Joela 2:26 Komentarz

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.

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 Gen 22:17; there is plenty of spiritual provisions held forth under the Gospel dispensation: much in God, in his goodness, grace, and love, truth and faithfulness; in his covenant, the blessings and promises of it: much in Christ, who is compared to many things eatable; is called the Lamb of God, the fatted calf, the hidden manna, the tree of life, and the bread of God; everything in him, and that belongs to him, is food for faith; his flesh is meat indeed, his blood is drink indeed; the fulness of grace in him; the righteousness wrought out by him; the salvation he is the author of; upon all which the believer lives by faith: much in the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, compared to honey for sweetness of taste; to milk for its nourishing nature, easiness of digestion, and the suitableness of it for babes; and to strong meat fit for men: and there is groat plenty also in the ordinances of the Gospel, particularly in the Lord's supper, the feast of fat things, where saints are invited to eat and drink abundantly; which eating is not a bare attendance on outward ordinances, or a superficial taste of the things in them, but a feeding upon them by faith, receiving and digesting them; and be satisfied; eat to satiety; eat and be full, so as to be entirely contented, and desire no other sort of food; thus saints, as Naphtali, are satisfied with the favour and love of God, having a delightful sensation of it, and a full persuasion of interest in it; with Christ as the bread of life, so as not to hunger after other; with his righteousness, as not to seek any other; and with his salvation, being so suitable to them; and with the goodness and fatness of the Lord's house, his word and ordinances; and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; acknowledge him to be the giver of all this spiritual food, and that they are unworthy of it; ascribe it entirely to the grace of God, who has done wonders for them; in wonderfully setting them apart for himself in eternal election; in making such a well ordered covenant with them in Christ; in sending him to be their Saviour and Redeemer; in calling them out of darkness into marvellous light; in bestowing such love upon them, as to call them and make them his children, and also heirs of him and eternal glory; see Psa 22:26; and my people shall never be ashamed; because they shall always have food to eat; shall never be disappointed, when they rightly apply for it in proper places and times; and not be like the troops of Tema, and companies of Sheba, Job 6:19; they shall not be ashamed of their faith and hope, and expectation of good things promised them; nor of the word and ordinances, and the profession they have made of Christ in this world; nor shall they be ashamed at his coming; but shall be placed at his right hand, and received into his kingdom, and shall be led by him to fountains of living water, and be satisfied with pleasures for evermore. (n) "comedetis comedendo", Pagninus, Montanus; "ceras", Vatablus, Piscator, Tarnovius.

