INTRODUCTION TO JOEL 2 In this chapter a further account is given of the judgment of the locusts and caterpillars, or of those who are designed by them, Joel 2:1; the people of the Jews are called to repentance, humiliation, and fasting, urged from the grace and goodness of God, his jealousy and pi... [ Continue Reading ]
BLOW YE THE TRUMPET IN ZION, AND SOUND AN ALARM IN MY HOLY MOUNTAIN,.... This is spoken to the priests, whose business it was to blow the trumpets for calling solemn assemblies to meet in Zion, the temple built there, called from thence the holy mountain of God. Here the trumpet is ordered to be blo... [ Continue Reading ]
A DAY OF DARKNESS AND OF GLOOMINESS, A DAY OF CLOUDS AND OF THICK DARKNESS,.... Alluding to the gloomy and thick darkness caused by the locusts, which sometimes come in prodigious numbers, like thick clouds, and darken the air; so the land of Egypt was darkened by them, Exodus 10:15; historians and... [ Continue Reading ]
A FIRE DEVOURETH BEFORE THEM, AND BEHIND THEM AFLAME BURNETH,.... This is not to be understood of the heat of the sun, or of the great drought that went before and continued after the locusts; but of them themselves, which were like a consuming fire; wherever they came, they devoured all green grass... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APPEARANCE OF THEM [IS] AS THE APPEARANCE OF HORSES,.... in their running, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; they came with, as much swiftness and eagerness, with as much fierceness and courage, as horses rush into the battle. Bochart h has shown, from various writers, that the head of a locust... [ Continue Reading ]
LIKE THE NOISE OF CHARIOTS ON THE TOPS OF THAT MOUNTAINS SHALL THEY LEAP,.... The motion of the locusts is leaping from place to place; for which the locusts have legs peculiarly made, their hindermost being the longest; wherefore Pliny i observes, that insects which have their hindermost legs long... [ Continue Reading ]
BEFORE THEIR FACE THE PEOPLE SHALL BE MUCH PAINED,.... Or, "at their presence"; at the sight of them they shall be in pain, as a woman in travail; into such distress an army of locusts would throw them, since they might justly fear all the fruits of the earth would be devoured by them, and they shou... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL RUN LIKE MIGHTY MEN,.... Like men of war, in a hostile way, as soldiers run upon their enemy with undaunted courage and bravery. Bochart from Pisidas describes the locusts' manner of fighting, who says, they strike not standing, but running: THEY SHALL CLIMB THE WALL LIKE MEN OF WAR; sca... [ Continue Reading ]
NEITHER SHALL ONE THRUST ANOTHER,.... Press upon another, thrust him out of his place, or push him forward, or any ways straiten and distress him, or in the least hinder him in his progress: THEY SHALL WALK EVERYONE IN HIS PATH; or "highway" o; everyone should have his path, and keep in it, and it... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL RUN TO AND FRO IN THE CITY,.... Leap about from place to place, as locusts do; see Isaiah 33:4; and as the Chaldeans did when they became masters of the city of Jerusalem; they ran about from place to place to seize upon their spoil and plunder: THEY SHALL RUN UPON THE WALL; which before... [ Continue Reading ]
THE EARTH SHALL QUAKE BEFORE THEM,.... The inhabitants of it, because of the desolating judgments they bring with them, and those enemies that are signified by them: THE HEAVENS SHALL TREMBLE; being obscured by them: THE SUN AND MOON SHALL BE DARK; the locusts sometimes come in such large numbers... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD SHALL UTTER HIS VOICE BEFORE HIS ARMY,.... Either the army of the locusts, whom Pliny u calls "pestis deorum", "the plague of the gods"; and the Arabians frequently style them the army of God. It is a tradition of theirs that locusts fell into the hands of Mahomet, with this inscription... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE ALSO NOW, SAITH THE LORD,.... Before this terrible and intolerable day, which is near at hand, comes; before these judgments and calamities threatened take place, though just at hand; serious repentance is never too late, now is the accepted time; see Luke 19:42; TURN YE [EVEN] TO ME WIT... [ Continue Reading ]
AND REND YOUR HEART, AND NOT YOUR GARMENTS,.... Which latter used to be done in times of distress, either private or public, and as a token of grief and sorrow, Genesis 37:34; nor was it criminal or unlawful, the apostles themselves used it, Acts 14:14; nor is it absolutely forbidden here, only comp... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO KNOWETH [IF] HE WILL RETURN AND REPENT,.... Which some understand of man, and of his returning and repentance; either thus whosoever he be that knows the ways of repentance, he will return, and God will repent of this evil: which sense is mentioned by Kimchi and Ben Melech: or he that knoweth th... [ Continue Reading ]
BLOW THE TRUMPET IN ZION,.... For the calling of the people together to religious duties, which was one use of the silver trumpets made for and blows by the priests, Numbers 10:2; SANCTIFY A FAST, CALL A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY; Joel 1:14.... [ Continue Reading ]
