Joel 2:1–11

1Blow the trumpet in Zion;

sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,

for the day of the LORD is coming.

It is close at hand—

2a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and blackness.

Like dawn spreading across the mountains

a large and mighty army comes,

such as never was of old

nor ever would be in ages to come.

3Before them fire devours,

behind them a flame blazes.

Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,

behind them, a desert waste—

nothing escapes them.

4They have the appearance of horses;

they gallop along like cavalry.

5With a noise like that of chariots

they leap over the mountaintops,

like a crackling fire consuming stubble,

like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

6At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;

every face turns pale.

7They charge like warriors;

they scale walls like soldiers.

They all march in line,

not swerving from their course.

8They do not jostle each other;

each marches straight ahead.

They plunge through defenses

without breaking ranks.

9They rush upon the city;

they run along the wall.

They climb into the houses;

like thieves they enter through the windows.

10Before them the earth shakes,

the sky trembles,

the sun and moon are darkened,

and the stars no longer shine.

11The LORD thunders

at the head of his army;

his forces are beyond number,

and mighty are those who obey his command.

The day of the LORD is great;

it is dreadful.

Who can endure it?

Original Meaning

A Warning concerning the Day (2:1–2a).

A NEW SECTION commences with the speaker turning from addressing Yahweh (1:19–20) to Yahweh addressing the people (2:1). He still uses the second person, but now a plural (“all”) rather than the singular forms. He rejoins the theme of the Day of the Lord (1:15), expanding on events comprising it. This theme of “the Day” both opens and closes 2:1–11.

The section begins with an urgent series of commands, the first two imperatives and the third a jussive (“let us”). The signaling “trumpet” (šôpār) made from a ram’s horn is to be blown, as it is in war, heralding an attack (e.g., Judg. 7:8; Job 39:25), or on other occasions announcing news of great import (1 Sam. 13:3; 1 Kings 1:34). The second verb is more general, indicating that a loud noise is to be raised, whether by horn or voice (rwʿ; Josh. 6:5; 1 Sam. 10:24). The inhabitants of the land shake, either in anger (Ezek. 16:43) or, more likely, in terror (Deut. 2:25) at the news they hear.

The place where the alarm is raised is called “Zion” (cf. Joel 2:15, 23, 32; 3:16, 17, 21) and “my holy hill.” In 3:17, the latter modifies the former in apposition. As the site of the temple, the dwelling of God himself (Ps. 76:2), it is the natural source for his warnings. It is also where the people gather to meet the onslaught. During war, they man the battlements from whence comes the call (Ezek. 33:2–4), but this type of attack rendered by nature demands a different type of response, a cultic one, which is also an occasion for trumpet and cry (Lev. 25:9).

The reason for this alarm is again “the day of the LORD” (cf. Joel 1:15). It is not always clear whether the Day is recollected or anticipated, but in either case, it is a matter of consternation.1 The Day’s nearness indicates its imminence, as is usually the case with this predicate adjective “at hand” (qārôb; e.g., Deut. 32:35; Obad. 15).

The nature of the Day is described in terms used verbatim in Zephaniah 1:14–15. These are used elsewhere of a theophany, a visible manifestation of God in his awesome power (Joel 2:31; see Bridging Contexts section). There is particularly a strong tie-in with the Exodus event, where “darkness” was one of God’s plagues on Egypt (Ex. 10:21–22; cf. also 10:14–15, where the plague of locusts also brought darkness), in the description of which the synonym translated here as “gloom” also occurs (10:22; cf. also Isa. 8:22; 58:10). What God delimited at creation (Gen. 1:2–5) now returns, an appropriate parallel to this empty, lifeless landscape, denuded of the vegetation that he also created (1:11–12). The second clause also has Exodus ties, but these are later in that story, when God guides Israel using a “cloud” (Ex. 13:21–22; Deut. 1:33) and actually appears to them and Moses in a theophany.

Note how Amos uses “darkness” and “gloom” to correct Israel’s optimistic conception of the Day of the Lord (Amos 5:18, 20). Israel thought the Day to be one of blessing, light, and brightness, but Amos corrects them of that perception. Zephaniah picks up these terms to develop his concept of the Day more fully, as a warning to his own period. Joel then uses these terms to indicate that Zephaniah’s predictions are coming about; these calamitous events befalling his people are part of the Day. Joel joins himself to the “official,” cautionary view of the Day rather than the popular, optimistic one countered by Amos.

Bridging Contexts

THEOPHANY—THE APPEARANCE OF GOD. The God of the Old Testament is not a deistic being, someone who starts his creation going and then leaves the scene, nor is he that of the animist, seeing deity as being resident in natural objects. While the Old Testament does not articulate a specific understanding of an omnipresent God, God does appear in physically discernable ways numerous times in the biblical text. Such an appearance is technically known as a theophany.

Divine appearances are at times accompanied by physical manifestations similar to those that accompany the Day of the Lord in this passage. Many of these are associated with the most important theophany in the life of the nation, Mount Sinai, where the Israelites received their foundational covenant document, making them a special people under God. A trumpet blast accompanies his appearance there (Ex. 19:16, 19; 20:18; Ps. 47:5; Zeph. 1:16; Zech. 9:14). Joel 2:2 reflects other elements of the Exodus tradition, with the divine manifestation in cloud (Ex. 16:10; 19:9) and blackness (Ex. 20:21; cf. Deut. 4:11, where darkness, blackness, and cloud unite; Ps. 97:2; also Amos 5:20; Zeph. 1:15 relating these elements to the Day).

