Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joel 2:15
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
15. Blow ye the horn in Zion ] Repeated verbatim from Joe 2:1, though in a different sense, as a call, namely, to a religious gathering, not as a signal of the approach of judgment (cf. on Amo 2:2).
sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly ] as Joe 1:14 a (first two clauses).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
15 17. With the view of making the preceding exhortation ( Joe 2:12 f.) more practically effective, the prophet here repeats more emphatically the command of Joe 1:14: he bids all ranks and classes assemble in the Temple for a solemn religious service, and prescribes at the same time the words in which the priests may intercede on behalf of the nation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Before, he had, in these same words Joe 2:1; Joe 1:14, called to repentance, because the Day of the Lord was coming, was near, a day of darkness, etc. Now , because God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and plenteous in goodness, he agains exhorts, Blow ye the trumpet; only the call is more detailed, that every sex and age should form one band of suppliants to the mercy of God. : Most full abolition of sins is then obtained, when one prayer and one confession issueth from the whole Church. For since the Lord promiseth to the pious agreement of two or three, that He will grant whatever is so asked, what shall be denied to a people of many thousands, fulfilling together one observance, and supplicating in harmony through One Spirit? We come together, says Tertullian of Christian worship, in a meeting and congregation as before God, as though we would in one body sue Him by our prayers. This violence is pleasing to God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joe 2:15-17
Sanctify a fast.
A penitential assembly
I. It must be an assembly which shall be solemn in the spirit in which it meets. Call a solemn assembly. In all probability these words refer to the legal purifications which were enjoined upon the people prior to their entering upon the worship of the temple. They are also indicative of the moral purity and earnestness which should especially characterise a penitential assembly. All who attended this meeting were to be washed from the defilement of their past sin, and were to come and bow before the Lord in a renewed condition of soul. This was not an assembly to inaugurate social reform, to advance scientific research, or to determine a political policy; but to manifest a deep sorrow for national apostasy, and to turn aside the peril which had been awakened thereby. This meeting was not to vaunt the prowess of the nation, hut to confess sin before God; and surely only a solemn mood would avail at such a time. How beneficial would be the effect of such an assembly.
II. It must be an assembly in which every conceivable aid to repentance shall be regarded. Assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
1. There was the pathos of sorrowful old age. Here is old age in tears because of the sin of the nation, and because of the evil of which it is guilty before God. The elders were present. They have known the nation long. They are concerned for its welfare. They are deeply moved by the judgments with which it is visited.
2. There was the pathos of imperilled childhood. The children of the nation were present at this meeting; not even infants were exempt from attendance. And would not the thought of the danger to which these innocent babes were liable, and their piteous cries, lead their parents to humiliation before God?
3. There was the abandonment of domestic festivities. The bridegroom went forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet, in order that they might attend the meeting thus imperatively called. The newly-married were not to be exempt from this penitential assembly. The most innocent festivities of life were to yield their joy to the refreshing and saving tears of repentance.
III. It must be an assembly in which the moral leaders of the people shall sustain their appropriate relation. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar. The priests are to utter in public before God the inward feeling of the nation. This was a Divine arrangement. It was conducive to order. It was promotive of repentance. And so in the penitential assembly the moral leaders of the people must intercede on their behalf before God.
IV. It must be an assembly in which the mercy of God shall be earnestly supplicated. Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? The priests were not only to weep; they were also to pray. Tears without prayers are vain.
1. The prayer of the priest is for mercy. They ask God to spare their undeserving but repentant people. They make no excuse.
2. The prayer of the priest remembers the covenant of God with His people. They plead that God will save His people and His heritage. In our prayer of repentance we may plead the Divine Ownership of us and the Divine interest in us. Each soul is the heritage of God.
3. The prayer of the priests desires the glory of God. The Jews were the people of God. Thus the priests plead that national salvation may take away from their wicked enemies the opportunity of reproaching the Divine name.
Lessons–
1. That national assemblies should be frequently called to confess sin before God.
2. That they should combine all classes of individuals.
3. That they should be arranged by the ministers of the Gospel.
4. That they should prayerfully seek the glory of God. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
A fast
When God visits mankind in judgment, there are three calamities which He sends upon them, the sword, the famine, and pestilence. How are we to sanctify a fast, or make a holy thing of it, by a due and proper celebration? This is to be done–
I. By a confession of sin. When we confess, we should begin with confessing that sinfulness of our nature which is the root of all the sins of the world. We should proceed to confess the sins of our time, the first and greatest of which is the want of faith, or the neglect of Christianity. This want of faith is naturally followed by a neglect of Divine worship; for who will worship as a Christian, that does not believe as a Christian? When we are considering the sins of the age, it is hard to know where to begin, or where to end.
II. A resolution of amendment. Not by the devotion of a single day, but by a continued sense of the terrors of the Lord upon our lives and actions. While we have the light of the Gospel, let us value it, and walk by it.
III. A dependence upon the goodness and mercy of God. Penitents in the worst of times have everything to hope. What obligations then lie upon you at this moment, to be serious, to be sorrowful for past sin, devout and humble, constant in the worship of God, and sincerely devoted to His service for the time to come. (W. Jones, M. A.)
An urgently demanded meeting
Men are constantly assembling themselves together for one purpose or another,–political, commercial, scientific, entertaining. But of all the meetings none are so urgent as the one indicated in the text.
I. It is a meeting called on account of common sin. All the people of Judah had sinned grievously, and they were now summoned together on that account. No subject is of such urgent importance as this. Sin, this was the root of all the miseries of their country. It behoved them to meet together in order to deliberate how best to tear up this upas-tree, how best to dry up this pestiferous fountain of all their calamities.
II. It is a meeting composed of all classes. The young and the old were there; the sad and the jubilant; even the bridal pair; the priests and the people. The subject concerned them all. All were vitally interested in it. Sin is no class subject. It concerns the man in imperial purple, as well as the man in paupers rags.
III. It is a meeting for humiliation and prayer. It was not a meeting for debate or discussion, for mere social intercourse and entertainment, but for profound humiliation before God. Conclusion. No meeting is more urgently demanded to-day than such an one as this. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. Blow the trumpet] Let no time be lost, let the alarm be sounded.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Blow the trumpet in Zion: see Joe 2:1.
