Bible Commentaries
Joel 1

Verse 1

Joe 1:1. There were a great many men bearing the name of Joel in the Old Testament time, hence it was proper for the writer of our book to designate which one was meant. The statement that the word of the Lord came to Joel is equivalent to saying that the book is inspired of the Lord.

Verse 2

Joe 1:2. The idea of this verse is that the condition about to be de¬scribed was without a likeness, either in the present or the following days.

Verse 3

Joe 1:3. Tell ye your children is a general instruction to spread the information to ali generations both present and future.

Verse 4

Joe 1:4. The subject that is referred to in the foregoing verses is now introduced in this. I have consulted various books on the subject of these pests as to whether they were literal or figurative, and there is left still the uncertainty among them as to the true answer. However, the purposes of the lesson to be derived will be the same, whether the literal or figurative view be taken. We know from Deu 28:38-39; 1Ki 8:37; Lev 26:16 and such other passages, that the Lord did afflict the land with lit¬eral pests at times as a chastisement of the people. And we also know that the country was short of being as true to God as it should have been when Joel lived, and was deserving of some kind of judgment from the Lord for the same, It was also true that God intended to punish his people by the hand of a foreign army, and the pests could have reference to that. Or, the locusts and other insects could have been literal, and then used by the Lord as a type of the invading army that was to be let loose upon the land to take away all its wealth. I shad leave this question to the consideration of the reader, and proceed to comment on the several chapters and verses in their order, explaining the various terms as they are used.

Verse 5

Joe 1:5, The leaders of the nation were selfish and indulged themselves in the luxuries of the land to the detri¬ment of the people. Weep . . . because of the neto wine means for them to weep because It was to he cut off from their mouth. This would have been true whether literal pests were to de¬stroy the products of the land, or they were to be cut off by an invading army.

Verse 6

Joe 1:6, The language of this verse is a strong indication that the Lord means an army from a heathen country, for the descriptive terms certainly apply to such.

Verse 7

Joe 1:7. The grammatical form of this verse is in the past or present tense, but that is a common thing to find among prophetic writings. As the fruitbearing plants would be rendered barren by being treated as it is here described, so the invasion by a foreign army would destroy the products of the land as far as their moral and political usefulness was concerned.

Verse 8

Joe 1:8. The nation of Israel has always been compared to a companion in the marriage relation. The word virgin might seem to be contradictory of a woman who is supposed to be a wife. The word is from BICTITUWLAH, which Strong defines, “Feminine past participle of an unused root meaning to separate; a virgin (from her pri¬vacy); sometimes (by continuation) a bride.” The idea is to compare Israel to a woman who was put away from her husband in their early married life, and compelled to live alone as if she were a virgin. The fulfillment of it was to be when Israel was sent away from the husband's home (Palestine) and made to live among Btrangers. A young woman in such a situation would follow the custom of the day and clothe herself with this coarse materia! which we know as common sacking.

Verse 9

Joe 1:9. It was true that the ser¬vices of the altar had been literally neglected and abused, but as a proph¬ecy the time was coming when such practices would be stopped altogether, for God would not permit his people to attempt them in a heathen country.

Verse 10

Joe 1:10, This verse is a prediction of the condition to come upon the land after the invasion of the Babylonian army.

Verse 11

Joe 1:11. The leaders of the nation are likened to husbandmen and vinedressers. But they had abused their position in the fjord's vineyard and hence were destined Lo be deprived of all their privileges. Be ye ashamed is a prediction of the humiliation that was to be imposed upon them by the power of a foreign army.

Verse 12

Joe 1:12. There is nothing new in this verse, but it is a repetition of the devastation awaiting the unfaithful nation to be effected by the hand of Babylon.

Verse 13

Joe 1:13. Gird yourselves means for them to be prepared in mind for what was to come. It could not indicate that they were to prepare a defence against the enemy, for it had been declared many times that the invasion was bound to come, and that it would be according to the Lord's decree. The rest of the verse is the same as several of the preceding ones as to the general devastation to come on the land.

Verse 14

Joe 1:14. The law of Moses did not require fasting as a regular practice, hut on special occasions the Lord called for it, and the present is one of them. Most of the gatherings had been turned into mere formalities that left no beneficial results upon the minds of the people. Now the Lord calls for them to sanctify a fast, which means to put on a season of fasting that, is holy because it is sincere and observed from respect for God, The leaders were to assemble the people in the temple because that was the lawful place for public worship and prayers to God, They were to cry unto the Lord because of the great, tniqutty of the land, and the distress that it was going to bring upon it as a punishment.

Verse 15

Verse 15. Bay of the Lord denotes that the calamity about to be inflicted upon the nation would be by the de¬cree Of Him.

Verse 16

Joe 1:16. The word for meat is defined in the lexicon as “food’' because it refers to anything that may be eaten, The prediction is that there was to be a shortage of necessary sup¬plies, Such a condition would render the exercises of God that were in His house a time of solemnity instead of joy and gladness.

Verse 17

Joe 1:17. These conditions are to he understood in the same light as such verses as Joe 1:9-12. Whether it was ail to come literally or figuratively, ihe cause of it was the evil conduct of the nation.

Verse 18

Joe 1:18. This is more along the same line as the preceding verse.

Verse 19

Joe 1:19, Hath ordinarily would denote a condition already present, but whether it was ail history or part prophecy, the point is that God was angry because of the iniquity of His people and determined to punish them.

Verse 20

Joe 1:20, The beast could not intelligently cry unto God, but their cry would be caused by His visitation of judgment upon the land as a chastisement for the unfaithfulness of its inhabitants