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THE BOOK OF JOEL
Lesson 3, Chapters 1 and 2
While biblical prophecies such as Joel’s always address a few different topics, in Joel the one that seems to be front and center revolves around The Day of Yehoveh (or the Day of the Lord as it is typically misrepresented in Bibles, for reasons that are hard to fathom).
Prophets such as Joel attempted in vain over the centuries to warn either Judah or Ephraim/Israel as two separate kingdoms, or both together as “all Israel” that a Day of Yehoveh was coming and that it was a day of punishment against them…a day of God’s wrath and anger…for their unfaithfulness to Him as His covenant people. So, they needed to repent and change their behaviors if they hoped to avoid it. While I’ve said it before, it bears repeating: on what basis would Yehoveh decide whether His chosen people merited such punishment or mercy? Since Mt. Sinai, that decision has been based on their compliance to the Law of Moses. Thus, the precise curses laid out in the Torah for each of Israel’s specific violations of the Covenant terms is what God is meting out upon Judah and Israel. This never changes and never will, and as we enter the End Times this will become more and more apparent to the various Judeo-Christian adherents that have ignored this reality since the creation of the Constantinian Church in the 4th century.
Now; this locust invasion upon Israel was not THE Day of Yehoveh per se. Or, perhaps, it might be better thought of as but the beginning of a Day of Yehoveh. I say “a” day because there have been a few in the past, and there will be more in the future. The purpose of the locust invasion was to demonstrate to Israel just how seriously God takes their rebellion and that another coming Day of Yehoveh will harm them even more, and why they need to cry to God for mercy, and to prepare spiritually and practically. And, I use the verb tense “was” because what Joel describes to open his book has already happened. In fact, it could be that Joel was writing during the time that the aftereffects of it were still happening.
It is important that we look at Joel’s writings through his eyes and the eyes of the citizens of Judah to whom this prophecy was primarily addressed. For the Kingdom of Judah, the biggest most startling revelation that Joel is attempting to communicate is that whereas they always thought that any and every Day of Yehoveh was God’s wrath against a gentile nation, they are learning the hard way that it is also…in fact nearly always… meant for them. I’ll say that again: most times it was aimed squarely at Judah, or Ephriam/Israel, or all of Israel. So, as we’ll discuss as our study progresses, we must also be cautious as to exactly whom is being included (in modern times) in this prophecy of warning.
In so many ways the Day of Yehoveh is like the coming of the Kingdom of God. That is, each of these can be considered more as a series of connected events leading to an end, rather than as a few disconnected ones. Or, from a Hebrew verb tense perspective, each is an ongoing part of a story that is in progress…it is not yet completed. Each eventually develops to a climactic finale at some time in the future. It is often said that the Kingdom of God is “becoming”….that is, it is here now, but like a new-born infant that is here, now, it is far from complete. It is developing over time, step by step, to blossom into its fullest purpose as a complete adult. So it is with the Day of Yehoveh that develops progressively with events…sort of a series of mile markers that we read about in the Bible that advances its progress…that will ultimately culminate with its climactic finale that we call the Apocalypse and the entry into the era of the fully formed Kingdom of God. This series of Days of Yehoveh, and its Apocalyptic finale, then are for the PURPOSE of establishing the Kingdom of God, on earth, to its fullest with Messiah Yeshua as its king.
Because the Day of Yehoveh is so important to the content, context, and understanding of the Book of Joel, and for we Believers (who I feel confident are beginning to experience the initial days of the End Times) then I think it good to hear what the Prophet Isaiah has to say about it.
CJB Isaiah 2:12-22 12 Yes, ADONAI-Tzva'ot has a day in store for all who are proud and lofty, for all who are lifted high to be humiliated; 13 for all cedars of the L'vanon that are high and lifted up, for all the oaks of the Bashan; 14 for all the high mountains, for all the hills that are lifted up; 15 for every high tower, for every fortified wall; 16 for every "Tarshish" ship, for every luxurious vessel. 17 The pride of man will be bowed down, the arrogance of men will be humiliated, and when that day comes, ADONAI alone will be exalted. 18 The idols will be completely abolished. 19 People will enter cracks in the rocks and holes in the ground to escape the terror of ADONAI and his glorious majesty, when he sets out to convulse the earth. 20 On that day a man will take hold of his idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, and fling them away to the moles and bats! 21 Then they will enter the cracks in the rocks and the crevices in the cliffs to escape the terror of ADONAI and his glorious majesty, when he sets out to convulse the earth. 22 Stop relying on man, in whose nostrils is a mere breath- after all, he doesn't count for much, does he?
