Joel 2:10 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. A further description of that terrible desolation which should be made in the land of Judah by the locusts and caterpillars (Joe 2:1-11). II. A serious call to the people, when they are under this sore judgment, to return and repent, to fast and pray, and to seek unto God for mercy, with directions how to do this aright (Joe 2:12-17). III. A promise that, upon their repentance, God would remove the judgment, would repair the breaches made upon them by it, and restore unto them plenty of all good things (Joe 2:18-27). IV. A prediction of the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah in the world, by the pouring out of the Spirit in the latter days (Joe 2:28-32). Thus the beginning of this chapter is made terrible with the tokens of God's wrath, but the latter end of it made comfortable with the assurances of his favour, and it is in the way of repentance that this blessed change is made; so that, though it is only the last paragraph of the chapter that points directly at gospel-times, yet the whole may be improved as a type and figure, representing the curses of the law invading men for their sins, and the comforts of the gospel flowing in to them upon their repentance.

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, Joe 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 pity for his people, and the answer of prayer that might he expected from him upon this, even to the removal of the calamity, Joe 2:12; a prophecy of good things, both temporal and spiritual, in the times of the Messiah, is delivered out as matter and occasion of great joy, Joe 2:21; and another concerning the effusion of the Spirit, which was fulfilled an the day of Pentecost, Joe 2:28; and the chapter is concluded with the judgments and desolations that should come upon the land of Judea after this, for their rejection of Christ, though the remnant according to the election of grace should be delivered and saved from the general destruction, Joe 2:30.

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 as to intercept the rays of the sun. Pliny (t) says they sometimes darken it; and though some thought they did not fly in the night, because of the cold; this he observes is owing to their ignorance, not considering that they pass over wide seas to distant countries; and this will account for it how the moon also may be darkened by them, and the stars, as follows: and the stars shall withdraw their shining; though all this may be understood in a figurative sense of the great consternation that all sorts of persons should be in at such calamities coming upon the land, either by locusts, or by enemies; as the king, queen, nobles, and the common people of the land, signified by sun, moon, and stars, heaven and earth. (t) Ibid. (Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.)

What, then, is the vanity, and what the lie? The holy apostle of the Lord, reprehending the Greeks, will show thee: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and changed the glory of God into the likeness of corruptible man, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator." And verily this is the God who "in the beginning made the heaven and the earth." But you do not know God, and worship the heaven, and how shall you escape the guilt of impiety? Hear again the prophet speaking: "The sun, shall suffer eclipse, and the heaven be darkened; but the Almighty shall shine for ever: while the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and the heavens stretched out and drawn together shall be rolled as a parchment-skin (for these are the prophetic expressions), and the earth shall flee away from before the face of the Lord."