(Verse 22 onwards) Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you. My strength is great, which I have sent upon you: and you will eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of your God, who has worked wonders with us, and my people will not be put to shame forever. And you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, and there is no other, and my people will not be put to shame forever. Rejoice, O earth, and be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has magnified and done great things: believe, O animals of the field, for the meadows of the wilderness have put forth their greenery, because the tree has produced its fruit, the fig tree and the vine have given their strength. And the children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, for He has given you the food of righteousness, and has showered upon you a timely and late rain, as in the beginning, and the barns will be filled with wheat, and the vats will overflow with wine and oil. And I will compensate you for the years in which the locust, the beetle, the mildew, and the caterpillar have consumed your crops. My great strength, which I have sent upon you, will sustain you and you will eat and be satisfied. You will praise the name of your God, who has done wonders with you, and my people will never be put to shame. You will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, and there is no other besides me. And my people will never be put to shame. He now promises the opposite of what he had threatened above. He had said before: the fire consumes the beautiful things of the desert, and the flame sets ablaze all the wood of the region, and the beasts of the field, like a dry patch of land, look up to you as they thirst for rain: because the springs of water have dried up, and the fire has devoured the beautiful things of the desert. Now he mitigates sadness with joy, and turns tears into laughter. Do not be afraid, he says, animals of the region: because the beautiful things of the desert have budded forth: because the tree has brought forth its fruit, the fig and the vine have given their power: and there will be such abundance of all things, that there will by no means be a lack of wheat, wine and oil for you to be satisfied with; but the threshing floors will be filled with wheat, and the wine presses will overflow with wine and oil, so that you may not only eat for yourselves, but also be able to provide for others. To the sons of Zion also He speaks specially, that they may exult and rejoice, not in any trivial thing; but in the Lord their God, who has given them the nourishment of righteousness. And as the Seventy have translated it, He gives them both the early and the late rain, that they may eat and be glad, and praise the name of their Lord God, who has done wonders with them, and that they may by no means be put to shame; and that they may know that the Lord God of Israel dwells among them, and besides Him there is no other, for the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father; and His people will not be put to shame forever. We believe that these things happened literal, because they were promised by the Lord, and that the past sterility was compensated by new crops: so that whatever the locust, the cankerworm, the mildew, and the caterpillar had consumed, would be replenished in the following years. We wonder why the caterpillar is called the strength, or virtue of the Lord, and not only virtue, but great virtue? How was the power of God shown in the plagues of the Egyptians by small animals, especially the gnats, which are such small mosquitoes that they can hardly be seen with the eyes. Thus, now, in a small and slow-moving little worm, which can barely move and is crushed by a light touch, the power of God and the frailty of humans are demonstrated. Not that God cannot overturn the earth and cover everything with a flood, or consume everything with lightning at His command and the majesty of His power; but He shows human frailty through small, and, so to speak, tiny bodies. Therefore, we often respond to Marcion and other heretics who tear apart the old Testament, that God made even fleas and mosquitoes and bugs, and creatures like them, in order to show the frailty and weakness of our flesh, which is so insignificant that it is wounded by such small things. But if a slow and tiny caterpillar is stronger than a human, why does the earth and ashes, being from which man is called, boast? Some interpret this place as follows: On the right and on the left, we read the virtues and powers of God, which the Greeks call δυνάμεις. On the right, Seraphim and Cherubim, and all the angelic powers; on the left, opposing strengths, of which it is written: He sent upon them the wrath of his indignation, anger, and tribulation, by sending evil angels (Ps. LXXVII, 49); of which Micheas also speaks in the book of Kings: I saw the Lord God of Israel sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left (3 Kings XXIII). I think the left spirit was the one who went out and stood before the Lord and said, 'I will deceive Ahab and go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' To the power that was suitable for deceiving and skilled in causing destruction, and had deceived many before, God speaks: 'You will deceive and prevail, go out and do so.' That spirit who tormented Saul, about whom his servants said, 'Behold, an evil spirit from God is afflicting you' (1 Samuel 16:15), was from the left side, they minister to the Lord to punish those who have deserved to suffer for their sins. For not only are men ministers and avengers of His wrath upon those who do evil, and not without cause do they bear the sword; but there are also contrary powers, which are called the fury and wrath of God, which the prophet, declining, says: Lord, do not rebuke me in Your fury, nor chastise me in Your anger (Ps. 6:1). The Apostle delivered such (so to speak) interrogators and torturers to destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved (1 Cor. 5), of whom Satan is, to whom he delivered others to learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim. 1)." } These things about the caterpillar, why it is called the power of God. Let us move on to the order of spiritual intelligence: Do not be afraid, O earth, indeed trust and rejoice, you who had previously lost the Lord's seed with your dryness: for the Lord has magnified, so as to show mercy to you, to such an extent that even the animals of the region and the deserted solitude are filled with joyful new growth, and the wood of the cross bears its fruit, and the sweetest gifts of the Holy Spirit bestow their abundance to all. You also, whom I rightly call sons of Zion and of the Church after repentance, rejoice and be glad; for God the Father has given you a teacher of righteousness or has granted you the nourishment of righteousness, and has caused the rains of temporal and late (Isa. XXX) to come down upon you. Rain is said to be late when we first receive the rain of doctrine; it is said to be late when we receive the fruits of our labor and attain to a perfect knowledge of the holy Scriptures. There may be temporary and late rain, the old and new Testament received. And not only that, he said, he did not only give this; but he made you abound with new fruits of virtues, and be satisfied and intoxicated with wheat, wine and oil, of which we have often spoken. And the years that you had lost in disturbances under the previous rulers, when your works had been consumed by locusts, weevils, rust and caterpillars, God did not allow you to perish. Then you shall eat the fruits of righteousness, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has done wonders with you. But if after such great repentance God promises such abundance of all things, what will Novatus, denying repentance and the possibility of sinners being restored to their former state if they perform worthy works of repentance, answer? For God receives penitents to such an extent that He calls them His people and does not in any way claim that they are to be confounded; and promises to dwell among them and that they shall not have any other God but Him; rather, they will trust in Him with their whole hearts, who will abide in them forever.

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.

never be ashamed--shall no longer endure the "reproach of the heathen (Joe 2:17), [MAURER]; or rather, "shall not bear the shame of disappointed hopes," as the husbandmen had heretofore (Joe 1:11). So spiritually, waiting on God, His people shall not have the shame of disappointment in their expectations from Him (Rom 9:33).

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).

On the reception of these benefits the people will praise the Lord, who has shown it such wondrous grace, lit., has acted towards it even to the doing of wonders.