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: see Joe 1:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. Blow the trumpettoconvene the people (Nu 10:3).Compare Joe 1:14. The nationwas guilty, and therefore there must be a national humiliation.Compare Hezekiah’s proceedings before Sennacherib’s invasion (2Ch30:1-27).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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, Nu 10:2;
sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; [See comments on Joe 1:14].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To make this admonition still more emphatic, the prophet concludes by repeating the appeal for the appointment of a meeting in the temple for prayer, and even gives the litany in which the priests are to offer their supplication. Joe 2:15. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, proclaim a meeting. Joe 2:16. Gather the people together, sanctify an assembly, bring together the old men, gather together the children and sucklings at the breasts. Let the bridegroom go out of his chamber, and the bride out of her room. Joe 2:17. Between the porch and the altar are the priests, the servants of Jehovah, to weep and say, Spare, O Jehovah, Thy people, and give not up Thine inheritance to shame, so that the heathen scoff at them. Wherefore should men say among the nations, Where is their God?” Joe 2:15 is a literal repetition from Joe 2:1 and Joe 1:14; Joe 1:16 a more detailed expansion of Joe 1:14, in which, first of all, the people generally ( ) are mentioned, and then the objection of the summons explained in the words , “Call a holy meeting of the congregation.” But in order that none may think themselves exempt, the people are more precisely defined as old men, children, and sucklings. Even the bride and bridegroom are to give up the delight of their hearts, and take part in the penitential and mournful worship. No age, no rank, is to stay away, because no one, not even the suckling, is free from sin; but all, without exception, are exposed to the judgment. “A stronger proof of the deep and universal guilt of the whole nation could not be found, than that on the great day of penitence and prayer, even new-born infants were to be carried in their arms” (Umbreit). The penitential supplication of the whole nation is to be brought before the Lord by the priests as the mediators of the nation. in Joe 1:17 is jussive, like in Joe 1:16, though Hitzig disputes this, but on insufficient grounds. The allusion to the priests in the former could only be unsuitable, if they were merely commanded to go to the temple like the rest of the people. But it is not to this that Joe 1:17 refers, but to the performance of their official duty, when the people had assembled for the penitential festival. They were to stand between the porch of the temple and the altar of burnt-offering, i.e., immediately in front of the door of the holy place, and there with tears entreat the Lord, who was enthroned in the sanctuary, not to give up the people of His possession ( nachalah as in 1Ki 8:51; cf. Deu 4:20; Deu 32:9) to the reproach of being scoffed at by the heathen. is rendered by Luther and others, “that heathen rule over them,” after the ancient versions; and Psa 106:41; Deu 15:6, and Lam 5:8, might be appealed to in support of this rendering. But although grammatically allowable, it is not required by the parallelism, as Hengstenberg maintains. For even if the reproach of Israel could consist in the fact that they, the inheritance of the Lord, were subjected to the government of heathen, this thought is very remote from the idea of the passage before us, where there is no reference at all in the threatening of punishment to subjection to the heathen, but simply to the devastation of the land. with also signifies to utter a proverb (= to scoff) at any one, for which Ezekiel indeed makes use of (Eze 17:2; Eze 18:2, and in Eze 12:23 and Eze 18:3 construed with ); but it is evident that mashal was sometimes used alone in this sense, from the occurrence of mosh e lm in Num 21:27 as a term applied to the inventors of proverbs, and also of m e shol as a proverb or byword in Job 17:6, whether we take the word as an infinitive or a substantive. This meaning, as Marck observes, is rendered probable both by the connection with , and also by the parallel clause which follows, viz., “Wherefore should men among the heathen say,” etc., more especially if we reflect that Joel had in his mind not Deu 15:6, which has nothing in common with the passage before us except the verb mashal , but rather Deu 28:37, where Moses not only threatens the people with transportation to another land for their apostasy from the Lord, and that they shall become “an astonishment, a proverb ( mashal ), and a byword” among all nations, but (Deu 28:38, Deu 28:40-42) also threatens them with the devastation of their seed-crops, their vineyards, and their olive-grounds by locusts. Compare also 1Ki 9:7-8, where not only the casting out of Israel among the heathen, but even the destruction of the temple, is mentioned as the object of ridicule on the part of the heathen; also the combination of and in Jer 24:9. But Joe 2:19 is decisive in favour of this view of . The Lord there promises that He will send His people corn, new wine, and oil, to their complete satisfaction, and no longer make them a reproach among the nations; so that, according to this, it was not subjugation or transportation by heathen foes that gave occasion to the scoffing of the nations at Israel, but the destruction of the harvest by the locusts. The saying among the nations, “Where is their God?” is unquestionably a sneer at the covenant relation of Jehovah to Israel; and to this Jehovah could offer no inducement, since the reproach would fall back upon Himself. Compare for the fact itself, Exo 32:12; Mic 7:10, and Psa 115:2. Thus the prayer closes with the strongest reason why God should avert the judgment, and one that could not die away without effect.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Here again the Prophet reminds them that there was need of deep repentance; for not only individuals had transgressed, but the whole people had become guilty before God; and we also know how many and grievous their sins had been. There is no wonder then that the Prophet requires a public profession of repentance.
He bids them first to sound the trumpet in Zion. This custom, as we have seen at the beginning of the chapter, was in common use under the Law; they summoned their meetings by the sound of trumpets. There is then no doubt but that the Prophet here refers to an extraordinary meeting. They sounded the trumpets whenever they called the people to the festivals. But it must have been unusual for the Jews to proclaim a fast on account of God’s heavy judgment, which was to come on them unless it was prevented. He then shows the purpose of this, bidding them to sanctify a fast By this word קדש kodesh, he means a proclamation for a holy purpose. Sanctify, then a fast, that is, Proclaim a fast in the name of God.
We slightly touched on the subject of fasting in the first chapter, but deferred a fuller discussion to this place. Fasting, we know, is not of itself a meritorious work, as the Papists imagine it to be: there is, indeed, strictly speaking, no work meritorious. But the Papists dream that fasting, in addition to its merit and worth, is also by itself of much avail in the worship of God; and yet fasting, when regarded in itself is an indifferent work. (5) It is not then approved by God, except for its end; it must be connected with something else, otherwise it is a vain thing. Men, by private fastings prepare themselves for the exercise of prayer, or they mortify their own flesh, or seek a remedy for some hidden vices. Now I do not call fasting temperance; for the children of God, we know, ought through their whole life to be sober and temperate in their habits; but fasting, I regard that to be, when something is abstracted from our moderate allowance: and such a fast, when practiced privately, is, as I have said, either a preparation for the exercise of prayer, or a means to mortify the flesh, or a remedy for some vices.
But as to a public fast, it is a solemn confession of guilt, when men suppliantly approach the throne of God, acknowledge themselves worthy of death, and yet ask pardon for their sins. Fasting then, with regard to God, is similar to black and mean garments and a long beard before earthly judges. The criminal goes not before the judge in a splendid dress, with all his fine things, but casts away every thing that was before elegant in his appearance, and by his uncombed hair and long beard he tries to excite the compassion of his judge. There is, at the same time, another reason for fasting; for when we have to do with men, we wish to please their eyes and conciliate their favor; and he who fasts, not only testifies openly that he is guilty, but he also reminds himself of his guilt; for as we are not sufficiently touched by the sense of God’s wrath, those aids are useful which help to excite and affect us. He then who fasts, excites himself the more to penitence.
