). Judgment and mercy go hand in hand. Joel had said that if the people repented. the LORD would save them from judgment (2:12-14). In this day of judgment and catastrophe, therefore, some will be saved. God's intention is not to destroy but to heal and to save. However. we must accept his salvation or we will certainly perish with the unrepentant.
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Study feature · page 1431
218 3a 60:10 tech 1:14 219 izek 34:29; 36:15 fos 2:21-22
':20 Jeut 11:24 ler 1:14-15 tech 14:8
🗺 This feature includes a map, chart or picture — view the original page image.