Let’s not focus only on Isaiah’s vivid description for what the Day of Yehoveh will be like, but also let’s hone-in on what he says ought to be our response of this foreknowledge of it in that final verse. He says to God worshippers: STOP relying on man! “Relying on man” has at all times in the past and right up to our day, meant to rely on kings, government, and military. In modern times we can view it in terms of our elected leaders, government, military, and our adored intellectual elite. But now, especially in the 21st century, science has become what we truly rely on the most, because we’re told that any intelligent person should. A new mantra has arisen that is “trust science” and as the political battle concerning Covid, and now gender identity has heated up, this mantra is even found in overt TV advertisements. This is absolutely meant in this sense: “ Do NOT put your trust in some mythical God, but rather trust science and our intellectuals” as our deliverance from our problems and afflictions. This reliance on man that is common to the mindset of all humanity is a great vulnerability. It isn’t that we should not have government, militaries, or leaders of all kinds. Nor should advances in science and technology necessarily be shunned or seen as something inherently evil. Rather, from a biblical perspective, it is about what role and influence we assign to these things in our lives. What priority do they have? What areas of our lives should they dominate? So many of these scientific advances are needed and welcome for everyday life; but none of these will save us from the Day of Yehoveh, nor will they prevent or slow down the advancement of the Day of Yehoveh or the Kingdom of God. In fact, when that time arrives and we look back in retrospect, I imagine we’ll see that some of those advancements provided the means for some elements of the prophesied events to happen. Yet, as we read in the Prophets of old, including the newest prophecy that is the Book of Revelation, humans will increase our shunning of God in proportion with relying more and more on our human selves, to the point when the climactic events of the End Times happen people will look more than ever to our leaders, militaries, and science for answers to stop the God-directed devastation, with some finally acknowledging the existence and presence of God, but hating Him for what He is doing. Let those with ears, hear.
Let’s re-read a portion of Joel.
RE-READ JOEL CHAPTER 1:15 – end
The final words of verse 15 continue to emphasize something Judah simply does not want to believe: that it is Yehoveh, Himself, that is commanding this destruction and catastrophe to fall upon Judah.
As proof of the devastation that has happened…and is also coming…is the destruction of Judah’s food supply. They know it is true because it happened before their very eyes. Therefore, when this locust invasion came upon them it must have happened to the living generation that Joel is talking to. They were eyewitnesses to it; it affected them personally. With the loss of food, all joy is taken away from the Temple worship because there is nothing to feed the Priests nor to sacrifice on the altar. This is something that I want to make a short comment on. Christianity has wrongly slandered the Law of Moses and the Temple ritual as a heavy, unwelcome and flawed burden on Israel, which they were finally and happily able to unload with the coming of Jesus. In fact, all throughout the Bible, such rituals and sacrifices were not seen as a burden but rather as joyful and welcome. They represent deliverance and communion with The Father. Being able to offer the finest first fruits of their crops meant they had plenty of food to eat, and therefore they were receiving God’s blessing. Being able to sacrifice animals meant the flocks and herds were thriving, but also they could have their sins forgiven and atoned for, and there would occasionally be meat to eat…. so, it was sign that they were receiving God’s blessing. It ought to be instructional to all God worshippers that in the last few chapters of the Book of Ezekiel, we read of the joy of re-establishing Temple ritual and sacrifice in the Millennial Kingdom, after the Apocalypse, with Yeshua as King and High Priest. Here Joel is reminding folks of just how miserable it was when they couldn’t do these things, and that it is going to happen again and perhaps it will be even worse.