Fire is also a manifestation of the presence of God at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:18; 24:17; Deut. 5:23) as well as elsewhere (e.g., Gen. 15:17; Ex. 3:2; 13:21; Deut. 1:33; Ps. 97:3; Isa. 29:6; 66:15). It here accompanies the terrible Day (Joel 2:3). God’s appearance is associated with his “arm,” a symbol or metaphor of his strength and military might (Ex. 15:16; Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 1 Kings 8:42; Isa. 51:9). Joel 2 pictures the locust swarm also as being the army of God.

Earthquake is also associated with the appearance of God, as its sound, caused by military/locust advance (v. 10), here accompanies the Day of the Lord. At Mount Sinai, an earthquake accompanies smoke, fire, and trumpet, when Yahweh made a covenant with his people (Ex. 19:16–19; cf. Judg. 5:4), as it does when he comes to their aid in judgment on their enemies (e.g., Ps. 18:7–15; Isa. 13:13; Ezek. 38:19–20). The quaking accompanies his voice here (Joel 1:11) as it does elsewhere (e.g., Ps. 29:6–9). All of these elements unite this passage around the concept of the dreadful appearance of the mighty God, a general at the head of his natural, inhuman army.

Contemporary Significance

THE DARK IS RISING.15 Darkness, thunder, and destructive power are often not seen in the first instance as manifestations of God’s power, but often as just the opposite. The growing presence and power of evil, at times accompanied by these same natural phenomena, is not only a biblical theme, but one that is common in literature. It has made itself especially apparent in children’s literature of late, being a core motif of the continuingly popular Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis,16 and also in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, based on the novels of Lewis’s friend J. R. R. Tolkien.17 The interest is not restricted to those with a Christian perspective, however, as evidenced by the currently burgeoning Harry Potter phenomenon.18 The motif is not restricted to this genre, however, finding a home from the story of Beowulf to modern romance novels and westerns.

In most iterations of this story, good ultimately wins out, leaving one with a spirit of optimism. Some of its darker examples, however, do not end this way, leaving the future bleak indeed.19 The latter better reflects the point of view of one suffering the onslaught of the darkness, evil, and suffering in whatever form. In the midst of the anguish, the darkness seems complete, with any light of hope vanished. What is not needed in this situation is some subjective attempt to pull oneself up by one’s bootstraps, or even worse, a claim that one should be able to do so on one’s own. Rather, there needs to be an external source of light and hope, a voice from outside indicating that the darkness is not universal and permanent.

It is this seemingly overwhelming blackness, both literal and metaphorical, that overwhelms Joel’s contemporaries in the shape of a devastating invasion of locusts. While this passage describes a bleak and chilling picture, it is bracketed by rays of hope—acknowledgment that God hears (Joel 1:19–21) and that he can turn back to them in grace if they respond to him in an appropriate way (2:12–14). The message to those of Joel’s day, and to ours, is not a claim that the darkness does not exist—that is, that we should deny that any pain or anguish exists. Rather, the message is that, though the darkness is rising, it will be overcome by the light. In reality, that light has already dawned (e.g., Isa. 9:2; Matt. 4:16).

It is also important to be aware that darkness does not have an independent existence apart from God. He has been in control of it from the very beginning of creation (e.g., Gen. 1:1–5). He is now present and at work in it even when human eyes cannot see or experience him. Christian mystics have called this phenomenon “the dark night of the soul.”20 It is during these times of what appears to be abandonment when one can become closest to the One in whom we live and move and have our being. While God does appear in blessing, too often the blessing becomes the center of attraction; when he comes in darkness and pain, one is driven to concentrate on God rather than the darkness in order to survive it.

Where is God? What would be the response, even within the church, if God appeared today in smoke and fire, or even in darkness? Have we in reality become so blind to his presence, so used to his absence to our physical eyes, that we don’t see him when he is present? Eli, the priest of God, did not recognize God when he revealed himself to Samuel (1 Sam. 3). Visions were not widespread in that day (3:1), just as they are rare today, but one wonders whether that is because God is not speaking or because his people are not listening.

I remember a news story a number of years ago of a man landing at the Toronto airport after an international flight but without a passport. His claim was that God had revealed to him that he should come to Canada to tell the Canadians about God’s love for them, even though they are among the most unchurched English-speaking nations. He was turned back by the immigration authorities. His claim seems laughable; surely he was delusional, since God doesn’t work this way in our tidy, rational lives. That is why God at times turns to mighty locust swarms to reveal himself, and at other times to an evening breeze (Gen. 3:8) or a newborn baby (Matt. 1:18–25).

Each of these events can be rationalized, since each has a natural explanation. The question does not seem to be whether or not something can be explained naturally, but who is behind the natural? God the Creator, who does things decently and in order, putting his creation in order in Genesis 1, is the One who defines natural, the One who sets it in order. Perhaps a better biblical approach would be not to deny the possibility of God acting here or there because each incident has a rational explanation, but rather to look for his providential hand of care, or discipline, even in the mundane, the natural things of life. Why take a negative, exclusionary view of God’s presence when he wants us to take a positive, inclusionary view, hearing his praises, like the psalmist, even in mute creation (see Ps. 19).

Original Meaning

A Warning concerning the Day (2:1–2a).

Bridging Contexts

Contemporary Significance