Joel, a Hebrew prophet in
835 B. C. describes a devastating locust plague in
detail. You can hear the swarms of locust moving
through the vineyards in 1:4, 7. It is against such
a devastating disaster of swarming, crop-eating
locusts that Judah experienced in Joel’s day that
makes the promise of the outpouring of God’s Spirit
so remarkable. Three thousand years later we receive
Joel’s words eagerly because we come to the same God
of grace with hearts of repentance and faith.
Joel proclaims an even
profounder message of the coming Day of Yahweh. It
will be a sudden conclusion to human history and
brings all humanity to the point of divine judgment.
If we allow the focus to shift from Joel’s locust’s
plague to our morally and spiritually depraved day
we see tremendous relevance of this prophetic
message. Salvation and destruction go hand in hand.
The Day of the LORD is a day of salvation as well as
a day of judgment.
The opening chapter
speaks of desolation because of Judah’s sins.
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE
DESOLATION (1:1-2:17)
Locust swarms by the
millions had invaded Judah and have totally
destroyed the land (1:2-7). Therefore the prophet
issues an urgent call for national day of prayer
(vv. 13-20). The prophet sees the calamity as the
hand of God. He recognizes the sovereign hand of God
behind the plagues and His divine deliverance (v.
15). Joel calls the people to repentance (v. 13). He
writes in 1:4, 7,
"What the gnawing locust
has left, the swarming locust has eaten;
And what the swarming
locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten;
And what the creeping
locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten. . .
.
It has made my vine a
waste
And my fig tree
splinters.
It has stripped them bare
and cast them away;
Their branches have
become white."
John D. Whiting wrote an
article describing a locust plague in Palestine in
the December 1915, issue of National Geographic.
"Thus Joel, writing some seven or eight hundred
years B. C., begins his description of a locust
plague. We marvel how this ancient writer
could have given so graphic and true a description
of a devastation caused by locusts in so condensed
form." (p. 511). In 1915 the first swarms of adult
locusts appeared in March, coming from the
northeast, going toward southwest in such "thick
clouds as to obscure the sun for the time being" (p.
513). The females, about two and one-half to three
inches long, at once began to lay their eggs,
sinking a hole about four inches deep into the hard
soil and depositing about 100 eggs. "It is
estimated by competent authorities that as many as
65,000 to 75,000 locust eggs are concentrated in a
square meter of soil" (pp. 516, 521).
In 1915 the fully
developed flying locusts appeared about June 10 and
at once began to complete the destruction begun in
the earlier stages. They attacked the olive trees,
whose tough, bitter leaves had not been to the
liking of the creepers. Food becoming scarcer, both
creeping and flying locusts attacked the olive
trees, and "between the two they stripped every
leaf, berry, and even the tender bark. Likewise,
every variety of tree was attacked. . . Of the cacti
they ate away layer after layer over the whole
surface, giving the leaves the effect of having been
jack-planed" (p. 542). The full-grown locusts
had cleaned up every bit of vegetation.
Even in the year 2000
A.D. scientists tell us if the locusts are not
destroyed or contained shortly after they hatch and
once the swarm has formed control efforts are
minimal. Plagues continue as long as climatic
conditions favor the large hatches. One such swarm
reached across the Red Sea and was estimated to have
covered 2000 square miles. A swarm can contain up to
120 million per mile.
Joel tells us though God
is gracious and slow to anger the current locust
plague is the backdrop of a future desolation
(2:1-11). The Day of the LORD is coming and is a
major theme of Joel (2:1, 11, 25). God intervenes in
the affairs of Israel (Zeph. 1:14-18; Joel 1:15) and
heathen nations (Isa. 3:6; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 30:3).
It will be a day when all moral accounts will be
settled: (1) For the wicked it is a day of judgment
and punishment, but (2) For the faithful it is a day
of glory, reward, salvation and vindication of the
righteous. However, there is more to his message
because it is also illustrative in that a historical
incident represents a partial fulfillment of the
eschatological Day of the Lord. It is an
eschatological "day" of the Great Tribulation (Isa.
2:12-19; 4:1), the Second Coming of Christ (Joel
2:30-32) and the Millennium (Isa. 4:2; 12; 19:23-25;
Jer. 30:7-9).
Therefore the prophet
issues a call to personal repentance (vv. 12-14, and
a day of national repentance (vv. 15-17). On this
historic occasion the people repent and God
intervenes and saves Judah.