GATHER THE PEOPLE,.... The common people, all the inhabitants of the land, Joel 1:14; summon them to meet together in the temple, in order to humble themselves before God for their sins, and implore his mercy, and seek his face to remove his judgments, or avert them: SANCTIFY THE CONGREGATION; see... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THE PRIESTS, THE MINISTERS OF THE LORD, WEEP BETWEEN THE PORCH AND THE ALTAR,.... Not the altar of incense which stood in the holy place; but the altar of burnt offering, where the priests used to stand and do service; but now having nothing to do of that kind, they are called upon to weep and p... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN WILL THE LORD BE JEALOUS FOR HIS LAND,.... Or "zealous" for it; for the honour of it, and the good of its inhabitants, and for the glory of his own name, it being the chief place in the world for his worship and service; and his indignation will be moved against those who have brought desolatio... [ Continue Reading ]
YEA, THE LORD WILL ANSWER AND SAY UNTO HIS PEOPLE,.... By his prophets, as Kimchi: or, "the Lord answered and said" a; while they were praying and weeping, or as soon as they cried unto him; or, however, praying to him, they might assure themselves that he heard them, and would answer them both by w... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT I WILL REMOVE FAR OFF FROM YOU THE NORTHERN [ARMY],.... The army of the locusts, which came from the northern corner, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; and is the first sense Jarchi makes mention of; though he says their Rabbins b interpret it of the evil imagination hid in the heart of men; and the two... [ Continue Reading ]
FEAR NOT, O LAND,.... O land of Israel, as the Targum, and the inhabitants of it; neither of the locusts, who had so terrified them, and had done so much mischief, and threatened more; nor of their enemies, the Assyrians or Chaldeans, and their powerful armies, or any other; but, on the contrary, B... [ Continue Reading ]
BE NOT AFRAID, YE BEASTS OF THE FIELD,.... Which before groaned, and were perplexed for want of pasture, and cried because of the drought, Joel 1:18; perhaps the Gentiles may be here designed, in the mystic and spiritual sense, in distinction from the Jews, the children of Zion, in Joel 2:23; FOR T... [ Continue Reading ]
BE GLAD THEN, YE CHILDREN OF ZION,.... The people of the Jews, and especially the spiritual and believing part of them; such as were born again, that were born of Zion, and born in Zion, and brought up by her, and in her; the children of that Zion or Jerusalem that is the mother of us all; and who w... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE FLOORS SHALL BE FULL OF WHEAT,.... The churches of Christ, which will now be in Judea, and in the Gentile world, which are his "floors", Matthew 3:12; and which will be set up everywhere through the preaching of the Gospel, the descent of the former and latter rain; these will be full of pre... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL RESTORE TO YOU THE YEARS THAT THE LOCUST HATH EATEN,.... Or "I will recompense to you the years" m; give you fruitful ones, as a full compensation for those in which the locust ate up the fruits of the earth for some years running: THE CANKER WORM, AND THE CATERPILLAR, AND THE PALMER WOR... [ Continue Reading ]
AND YE SHALL EAT IN PLENTY,.... Or, "in eating eat" n; most surely eat, and in great abundance; which Hebraism not only denotes the certainty of a thing, but the increase and abundance of it; see Genesis 22:17; there is plenty of spiritual provisions held forth under the Gospel dispensation: much i... [ Continue Reading ]
AND YE SHALL KNOW THAT I [AM] IN THE MIDST OF ISRAEL,.... The presence of God among his people shall be so manifest, the tokens of it so clear, that it shall be easily known, by the impressions of his love upon them; the teachings of his Spirit in them; the usefulness of the word and ordinances to t... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS AFTERWARD,.... After the teacher of righteousness has been sent, and a plentiful rain of the Gospel has been let down in the land of Judea, in the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles, and such a comfortable enjoyment of the blessings of grace in it, and th... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ALSO UPON THE SERVANTS AND UPON THE HANDMAIDS IN THOSE DAYS WILL I POUR MY SPIRIT. Men servants and maidservants should partake of the gifts and grace of the Spirit in great, abundance; and many of them were effectually called by grace, through the ministry of the word; and some servants became... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL SHOW WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS AND IN THE EARTH,.... This, and what follow, refer to the prodigies seen in the air, and done in the earth, a little before the destruction of Jerusalem r; when in the air were seen comets and blazing stars, particularly one in the form of a sword, hanging over... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,.... Not by eclipses, as Aben Ezra; but by the clouds of smoke arising from the burning of towns and cities, which would be so great as to obscure the sun, and through which the moon would look like blood: or all, this may be understood... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, [THAT] WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE DELIVERED,.... Or "saved", as in Acts 2:21; from those miseries and calamities before described, from the impending ruin and destruction of the city; and so it was, that those that believed in Christ, that were i... [ Continue Reading ]