III. (1) THAT TIME. — The whole course of the events of the world is shown to lead up by Divine providence to the Great Day of the Lord, when “the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the Lord shall be exalted.” Then will be “the times of the restitution of all things;” t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT. — Some fifty years before Joel prophesied the kingdom of Judah had been menaced by an imposing confederacy of hostile tribes. It was an occasion of great anxiety. A national fast was proclaimed, and after it Jehoshaphat engaged and completely routed the enemy in a valley i... [ Continue Reading ]
CAST LOTS... — The nations who oppressed and carried away the Jews treated them as chattels, cast lots for the possession of them as slaves, and purchased a night’s revelry or other indulgence with the captives they had taken.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT HAVE YE TO DO WITH ME? — Rather, _What are ye to me?_ God, identifying Himself with His people, threatens retaliation upon their enemies for the wrongs they had inflicted upon them. Tyre and Zidon had oppressed the Jews in the time of the judges, and would do so again: the Philistines also were... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SILVER. — Mine, as being the property of my people, not as being dedicated to the service of the Temple. In the time of Jehoram, the Philistines and others had “carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house” (2 Chronicles 21:17).... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO THE GRECIANS. — Javan, the Hebrew name for Greece, is mentioned in Ezekiel as one of the representatives of the heathen nations who “traded (with Tyre) the persons of men and vessels in her market” (Ezekiel 27:13). The Grecian traffic in slaves was enormous.... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL SELL YOUR SONS.... — The Philistines came under the power of Uzziah and Hezekiah, who may have sold them to the Sabeans on the Persian Gulf, by whom they would have been passed on to India. The Philistines were also sold in great numbers by the Grecian conquerors in the time of the Maccabees.... [ Continue Reading ]
PREPARE WAR... — Literally, _sanctify war._ It was to be taken up deliberately, and after due religious rites, according to the customs of the nations. They are thus challenged, or rather summoned, to a trial of strength with Jehovah at a typical “Armageddon.”... [ Continue Reading ]
BEAT YOUR PLOWSHARES... — When the contest was over, and the victory of the Lord achieved, Micah foresaw the reversal of this order: the weapons of offence were once more to resume their peaceful character. “They “ — _i.e._, the nations — “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears in... [ Continue Reading ]
THY MIGHTY ONES — _i.e., thy,_ because Jehovah had summoned them to take arms, as champions against Him in the final conflict.... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT YE IN THE SICKLE. — In the enthusiasm of his vision the prophet crowds together metaphors to intensify the description of the coming encounter between Jehovah and the enemies of His people. It is represented by the judgment seat, the harvest, and the vintage. The hour of judgment has arrived — J... [ Continue Reading ]
MULTITUDES. — The command has gone forth; it is obeyed; and the prophet stands aghast at the vast multitudes assembling in the valley of decision, the place of judgment.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD ALSO SHALL ROAR... — This is the key-note of the prophecy of Amos, who opens his appeal with these words. The majestic roar of the lion is transferred to express victorious utterance of the Lord’s judgment: it is irresistible. As St. Paul wrote, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven w... [ Continue Reading ]
NO STRANGERS PASS THROUGH HER. — Strangers signify the aliens who had hitherto oppressed. They are like the spots and wrinkles which would defile the bride — the Church of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MOUNTAINS SHALL DROP DOWN NEW WINE. — The material prosperity depicted in these verses symbolises the glorious reign of Jehovah when the last enemy has been destroyed, and “God is all in all.” A FOUNTAIN SHALL COME FORTH. — The spiritual fertilising power of the knowledge of the Lord is compare... [ Continue Reading ]
EGYPT SHALL BE A DESOLATION. — Egypt and Edom always excited feelings of abhorrence in the hearts of the Jews. The memory of the exile in Egypt was always fresh and keen; no retrospect of their past history could leave it out of account. And the national detestation of the false and cruel-hearted Id... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL CLEANSE... — The LXX. translate this sentence, “I will avenge their blood, and not leave it unavenged” — _i.e.,_ the “innocent blood” mentioned in Joel 3:19; but the promise seems rather to indicate, as in the English Version, the extension of God’s pardon to those hitherto unpardoned. THE L... [ Continue Reading ]