THE DELIVERANCE OF
JUDAH (2:18-3:21)
God is faithful to His
promises (vv. 25-27). In the context of this call to
personal and national repentance the prophet lifts
his spiritual sight and sees with his prophetic
lenses another day and a greater promise for his
people. It is something unheard of in the Old
Testament. "The signs of the dawning of judgment are
appended to the outpouring of the Spirit of God,"
writes Keil.
Again, the prophet sees
beyond the local repentance and revival of the
nation to a future day when the nation will receive
supernatural blessings (2:28-3:5)
Joel declares in the days
of the Messiah the Holy Spirit will be poured out
"on all flesh," and not just a few individuals for
specific assignments. The special gifts of the
Spirit were given only to certain individual
Israelites. However, in the age of grace the gifts
of the Spirit will be poured out on all mankind
(Acts 2:8-11, 39, 41; 10:34-47; 11:20, 21; 15:7-12).
The "all men" refers to all believers, male and
female, slave and free, youth and old, irrespective
of age or sex, or social standing. Joel declares
that God will pour out His Spirit in abundant
measure, an overflowing supply. It is an
ever-renewed outpouring on generation after
generation. It will be the age of the Spirit.
Joel says in verses
28-29:
"It will come about after
this
That I will pour out My
Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and
daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream
dreams,
Your young men will see
visions.
Even on the male and
female servants
I will pour out My
Spirit in those days."
"To pour out" signifies
"communication in rich abundance, like a rainfall or
waterfall." It is true the Spirit of God is the only
inward bond He has with His people, but the
outpouring in abundance with the gift of the Holy
Spirit was confined to the few whom God chose and
endowed as prophets. This limitation was to cease in
the future. Moses expressed his desire that all the
people were prophets and that the Lord would put His
Spirit upon them (Num. 11:29).
The "sporadic
communication of the Spirit of God in the Old
Testament" cannot be regarded as the "outpourings of
the Spirit of God." Keil observes, "This first took
place when Christ Jesus the Son of God had completed
the work of redemption, i.e., on the first feast of
Pentecost after the resurrection and ascension of
Christ." The outpouring of the Spirit shall continue
until the fullness of the Gentiles shall enter the
kingdom of God. This was fulfilled along with Joel’s
prophecy in the future.
The promise made in Joel
is far greater than anything experienced under the
law. The emphasis is on the greatness of this fresh
outpouring of the Spirit. As Calvin stressed, it
"does not mean merely to give in drops, but to pour
out in great abundance. But God did not pour out the
Holy Spirit so abundantly or copiously under the
law, as He has since the manifestation of Christ."
The greatest evidence as
to where Jesus Christ is at the present time is the
reality of Pentecost. We know that Jesus has risen
from the dead, ascended into heaven and is now
seated at the right hand of the Father making
intercession for us because He sent the Holy Spirit
just as He promised. The Holy Spirit came just as He
promised on the day of Pentecost; therefore, Jesus
is in heaven. "The last days" in Acts 2:17 had
arrived. They began with Christ’s first advent and
will continue until the second. The fulfilment of
this prophecy on the day of Pentecost does not
forbid other fulfillments.
The apostle Peter quotes
the whole passage in Joel as fulfillment at
Pentecost in Acts 2:16-21. Our understanding of Joel
and Peter’s interpretation must be with constant
vigilance with what the Holy Spirit has taught by
the prophets and apostles (1 Pet. 1:11; 1 Cor.
2:10-13).
The apostle Paul has
given us an infallible explanation and application
of it, assuring us that when the Spirit was poured
out on the 120 believers, on the day of Pentecost,
that was the very thing "which was spoken of by the
prophet Joel." That was the gift of the Spirit who
came as the accomplishment of the promise of the
Messiah. The outstanding characteristic of the
prophets of the Messianic times such as Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah was the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit without any limitations. Ancient
rabbis expected the fulfillment to take place in the
future on the advent of the Messiah.
"Not a single case occurs
in the whole Old Testament of a slave receiving the
gift of prophecy," observed Keil. Therefore, the
outpouring of the Spirit on slaves is something very
extraordinary. The Jewish community did not expect
it.
The outpouring of the
Holy Spirit on the 120 believers on the Day of
Pentecost is not the fulfilment predicted of such an
outpouring "upon all flesh." It is the beginning of
the fulfilment of this prophecy.
Possession of the
Spirit is down payment of every believer.