(Chapter 2 — Verses 1 onwards) Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like the dawn spreading over the mountains, a large and strong people appears, such as has never been before and will never be again in generations to come. Before them, a devouring fire; behind them, a blazing flame. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them, it is a desolate wilderness. There is no escape from them. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. With a sound like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like the crackling of fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. Before them, peoples are in anguish; all faces turn pale. They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another; each marches in his own column. They burst through the weapons and are not halted. They run to and fro in the city; they run along the wall; they climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like a thief. But they will also fall through the windows and not be destroyed, they will enter the city, run on the wall, climb the houses, they will enter through the windows like a thief. The earth shook before his face, the heavens were moved, the sun and moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their brightness, and the Lord gave his voice before his army, for his camps are very numerous, because they are strong and do his word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it? LXX: Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord comes, for it is near at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there has not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. Before him a devouring fire, and behind him a flame kindled. As a paradise of pleasure is the land before his face; but his latter end shall be as a barren wilderness, and he shall not be saved. As the appearance of horses, so are they; and as horsemen, so shall they run. As the sound of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, and as the sound of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before his face the people shall be in anguish; all faces shall be as flames. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks. Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path. And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord shall utter his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? Again, by the metaphor of locusts, the onslaught of the Chaldeans is described, and the prophet is commanded, or rather through the prophet all who can hear the word of God, to exalt their voice like a trumpet, and to proclaim in Zion, and to sound the alarm on his holy mountain, so that the people of Jerusalem may tremble at the noise of the cry and trumpet. And when, he says, you have sung, say this: Surely the day of the Lord will no longer be delayed, that is, the day of vengeance and retribution; the captivity is near, the army has already come forth from its place in Babylon, the day of darkness and distress is close, a day of gloom and cloud and whirlwind, in which all the light of joy (or rather of righteousness) will be taken away, and all things will be overwhelmed by darkness. Just as, he says, the morning and dawn suddenly dispel darkness, and the sunrise illuminates all the mountains, so the Babylonian army will be poured out over your entire land. And do not think that this is a weak crowd, it is a numerous and strong people, unlike any other nation that has existed in the past or will exist in the future: whatever it touches, it will consume like a voracious flame, and it will leave nothing behind; it is like a garden and paradise, all the land that it does not touch: it is like a desert and wasteland, whatever it has plundered, and there will be no one who can escape its grasp. Their appearance is like that of fierce horses, and they run here and there like horsemen. Not that they are to be compared to Babylonian horsemen; but they are called horsemen because they appear to run here and there like locusts in the movement of the enemy: Just as the sound of chariots and horses, so will be the sound of locusts. They will leap over the tops of the mountains, as if to climb every lofty place; and just as quickly as fire consumes straw, so the sound and terror of their voices will lay waste to everything. And what he brings in: just as a strong people prepared for battle, they bring back to the locusts, so that it seems that they are bringing back not as from enemies, but as from locusts; and yet while we read about the locusts, let us think of the Babylonians. Such will be the terror, that all nations around will tremble, both in spirit and in body, indeed they will be tormented: and by the magnitude of fear, the faces of all will be turned into the likeness of pots, which, when burned by fire, show the blackness and soot of a hideous appearance. He says, 'They move about, as it were, like strong men, no doubt locusts; and, as it were, like warriors, they ascend the wall, so that the height of the walls is unable to withstand the attack of the strong, and they do not enter through the gates but rather through the walls. They will go in their own paths and will not deviate from their tracks. We recently saw this in this province. For when the swarms of locusts came and occupied the space between the sky and the earth, they flew in such great order by the arrangement of God's command, as if they were small tiles laid by the hand of a craftsman on the floor, each in its own place, not deviating even by a point, and, so to speak, not even by a single crosswise slit.' And to make the metaphor clear, he said they will fall through the windows and not be destroyed. For locusts have no obstacle, since they can penetrate fields, crops, trees, cities, houses, and the secrets of bedrooms. However, this is said about locusts in order to be understood about enemies. And what we have interpreted as 'they will fall through the windows and not be destroyed,' the LXX translated as 'they will go heavily burdened in their weapons and they will fall through their spears and not be consumed.' But it seems to me that this does not fit with the order of the explanation, but rather that there has been an error in it, because we understood the Hebrew word Sala as 'spears' and not as 'windows.' And he continues the narrative, saying that they enter the city, run through the walls, climb on the houses, and enter through the windows like thieves, not because they have the fear of thieves who are victors; but just as thieves usually enter through windows and secretly steal, so they, with the doors closed, will burst in fully with audacity through the windows without any delay. The earth trembled at the sight of these locusts, and the heavens were moved, let us understand this hyperbolically stated, not because the force of locusts or enemies is so great that it can move the heavens and shake the earth; but because to those enduring adversity, it seems as if the sky is falling and the earth is trembling due to the magnitude of terror. Finally, due to the multitude of locusts covering the sky, the sun and moon will turn into darkness, and the stars will withdraw their splendor. While the light is placed in the midst of the cloud of locusts, it does not allow it to reach the earth. The Lord will also give his voice before the face of such a powerful army, for his camps are many, and the greatness of his power is demonstrated even in small creatures. But these many camps, and countless strong ones, are too numerous and perform his word. By saying this, it is shown that the Babylonians will come by the will of God, and they will obtain their rule. 