The phenomena that happened is spoken about in verses 17 and 18. The seed that was planted in the fields has shriveled under the dry soil. The materials that the storehouses and barns were made of deteriorated for lack of use. There is no harvest at all to bring in. This is clearly due to drought, probably exacerbated by the long-term effect of the grasshoppers. As a result, the cattle suffer because they have nothing to graze upon in the fields. The oxen who often were kept in protected fenced areas and fed hay (due to their great worth and the long training period that they had received to be useful) were confused and restless because of hunger. Even sheep who will not just eat the tops of plants, but also uproot the grasses and eat their roots, can’t find food. So even dumb animals who have no control over their existence, and so bear no guilt or blame, are collateral damage to the sufferings of the guilty people who are being rightly punished for their wickedness. So, the Prophet prays for help from the Lord for the animals as well in verses 19 and 20, under the knowledge that the earlier prophets had done so concerning God’s relationship and care for all of His creatures, and not just for humans.
CJB Psalm 36:7 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, your judgments are like the great deep. You save man and beast, ADONAI.
Scorching heat and drought affect the wild animals as well, for even the brooks they depend on for water have dried up, and due to the super-dry conditions fires erupt and destroy fields and meadows. The trees, of course, are afflicted as well.
So, to sum up what we have learned from chapter 1: an extraordinary calamity has come upon Judah in the form of a uniquely destructive locust plague. Events such as this have a tendency to cause permanent societal changes…for the better or worse…as all of us on planet earth have learned from the Covid pandemic of the 2020’s. The locust plague was especially devastating because it was essentially a series of 4 plagues, one right after the other, leaving absolutely nothing in the way of healthy plant life behind for food. What Judah probably recognized…and we ought to as well…is that essentially it is the same plagues that God used to free Israel from Egypt that are now being visited on God’s chosen. This invasion is meant not so much as a stand-alone event that is the extent of the punishment on Judah, but rather it is as a harbinger of what is to come as a Day of Yehoveh upon Judah. Some Bible scholars see this as a prediction of the Assyrian invasion and exile; but I am troubled with that conclusion because this warning being given in Joel is being sent to the people of the Kingdom of Judah, and not to the people of the Kingdom of Ephraim/Israel (as it was with Hosea and Amos).
Along with this revelation that is God who caused the locust plague is the call to lament; for Judah to express extreme sorrow and grief. The entire nation, from their king, to the priests, to the lowliest commoners, were to join together to lament and ask God for His help. Let’s move on to chapter 2.
READ CHAPTER 2 all
Another warning cry begins this chapter. We are meant to notice the similarities with chapter 1, but here’s where there is a serious split among Bible scholars as to what is happening. Some say that the attack being depicted to begin chapter 2 is but a re-telling of chapter 1, but this time it is in its actual form as an invasion of conquest from human enemy forces. That is, chapter 1 and the locusts were but a metaphor for what is happening in chapter 2. I cannot see it that way for reasons I’ve already stated earlier.
Rather, chapter 2 speaks of a separate catastrophe upon Judah that happens later (later meaning sometime after the writing of Joel’s prophecy). Whereas a locust invasion as severe and unprecedented as the one depicted in chapter 1 bears a certain likeness to the invasion of an enemy army, they are by no means the same. The locust invasion was NOT so much a Day of Yehoveh as but a harbinger of what is coming; but this coming attack by a foreign military is that Day.
This call to alarm takes place in Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah. Zion is a mostly parallel term for Jerusalem, and this is verified by later words of the verse “sound upon My holy mountain”. Zion is called the holy mountain in a few places in the Scriptures, such as in Psalm 2, so there is no doubt that Jerusalem is the place.
CJB Psalm 2:6 "I myself have installed my king on Tziyon, my holy mountain."
The verb tenses are such that this enemy attack is soon to begin; their army is on the way and has been spotted, so attack is certain and imminent. But, does this mean it is imminent to Joel’s time? Many Christian Bible scholars believe that chapter 2 is talking about the End Times battle; the last and final battle that ushers in the Kingdom of God in its fulness. I disagree. I can’t be sure which enemy invasion this might be predicting, but the most likely has to be that of Babylon, because that was an attack on Judah that changed it forever. The 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim/Israel were already a century before Babylon sent into exile from their land by the Assyrians, so there was no longer in existence a Northern Kingdom of Israel at the time of the Babylonian conquest of Judah, which occurred at the turn of the 7th to the 6th century B.C. As we’ll see as we work our way through this chapter, this was no locust invasion in chapter 2, any more than chapter 1 was the invasion of an enemy nation.
