Book of Joel Chapter 2 Vs. 1

Book of Joel Chapter 2 Vs. 1



The Day of the Lord



Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; Joel 2:1


Blow ye the... Blowing the trumpet was a call to war (Joel. 2:15; 3:1-16). In the ancient world, horns were used to gather people for special occasions or to warn of danger (Exo. 19:13, 16, 19; 20:18; Num. 10:1-10; Isa. 27:13; Amos 3:6; Zeph. 1:14-16; Zec. 9:14; 1Thes. 4:16). The term here refers to a ram’s horn.

This is the call to worship with the blowing of the trumpet here. The trumpet blowing is an alarm that they must gather and repent of their sins. I would say it is time today to blow the warning trumpet in the church. God will not always look the other way for the abominable sins that are going on in our nation today.

Homosexuality, which God speaks of as an abomination, is an accepted lifestyle in our land. Profanity is so commonplace, even little children know the words. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

let all the... Their trembling was because of the sins they had committed. Our trembling should be for the same reason. Just as John the Baptist shouted, Repent, for the Lord is coming, it should be the cry of every Christian today. The Lord is coming. The "day of the LORD" speaks of a time of judgment.



The Coming Day of the Lord


In this section the theme in Joel 1:15 is more fully developed as details about the approaching day of the Lord are given. Joel spoke of the Lord as a mighty Warrior-King leading His powerful army into battle. If one posits a preexilic date, the Assyrians or Babylonians may be in view. Both are pictured in the Old Testament as instruments of the Lord’s judgment (cf. Isa. 10:5-15 on Assyria; and Jer. 27:4-11; 51:20-25; Hab. 1:5-12 on Babylon). Other Bible scholars, who hold a preexilic date, say the army in Joel 2:1-11 is eschatological, possibly equated with the army in Joel 2:20; 3:9, 3:12; Dan. 11:40; and Zec. 14:2.

If a postexilic date is taken, it is uncertain to which nation the section alludes. The army would then take on a more indefinite, apocalyptic character (cf. Wolff, Joel and Amos, pp. 7, 42), perhaps representing Israel’s enemies in general.

As noted under “Major Interpretive Problems” in the Introduction, this invading force is described in locust-like terms to establish continuity with Joel 1:1-20. At the same time the comparisons to a literal army (Joel 2:4-5, 2:7) hint at the reality in view.

Within this section, four units are discernible (Joel 2:1-2, 2:3-5, 2:6-9, 2:10-11), the last three being introduced by “before them” (Joel 2:3, 2:10) or “at the sight of them” (Joel 2:6). Joel 2:1-2 correspond to Joel 2:10-11 thematically, forming a bracket around the section. These two units focus on the fearful response caused by the approaching army (Joel 2:1, 2:10), the darkness which accompanies it (Joel 2:2, 2:10), and its extraordinary size (Joel 2:2, 2:11). Two of these motifs appear (in reverse order) at the center of the section. Joel 2:5 refers to the army’s great size and Joel 2:6 to the response of fear by people from many nations. Two motifs appear in Joel 2:3-5 : the army is like a destructive fire (Joel 2:3), and it charges relentlessly ahead (Joel 2:4-5). Both ideas are repeated in Joel 2:5 and Joel 2:7-9, respectively.



The nearness of the Lord’s army

The section begins with a call of alarm, emphasizing the nearness of the invader. The trumpet (šôp̬ār) was a ram’s horn, blown by a watchman to alert the people of great danger (cf. Jer. 4:5-6; Eze. 33:2-6). The appropriate response was fear (tremble; cf. Amos 3:6), especially in this instance since the day of the Lord was coming. Holy hill (cf. Psm. 2:6; 3:4; 15:1; 24:3; 78:54; Dan. 9:16, 9:20; Oba. 1:16; Zeph. 3:11) refers to the temple mount.