We now perceive the right use of fasting. But it is of public fasting that the Prophet speaks here. For what purpose? That the Jews, whom he had before summoned, might present themselves before God’s tribunal, and that they might come there, not with vain excuses, but with humble prayer. This is the design of fasting. We now see how foolishly the Papists have abused fasting; for they think it to be a meritorious work; they imagine that God is honored by abstinence from meat; they also mention those benefits of fasting to which I have referred; but they join fasts with festivals, as if there was some religion in abstaining from flesh or certain meats. We now then perceive by what gross puerilities the Papists trifle with God. We must then carefully notice the end in view, whenever the Scripture speaks of fasting; for all things will be confounded, except we lay hold on the principle which I have stated — that fasting ought ever to be connected with its end. We shall now proceed.
(5) Medium opus, “a middle work, neutral, neither good nor bad”. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE YEAR OF DEPRESSION1932
Joe 2:15-32
IT will be remembered that a year ago certain atheists of our land sent a communication to President Hoover, and at the same time broadcasted the same through the land, opposing the appointment of Thanksgiving Day. They called attention to certain states that had suffered from drought; they emphasized the unemployment situation; they pictured the financial crisis that held the country in its grip; they described the debacle in agricultural returns; they emphasized the worlds unrest, the spectacle of wars and rumors of wars, and concluded that there was no occasion for gratitude to any God, and that such a proclamation as that involved in the Thanksgiving Day was meaningless and farcical; the attempt to keep up the ceremonials of religion in an age when atheism was the rising philosophy.
Our President silently ignored this petition, doubtless holding its superficiality in contempt. He knew that the whole argument was fallacious and that every complaint voiced in the same was attributable to mans failure rather than to Gods fault, and that never, in human history, had this land, at least, enjoyed truer occasion of Thanksgiving than now.
The fact of Gods favor and mans fault will be increasingly evident as together we study the text selected for this Thanksgiving Day consideration.
It involves A Solemn Appeal, a Sacred Promise, and a Pledge of the Outpoured Spirit.
A SOLEMN APPEAL
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet (Joe 2:15-16).
This is Gods call for a solemn assembly. The urgency for such assembly is found in the sentence, Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. God has always wrought through assemblies. He may have, in fact He has had, His secret trysts with individuals; but His greater communications have been given to crowds. It was so when the Law was given; the throngs of Israel heard and saw; it was so when the Gospel trumpet was first sounded in the streets of Jerusalem. For the multitude [heard], and were confounded.
There are important communications that can best be delivered to assemblies. For some years now I have made it a habit, when discussing great doctrinal questions or popular current philosophies, to follow with a sort of an open forum, permitting questions and making replies. Again and again individuals who were silent while the forum lasted have waited for me at the foot of the pulpit stairs and in an undertone have said, I have a very important question that I wish you would answer for me. To which I have often and always justly replied, Pardon me, but if it is very important you should have given me the advantage of a public answer, for important questions and answers are never those in which only a single individual is interested, and I would advise that you write the same out and send it up to me tomorrow night, and when I shall have answered it for you, I may also have given aid to hundreds of others.
Human interests are so nearly identical that the assembly provides a broadcasting opportunity. That is why the church comes together. It would be impossible for the pastor, or even fifty pastors, to go to the individual members of such a church as this and sit down with each and preach to him a personal Gospel and answer for him individual questions, seeking to solve individual difficulties.
The Old Testament Prophets, when they received a revelation from the Lord, carried it either to the streets where throngs were passing, or to the synagogue where the crowds had assembled to speak what God had given.
That is the real reason for calling assemblies, and that is an adequate reason for Pauls plea with Christian believers that they should not forsake the assembling of themselves together as the manner of some is.
I have noted a fact, and so have you, that that member of this church who attends it on Christmas Day and on Easter Sunday morning, and is seldom or never seen in the long weeks intervening, is practically a worthless member, and not only valueless to the church, but spiritually destitute.
I think dear old Isaac Watts must have had such church members in mind when he penned his fourth verse in the immortal hymn Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove for that verse runs after this manner:
Dear Lord, and shall we ever liveAt this poor dying rate,Our love so faint, so cold to Thee,And Thine to us so great?
The Watchman Examiner some time ago carried an article that told of a certain pastor who had dropped into the Examiners office, and who wearily said, I feel that my people are not giving me a fair and square deal. They come out in good numbers on Sunday morning; they congratulate me on my sermon, and then on Sunday evening they desert me and leave the church so empty that the strangers who visit it are chilled by the vacant seats, and I, myself, have little heart in preaching to the empty benches.
Roy L. Smith in The Christian Advocate suggests a comparison of ones loyalty to Christ and his loyalty at other points. He says, You will take time off for the Game when your favorite team is playing; you take time off for the lodge on its meeting nights: you defend your secular profession when it is attacked. Then why not devote yourself with equal ardor to the cause of the church, and stand ready to defend Christianity under any and all circumstances?
But, the text proceeds to another and most logical step, namely
The need of a new sanctification.
Sanctify the congregation.
The word sanctify means set apart to sacred uses, and there is no church member who is going to be faithful to the solemn assembly except this sanctification takes place; except there be a surrender to serve.
John H. Hutton quotes one of the most influential journalists of the times as having said, We have seen Christ, and we are all uneasy.
When you find people whose names are on the church book, and whose attendance upon the church assemblies is intermittent, and who remain indifferent to that circumstance, you can but wonder if they have seen Christ. A cold placidity of mind is poor evidence of vital Christian experience.
Francis J. Hall graduated from Johns Hopkins medical School in Baltimore with high honors. Shortly thereafter he set out to China where, as a medical missionary, he won for himself a large place in Christian work. In 1913 he was called to see a Chinaman who had Typhus Fever. His friends warned him against going, saying that many physicians had taken it and perished with it. He only answered, As the Lords servant, I must go. Two weeks later he was stricken, and in a few days he was dying. In his delirium, at the end, he exclaimed over and over again, I hear them calling; I must go! I hear them calling; I must go! I hear them calling; I must go!
Who doubts that the sentences of his delirium were the direct products of his deep spiritual experience? And who doubts that his death was a triumphant translation into the presence and rewards of Him whose willing servant he was? His was a sanctified life; a life set apart to the sacred uses of Christian service, and his was also a sample life, fit to be imitated and emulated by every saint on earth.