The horn that was blown as warning was a Ram’s horn…a shofar. This was NOT a trumpet, which in that era was long, made of metal, and almost exclusively used by the Levites at the Temple to summons a congregation to worship or to announce the beginning of a ritual event or observance. A shofar is the device used to sound alarms, and to give signals during battle to the soldiers, the way a bugle would be used later by Western armies.
The gloomy darkness spoken of in verse 2 is meant to warn of coming destruction due to God’s judgment. Although, the same can also announce the awesome presence of God as at Mt. Sinai where we also read about the sound of a great horn, the appearance of dark clouds, and the people led by Moses trembling with fear.
CJB Deuteronomy 4:10-11 10 …the day you stood before ADONAI your God at Horev, when ADONAI said to me, 'Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words, so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children.' 11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain; and the mountain blazed with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, clouds and thick mist.
So, for the people of Judah such a warning may have been taken as only that God was going to make a close encounter with them (a friendly, although terrifying, encounter), as opposed to Him raining His anger upon them. It’s funny how people can be so certain of their righteous standing with God that they look at prophetic warnings differently than what is intended. I think the people of Judah are similar to far too many Christians who raise their hands in song and jubilation to God and shout “Come Lord, Come!”…but it is done so with the reassuring assumption that while others will bear His wrath and judgment, they won’t. Or assuming that other nations will suffer horrendously when global judgment arrives, but theirs won’t. Judah had been taught by their leaders that God was always for them, had only love and mercy for them, and would never harm them; Christians have believed that, too. Judah had just experienced a most unwelcome surprise and was in for another and worse one, as I think that many Christians will be shocked and surprised as well when that day arrives.
Verse 2 ends with Joel foretelling of a great darkness spreading over the mountains. Or does it? Actually, the Hebrew word often translated to darkness here, is shachar, and literally it means dawn or morning and NOT darkness. So why do we usually find the English word darkness here? It is because many translators insist that this is still talking about the locust invasion and think the picture is of such a thick cloud of locusts that it is like a huge dark blob blanketing the mountains. I can’t go with that; this is speaking not about locusts but rather about how dawn breaks with the morning light quickly spreading, moving and unstoppable from mountain peak to mountain peak. The verse ends by saying that nothing has been seen like this invasion, and nothing like it will be seen again even through the years of generation after generation. So, is this an indication that this passage can only be talking about the End Times Apocalypse? I don’t believe so, partly because of how chapter 2 ends and chapter 3 begins with:
CJB Joel 3:1 "After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions;
“After this” is clearly referring to what has just been described in chapter 2, so chapter 2 cannot be depicting the end or the final judgment since the pouring out of God’s Spirit did not happen until soon after Yeshua died (on Pentecost). In other words, chapter 2 can’t be talking about The End, if there is an “after this” that involves the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In verse 3 the Covenant curse of fire is spoken about. Biblically, fire symbolizes destruction or it can be used as a symbol of purification. Here, clearly, this is about destruction. Ahead of the invaders is a land characterized as being like the Garden of the Eden (this is metaphor for Judah); but as the enemy arrives and begins to attack, all that is left behind them is a trail of devastation. Verse 4 is another where the meaning has to be stretched beyond reason in order to say that these invaders are locusts. It is said by some academics that a grasshopper’s head looks like a horse’s head, and so somehow the locust swarms look like swarms of horses. This doesn’t work no matter how hard we might try. Locust’s heads do NOT look much like horses’ heads, and swarms of locusts don’t have the appearance of vast herds of horses. Horses…especially when used to pull chariots… were the tanks of ancient times; and the usual use of horses was not for riding for an individual soldier (like cavalry), but indeed they were for pulling chariots. Horses moved swiftly and could overtake and outrun any enemy. They were large, strong, and together with chariots were a huge advantage to the nation who possessed them as part of their military arsenal. So, the invading army is depicted as an overwhelming and superior military power in this horrifying way (horrifying to Israel who had few horses and chariots to counter them). In fact, chariots are mentioned in verse 5.
I want to remind you that throughout chapter 2, certain words and phrases are used to draw similarities between the cataclysmic locust invasion of the past, with the enemy army invasion of the relatively near future. Thus, it wouldn’t be out of bounds for Joel to create mental pictures of what the locusts did (as a reminder) compared to what the enemy army is going to do. In fact, the way the first 2 chapters are structured is intended for that comparison to be drawn out. So, I think in verse 5 the heavy rumbling noise of the chariots is probably here being somewhat likened to the noise of the beating wings of the millions and millions of locusts. Even though the locusts are meant as a kind of historical backdrop of something well remembered in recent Israelite history, Joel is mostly concerned with this coming invading army that will actually be the fulfillment of prophecy, such as that of Jeremiah.