'It is a great day of the Lord,' he says, 'when Jerusalem must be taken, and it is exceedingly terrible, and no one will be able to endure it, and will necessarily escape captivity or death.' I did not want to divide the connected and coherent passage, lest what was one in meaning be picked apart in different chapters. Let us move on to spiritual understanding, repeating each and every thing. We read of the sound of trumpets and horns not only in the book of Leviticus and Numbers (Num. X), in which it is commanded that Moses make two silver trumpets, to be played on the first day of each month, on the seventh month, on the day of jubilee, and on other festivals, as well as when going to battle, by those who are assigned to this duty; but it is also written that the walls of Jericho fell at the sound of the trumpets (Joshua VI). And the Lord says that he will send an angel with the blast of a trumpet (Matt. XXIV), and the Apostle preaches that the resurrection of the dead will occur at the sound of the trumpet (I Cor. XV). And in the Apocalypse of John, we read that seven angels received seven trumpets, and as they sounded them in order, the events described in Scripture occurred (Apoc. VIII). Therefore, priests and teachers are now commanded to exalt their voices like a trumpet, and fulfill what is written: 'Go up to a high mountain, O herald of good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, O herald of good tidings to Jerusalem' (Isaiah XLVIII, 9), so that the trumpet may sound in Zion, that is, in the Church, which is interpreted as a watchtower and exalted place. And on the holy mountain of God, which is Christ, let all the inhabitants of the earth be troubled or confounded, and may confusion lead them to salvation. Understand the day of the Lord, the day of judgment, or the day of the departure of each body. For what will happen to everyone on the day of judgment, is fulfilled in each person on the day of death. It is a day of darkness and distress, a day of clouds and whirlwinds; for it is full of punishments and torments. A multitude of strong angelic people will come to render to each according to their deeds; and just as the morning and rising dawn first occupy the mountains, so judgment will begin from on high and the powerful, so that the powerful may endure powerful torments. There was no one like him before, and there will be none after him, for generations and generations (Wisdom 6). For all the evils that are contained in the ancient histories, whether it be the flood of the sea, the overflow of rivers, the plague, diseases, famine, wild beasts, or the devastation of enemies, cannot be compared to the punishments that will be rendered on the day of judgment. Before the face of this people, who is strong and numerous, there will be a devouring and consuming fire, so that it may consume everything in us like hay, wood, and straw. Therefore, it is said about God: God is a consuming fire, and after Him, a burning flame (Deut. IV, 24); so that He may leave nothing without punishment. Whoever this people does not touch, nor comes into contact with the material of combustion, will be likened to the garden of God and the paradise of pleasure, which in Hebrew is called Eden. But whoever shall have burned him, will reduce him to ashes and embers, and there is no one who can escape his fury, whose cruel appearance will resemble the snorting of raging horses, and thus they will rush to torment those whom they have taken into their power, like horsemen flying here and there: their sound will be terrible, like chariots rushing down steep slopes; and they will leap over the tops of mountains, desiring to torment even those placed in high positions on the pinnacle of the Church. And because before their face there is a voracious fire, and consuming, dry things shall be laid waste, even as tow burnt by the flame: so shall they be in the sight of the punishments, that are to come. They shall be swift in running to and fro like sparks among the reeds. They shall devour diverse things as stubble fully dry. They shall devour the earth and her increase as the standing corn, with the stalks thereof, as the grasshoppers. They shall gather together in the cold time, as the creeping things that live in the desert. The spirit of the Lord is their mouth: and his anger shall burn in their wrath, and his words devour: for his spirit is as fire overflowing, that kindleth the wrath of his enemies, and inflameth his advarsaries in a flame. By this shall they be visited from the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. But they will also enter through the windows, whether they fall or climb; or they will walk burdened with their weapons, and those whom they receive will fall, to be consumed. These are the windows of which Jeremiah also says: Death will enter through our windows (Jer. VI, 21): for the enemy desires to enter all our senses and take possession of the city of good conscience, to run through our defenses, and to destroy the homes that we have built with good works. But they do all things through the windows, like a thief: for they do not enter freely, so as to shoot straight in the darkness with a straight heart (Psalms 10). From the face of this people, who is many and strong, the earth trembled, and the heavens were moved. For the heavens and the earth will pass away, but the word of the Lord remains forever (Matthew 24). But even the sun and the moon will not be able to see such great punishments of the wicked, and they will mourn, not having the righteousness of their duty, and for the bright light, they will be covered with terrible darkness; even the stars will withhold their brightness, while those who are holy will not see the presence of the Lord without fear. In all these things, the Lord will give his voice, before the face of his army. For just as the Babylonians punishing Jerusalem are called the army of God, so too the wicked angels (of whom it is written: They provoked him with their high places, and moved him to zeal with their graven images - Psalms 78:58), are called the army of God, and are referred to as his camps, while they carry out the will of the Lord. Great is the day of the Lord and terrible, of which it is written elsewhere: Why do you desire the day of the Lord? - Amos 5. And here is darkness, and not light; and very terrible; and rare or none will be able to endure him, without offering himself the material of raging.

