Joel 2:1-3
Summary for Joel 2:1-11: 2:1-11 a Some regard this section as a second account of the locust plague described in ch 1 b, but in ch 1 c, the plague is in the past, whereas in this section, the verb tenses seem to depict it as a future event. Thus, others see it as a warning of yet another locust plague. Still other commentators have understood this passage as an apocalyptic description of the coming day of the Lord, using the language of a locust plague to describe an invading human army. 2:1 d When an ancient city was attacked, the watchmen on the city wall would raise the alarm by blowing the trumpet, a ram’s horn instrument called a shofar (see also 2:15 e), to call all the defenders to repel the enemy.2:2 f Some religious leaders had taught the people of Jerusalem and Judah that the day of the Lord would be a time of blessing for God’s people. Echoing the prophet Zephaniah (Zeph 1:15 g), Joel proclaimed that it would instead be a day of darkness and gloom (see also Amos 5:18-20 h).
2:3 i The destruction wrought by the invading army would be like a raging wildfire. Before the attack, the land looked like the Garden of Eden, but afterwards, it would be nothing but desolation (a reversal of Isa 51:3 j and Ezek 36:35 k).
Copyright information for
TNotes