CJB Jeremiah 6:22-26 22 Here is what ADONAI says: "A people is coming from the land of the north, a great nation will be aroused from the ends of the earth. 23 They will take hold of bow and spear; they are cruel; they have no compassion: their noise as they ride on horses is like the roaring sea; and they are equipped for battle against you, daughter of Tziyon. 24 'We have heard the news, and our hands fall limp; anguish has seized us, pain like a mother's in childbirth.'" 25 Don't go into the countryside, don't walk out on the road; for the sword of the enemy is spreading terror in every direction. 26 Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth, roll in ashes, mourn as if for an only son, wail most bitterly; for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
Verse 6 drags us further into the horror of the attack, when Judah trembles and their faces become drained of color with fear. This cannot possibly be speaking of locusts doing the attacking. Only the fear of the arrival of a conquering power that kills instantly and mercilessly with sword, bow and spear would cause such a reaction. Locusts indeed cause an acute food shortage that in time will cause severe hunger to humans and all other of God’s creatures: but they don’t arouse the sheer terror as described here. So, in verse 7 this kind of locust simile of the invading army continues. It speaks of the soldiers running like heroes; that is, their warriors are brave and fearless when running swiftly into battle. They climb the wall (like locusts can climb walls); this is speaking of the tall defensive wall around Jerusalem. Every one of these formidable soldiers goes his way and nothing causes any of them to pause or change their path. They go forward, forward, relentlessly; never pausing, never turning… like a murderous avalanche. In verse 8, again similar to locusts, the army seems well coordinated… almost instinctive as fighters. They courageously fall upon Judah’s defenders, absorbing their weapons into their own bodies without a second thought. They don’t do what always happens in fierce battles, which is to accidentally injure one’s fellow soldier by mistake…what we call today “friendly fire”. Verse 9 explains how these invaders run around the inside of the city, whose walls they have scaled so easily. They climb into houses through the windows (windows back then were usually just holes in the sides of buildings. Climbing through a window is regularly depicted in the Bible as the means a thief gains entry into someone’s home. Again, the image of countless locusts that seem to have endless ways…almost magical… to find their way into every corner of a house or a walled city without any means to stop them is what is intended.
How is this army able to do such a thing? Because Yehoveh is their leader. If it be the Babylonians (I think this the most likely), then even though they will give credit to their king for their victory, in fact it is the God of Israel who causes these enemy forces…who leads them… to attack Israel without mercy and without any serious opposition. Since Yehoveh is their leader, then victory is 100% assured. One can only imagine what the readers of Joel’s prophecy thought as they absorbed its words; history seems to say the vast majority didn’t believe it.
Verse 10 ought to finally erase any doubts of those commentators who insist this is an invasion of locusts….but it doesn’t seem to. The earth quakes…the heavens tremble. I want to pause to state here that either this statement is hyperbole at a remarkable level, or this is literally speaking about the cosmos being affected. This has all the earmarks of a theophany…an appearance of God. So, as I’ve tried to sort this out for myself, I want to offer a suggestion, but also to confess that I can’t be certain of it. The message of Prophets can be utterly confounding sometimes. That’s one reason intelligent, well-schooled teachers and scholars can have such different opinions about its meaning. The people of ancient times who heard these Prophets speak God’s oracles, and those who came not too much later who read those prophecies, sometimes found them so cryptic that they couldn’t always figure out what they were saying or depicting. We, today, still marvel and wonder about the meaning of Ezekiel’s wheels within wheels; of John’s revelation of the mark of the beast; of the New Jerusalem with gates made of giant pearls and streets paved with gold. I would suggest that it is possible that because prophetic fulfillment always happens…but then nearly always happens again at a later time (sometimes even more than once)… that the Prophet is at times conflating the fulfillment of his own prophecy from the vantage point of 2 or more different occurrences of it…and probably doesn’t realize it himself. Certainly, neither from locusts nor from Babylon sweeping over Judah and conquering them did the earth literally quake and the heavens literally shake, nor were the sun and moon literally affected. But, in the End Times Apocalypse, these things will happen literally….terrifyingly literally.
