Joe 3:3 | KingComments | STEP | Here we see another charge. The nations divided among themselves the Judeans who were taken captive in the occupation of Jerusalem by lot and treated them as merchandise (cf. ; ; ). In this way, the nations have treated Israel with appalling disregard for human dignity. They have not sold their ‘slaves’ to become richer through it, not to benefit from it, but only to fulfill their carnal desires. The enemies of Israel have taken advantage of foreign domination by appropriating the riches and land of Israel. And the conquerors have handed the inhabitants over to the enemies in order to satisfy their lowest passions. They have taken what is God’s in order to enjoy themselves. They have paid the services of a harlot with a Jewish boy. What Joel describes here has taken place regularly throughout history, among other occasions after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70. Nearly one and a half million inhabitants of Jerusalem and the surrounding area died in that terrible battle. More than one hundred thousand Jews were captured. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus describes that Titus acted with these Jews as follows: ‘All who were under the age of 17 were sold publicly; of the remaining, some were killed instantly, some were sent to the Egyptian mines to work there (which was worse than death), some were withheld to fight with wild animals as a public attraction in the main cities; only the greatest and most beautiful were spared to join the triumphant march to Rome.’ That was how it was then. Jews were sold for a bit of barley. That is how thousands were disposed of. And so the history of this people has been through the ages. Not so long ago they were transported en masse as beasts from all parts of Europe to concentration camps to be gassed there. And history is not over yet. The “time of Jacob’s distress” ( ) is yet to come, a time that has not been there from the beginning of the world until then ( ). But also the day will come when the LORD will avenge all the evil that has been done to His people.

‏ Joel 3:3

People as Merchandise

Here we see another charge. The nations divided among themselves the Judeans who were taken captive in the occupation of Jerusalem by lot and treated them as merchandise (cf. Jdg 5:30; Oba 1:11; Est 3:7). In this way, the nations have treated Israel with appalling disregard for human dignity. They have not sold their ‘slaves’ to become richer through it, not to benefit from it, but only to fulfill their carnal desires.

The enemies of Israel have taken advantage of foreign domination by appropriating the riches and land of Israel. And the conquerors have handed the inhabitants over to the enemies in order to satisfy their lowest passions. They have taken what is God’s in order to enjoy themselves. They have paid the services of a harlot with a Jewish boy.

What Joel describes here has taken place regularly throughout history, among other occasions after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70. Nearly one and a half million inhabitants of Jerusalem and the surrounding area died in that terrible battle. More than one hundred thousand Jews were captured.

The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus describes that Titus acted with these Jews as follows: ‘All who were under the age of 17 were sold publicly; of the remaining, some were killed instantly, some were sent to the Egyptian mines to work there (which was worse than death), some were withheld to fight with wild animals as a public attraction in the main cities; only the greatest and most beautiful were spared to join the triumphant march to Rome.’

That was how it was then. Jews were sold for a bit of barley. That is how thousands were disposed of. And so the history of this people has been through the ages. Not so long ago they were transported en masse as beasts from all parts of Europe to concentration camps to be gassed there. And history is not over yet. The “time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer 30:7) is yet to come, a time that has not been there from the beginning of the world until then (Mt 24:21). But also the day will come when the LORD will avenge all the evil that has been done to His people.