Verses 21-29 continue to focus on the future blessings that the nation of Israel will experience due to their restored relationship to the LORD. In fact, verse 25 states that the blessings of that time will far exceed the suffering endured from past judgment.
Joel 2:25 “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.”
Double emphasis is given in verses 26-27 that the people of Israel will never again experience shame or disappointment. Why? YHWH will be dwelling in their midst, and they will worship Him as LORD. No thought of false gods will ever tempt them again.
Joel 2:26-27 “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.”
Not only will the LORD be ruling on the throne of David in Jerusalem, He is also going to pour out His Spirit upon His people to empower them.
Joel 2:28-29 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.”
At verse 30 the message of the prophet tempers their expectation of future blessing with the reminder of the judgment that will precede it. The Father has declared His word, and His character demands that He does what He says. His character also allows for restoration of His people after judgment.
Verses 30-31 again reference physical phenomena in the heavens and on earth that will be associated with this judgment.
Joel 2:30-31 “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”
These verses affirm that this judgment will impact the whole earth—not just Israel—and tie directly back to verse 2. I couldn’t help but think back to the fact that God used signs and wonders to declare Himself to Pharaoh, and He will do the same again in declaring Himself not only to His own people, but to the nations as well during the coming “great and terrible day of the LORD.” The same Hebrew word for wonders is used in verse 30 as is used in Deuteronomy below.
Deuteronomy 6:22 “And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:”
The book of Revelation is full of descriptions of the wonders that God will do in heaven and earth using blood, fire and smoke. Only in Acts and Revelation do we find companion verses for verse 31.
Acts 2:20 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:”
Revelation 6:12 “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;”
The verse in Revelation is a result of the opening of the 6th seal that is specifically identified as the beginning of the day of God’s wrath (in anger and vengeance against His enemies).
Revelation 6:16-17 “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Verse 20 in Acts and the verse that follows indicate that Peter is also prophesying about the coming time of God’s judgment with the intent of producing repentance in the heart of those who hear the message.
Acts 2:21 “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This ties directly to the next verse in Joel.
Joel 2:32 “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered….”
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