God uses different means to confront us in our lives. I think that it is true that God meets us where we are. In our passage today of Joel, God confronts his people with a word of warning through his prophet Joel. As we read through this passage, it’s a big-time warning, not just a gentle reminder. Joel warns about a day of the Lord, about a day of confrontation that is near.
(A) Calamity of Calamities – Take Notice!
In Joel 1, we read of an invasion of locusts, famine, and a loss of resources (Joel 1:3-4, 9-11). There is total and absolute destruction because of the locusts (Joel 1:3-4). This is really something of unprecedented proportions, an event that occurs once in a few generations. The consequences were far-reaching — crops were destroyed, the fields were wrecked, and the harvest has perished.
As a result, worship was also disrupted (Joel 1:9-11). The people of God were unable to bring their offerings which caused the priests to mourn. It also ends with a cry of lament. It is obvious that God’s people are not having a party. Society is helpless and they are unable to worship God. The national mood is at an all time low.
It is in this time that the prophet makes this announcement in Joel 2. Joel 2:1 opens a call to “blow a trumpet” and “sound an alarm”. The trumpets were for summoning the congregation and also used to sound the alarm in times of war (c.f. Num 10:1-2, 9). It was to get the attention of the people of the land for this is a national event (“in Zion”, Joel 2:1). Something is about to happen and this should cause all the people to tremble.
Why does he proclaim it in this way and why does it matter? Alarms serve a purpose and in countries like Japan and Taiwan, the alarm before a tsunami or an earthquake serves as a warning for people to leave and get to safety. In the same way, Joel is reminding God’s people to pay attention to what is coming next, what follows the locusts coming.
We might be asking why God is bringing calamity upon calamity onto his people, and not against his enemies. Joel is showing us that there is a purpose in whatever God does in his sovereignty. We tend to fail to understand when we are in the midst of the situation, and God often allows us graciously to understand things on hindsight. As a society today, we are beginning to emerge from lockdown and politicians are managing our expectations. The truth is that nobody knows what will happen. The future might look bleak for some of us. Instead of looking to God, we ask when will this be over. Perhaps we should be asking God how we should respond to what He is doing, even if we don’t understand. We should ask what His purpose is, and what He wants us to do.
(B) Facing the Great and Terrible Army of the Lord
In Joel 2: 2, Joel describes the day of the Lord as the day of darkness and gloom. What kind of pattern can we observe from the parallel passages of Zeph 1:15 and Matt 24:29-30? The prophets and Jesus describe this day as a day of darkness and gloom, marked by distress and mourning. If the alarm did not get your attention, this description should. We have a tendency to focus on the happy parts and we like to think about Jesus’ return in glory and his ushering of the new heaven and earth. These are true and good things to meditate on because they are the basis of our hope. However, we should consider the full counsel of God’s word. Jesus’ return not only completes His redemption, it also means judgment.
The rest of the passage goes into great detail about the day of the Lord. Joel describes a great and powerful people who are an army (Joel 2:2). This people are so vast in number that they look like blackness itself. A people so vast that they block out light. The description in Joel 2:3 brings to mind the raiding armies of the past (circa 5th and 6th centuries). They are not out to occupy, but leave behind a trail of destruction. This sense of utter destruction is what we get. They consume everything in their path. The reference to the garden of Eden is to help us see that what appears to be beautiful will no longer be once this army passes through. What kind of temporary beauty are we storing up and what will come of it?
The army will be terribly fearsome (Joel 2:4-6), and this is similar to the description in Rev 9:7-9. The imagery in these passages refers to the appearance and sound of this army. This army is a scary army. To appreciate this, we need to consider it from the POV of a foot shoulder who is facing the arrival of this large calvary. There is nowhere to run, and your weapons might be useless. In Isa 13:7-8, we are reminded that the Bible is not a feel good book. It does not mince its words about future events. Yes it contains good news, but it is only good news because of the bad news. We may be tempted to detach the gospel from sin and judgment. But passages like these remind us that there is a day coming when judgment will come.
We continue to see in Joel 2:7-8 that this army is focused and disciplined. They are unstoppable and don’t seem to be letting up in any way. As a result, in Joel 2:9, there is an overwhelming feeling of dread. It feels like no one is safe (c.f. Is 13:15). The city walls don’t protect and you are not safe even if you’re in your house! Nothing and no one can stop them! The very presence of this army is enough to make the heavens tremble, and for the stars to withdraw their shining (Joel 2:10).
Whose army is this? In Joel 2:11, it is revealed that this is the Lord’s army. We have some preconceived idea of who God is and what his army is like. We picture angels in glorious white with gleaming swords in front of the empty tomb. But here, we are told by God himself that this is a picture of God’s army and He commands it with His word (Joel 2:11).