THE COMING JUDGMENT A MOTIVE TO REPENTANCE. PROMISE OF BLESSINGS IN THE LAST DAYS. (Joel 2:1-32) A more terrific judgment than that of the locusts is foretold, under imagery drawn from that of the calamity then engrossing the afflicted nation. He therefore exhorts to repentance, assuring the Jews of Jehovah's pity if they would repent. Promise of the Holy Spirit in the last days under Messiah, and the deliverance of all believers in Him. Blow . . . trumpet--to sound an alarm of coming war (Num 10:1-10; Hos 5:8; Amo 3:6); the office of the priests. Joe 1:15 is an anticipation of the fuller prophecy in this chapter.

earth . . . quake before them--that is, the inhabitants of the earth quake with fear of them. heavens . . . tremble--that is, the powers of heaven (Mat 24:29); its illumining powers are disturbed by the locusts which intercept the sunlight with their dense flying swarms. These, however, are but the images of revolutions of states caused by such foes as were to invade Judea.

Summons to Penitential Prayer for the Removal of the Judgment - Joel 2:1-17 This section does not contain a fresh or second address of the prophet, but simply forms the second part of his sermon of repentance, in which he repeats with still greater emphasis the command already hinted at in Joe 1:14-15, that there should be a meeting of the congregation for humiliation and prayer, and assigns the reason in a comprehensive picture of the approach of Jehovah's great and terrible judgment-day (Joe 2:1-11), coupled with the cheering assurance that the Lord will still take compassion upon His people, according to His great grace, if they will return to Him with all their heart (Joe 2:12-14); and then closes with another summons to the whole congregation to assemble for this purpose in the house of the Lord, and with instructions how the priests are to pray to the Lord (Joe 2:15-17).

The whole universe trembles at this judgment of God. Joe 2:10. "Before it the earth quakes, the heavens tremble: sun and moon have turned black, and the stars have withdrawn their shining. Joe 2:11. And Jehovah thunders before His army, for His camp is very great, for the executor of His word is strong; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?" The remark of Jerome on Joe 2:10, viz., that "it is not that the strength of the locusts is so great that they can move the heavens and shake the earth, but that to those who suffer from such calamities, from the amount of their own terror, the heavens appear to shake and the earth to reel," is correct enough so far as the first part is concerned, but it by no means exhausts the force of the words. For, as Hitzig properly observes, the earth could only quake because of the locusts when they had settled, and the heavens could only tremble and be darkened when they were flying, so that the words would in any case be very much exaggerated. But it by no means follows from this, that לפניו is not to be taken as referring to the locusts, like מפּניו in Joe 2:6, but to the coming of Jehovah in a storm, and that it is to be understood in this sense: "the earth quakes, the air roars at the voice of Jehovah, i.e., at the thunder, and storm-clouds darken the day." For although nâthan qōlō (shall utter His voice) in Joe 2:11 is to be understood as referring to the thunder, Joel is not merely describing a storm, which came when the trouble had reached its height and put an end to the plague of locusts (Credner, Hitzig, and others). לפניו cannot be taken in any other sense than that in which it occurs in Joe 2:3; that is to say, it can only refer to "the great people and strong," viz., the army of locusts, like מפּניו. Heaven and earth tremble at the army of locusts, because Jehovah comes with them to judge the world (cf. Isa 13:13; Nah 1:5-6; Jer 10:10). The sun and moon become black, i.e., dark, and the stars withdraw their brightness ('âsaph, withdraw, as in Sa1 14:19), i.e., they let their light shine no more. That these words affirm something infinitely greater than the darkening of the lights of heaven by storm-clouds, is evident partly from the predictions of the judgment of the wrath of the Lord that is coming upon the whole earth and upon the imperial power (Isa 13:10; Eze 32:7), at which the whole fabric of the universe trembles and nature clothes itself in mourning, and partly from the adoption of this particular feature by Christ in His description of the last judgment (Mat 24:29; Mar 13:24-25). Compare, on the other hand, the poetical description of a storm in Psa 18:8., where this feature is wanting. (For further remarks, see at Joe 3:4.) At the head of the army which is to execute His will, the Lord causes His voice of thunder to sound (nâthan qōl, to thunder; cf. Psa 18:14, etc.). The reason for this is given in three sentences that are introduced by kı̄. Jehovah does this because His army is very great; because this powerful army executes His word, i.e., His command; and because the day of judgment is so great and terrible, that no one can endure it, i.e., no one can stand before the fury of the wrath of the Judge (cf. Jer 10:10; Mal 3:1).