60…ON LOCUSTS’ WINGS…JOEL

Based on the book of Joel (Jl)…Read more there.

The ‘Minor’ Prophets are no more in chronological order than much of the rest of the Bible, & we don’t know when Jl lived or wrote the book bearing his name. Between the 8th & 4th centuries BC has been suggested, with c. 400 BC a ballpark in some scholars’ eyes. Some think Jl may be from the pen of ‘the Chronicler’ responsible for the books of Chronicles (muchly based on the books of Kings). However, the contents are more important than any date!

The book begins with locusts in plague proportions attacking northern Israel. Likening these locusts to an invading army, Jl uses them to warn against a coming day of judgment, ‘the day of the Lord’ [Ch.1:15]. This is a theme Jl develops & that will later feature in the N.T. Jl seizes on this plague of locusts to attack the people’s disobedience to YHWH with a spray of ‘Repent’! Offerings of produce in the Temple have dropped off, maybe as a result of crop devastation by the locusts & this in itself concerns Jl who seems to be Temple oriented, though seemingly not a priest [1]. This kind of imagery & theme continues to Ch.2:17 after which the ‘flavour’ changes to one of hopeful expectation on God’s part & for the people. (Not unlike the hope held out by (2nd) Isaiah.

The trumpet blast at the beginning of Ch.2 imitates the terror such a warning would cause should an actual attack or invasion be imminent. It’s a bit scary, but Jl clearly means it to be! Taylor calls Ch.2:12-14 ‘one of the finest passages in the prophets’ [2]. It is a ‘hinge’ opening the promise & expectation of better things ahead if the people do indeed turn to God. It is well worth taking on board!

As Moses had once prophetically willed God’s Spirit to inhabit all His people, not just those called & recognised as Prophets [Num.11:29] now Jl foretells this will actually happen as a feature of the afore-mentioned ‘day of the Lord’. Peter latches onto this passage [Ch. 2:28 or 3:1 depending on how the version of the Bible we use has been edited] to interpret Pentecost to the crowd (& to his fellow Apostles, probably) [Acts 2: 16-21 of the N.T.] This same passage has been a keystone of the ‘pentecostal’ & ’charismatic’ movements in the Church. ‘This may be another instance of the O.T. prophet being inspired to speak better than he knew’ [3]. 

After the good news of Ch. 2:28 - Ch. 3, for the Hebrews who’ve repented, the rest of Ch. 3, or, Ch. 4 end (depending on your editing) comes with another serve for nations that have mis-treated YHWH God’s people. They will suffer the same fate as they have meted out to others as punishment for the way they’ve been implicated in ill-treating Israel & its people! Jl echoes the famous words of (1st) Isaiah & Micah about turning swords into ploughshares ….The passage & the book end with a glorious YHWH-God-centred future in a Jerusalem-centred Day of the Lord.

And still there’s more to come…61: Only a herdsman…Amos

Notes: [1] John B. Taylor suggests ‘temple prophet’ as a description of Joel. (The Minor Prophets, S.U., London, 1970.) I take this to mean he thinks of him as operating in the Temple precinct. [2] Taylor, op. cit. p.23. This passage is set as a reading for Ash Wednesday in APBA. [3] Taylor, op. cit. p.24.

Q:  Is there anything / anyone we turn to with all our heart more than YHWH God?