Notice that this text doesn’t mention any way that we can escape this army. There is no sense of chaos in this army. The army is focused and determined. It is thorough and there is no way of escape. There is no random slaughter, no pillaging, no spoils of war, and no cruelty. What then is its purpose? This not wanton destruction or a rampaging horde. It is judgment from God, against what is impure. They have come for God’s enemies. This raises an interesting point as it seems to be coming for God’s people. From Isaiah 13:5, we can see why the army is here. God says that he is planning to destroy the land and its sinners. It is punishment for evil and iniquity. When Jesus speaks of his coming at the end of the age, He says that He will bring judgment (Matt 13:40-42).
(C) An Invitation to Repentance
So, when will this day come? This word of the Lord is apocalyptic and also points to epochal events. Many of us will be tempted to us when this happened to Israel, or when it is coming. The point of this word is not an empty threat and neither is it for us to interpret world events per se. What we need to do instead is to respond to what this word says: repent. God has given the prophets a glimpse into the future but they cannot see the fullness of the future. Perhaps what the prophets see is just a 2D picture, but in reality, God’s plans are 3D.
What does this mean for us today? This great and terrible day has not come to pass in its entirety and it is approaching. This day is still a day in the future. We will still need to face it for ourselves. God is not just trying to use scare tactics. This prophecy also shows the heart of God for reconciliation. He is terrifyingly holy, but also infinitely loving and merciful. He is loving enough to warn His people here, only because He wants them to turn back to Him. Only by turning back to God through the person of Christ will we be able to be saved. When the end comes, before all that is promised that is joyful comes to pass, the Bible also speaks of judgment that will come. What should we do with this knowledge? Should we just speculate or continue to live our lives in denial?
We see the chilling, dreaded judgment that God brings on the day of the Lord in the form of an army comes against Jerusalem. On that day, the heavenly bodies went dark as a sign of true calamity and undoing creation. The day is the time of the Lord's judgment, His punishment for sin, and His righteous outpouring. The day has come before, and it will come again. On the face of this terrible warning, we must ask ourselves, will the Lord's army come for or against us?
Joel 2:12 also tells us what God wants out of this — repentance. He wants us to turn to Him. There will be a remnant of those who will be saved (Joel 2:32). There is hope! God desires for us to repent and turn back to Him (c.f. Acts 4:11-12) . This salvation from calamity is found only in Jesus Christ. The hope that God holds out at the end of Joel 2, He brings to fulfilment in the life and death of Jesus Christ. This is not without precedent nor is it without a future guarantee. In Exo 12:5-7, when the Israelites obeyed God’s commands and applied the blood of the spotless lamb. the Angel of God passed by their homes and none of their children died. Similarly, at the end of all things, those with the seal of God would not be harmed (c.f. Rev 9:4). Those who believe in Christ will bear His name and seal (c.f. Rev 14:1). We are assured that if we are in Him, He has borne our judgment. On the day of the Lord, the terrible and unstoppable army will pass over. This passage drives us to Jesus himself.
At the same time, if we see the day of the Lord for what it is, and we acknowledge that judgment is coming for us because of our sin, we should be making a beeline for the one solution that God extends to us, that is Jesus Christ. We should be stirred to live in ways to point to others that Jesus is our answer and our hope.
Some of us are asking, what is God doing through COVID-19. Is it judgment? If so, what for? We’re not really called to speculate on the purposes of God, but one thing is clear, COVID-19 has brought a heightened sense of our mortality. Masks have been made the new norm in Singapore, and it’s a daily, continual reminder of death and our susceptibility to it. Where then do we turn in the face of death? There is no where else to go but the arms of Jesus. It is a call to repentance. This is something we can say with certainty.
Our understanding of how the world will end will shape our reaction to it. If we think that the day will come with Jesus in glory, but we only focus on the joy and everything that is good, sometimes there is a tendency that we will just wait for it to happen in inaction. But if you read a passage like this and take it seriously, then we know that what precedes the joyful outcome is a terrible event. This is that the world must end in judgment before God will make all things new. This should instill a sense of reverence, urgency, awe, and Godly fear. It should also confront us in our sins. It should compel us to turn from our sins to God in repentance.
The real purpose of apocalyptic passages such as this, is to give us a heavenly perspective on our earthly circumstances, so that we can be challenged by these passages, so that we can be comforted by the hope that God holds out for us, and so that we can be given hope for the future. We cannot remain passive and apathetic once we know what the day of the lord is, and what it will be like.