In the Old Testament we
often read of the Holy Spirit coming "by drops, as
it were, upon the judges and the prophets whom God
raised up for extraordinary services; but now the
Spirit shall be poured out plentifully in a full
stream, as was promised with an eye to gospel
times." Peter tells us that this came about in the
"last days," the days of the Messiah. The blessing
is not just for Jewish people, but also for
Gentiles. The Spirit shall be "poured out on all
flesh." In Christ there is no distinction between
Jew and Greek (Rom. 10:11-13). In Christ there is
neither bond nor free (Gal. 3:28). I doubt if Peter
understood the full implication of this until the
Spirit taught him at the home of Cornelius and his
friends who were Gentiles (Acts 10:44-45). The Holy
Spirit now works in the hearts of men bringing
conviction of sin, righteousness, unbelief and the
judgment of God. He works in unbeliever’s hearts to
bring them to an understanding of God’s salvation
offered through the death of Jesus Christ. And when
a person is born again He comes to live within the
person and the believer’s body becomes the temple of
the Holy Spirit.
"In Him, you also, after
listening to the message of truth, the gospel of
your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed
in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given
as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the
redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of
His glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Fruit is the mark of
authentic believers. You will know them by their
fruits. To what extent are we manifesting the fruit
of the Spirit in our daily life? God expects
the believer to produce the fruit of the Spirit
(Gal. 5:22-23; Jn. 15:1-12).
Christ is seen as the One
who will give the Holy Spirit (2:28; Jn. 16:7-15;
Acts 1:8), who judges the nations (3:2, 12) and who
is the refuge and stronghold of Israel (3:16).
The coming Day of
Yahweh
Joel pictures the
gathering of all nations for judgment. It will be a
time of judgment that will come upon all nations
after the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh. The
later prophets, Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum,
Zephaniah, Obadiah, Ezekiel and Malachi, quote him
and develop even further this theme. This gathering
of the nations can be completed only by Yahweh. It
will be at a time when the nations are in an tumult
against Israel. This gathering will come at a time
when God will miraculously intervene in a war
against Judah and Jerusalem. God will use the events
to purify Jerusalem and His people.
Keil and Delitzsch note,
"It will be the last decisive judgment, in which all
the single judgments find their end." These wonders
are extraordinary and marvelous natural phenomena.
They call to mind the plagues of Egypt (Ex. 7:17;
9:24).
Joel 2:30-32 describes
such a future scenario:
"I will display wonders
in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns
of smoke.
The sun will be turned
into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and
awesome day of the Lord comes.
And it will come about
that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in
Jerusalem
There will be those who
escape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the survivors
whom the Lord calls."
Joel describes wonders
and signs in the world of nature. Peter quotes Joel
saying, "‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and
vapor of smoke. ‘The sun will be turned into
darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great
and glorious day of the Lord shall come" (Acts
2:19-20, NASB95). Perhaps he had in mind the events
just fifty days earlier when the people of Jerusalem
has seen the sun turn into darkness at the
crucifixion of Jesus.
Compare the Day of the
LORD in Joel in 2:30-32; 3:1-21 with the words of
Jesus in Matt. 24:31; 25:40, 45, and John in
Revelation 16:14; 19:14; 14:18-19. There is a great
and terrible day of the Lord coming which will be
ushered in with "wonders in heaven and hearth,
blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke, the turning
of the sun into darkness and the moon into blood."
It will be completely fulfilled in the Day of
Judgment at the end of time. The judgments of God
will come upon a sinful world. As Joel declares it
will be a summons to judgment (3:1-17) and result in
the great consummation (vv. 18-21). The LORD God
reigns. He is sovereign over the universe. Judgment
of the nations goes hand in hand with the outpouring
of the Spirit.
Only way of escape
However, let us ever keep
in mind that there is a way of escape from the wrath
to come. How does God restore the years the locust
have eaten? There is only one way and that is
through Jesus Christ the Messiah. He offers
forgiveness and the indwelling of His Spirit in
everyone who will call upon His name in repentance
and faith. God will deliver you from the Day if you
will repent today and believe on Christ as your
savior. The apostle Peter brought his greatest
message to a close with this invitation in Acts
2:36-39.
Therefore let all the
house of Israel know for certain that God has made
Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you
crucified." Now when they heard this, they were
pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest
of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter
said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children
and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our
God will call to Himself."
"Calling upon the name of
the Lord" is a confession of the mouth and
expression of the heart as in Romans 10:9-10, 13. It
is only those who call upon the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ who will receive the outpouring of the
Spirit of God. None are saved but those who call
upon His name for salvation (Acts 4:12).
The all-sufficient work
Jesus Christ includes the giving of the Holy Spirit.
Have you received His free gift of eternal life by
grace through faith in Christ alone? Here is
Title: Joel 2:28-32
The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Series: Christ in
the Old Testament
