Joel

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF JOEL The word ‘Joel’ in Hebrew, means (Jehovah is God); a common name in the Holy Book (1 Samuel 8: 2; 1 Chronicles 4: 35-43; 5: 4, 12;; 6: 36; 7; 3; 11: 38; 15: 7; 27: 20; 2 Chronicles 29: 12; Ezra 10: 43; Nehemiah 11: 9)… About this prophet, we only know what came in this book. He was introduced to us by someone by the name of ‘Pseudo-Epiphanius’, in his work ‘Life of the prophets’, as being referred to the tribe of ‘Reuben’; And born and buried in ‘Beth Horon’ or ‘Beth Or’, about 10 miles north-west of Jerusalem. The majority of scholars1, however, believe that Joel was an inhabitant of Jerusalem, and most probably referred to the tribe of ‘Judah’; on account of the fact that all his talk concentrated on Jerusalem; on the sound of the horns of the priests; and on the meetings of the priests with the people, in the house of the Lord, etc… ; that represent a clear and prominent line in the whole book. HISTORY OF THE BOOK: While the early Jewish scholars believe that Joel was one of the pre-captivity prophets; the later Jewish scholars, on the other hand, find great difficulty in fixing the exact date of the prophet, and consequently of his book it2. Father Theodoret, and St. Jerome, believe that Joel was a contemporary to the early days of the prophet ‘Hosea’; namely before the captivity; However, there is a great controversy among the later scholars; some of whom refer him to the period before the captivity, while others refer him to that after it. There are some scholars who even believe that Joel was one of the very early prophets who were familiar in his youth with the prophets Elijah and Elisha3. ‘Knabenbauer’ collected the views of the scholars who believe that ‘Joel’ was one of the post-captivity prophets; that could be summarized as follows4: (1) The prophet talks about the priests and the elders as being the leaderships of the people (1: 2, 13, 14; 2: 17); Yet with no mention of the king, as a leader, or even as a partaker of the congregation in their collective repentance; Which indicate that his talk concerns the period after the captivity, when Israel and Judah were without a king. (2) The prophet addresses his talk to Judah and Jerusalem, with no mention to the northern kingdom of Israel. (3) The prophet does not mention anything about an altar outside Jerusalem in Samariah, the capital of Israel. He does not as well, refer to the idol-worship, and that of Baal, that has prevailed in Israel and Judah, during and after the captivity. (4) The prophet calls the priests “The ministers of Jehovah”, a name known only much later after the captivity. A group of scholars confirm that the book of Joel was written about 400 BC, after the fall of Babylon (539 BC); having not mentioned its name; Before the time of Alexander the Great; having not mentioned the Greeks as a mighty opponent country, but only as one who traded in slaves (3: 3); Before the desolation of Sidon (3: 4); And after Nehemiah built the wall of Jerusalem in the year 445 BC (2: 9). 1 The pulpit Commentary, Joel, 1962. p VI. 2 Intemational Critical Comm, Joel, 1974. 3 Henrietta C.mears: What the Bible is all about, 1987. 4 اكتفیت بأهم العناصر كما أضفت إلیها أ ا رء الدارسین الآخرین. 5 Those, on the other hand, who say that Joel appeared before the captivity, believe that the previously mentioned proofs are all weak; and introduce their own proofs to contradict them1, of which are the following: (1) The prophet did not refer to the king, nor called on him to join the priests and the elders in repentance; Either because the king, at that time, was under age (Jehoash was seven years old when he became a king (2 Kings 11: 21); … Or because the king did not concern himself with the issues of agriculture – as the largest part of the book concentrated on the locust attacks that made the land barren and dry; … Or because the call to repentance was a call of the inner heart, and the prophet intended to bind the people to ritual spiritual work, rather than to preoccupy them with politics. (2) Not mentioning the idol-worship and that of Baal in particular, does not mean that the prophet wrote his book after the captivity; as although the rituals concerning Baal have been abolished by conformers; Yet, after the captivity, there was another diversion through the new occupational authority. Thus disregarding the old, as well as the new one, might be on account that the prophet was writing in a short and concise way, caring only for the positive aspect; namely, the