Joel: the day of the LORD and the Spirit poured out
Joel sees in a plague of locusts the coming day of the LORD, calls the people to return to God with their whole heart, and promises that God will pour out his Spirit on all people.
About the book
Joel's name means ‘the LORD is God’. The book introduces him only as "Joel son of Pethuel" (Joel 1:1) and names no king. He clearly spoke to Judah and Jerusalem, to the priests of the temple and the people, but when is uncertain.
Tradition and scholarship both vary. On an early date, Joel spoke in the ninth century BC, when Joash became king at seven and the priest Jehoiada guided him (2 Kings 12:2): the Hebrew Bible sets Joel between Hosea and Amos, the book has priests and elders but no king, and its enemies are Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Egypt and Edom rather than Assyria or Babylon. The map under the Jesus tab, like this view, places it in the divided monarchy (930–586 BC). Many scholars date it after the exile, in the fifth or fourth century: no king fits that time, Judah's people have been scattered among the nations (Joel 3:2), and Greeks are named (Joel 3:6). Some lines are shared with Amos and Obadiah (Joel 3:16, Amos 1:2); many scholars think Joel borrowed them, while those who hold the early date think the borrowing ran the other way. Others place Joel just before the exile. On any date, his call is the same.
How it unfolds
| Chapters | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | A plague of locusts: harvest and offerings fail; the day is near |
| 2:1–17 | Locusts like an army; the call to return with the whole heart |
| 2:18–32 | The land restored, and the Spirit poured out on all people |
| 3 | The nations judged, Zion restored |
Key passages
Swarm after swarm of locusts stripped the land (Joel 1:4), and in it Joel saw something greater: "Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near" (Joel 1:15). The day of the LORD is the day when God himself comes to judge evil and to save his people. Israel looked for it as the day their enemies would fall, but the prophets warned that for God's own sinful people too it would be "a day of darkness and gloom" (Joel 2:2). They saw that day in judgements close at hand, and beyond them the final judgement and salvation. The New Testament speaks of Christ's return as "the Day of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
Before that day, God calls:
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
Joel 2:12-13
Tearing one's clothes was a sign of grief; God wants the heart itself to turn. He promises to repay "the years eaten by locusts" (Joel 2:25), and then something greater:
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My menservants and maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
Joel 2:28-29
In Israel's story the Spirit had come on a few, prophets and kings; Joel looks to a day when the Spirit comes on young and old, men and women, servants and free. And "everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved" (Joel 2:32).
The book and Christ
When the Spirit came on the disciples at Pentecost, Peter said, "this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16), and quoted Joel 2:28-32. The risen and exalted Jesus "has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear" (Acts 2:33). The English pastor Matthew Henry writes, "The promise began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost" Matthew Henry. What the Spirit does in believers today is the subject of What the Holy Spirit does, in the New Believers course.
Paul quotes Joel, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13), of all who confess "Jesus is Lord" (Romans 10:9), Jew and Greek alike. The name of the LORD on which Joel told Israel to call, the New Testament calls on as the name of the Lord Jesus.
Reading it
Three chapters make one sitting; begin with Joel 1, and then read Acts 2. Joel's words in 2:13, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, echo the name God proclaimed to Moses (Exodus 34:6) and come back in Jonah. Next comes Amos.
Practice
- Practice 1 of 6
What plague stripped the land in Joel 1?
- Practice 2 of 6
What does Joel 2:13 tell the people to tear?
- Practice 3 of 6
What is true of the day of the LORD, as the prophets speak of it?
- Practice 4 of 6
At Pentecost, which promise of Joel did Peter say had come true?
- Practice 5 of 6
In Romans 10:12-13, who does Paul say will be saved?
- Practice 6 of 6
What is true of the date of Joel?
Reading to the end marks it read; tap to switch it.
Related topics
Lessons from the Bible, the church's creeds and classic commentary. Each book's author and date are given as the church has received them, and scholars who see them otherwise are presented fairly. Scripture quotations: BSB.