Joel 3:9-21To: Joel Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page Joel 3:9"Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack."txzo marks that what follows is not for the Jews, but for the armies already mentioned in Joel 2:7, the armies of the King of the North. Jeremiah 6:4 makes a comparable statement: "Prepare for battle!" And the term "nations" refers to the Gentiles. Here is our Lord challenging, even provoking, the enemy armies to advance upon Jerusalem. The sarcasm of the challenge is apparent to us, but not the enemy armies; they are confident, they are arrogant, they are stalwart paladins nothing can withstand. Joel 3:10"Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, 'I am strong.'"In this verse the sarcasm is cogent: the arrogant ones, they are in reality the weaklings; but they believe they are "strong." They are to convert their implements of peace into weapons; they are to manufacture arms rather than farm machinery. Their entire economy is to change to a warlike status. And only after this use of their farming tools as weapons, will the opposite be true: one final battle, Armageddon, will convert the arms to plowshares, but only Christ can accomplish this during the forthcoming Millennium. Compare Isaiah 4:2 and Micah 4:3 with this verse. Joel 3:11,12"Come quickly all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord! Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side."Here, all the Kings of the four power spheres of the Tribulation are summoned to do battle with the Lamb of God. The gauntlet is thrown down! Assemble your armies at Jerusalem. They, the "nations," the unbelieving Gentiles of the Tribulation, will be judged in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And the phrase "bring down your warriors, O Lord" might also read "cause the mighty ones to shatter (fall down), O Lord!" Joel 3:13"Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow -- so great is their wickedness!"The "sickle" or "pruning knife" cuts down the fruit, which are the enemy soldiers. "For the harvest is ripe" refers to the end of the Tribulation. The time is right -- the time is now. The Second Advent occurs at precisely the correct moment. Anti-Semitism is at its pinnacle. And "great is their wickedness" means that evil, hate, violence, and lawlessness have reached the saturation point -- it can get no worse. [1] The "winepress" is the treading basin of the vintner and it is filled with the enemy unbelieving Gentiles; below it is the "wine vat," where the grape-juice (blood) collects after the grapes have been trampled. And it overflows, just as the evil it represents has overflowed. And the white gown of our Lord as the vintner will be stained by the juice, as in Isaiah 63:1-6. Joel 3:14"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision."The first use of "multitudes" refers to the evangelism of the Jews during the Tribulation; the second use refers to the evangelism of the Gentiles during this same period. And they are said to be "in the valley of decision;" the "valley" here is world evangelism during the Tribulation, and "the decision" is to believe in Christ or not. "What think ye of Christ?" Unbelieving humanity must decide. And the climax is judgment and destruction. [2] Joel 3:15"The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine."Here, once again, is the supernatural darkness just prior to the Second Advent of our Lord. And now we have another, and third, function of this supernatural darkness introduced: evangelism! 1. As we saw, the darkness protects the believing Jews. 3. It provides a final, culminating opportunity for the unbelievers of the Tribulation to concentrate and decide about Christ. Remember, no light will light, no match will strike, no flashlight will work, no switch will produce light. Total, complete, unyielding darkness surrounds everything. Thus, people, when confronted with this supernatural darkness will have to contemplate and meditate upon the gospel and Christ. [3] Joel 3:16"The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel."The Hebrew word for "roar" describes the victorious cry of a soldier as he destroys his foe. And "refuge" is a "hope;" while a "stronghold" is a "strength." These two terms are used together in Isaiah 25:4, which says, "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall." Joel 3:17"Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.""Then you will know" is a reference to the full knowledge of Christ that will pervade the souls of all believers during the Millennial reign of our Lord. This 'full knowledge' has already been discussed in Joel 2:27-29. And God "will dwell on Zion, my holy mountain;" this statement (ywdq-rh zvycb zkw) is also found in Isaiah 8:18, which says, "Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion." The Shekinah Glory will dwell, not as an