Introduction
Joel is a fascinating little book. Whilst his prophecy consists of only three chapters – a total of 73 verses – it has a very wide-ranging scope. Not only did Joel speak of momentous, earth-shattering events that were taking place in his own days, but through the Spirit he was also able to foresee significant events that were to have a tremendous impact upon the early New Testament ecclesias, in particular how the Jewish nation would be overthrown for its disobedience, and the purpose of God would be opened up to incorporate the Gentiles. Joel’s prophecy also speaks in great detail about the days in which we live, leading up to the most dramatic event of all time – the establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
The prophet Joel
It is a fundamental principle of scripture truth that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), and that “the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). This is no less true of the prophecy of Joel. Every single word of this prophecy is God-given, and therefore profitable to us, and this must include the title of the book. So we begin our study by enquiring why this particular prophecy bears the name that it does. Why is it the prophecy of Joel?
The names of the prophets are very often relevant to the message that they spoke. Elijah the Tishbite is a good example. His ministry was to a large extent a campaign for the vindication of the God of Israel. Ahab and Jezebel, and many of the inhabitants of the ten tribe kingdom had turned their backs on the true God, in favour of Baal, and so Elijah was sent by God to oppose such, and to show them by his ministry that Yahweh was indeed the true God – and the prophet’s name means “My God is Yah”. His name summarised the purpose of his ministry. Things came to a head on Mount Carmel, with the great contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, at the end of which the people themselves were provoked to cry out, “Yahweh, he is the God; Yahweh, he is the God” (1 Kings 18:39). By Divine appointment, the name of Elijah the prophet was most appropriate to the whole substance of his ministry.
The same is true of the prophet Joel. In fact, it is an interesting observation that Joel’s name is really simply the reverse of the name of Elijah. Joel means “Yah is God”, and he prophesied at a time when once again the authority of Israel’s God was being called into question, just as it had been in the days of Elijah the Tishbite. A proud Gentile monarch had invaded the land, and was threatening the very existence of the kingdom of Judah, and he was boasting that the God of Israel was proving unable to deliver His people: “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” (Joel 2:17). As for the inhabitants of Judah themselves, they had become complacent. They had become wealthy, and they were living lives of luxury, such that their dependance upon God was diminished. Their faith in God was weak through self-indulgence, and neglect of God’s ways, and they looked at the military successes that the Gentile monarch was having as he swept through the land of Judah like a plague of locusts, and they were calling into question who really was the true God – was it Yahweh, or the god of the Gentiles? They were beginning to doubt the very existence of the God of heaven, and that He was dwelling in their midst.
The prophet Joel was thus sent to stir them up to repentance, and to encourage them that if they held fast to the faith, God would not forsake them: “And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Yahweh your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed” (Joel 2:27).
This is the burden of the prophecy of Joel, and it has important lessons to teach us, even though we live over two thousand years after the days of Joel. We also live in a very materialistic age, and in the western world we enjoy lives of ease and plenty. It is very easy for us to become swept up in the spirit of the age, and to lose sight of the fact that what should matter to us more than anything else is the Truth. So this prophecy is relevant to us, and one of the objectives of this study is to dispel any doubts that the God that we worship – the God of Israel – is indeed the true God.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One