But, neither constancy in the assembly, nor sanctification for service are likely, apart from the third point mentioned in this text, namely,
The experience of penitent prayer,
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? (Joe 2:17)
There are times when any faithful interpretation of a text compels the minister to preach to himself, and to take to heart what he is saying. I confess with shame this morning, that I believe that if your minister, the man who fulfils the priestly office of intercessor for this people, were more often and more agonizingly in prayer, the work of Grace wrought through this church would be infinitely greater. I have been strangely moved of late by the reports that have come to me of prayer circles being formed in the church,little groups of people getting together in their homes to pray that God would manifest His power in the salvation of sinners and the sanctification of saints. To me it is an evidence that God is moving by His Spirit in our midst, and I suggest that in all such meetings you shall not forget the minister; and I declare to you my honest and deep desire to be the prayerful leader that God wants me to be and that His people need to have; for I know the history of the great revivals that have come to America. Uniformly some one has been Gods priest, the minister of the Lord, to pray down a blessing upon the people.
Do you remember the story that is told of Moodys first visit to London? He was unknown in that city and scarce heard of in that land. He had not been invited over by anybody, but after arriving was asked to preach for a certain church, which he did. The church seemed cold and the service almost meaningless, but he announced that he would preach again at night. When he returned in the evening the whole atmosphere was changed; the crowd was greatly increased. At the close of the service he gave an invitation to those who wanted to be saved to stand, and a veritable crowd responded.
He left the next day for Dublin, Ireland, but shortly was called to return to the same church, and the call was attended by the statement that the whole community was aroused. He went back to see a work of Grace in which hundreds sought and found the Lord, and to learn the secret of the same. An invalid woman who could not even get to the church had been praying for weeks for the outpouring of the Spirit. Yes, for months she had assiduously sought the Throne of Grace. One day in reading a paper she saw an account of Moodys meetings in America. She began to plead with God to send that man to her church, but did not know that God had answered the prayer until her sister returned from the service and announced that Moody had been the preacher. Then she sought the Lord as never before, pleading with Him, (now that He had sent the man in answer to her prayer), that He would pour out His Spirit upon the people, and that night the great revival began.
I know not who may have the joy and honor of bringing a special visitation of Grace to this church, but I do know from the text, and from my own experience, that the priest, the minister of the Lord, should be the special pleader, saying, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, and that he, himself, should be so deeply and unselfishly concerned as to secure the ear of the Lord and the answer of Grace.
Down in Southern Illinois, years since, Dr. Peter Akers, speaker at one of the Methodist Camp Meetings, went through three days of the same, but saw no signs of the Spirits presence. At the close of that time he found himself sleepless at night, and sometime after 11 oclock got up and dressed and went over to the tabernacle. Kneeling before the chancel there he commenced to pour out his soul in prayer. All unconsciously his voice rose to higher and higher notes. The next thing he knew, people began to come into the tabernacle and silently bowing their heads to join him in the petition. On and on he prayed in apparent agony. Before the break of the day the crowd had filled the place and scores were saved.
If the meetings that we have planned for the pre-Christmas season bring many men and women to God, somebody must pray.
But, we pass to
THE SACRED PROMISE
The Lord will respond in grace.
Then will the Lord be jealous for His land, and pity His people.
Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen (Joe 2:18-19).
How like the Lord that! When did He refuse response in grace if approached in genuine repentance and by way of prayer?
You may turn back into the pages of the Old Testament history, and you will find that God never failed in grace when His people penitently sought His favor.
It will be remembered that when Moses went into the Mount to receive the Law that Israel turned in unbelief to vile behavior,
And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
But in answer to Moses prayer, the Lord repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people (Exo 32:9-10; Exo 32:14).
It will be remembered that when Achan so grievously sinned, and the Children of Israel could not stand before their enemies because they were accursed, when the evil was put away, the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger (Jos 7:26).
It will be remembered that when the Lord pronounced a judgment upon Nineveh, and the Ninevites repented their sins and pled for grace that God * * repenteth Him of the evil that He would do unto them, and He did it not.
The way, then, back to Divine favor is an open way, and it should be known at least to those of His children who have given study to His course with men.
Roger Babson has been Americas financial adviser for some years past. From month to month, business men have read his reports, and to no small degree have based their transactions upon his advice, and with good occasion. Sometime since, Mr. Babson returned from Europe, and this is what he said,
Europe is on fireon fire with Bolshevism, radicalism, and kindred perils; and unless these fires are put out they will burn up the world. A newspaper reporter said to him, What is the matter with America? and Mr. Babson said, Moral sickness. How can America be saved?
You can write this for your front pagesAmerica cannot be saved until men and women of this generation get down on their knees and pray like their mothers prayed, and until business men put the ten commandments back into business; until then America is lost.
Many of us need to cry out with John Taylor,
God of mercy, God of grace,
Hear our sad, repentant songs;
O restore Thy suppliant race,
Thou, to whom our praise belongs.
Deep regret for follies past,
Talents wasted, time misspent;
Hearts debased by worldly cares,
Thankless for the blessings lent;
Foolish fears and fond desires,
Vain regrets for things as vain;
Lips too seldom taught to praise,
Oft to murmur and complain;
These, and every secret fault,
Filled with grief and shame, we own;
Humbled at Thy feet we lie,
Seeking pardon from Thy throne.
The Lord will fight the battles of His own.
But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things (Joe 2:20-21).
There are people who imagine that wars indicate that God is not in the world, and perhaps, as the atheist argues, proves that He does not exist at all. On the contrary, nothing will so profoundly impress the thoughtful student in Gods favor as do the fortunes of war. Somehow or other He signally manifests His power when wars .take place.
Joan of Arc was keenly conscious of this fact. She undertook the impossible, and by the help of God, accomplished it; and when she had finished it all, and consequently stood before the world as the worker of wonders, she knelt at the feet of her anointed sovereign and said, Gracious king; now is fulfilled the prophecy of God, and as she spoke, she wept. John Lord, speaking of this, said, Not by power had she done this, but by the Spirit of the Lord. God had fought for her, and had fought with her. If God be with us, who can be against us?
It is the habit of nations when they are about to go to war to make every conceivable provision for both defense and offence; but alas, too often they forget to regard God, and to inquire whether their cause is one He can favor or whether they will also have Him to fight against. Woe to that nation that enters into a battle against God! How often has it happened that the ill savor of such comes up, and their stench is in the nostrils of men!
It is true still as in Joels day,
The Lord is always exceeding all expectations.
He will cause to come down for you the ram, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
And the floors shall he full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmer-worm * * (Joe 2:23-25),
and for His own He shall provide in plenty, and they shall be satisfied. Praise His Name that hath dealt wondrously with Him! His people shall never be ashamed.