worship of the living God, with a spiritual thought and sound rituals. (3) Several scholars confirm that some prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Amos in particular, have quoted certain phrases from Joel, and not the other way round. (4) If Joel came after the captivity, why has he not referred to it; especially in his talk about God’s judgment on the nations, and His chastisement of His own people?! His reference to the reversal of captivity, and the judgment on the nations that humiliated Israel, was rather as a futurist prophecy, yet to come (3: 2, 3). (5) The prophet refers to Egypt, as an opponent nation against Judah (3: 19), which does not apply to the time after captivity, but to that before it. On another aspect, he does not mention the Samerites, the Emmonites, and others, among the opponent nations to be judged after captivity; But mentioned the Phoenicians, Philistinians, and the Edomites, that were opponents before the captivity. (6) He does not refer to the existence of a northern kingdom of Israel, but speaks about ‘Israel’ as one people (2: 27; 3: 2, 16); On one aspect, As his ministry was concentrated on the kingdom of Judah, he does not have to talk about the northern kingdom; And on another aspect, by the spirit of prophecy, he looks at ‘Israel’ as an authentic name, not only of the people as a whole (the two kingdoms), but of the whole church of the New Testament. Besides, there is a third group of scholars, like: Konig, Orelli, Kirkpatrick, and Cameron, who divide the book into two divisions: A- Including the first two chapters 1 and 2, according to the Hebrew division (1, 2: 1 – 27); claiming them to be written before the captivity. B- Including the two chapters 2: (28-32) and 3; written after the captivity. But the majority of the scholars looks at the book as one unit in thought and language; believe that it was not written in two different eras; and that the Spirit did not inspire it through two authors. 1 The Pulpit Comm., P IX, X. J. H. Rulpit: O. T. Introduction, P 213: 214. 6 FEATURES OF THE BOOK: (1) When Joel listened to the horrible sound of the locust attacks that utterly devastated Judah; … When he saw how their pitch darkness filled the air, eclipsed the sun, turned everything gloomy, and transformed the green fields into a barren wilderness with not a single green leaf …; When he saw how they entered through openings into every room, with no savior in sight from that terrible army!! … When he saw all that, the prophet, with his delicate poetic sensitive nature, his flaring zeal, and his piercing insight, recognized the hidden hand of God, moving every single locust to occupy its designated position, for the sake of the chastisement and the judgment of evil. God revealed to His prophet yet another scenario, more bitter and cruel; namely that of other attacks by foreign armies, allowed by Him to chasten His people. In case they could not understand by the language of the locusts and that of the drought, He will talk to them with that of the killing, and the captivation by foreign armies… That is the day of the Lord, which will soon come to judge the evil; a day of darkness for the wicked. Yet, God would not leave His people without a Helper; But proclaims through His prophet, that He will pour His Holy Spirit on everyone, to prepare humanity for the ultimate day of the Lord … To be a Helper for them; so that the day of the Lord would become a day of darkness for the wicked, and a day of light for the righteous!! This book reveals God’s plan for mankind … When He speaks to them with every language; keeps nothing from them; and grants them even His Spirit, to prepare them for the day when He encounters them, brings them to dwell together with Him, and to enjoy His glories. (2) This book – as seen by some scholars -- is the book of pouring the Holy Spirit on mankind … If it is the book of “the day of the Lord”, in which He judges the sin and evil; Yet, He presents His Holy Spirit Who “Will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16: 8). … The Lord who has judged the sin in the body; Carried its curse on our behalf, to grant us His glorious life in us; … Having paid the wages of sin, He sent to us His Holy Spirit, in order to let us live with no debt; And granted us the righteousness of Jesus Christ our Lord. (3) Having watched how the horrible locusts burned every fruit in the fields; The prophet thought about how the sin has corrupted the vine and fig tree of the Lord, brought on a state of great