Joel 2
The Army of Locusts
Tell the people on the
All the people who live in this country will be afraid.
They will be afraid because the Day of the
It is very near.
It will be cloudy and black.
A very big army is coming.
It comes across the sky as light comes in the morning.
A great army like this has never come before.
It will never come again in future.
It burns everything behind them.
The land in front of them is like the garden in Eden.
Behind them, it is like a desert.
They leave nothing behind them.
See Genesis 2:8 for the garden in Eden.
For the Day of the
They run fast to the war.
They jump over the mountains
as fast as a fire burns dry grass.
They are like a great army that is ready for a fight.
Every face shows their fear.
Joel speaks about
In Chapter 1, Joel tells how dry the country is. Now, the
They climb up walls like soldiers.
They march forward in a straight line.
They do not turn away.
Each one goes straight ahead.
People can put defences in their path
but they go straight ahead.
They run along the wall.
They climb into houses.
They go through the windows like thieves.
The sky itself moves.
The sun and moon are dark
and the stars do not shine.
as he leads his army.
We cannot count his soldiers.
Those who obey him are very strong.
The Day of the
It makes us afraid.
Nobody can manage to live through it.
'The sun and the moon are dark.' Look also at Joel 3:15. We can read about something similar in Isaiah 13:10, Ezekiel 32:7-8 and Matthew 24:29.
It is very sad that God's people do not listen to him. But he needs to make his own people think. For this, he must use people that do not love him. That is very sad, too.
Show to the Lord that You are Sorry
'return to me and respect me.
Eat no food. Weep and be very sad.
It does not help if you tear your clothes into pieces. That does not help if you are not really sorry.'
Return to the
He is kind and he is full of
He does not get angry quickly and he is full of love.
He is sad that he had to send troubles to you.
He may send to you food and drink as blessings (good gifts).
Then you can offer gifts to the
God's people sometimes tore their clothes. This showed that they were sorry. If they were really sorry, they would do more than that. They would love God and they would obey him. They would do what is right.
God does not change as human people do. He can send good things like a good harvest, and he can send troubles. He sees if we do good things in our lives. Then he sends what is best for us. Look at Joel 2:15-17.
God never changes. But we change. God knows what we need then. He really loves us. So he does whatever we really need. Perhaps at that time we do not appreciate what he does. But we must believe that he is helping us to be good people.
In verse 13, Joel uses words from Exodus 34:6. With these words, he reminds the people what God is really like.
Tell the people to eat no food.
Call them to
Make them all ready to serve the
Bring the old people together.
Bring the children, even the smallest ones.
Let the new husband leave his wife.
Let the wife leave her room.
Let them weep between the porch (doorway with a roof) of the
Let them say to the
Do not let people in other nations laugh at your own people.
They will laugh. And they will say that your own people are no good.
They will say, "Your God is no help to you now." '
The Lord's Answer
He will be kind to his people.
'I am giving to you new
You will have enough to fill you.
I will never again let people from other nations laugh at you.
I will push it into an empty country where nothing grows.
I will send the front of that army one way.
It will go into the sea on the east.
The back of that army will go the other way. It will go into the sea on the west.
There will be a strong smell from dead bodies.
This will happen because that army has done great things.'
Be very happy.
Be sure that the
The
Joel mentions 'the army that comes from the north'.
The fields are becoming green.
Fruit is growing on the trees.
The
He has given to you just enough autumn rain.
He has given to you the winter rain.
The rain has come, as it did before.
and he will fill your jars with
I will give back to you everything that the older
And I will give back to you everything that the oldest
I will give to you as much as my great army has eaten.
You will say good things about the name of the
He has done great things for you.
My people will never again be ashamed.
You will know that I am your God.
And you will know that there is no other God.
My people will never again be ashamed.'
Zion was the place where the
In verse 27, the
The Day of the Lord
Your sons and daughters will be
Your old men will dream and
your young men will see pictures in their minds.
Joel says that the
I will send blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
Then the great Day of the
Everyone who does those things will be safe.
The
Everyone there that the
will be safe.'
He has promised this.
Joel mentions blood and darkness. This seems to mean an unusual time, when the sun and moon will not give their light. It will make people very afraid. (Look also at Joel 3:15.)
Joel has told God's people about the good things that God intends to do (verses 21-29). So the terrible things in verse 31 will not happen to them. Joel explains about God's people in verse 32. He says more about those terrible things in Chapter 3.
God's call here is a call to love him and to obey him. His promise is one that he gives to all his people. God has called them.