Oh voice of God we hear Thee,
Above the shock of time;
Thine echoes roll around us
And the message is sublime.
No power of man shall thwart us,
No stronghold shall dismay,
When God commands obedience,
And love has led the way.
THE OUT-POURING OF HIS SPIRIT
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit (Joe 2:28-29).
Peter saw the beginnings of this promise fulfilled at Pentecost, but Peter had no notion that the fullness of the promise was exhausted in that first Jerusalem revival; in fact some days afterward when he, himself, was the subject of violent hands and imprisonment. It is written, Howbeit many of them which heard the Word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand (Act 4:4).
There are those who seem to think the out-pouring of the Spirit is evidenced in strange tongues, or is demonstrated by physical contortions. In my study of the New Testament I have not found it so.
The immediate product of these occasions was liberal gifts and multiplied converts (Act 2:41-47), and we are profoundly convinced that the ways of the Spirit have not changed, and that today the Spirit-filled man, the Spirit-endued woman, is the man, the woman whose purse is opened, and who goes about the personal work or public ministry of winning men to Jesus Christ.
If I were asked today who seemed to me to be the Spirit-filled people of this church, I would be compelled to disappoint and even surprise many with my answer. I should not name those who claim most, but I should name some whose generosity never fails, and whose personal work accounts for a new soul, saved every few days.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: but the objective of His gift is that Ye may be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And it is at that point that the Church of God is failing today. We live with people in the same house; we work with them in the same shop; we pass and greet them in the streets; we mingle with them at the club; we meet them in the social circle, and we say not a word to them about their souls! We do not so much as invite them to the house of God where they may hear the Word and live! Our lips are sealed; our testimony is wanting, and our failure is the evidence of the fact that we have not waited upon God until the Person of the Spirit who is His power in testimony has come upon us.
Against this failure God utters His adequate warning.
And I will shew wonders m the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come (Joe 2:30-31).
There are people who think that God should never behave after this manner; that He should not deal in blood; that He should not use fire; that He should not send up pillars of smoke; that He should not frighten or fill men with consternation. The same people, however, have no objection whatever to the siren whistle when a fire breaks out. That is alarming also; that disturbs the sleep of men; that calls them from their couches of ease; but where the danger is evident the warning is properly appraised. However, when the danger is not evident, but is certain, the warning is all the more necessary.
That messenger who warned the white settlers of the stealthy approach of the Indians who had planned a murderous attack, was counted a friend. That man who rode down the Conemaugh Valley in 1889, shouting from horseback to every man, woman and child seen, To the hills, to the hills! The dam has broken; the flood is coming! was a friend.
Shall we not appreciate Gods signals of danger; Gods signs of coming distress? The days are dark; for some the nights are moon-less and star-less in the financial world and even in the moral world at this moment. Lights are going out! The darkness of despair creeps upon the land. Shall we not learn?
Finally, there is a sure deliverance for all sincere seekers.
It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall he delivered (Joe 2:32).
It is our judgment that that promise is universal, provided, of course, its conditions of sincerity are met.
Theodore Cuyler once said, None of Gods promises are unconditional. We have no such assets to our credit that we have a right to draw out checks and demand that God shall pay them. God loves to give to them who love to let Him have His way.
But God does condition,they shall call. In other words, He determines the conditions and it is ours to meet them if we are to be saved.
Campbell Morgan, in one of his little volumes, tells the story of conducting a mission in England where a man sat in the back of the chapel. In the aftermeeting, as Mr. Morgan was moving around and speaking to several people, he came to this man and found him under conviction. He said, I do not want to go into that Inquiry Room. Cant I be saved without going in there? No, I dont think you can, was Mr. Morgans answer. Why? said he, is salvation in the Inquiry Room? No; it is in God, but just as long as you sit here and want to dictate to God, you are proving that you have not got to the end of self, and there is no salvation for you.
Then said he, If I cannot be saved without going into that Inquiry Room, I will go to hell. Well, my brother, Mr. Morgan answered, that is not Gods choice for you, but if you have chosen it for yourself He cannot help it.
Night after night the man kept coming. Mr. Morgan had warned the personal workers to let him alone. The last night of the mission w&s on;before Mr. Morgan had got to the invitation, that man arose and climbed over the backs of the seats and straight into the Inquiry Room he went. Mr. Morgan followed him and said, I thought you would rather go to hell than come in here? Yes, I thought so too; but I have been in hell all week and I cannot endure it any longer!
It is not ours to dictate terms, but it is ours to meet conditions, and when we meet them, God will keep His Word, and the word is, Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be delivered.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Joe. 2:15. Blow] Convene the people.
Joe. 2:16-17.] No age and condition exempted, for all deserve punishment; the joy of the bride and bridegroom even must give place to penitential mourning.
Joe. 2:17.] The priests must take their position, and pray to God on behalf of his covenant people.
HOMILETICS
A CALL TO PUBLIC REPENTANCE.Joe. 2:15-17
Once more a day must be set apart for public fasting and humiliation. Personal repentance when genuine will lead to public confession. A sense of sin in the hearts of individuals will produce fruit and find expression in the actions of the community. Hence all the nation are summoned to solemn assembly. Blow the trumpet in Zion.
I. Great national danger urged them to public assembly. The nation is endangered by sin, sorrow has fallen upon all ranks, and sympathy unites them into one. Assemblies are called for scientific and political purposes; but no assembly so solemn as that called by natural calamity. Affliction cements the hearts and binds the hopes of nations. It is in vain to sound an alarm for war, to blow the trumpet and muster our armies, without the favour of God. The most effectual call is that of a Church or a nation to repentance. The most powerful defence is universal penitence and prayer to God. By this alone can we overcome our enemies and avert the judgment of God. Let tyrants fear, cried Queen Elizabeth when threatened with the Spanish invasion; I put my trust in God, and in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects. For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
II. None of the nation were exempt from the call to public assembly. Gather the people.
1. The aged must assemble. Assemble the elders. Men of understanding and ripe in years must be active and eminent examples in times of fasting and humiliation. Wisdom and experience belong to them, advice and help are expected from them.
2. Children must not be exempt. Gather the children and those that suck the breasts. The youngest and most helpless were involved in parental danger, and must touch parental hearts. The sight would be very affecting, and if God spared Nineveh for the sake of the children, he might spare Israel. The prayers of the aged and the cries of the young may not avail with men, but they are power with God. All Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives and their children (2Ch. 20:13).