dryness, fruitlessness; and voidance; and has withered away joy from the sons of men (1: 12)…. Because of all that, there was a great need for the work of the fiery Holy Spirit, to dwell on mankind, to bring them back to a state of fulfillment with God, and of joy in Him … If the fire of sin has devoured the open pastures (1: 20); the fire of the Holy Spirit will turn the wilderness into a divine paradise – fruitful and joyful. (4) The book of Joel is unique among all the other prophetic books, in assigning no certain date for his prophecy: He did not mention the names of the kings of Judah or of those of Israel, who were contemporary to him; His prophecy concentrates on “the day of the Lord” that is soon to come. … It is as though the divine inspiration proclaims that this is a prophecy intended for all generations; … That every human soul would anticipate the day of the Lord as being near at hand … in order to be prepared for it by the Holy Spirit dwelling in her; would judge herself, so as not to be judged; and would receive the reproach of the Spirit here, in order to enjoy the glory on that day … 7 (5) If the prophets as a whole have talked about the chastisements by God on His people, to make them return to Him and to His kingdom, presenting the Messianic work of salvation, and the appearance of the Son of David, the spiritual King, who would bring all nations to the bosom of His Father … ; Yet every prophet have dealt with the issue of repentance and the return to God from a certain angle: Isaiah, Amos, and Micah, spoke about the repentance through forsaking oppression; … Ezra and Nehemiah, through the consistent work in building the temple of God and the walls of Jerusalem; … While Jeremiah and Ezekiel, spoke about it through the reform of the inner heart, and not just through the outer formal appearances. … Joel, on the other hand, being the prophet of the living ecclesiastical ritual, that is not separate from the inner spiritual constructive one; … While looking toward Jerusalem, the temple, and the priests; he was also looking toward the inner Jerusalem, the hidden temple, and the screams of the heart! … The ritual in his eyes, is not formal duties to which the congregation are committed; but is an integrated part of the spiritual constructive life of the congregation in the Lord … (6) This book, like the previous one (of the prophet Hosea), is characterized by its care for the repentance, as a collective thought; Yet, without disregarding the personal relationship that connects the believer to his heavenly Groom; about which I talked in some detail in the introduction of the book of Hosea1. This trend is apparent here, in that “The Lord is zealous for His land (heritage), and pity His people” (2: 18); He sees every individual as a member in His body (the church), not on his own, nor self-centered … Having collectively partaken of the evil; the people are, as well, committed to the fellowship in repentance; each one of them, being a fellow member in the same body, is committed to support his brother. (7) If the prophet, on account of the circumstances surrounding him, is characterized by a prominent nationalism; portraying the Jewish society, as the representative of the Kingdom of God; Yet, talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit, he could not confine it to a specific nation or people; being the gift of God to all mankind (2: 28)…. He opens the door of hope to “whoever calls on the name of the Lord” (2: 32). (8) Concerning the style of his writing, Joel’s Hebrew language is highly refined and eloquent; characterized by simplicity, smoothness, clarity, and accuracy. Most of it is written in a delicate poetic, allegoric, and pictorial style. (9) Joel is called: “The prophet of the five books of Moses”; having quoted 25 times from them2. (10) He is also called: “The prophet of the Pentecost”; having presented us the promise of the Holy Spirit. If this book is “The Book of the Day of the Lord”; We, by the Spirit of God, see that day as a day of a joyful wedding, a day of an eternal resurrection, and of a conquest over death; Whereas the wicked, see it as a day of darkness and eternal judgment. DIVISIONS OF THE BOOK: A- The locust attacks, as “a preparation for the day of the Lord” 1. B- The attacks of enemies, as “a preparation for the day of the Lord” 2: 1 – 27. 1 ا رجع مقدمة سفر هوشع. 2 Boyd's Bible Handbook, 1983, P 320. 8 C- The dwelling of the Holy Spirit as “a preparation for the day of the Lord” 2: 28 – 32. D- The great day of the Lord 3