effulgence, but as a Person, the theanthropic Person, the God-Man, on Mount Zion. And no "foreigners," i.e., Gentiles, will pass through the city of Jerusalem. Remember, the Jews inherit the land of the covenants; it belongs to them, and not to the Gentiles. And no foreign invader will ever again hold hegemony over it. [4] Isaiah 52:1 puts it thusly, "Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again." And Nahum 1:15 puts it this way, "Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed." Joel 3:18"In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord's house and will water the valley of acacias."This verse is echoed in Amos 9:13-15. And both writers, Joel and Amos, provide pictures of the tremendous prosperity that will constitute the Millennial reign of our Lord. And the "fountain that flows out of the Lord's house" will be literal waters, but they also imply great spiritual blessings and refreshment of soul and spirit. These waters manifest signs of life. This is in contrast to the words of our Lord in Jeremiah 2:13, "My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and they have hewn out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which cannot hold water." There is a vast difference between water stored in a receptacle that grows stagnant, and living water from a cool, clear spring. One depicts the blandness of spiritual apostasy, the other presents the absolute Truth as it comes from God. One may slake the thirst, but it tastes bitter; the other refreshes as it restores vitality. [5] The "acacias" represent perfect prosperity to all mankind during the Millennial reign of Christ. The term 'acacia' refers to the Shittah Tree; its wood was used in the tabernacle, for the woodwork of the Ark of the Covenant, the altars and their staves, the table, the boards, bars and pillars, according to Exodus 25:5,10,13,23; 26:15,26,32; 27:1,6; 30:1,5. The wood was plentiful in the wilderness of Sinai and was prized for its strength and durability. In the Ark of the Covenant the gold represented the deity of Christ, and the acacia wood represented the humanity of Christ; and together they formed the God-Man, true God and true Humanity in one, unique Person. And during the Millennium, the Humanity of our Lord will be manifest to all of mankind, everyday. [6] Joel 3:19"But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood."All the past enemies of the Jews will be shattered for their anti-Semitism, from which followed persecution and violence to the Jews. The first persecutors of the Jews are depicted by the term "Egypt;" and the last of Israel's persecutors are depicted in the term "Edom." For "Edom" came to be a Hebraism for all of the Roman Empire: "Edom was another anathema to Israel. It was personified by Esau -- in original Hebrew, Ghashu, the "Presser" or Incubus -- distinctively described as "sha'ir" (goatish, hairy, satyresque, the "nature of the beast"). With the Judiazation of Edom, Esau becomes symbolic of the whole Roman Empire: its abolition of circumcision and its adulation of murder, rape, plunder, and homosexuality." [7] Thus all the oppressors of Jews are encompassed by these two terms, from the Egyptians to the Romans in 70 AD. And this analysis and interpretation is confirmed by Obadiah 1:9-14, from which verses 9 and 10 are herein quoted, "Your warriors, O Teman, will be terrified, and everyone in Esau's mountains will be cut down in slaughter. Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever." Joel 3:20,21"Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon. The Lord dwells in Zion!"Here Israel will be gathered and restored forever and ever, as per the unconditional covenants. The phrase "their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon" (yTmqnv MmADA) would be better rendered, "I will avenge the blood which I have not avenged." , [8,9] This is a prominent statement of judgment: God will deal with the enemies of Israel, his personal property, through His perfect Justice. "The Lord dwells in Zion!" is the permanent future of Israel. The people of God have an everlasting future in Zion. Jesus Christ controls history; and Israel's future history has already been written and is assured because of the One being called Faithful and True. Notes: [1] Thieme, Robert. Joel [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid. [4] The interpretation, here, is based on the scholarship of Robert Thieme, and Hans Walter Wolff. [5] The interpretation, here, is based on the scholarship of Merrill F. Unger and Hans Walter Wolff. [6] The terminology utilized here is borrowed from Robert Thieme. [7] Edwardes, Allen. Erotica Judaica; page 74. [8] Owens, John Joseph. Analytical Key To The Old Testament; page 800. [9] Thieme, Robert. Notes on Joel; 1976. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. 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