3. The newly married must obey the call. Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber and the bride out of her closet. Marriage joy must give place to national fasts, and feasting must be turned into mourning. There is a time for all things, and private interests must give place to public duties. The raptures of love must be forgotten in the guilt of the nation. It is mockery to spend time in making merry which ought to be consecrated to God in sorrow. All unfit for battle and all exempt from war (Deu. 24:5); all classes of the community, the aged and the young, the mirthful and the mournful, the priests and the people, were required to attend. In that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth (Isa. 22:12)
III. National confession was the object of public assembly. It was not an assembly for social entertainment and mirth. Not mere attendance and cessation from toil were required. It was a solemn assembly, a meeting for deep humiliation before God.
1. Confession was made through their public representatives. The priests, the ministers of the Lord in dignity and office, must set the example, lead the assembly in weeping and prayer. In front of the Holy Place, in which Jehovah was enshrined, they must bend and plead for the people. Ministers should ever be intercessors for the nation, feel the condition of men, and urge them by precept and example to devote themselves to God.
2. Confession was made on national grounds. Prayer is based on grounds which should never be forgotten by Gods people in like circumstances. It is a special liturgy for the solemn occasion. And God who reads the heart in the words will surely hear the words which he himself breathes in the heart. Mercy is the common cry. Punishment is deserved, but all were earnest in praying for deliverance from famine and reproach. Spare thy people, O Lord. (l) Gods covenant relation is pleaded. Spare us, not because we weep and fast, not because we deserve mercy, but because we are thine heritage, though unworthy of the name. Thou hast chosen us for thyself, remember and keep thy word with us and our fathers. The covenant of God is not to be renounced and forgotten by the penitent, but pleaded to secure a perpetual interest in God.
(2) Gods honour among the heathen is concerned. Wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? If God does not fulfil his word and protect us, if we are utterly ruined by judgments, and insulted by idolaters, the enemies would rejoice and blasphemously inquire what God could do for his people? The penitent is humbled for his own sin; but when God is reproached, and his love called in question because he appears severe, this is an addition to his sorrow, a sword in his bones (Psa. 42:10). He therefore pleads that God would defend his own glory, and not permit men to be confirmed in their error and folly (Eze. 20:5; Eze. 36:21; Eze. 36:23). Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? Let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed (Psa. 79:10).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Joe. 2:15. Sanctify a fast. Care should be taken both by ministers and people in their stations, that every duty be not profanely gone about, nor external performances rested in; but that it may be done in a spiritual and sanctified manner, that there should be due preparation for it, and that the congregation come purified (as the word signifieth), according to the law, and fast in a sanctified manner [Hutcheson].
Joe. 2:16. Gather the people.
1. In times of calamity fasting may be appropriate.
2. In times of national calamity the nation, all the people, should join.
3. Men of superior rank should use their influence and stimulate others to attend Gods house and regard Gods word. By penitence and prayer an entire community may be saved from distress.
Gather the children. Anniversary Sermon. I. Many gatherings for children. Exeter Hall meetings; the Great Exhibition; children in Peel Park; Manchester; annual sermons and festivities. II. Many purposes for which children are gathered.
1. School education.
2. Social enjoyment.
3. Christian worship.
4. Solemn fasting and humiliation, in the text. III. Many advantages result from gatherings of children.
1. It is the fulfilment of Scripture.
2. Necessary for children themselves.
3. Beneficial in many ways to parents.
Joe. 2:17. Weeping priests and guilty people. The sins of the people and the sufferings consequent upon them should weigh upon the hearts of ministers. If God frowns upon a people, if error and evils abound in a community, are not the shepherds to blame? Of all members of a stricken Church, ministers have the greatest cause to mourn.
Reproach of Israel.
1. Departure from God.
2. Exposure to Divine judgment.
3. Enslaved by the heathen. Christians should maintain their credit and character, and especially deprecate reproach cast on the character and conduct of God.
Where is their God?
1. The spirit of the question. A question often put
1. In ignorance.
2. In atheism.
3. In ridicule. Carnal men ignorant of the character of God, the mysteries of his providence, and regardless of his people. II. The substance of the question.
1. This question reflects upon God. Gods presence, Gods providence, and Gods word.
2. This question reflects upon Gods people. They are considered worthless, forsaken, and despised. It is the most bitter of all taunts.
Spare thy people. I. The prayer. Spare, deliver from trouble, pardon sin and help in future. II. The plea.
1. Thy people, words of interest, submission and affection.
2. Thy people in danger, that the heathen should not rule over them. God alone has the sole right to the homage and service of his people. We may always plead the interest which God takes in our spiritual welfare, as the reason for averting judgments from the Church and the nation which our sins have merited.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Joe. 2:15-17. In this assembly kings and priests lead the way; nobles and common people promptly join. The whole multitude bow like one man, and fall prostrate at the footstool of mercy. All acknowledge their guilt and are sensible of their danger. All repent and pray that God would spare his people. Though repentance is now put in the inward dispositions of the soul, yet on occasion of national humiliation, and peculiar religious solemnity, it may be suitable to testify by our deportment and dress, the seriousness and sadness of our minds. Splendour and gaiety of apparel, if ever becoming Christians, should be laid aside at such seasons. It is well when the government of a nation, in its spiritual and political authorities, takes the lead in the promotion of piety and regard to the doctrines and duties of religion. It is most touching and instructive to see all classes of the community lift up their hearts in prayer for mercy and deliverance.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(15, 16) Sanctify a fast.The prophet renews, therefore, his summons to the priests to proclaim a day of humiliation, on which all, without distinction of age or circumstances, are to be required to present themselves before the Lord. There was no room for the plea, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Joe 2:15-17 are an emphatic re-iteration of the exhortation in Joe 1:14. Joe 2:15 takes us back to Joe 2:1, where the priests are exhorted to blow the trumpet. There it was intended to be chiefly a signal of danger, here a call to a religious gathering. 15b is a repetition of Joe 1:14 a. No one is to be excluded or excused from the proposed service; all are to take part. Even the smallest children are to join. Joe 2:16 is an expansion of Joe 1:14 b.
Gather the people In Joe 1:14, “all the inhabitants of the land.” The purpose of the gathering is indicated in the following expression: Sanctify the congregation [“assembly”] Call a holy meeting of the congregation and consecrate the thus gathered people so that they can approach God properly (Exo 19:10; 1Sa 16:5). The act of consecration was external, but it signified an inner spiritual preparation (13). In order that none might consider themselves exempt, the people are precisely defined as old men, children, and sucklings. No one is free from sin, no one can escape the judgment, therefore no one can afford to stay away from the service of prayer.
Elders Better, R.V., “old men.” Persons of old age (Joe 1:2), not elder in an official sense (Joe 1:14).
Those that suck the breasts “Nothing could evidence the deep and universal guilt of the entire nation more than the fact that on the great day of penitence and prayer even the newborn babes were to be brought together in the arms of their parents” (Umbreit).