Since what is being spoken of in Joel’s prophecy is a Day of Yehoveh that is part of a series of them running up to the ultimate one that is still ahead of us…the final Day of Yehoveh when God judges the entire world, and not just a single nation…then perhaps this is what Joel is speaking about at times, and even he might not have known it. John the Revelator certainly had little idea what his prophecies would eventually amount to; he simply wrote down what God gave him to write. How could anyone in the Bible era have an inkling of what the world would look 100 years into their future, let alone 2000 years or more into the future? In any case, I choose to think this is what is happening versus over-the-top hyperbole about Babylon attacking Judah. But… who knows? Only the Father.
I don’t want to move on just yet, though, because of the importance of what Joel speaks to us…each and every one of us ought to be interested… as I believe we have probably crossed over the threshold of Redemption History into the End Times and the fulfillment…again.. of some of these prophecies about the Day of Yehoveh. Some of you hearing this may well be the ones to experience it.
We read something astounding in Isaiah 13 that sounds so much like what Joel is predicting, and (at least for me) also carries with it this thought of 2 different occurrences of the same prophetic fulfillment happening, even though they are many years apart. So, what we get in Isaiah (as in Joel) is a conflation of the two (perhaps more) occurrences of prophetic fulfillment that contains elements of both and makes untangling it so very challenging.
CJB Isaiah 13:1-13 This is a prophecy about Bavel, which Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz saw: 2 Hoist a banner on a high mountain, shout to [the invaders]; beckon them to enter the Nobles' Gate. 3 "I have ordered my holy ones, summoned my heroes, eager and bold, to execute my anger." 4 Listen! A tumult on the mountains- it sounds like a vast multitude! Listen! The uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathering together! ADONAI-Tzva'ot is mustering an army for war. 5 They come from a distant land, from beyond the horizon. It's ADONAI, with the weapons of his rage, to lay waste to all the earth. 6 Howl! for the Day of ADONAI is at hand, destruction coming from Shaddai. 7 This is why every arm will hang limp and everyone's courage melt away. 8 They will be gripped by panic, seized with pain and agony, writhing like a woman in labor, looking aghast at each other, faces aflame. 9 Here comes the Day of ADONAI, full of cruelty, rage and hot fury, to desolate the earth and destroy the sinners in it. 10 For the stars, the constellations in the sky, will no longer give their light; the sun will be dark when it rises; and the moon will no longer shine. 11 "I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the arrogance of the proud and humble the insolence of tyrants. 12 I will make humans rarer than gold, scarcer than Ofir's pure gold. 13 This is why I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of ADONAI-Tzva'ot on the day of his fierce anger.
This sounds so much like Joel, doesn’t it? And yet, here in Isaiah where Babylon is specifically mentioned as the enemy force, eventually the prophecy starts speaking about great events in the cosmos happening. Clearly, when Babylon conquered Jerusalem the stars didn’t stop shining, nor did the sun stop producing light. Is this just poetic license? Hyperbole? I can’t accept that. But, we also know that biblically speaking, Babylon is more than a place and a nation, it is also a symbol and a type. God used the nation of Babylon to invade, exile and punish Judah. But we also know that later God’s anger is sent upon the Babylon that we read of in Revelation. And yet, clearly End Times Babylon is not ancient Babylon. So, some of Isaiah’s prophecy in his chapter 13 seemingly must be talking about the biblical ancient Babylon and their invasion of Judah, and then in another couple of verses he must be talking about End Times Babylon that is symbolically representative of the world’s systems of wickedness, greed, and idolatry. Isaiah the Prophet was too far removed from when either of these prophetic fulfillments about Babylon would take place to be able to discern exactly what was happening and when. If we approach it the way I suggest, perhaps some of the mystery and confusion can be removed and we can see these prophesied things just a bit more clearly.
Therefore, I suspect that verse 11 is applicable to the invasion of Judah, as well as to the End Times, but with one extremely important difference. To this point, every Day of Yehoveh has been God leading an attack against His own people, Israel. But the End Times Day of Yehoveh turns the tables. The last and the ultimate Day of Yehoveh will be God attacking and decimating the nations….the world in general…with the purpose of protecting Israel.
We’ll stop here for today and continue with Joel chapter 2 next time.