01/23/2021 – Day 251 – Joel 1 – 3// A Plague of Locusts / The Coming Day of God / Prediction of Gospel Age and Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
My intro and the first two chapters are taken directly out of Halley’s Bible Handbook and the last chapter are excerpts from Chapter 3 from Matthew Henry’s comentary. And I will put my comments in parenthesis such as (Jimmy: ……)
I took my title from Halley’s as well. Let’s jump in!:
“Like Zephaniah, it is a book of Coming Judgment. Like Revelation, it forecasts the Earth’s Harvest (3:13 14; Revelation 15:15, 16).
Joel’s Date
It is not indicated in the book itself. Usually considered one of the earliest of the prophets of Judah, in the time of Joash (about 830 b.c.), or possibly in the reign of Uzziah (about 750 b.c.)
Chapters 1: 1-2 – 2:27. The Plague of Locusts
An appalling famine, caused by an unprecedented plague of locusts, followed by prolonged drouth, had devastated the land. The locust is an insect, resembling a large grasshopper. The four different names used in 1:4 indicate species of locusts, or different stages of growth. Vast clouds of locusts , darkening the sun, swarming upon the earth, devastating every green thing, brought the people to their knees, God heard their cry, removed the locusts , and promised an era of prosperity. These locusts suggest, and my be typical of , those in Revelation 9: 1-11.
Chapters 2:28 – 2:32 (Jimmy: “God’s Spirit Poured Out” in my Bible)
In Acts 2:17 -21 , Peter quotes Joel 2:28 – 2:32 as a prediction of “the day” he was inaugerating. This means that God intended the passage as a forecast of the Gospel era.
Chapter 3: (Jimmy: “God Judges the Nations”)
3:2 – “I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have cast lots for My people.
Check out this link re: The Valley of Jehoshaphat as it is contextually important here.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/jehoshaphat-valley-of/
Joel 3: 13: “Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow ——– For their wickidness is great.”
Connecting verses:
Matthew 13:30: “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘ First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ “
Matthew 13:39: “The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. And then verses 40 – 43: Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age, The Son of Man will send out His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of the fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
From verse 19, Matthew Henry comments: “The quarrel of God has with these kingdoms is for their violence against the children of Judah; See Ezekiel 25: 3, 8, 12, 15 ; and Ezekiel 26:2. ” For Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, and those in Tyre, respectively.
And lest we forget God’s promises to Abram (Abraham later), the last of which in Genesis 12:3 is: “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” And once again, Paul noted that we have been grafted into the root of Israel. So, we should not boast.
Do not think for a minute that the departure of Trump and the arrival of a return again of Satan’s marxist minions doesn’t have an impact on America from the verses above. Our perfect God has a perfect track record of keeping His promises.
And of the amazing changes from 3: 15-16, Matthew Henry comments: “The sun and the moon shall be darkened , as before , chapter 2:31. Their glory and lustre shall be eclipsed by the far greater brightness of that glory in which the Judge shall then appear.
V. The different impressions which that day will make. 1. To the wicked it will be a terrible day, The Lord shall then speak from Zion and Jerusalem, from the throne of His glory. His speaking will be to the wicked, terrible as the roaring of a lion (for so the word signifies), 2. To the righteous it will be a joyful day. Their longings shall be satisfied: The Lord will be the hope of His people. He will be the harbour, of his people (so the word is), their home. Their happiness shall be confirmed. Their holiness shall be completed (v 17): Then shall Jerusalem be holy, the holy city indeed. The gospel-church is a holy society, even in its militant state, but will never be holiness itself till it comes to be triumphant. There shall not enter into the New Jerusalem anything that defiles or works iniquity. So shall you know that I am the Lord your God. It is a experimental knowledge, They shall find him their hope and strength in the worst of times, and so they shall know that he is the Lord their God.
And I am reading from Harvey Dozier’s copy of Matthew Henry’s commentary. Harvey was Nancy’s maternal grandfather. Now he is :
“E.T. Home!” Harvey underlined verses with a ruler. The section above is one solid underline. And in his notes too on the margin, the printing of a draftsman. You were on it Harvey by God’s grace!
Alway connected by His grace!; Soli Deo Gloria!