Bridegroom bride Even the newly wedded, who are least inclined to mourning, and who might possibly claim exemption (Deu 24:5), are to come forth and participate in the solemn worship. Chamber (Hebrews hedher) closet (Hebrews huppah) The two words are to be understood as synonyms; the bride and groom are thought to be together in the bridal chamber or nuptial pavilion (Psa 19:5). A common Arabic phrase for the consummation of marriage is “he built a tent over his wife,” and even to-day a special tent or hut is built for the bride on the night of marriage (W.R. Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, 167ff.).
It is the duty of the priests, who are the mediators between the community and God, to convey the petition to the throne of Jehovah; in Joe 2:17 they are exhorted to discharge their duty in the religious gathering.
Weep In sorrow and repentance.
Between the porch and the altar As in Eze 8:16. The porch is the fore court on the east side of the temple, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide (1Ki 6:3), which separates the inner court, or court of the priests (1Ki 6:36; 2Ch 4:9), from the great court (2Ch 4:9) intended for the laity. In the court of the priests was the great altar of burnt offering, perhaps near the fore court and thus in sight of the people in the outer court (1Ki 8:64; 2Ch 8:12). Here, with their faces turned toward the temple, they are to entreat Jehovah with tears. The prayer is prescribed by the prophet.
Spare Have mercy, and withhold further judgment.
Thy people thine heritage The fact that Israel is the people, the heritage, of Jehovah is made the basis of appeal (Deu 9:26; Deu 9:29); he should be intensely interested in their welfare.
Give not to reproach To be an object of reproach and mockery. Again and again Jehovah is reminded that, should he forsake Israel and permit it to be destroyed, his own power would be called in question.
That the heathen [“nations”] should rule over them The greatest disgrace in the thoughts of the Jews was the fact of being governed by heathen nations, as is shown at a later period by their frequent revolts against the Roman power. The severity of the plague of locusts has exhausted their resources; in case of hostility the Jews would fall an easy prey to their enemies, and thus become an object of reproach. The above meaning is reproduced in the ancient versions and is adopted by some moderns; it is supported by Psa 106:41; Deu 15:6; Lam 5:8, and is in perfect accord with the context. For its bearing upon the allegorical interpretation see above p. 145. Most commentators, however, favor the marginal reading, “use a byword against them.” Mashal be means ordinarily “to rule over,” but the other translation is possible, and the last clause of the verse rather favors it. (The claim of Merx, Nowack, and others, that the same construction is found in Eze 12:23; Eze 18:3, is not well founded; the preposition be is used there in a sense entirely different from that required here.) The country having been so severely afflicted, the surrounding nations might be tempted to mock the Jews, and declare that they were forsaken by their God, or that he had no power to help them (Exo 32:12; Num 14:13-16).
Where is their God? A sneer at the covenant relation between Jehovah and his people to which Jehovah could not be indifferent. The ancients traced every extraordinary event directly to the deity. The prosperity of a people was evidence of the power of its God, and even surrounding nations would look up to such a deity with a feeling of respect. On the other hand, disaster was proof of the weakness of the deity, and he would be mocked (Isa 10:10-11; Isa 36:18; Isa 36:20). The only way to avoid such mockery is for Jehovah to avert the calamity (Exo 32:12; Psa 79:10).
With this appeal, presenting the strongest reason why God should avert the judgment, the first division of the book closes. The prayer was not in vain; Jehovah heard it, and turned in mercy and loving-kindness toward his penitent people.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Call Goes Out For The Whole Of Judah To Gather Together For A Time Of National Repentance In Order To Remedy The Situation In The Light Of God’s Call To Them ( Joe 2:15-17 ).
Joel then gives his instruction to the priesthood to have a time of national mourning for sin because of what has happened, and because of YHWH’s call to them which he has brought. They are to blow the summoning ram’s horn on the Temple mount, they are to set apart time for a fast, they are to call all the people of Judah to a solemn assembly, they are to gather the people, and then once they have assembled they are to sanctify them (either by sacrifices, or by washing (possibly in ‘water for purification’) and abstinence from sexual activity), and this is to include both the old men and the children (none are to be exempted for any reason whatever. For even breast fed babies with their nursing mothers, and the bridegroom and bride in the midst of their marriage celebrations, are to assemble. No reason for absence is to be accepted.
Then the priests and Temple servants are to weep between the porch and the altar, in the very place where sacrifices are offered and where the wine of the wine-offerings would be poured out, facing the entrance to the sanctuary, and are to call on YHWH to spare His people, and not let them be overcome by an enemy so that, as YHWH’s heritage, they come under reproach and are ashamed. And the main reason for this is in order to justify God, lest conquering nations say, ‘where is their God?’
It is apparent from this that Joel saw in the warning of the locust plagues an indication that, unless they repented, YHWH would move on to the further curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 which included invasion and subjection to an enemy.
Joe 2:15-16
‘Blow the ram’s horn in Zion,
Sanctify a fast,
Call a solemn assembly,
Gather the people,
Sanctify the assembly,
Assemble the old men,
Gather the children,
And those who suck the breasts,
Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber,
And the bride out of her closet.’
The rapid fire instructions are an indication that what he is speaking of must be done at speed. There was to be no delay. The locusts were possessing the land. The blowing of the ram’s horn in Zion, either as an alarm call, or as a call to a feast, is the first item on the agenda. It was a call to a solemn fast. This call is a repetition of the one in Joe 1:14, or possibly a further one because the situation has got more severe. It may parallel the one in Joe 2:1 although that may rather have been an alarm signal in view of the approaching hordes of young locust/grasshoppers.
The ‘sanctifying of a fast’ indicated the solemn setting aside of a time for an emergency approach to YHWH in fasting and prayer. They were then to give the official summons to a solemn assembly (the gathering together, usually of the menfolk, to a special gathering in Jerusalem), but in this case it was to be a gathering of everyone, male or female, young or old. The assembly was then to be sanctified. There were a number of ways of doing this, one of which was by washing their clothing (Exo 19:10; Exo 19:14) and abstaining from sexual activity (Exo 19:15). This was as a symbol of their cleansing of their lives and rightly attuning their minds to meet with God.
Instructions were then given that everyone must be involved. They were to assemble the old men (who might under certain circumstances have been excused) and the children, and even the smallest infants with their nursing mothers. Furthermore even marriage celebrations were to provide no exception. Usually being involved in a marriage feast exempted those present from certain normal strict requirements of the Law (e.g. those related to making merry; compare also Deu 20:7; Deu 24:5), but in this case it was not to be allowed to provide an exception. Even the bridegroom and bride must attend. This demonstrated the extremely serious nature of what was happening. The whole covenant community was to be involved, for all were in one way or another tainted by the sin and disobedience of the nation.
Joe 2:17
‘Let the priests, the ministers of YHWH, weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, Spare your people, O YHWH,
And do not give your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them,
Why should they say among the peoples,
“Where is their God?” ’
Then the priests, the servants of YHWH, were to stand between the porch and the altar facing the door of the sanctuary in which YHWH was seen as enthroned on the Ark of the Covenant, and weeping over the sins of Israel, were to officially call on Him to spare His people, so that His people should not suffer the reproach of having their enemies ruling over them. (This would suggest that these statements at least were made prior to the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian invasions, otherwise they were meaningless. It therefore confirms an early date for Joel). The position facing the door of the sanctuary, no doubt with representatives of the people behind them, would indicate that the priests were making their plea as representatives of the people, not as representatives of YHWH.
Note how Joel’s concern was for the honour of YHWH, in line with that of most of the prophets. He recognised that Judah were God’s inheritance, and was concerned lest the question be asked among the peoples who knew of this, ‘where is their God?’ The nations would expect Judah’s God to intervene on their behalf regardless of their sinfulness. Their view would be that if the sacrifices were maintained then God was bound to act. They had no understanding of the requirements of the covenant. So Israel which was intended to be an example and witness to the nations would have become a witness for the prosecution. For the astonishment of ‘they’ compare Jer 19:8; Lev 26:32; Deu 28:37, which it will be noted is also connected with a judgment of locusts. For the question, ‘where is their God?’ compare Exo 32:11-12; Mic 7:10; Psa 42:10; Psa 79:10; Psa 115:2. For ‘the people of your heritage’ compare 1Ki 8:51; Deu 4:20; Deu 32:9. See also Exo 19:5-6.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
I beg the Reader to remark with me, what a most beautiful and finished representation is here of a praying assembly, and what blessings might not be expected to follow, where the Lord gives grace to the several characters to seek his favour. The congregation at large; the elders the children, yea, little children and babes at the breast; as if to bring down the mercy of God in Christ, upon the helpless, unconscious little ones, who all take part in the common calamity. And the bridegroom and bride are to forego their own private happiness to take part in the public evil, contrary to the kind provision the Lord had made for the marriage state, in the first year of their nuptials. Deu 24:5 . The priests, the ministers of the Lord, bring up the rear in this assembly, as those more highly interested for the Lord’s honor and the Church’s welfare. Reader! read this with an eye to Christ, and behold him in the everlasting exercise of his priesthood, and the whole then becomes lovely indeed!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joe 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Ver. 15. Blow the trumpet in Zion ] That all may hear and convene, those of Jerusalem in the temple, and the rest in their several synagogues, Lev 23:31 , for that yearly fast was a standard to the rest, kept upon extraordinary and emergent occasions, as here, for the preventing of the forethreatened judgment. Papists appoint set fasting days, as Lent, and Friday in every week, eves of holidays, &c., whether the times be clear or cloudy. A. Lapide, also, the Jesuit, keeps a coil against Luther and the Centurists, for decrying their Popish processions and public litanies, which he thinks to be here and elsewhere authorized. A discourse he giveth us here, too, about the use and origin of bells among Christians, answerable to trumpets among the Jews. A symmist of his, Cenalis, Bishop of Auranches, to prove their Pope-holy Church the true Church, maketh no mention at all either of preaching or sacraments, but produceth bells for a sufficient mark of the Catholic true Church. “We have bells,” saith he, “whereby our assemblies are ordinarily called together, but the Lutherans have claps of harquebuses and pistolets for signs whereby they congregate,” between which and bells he maketh a long anti-thesis, and from hence inferreth that the Church of Rome is the true Church. A proper argument, and yet the man pleaseth himself as much in it as the second Council of Nice did in their profound proofs for idolatry, which, as one well saith of them, were such as that the images themselves, if they were sensible, would blush to hear repeated.
Sanctify a fast
Call a solemn assembly
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
a solemn assembly = a day of restraint. See note on Joe 1:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Blow: Joe 2:1, Num 10:3
sanctify: Joe 1:14, 1Ki 21:9, 1Ki 21:12, 2Ki 10:20, Jer 36:9
Reciprocal: Lev 23:2 – proclaim Lev 23:36 – solemn 1Ki 8:35 – confess 1Ch 15:24 – the priests 2Ch 6:26 – if they pray Neh 9:1 – children Isa 1:13 – the new Jer 12:7 – have forsaken Hos 5:8 – Blow Hos 8:1 – the trumpet Jon 3:7 – caused
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Joe 2:15. This verse is virtually the same as verse 1.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joe 2:15-16. Blow the trumpet in Zion This was a signal for assembling the people at the solemn times of public worship. Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly Or, appoint ye a fast, proclaim a solemn day: so Archbishop Newcome. Sanctify the congregation Let the people prepare themselves for this solemn time of humiliation, not only by washing themselves and their clothes, and cleansing themselves from all legal impurities, as is required Exo 19:10-15, but by true contrition of heart, godly sorrow for, and forsaking all known sin, as also by abstaining from all sensual pleasures, however innocent and allowable at other times. Absolute self-denial is but a reasonable preparation for keeping a day of solemn humiliation before God, on account of national sins or calamities. This kind of abstinence was recommended among the heathen as a necessary preparation for solemn worship. Assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts Let both young and old join in this duty, for all ages joining in it will add much to the solemnity of it, and is very proper to work in mens minds that sincere contrition, which may avert those judgments which threaten the whole nation, and in which their posterity may suffer. Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet Even on the day of their marriage, or during the marriage-feast. Let newly-married persons disregard the concerns and enjoyments peculiar to their situation, and afflict themselves with the rest of the people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2. An appeal for public repentance 2:15-17
Joel went beyond calling for personal heart-felt repentance to urging the people to assemble for a corporate expression of their sincere contrition.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The prophet urged the blowing of the shophar in Zion again, but this time to call a public assembly and a fast rather than to announce the coming invader (Joe 2:1; cf. Joe 1:14). Fasting involved sacrificially going without food to devote oneself to a higher spiritual purpose. God’s people needed to gather together and re-consecrate themselves to Him as a people. Everyone without exception should participate, from the oldest to the youngest. Even newlyweds, who sometimes received a special exemption for being newly wed (Deu 24:5), needed to attend this meeting.
It is interesting that the Jews will assemble in the Promised Land, having received encouragement from the Antichrist, during the first half of the Tribulation. Then the invader will descend on their land and the terrible prospect envisioned in Joe 2:1-11 will take place, in the second half of the Tribulation. Antichrist will persecute them. They will not assemble then in repentance, however.