Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

3:1 in those days. This generic reference recalls the events of 2:28-32 and particularly the day of the Lord (Jer. 33:15; 50:4, 20).

3:2 all the nations. That is, all oppressors of God's people (cf. Ps. 110:6; Isa. 66:18; Jer. 25:31; Ezek. 39:21; Mic. 4:11-12; Zeph. 3:8). Valley of Jehoshaphat ("Yahweh has judged") refers to a place of final judgment rather than a known geographical location. Scattered refers to deportation associated with exile.

3:3 cast lots for my people. In order to take them away as slaves. See Obad. 11.

3:4-8 As if in a courtroom, the Lord brings the questions, charges, and verdict directly to specific nations.

3:4 Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities along the Mediterranean coast. Relations between Israel and Phoenicia were occasionally good (cf. 1 Kings 5:1), but sometimes Phoenicia was a polluting influence (1 Kings 16:31). Philistia, on the other hand, was a longtime enemy of Israel (Jer. 47:4). I will return your payment. Restoration for God's people becomes God's recompense against the nations. Cf. "restore" in Joel 3:1--the same Hebrew verb as "return" in v. 4.

3:6 sold . . . to the Greeks. The Hebrew, hayyewanim ("Javan"; see Gen. 10:2; 1 Chron. 1:7; Isa. 66:19), refers to Greek-speakers on both sides of the Aegean Sea. Both the Philistines and the Phoenicians are accused of selling slaves to the Edomites (Amos 1:6-9). Slave trade between Tyre and Javan is mentioned in Ezek. 27:13.

3:7-8 stir them up. Cf. vv. 9, 12. The enslaved (people of Judah) will become the enslavers. Sidon was destroyed by Artaxerxes III in 343 b.c., and resistant Tyre was defeated by Alexander the Great in 332. Sabeans. Most commentators identify this people as inhabitants of the land of Sheba or Saba located in far away southern Arabia (1 Kings 10:1-13; Job 1:15).

3:9 Consecrate. (Cf. 1:14; 2:15.) Warriors were to seek the will of their deity prior to military engagement (e.g., Judg. 20:19-28). Some commentators view this as an ironic statement: the nations are told to consecrate themselves for war, unaware that the Lord of heaven and earth is their adversary (Isa. 8:9-10; Jer. 46:9-10).

3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords. This is the reverse of Isa. 2:4 and Mic. 4:3. The warfare preparation is so comprehensive that implements of agriculture must be transformed into weapons of warfare. the weak. The great need for soldiers means that even those unfit for battle must become warriors.

3:12 sit to judge. The connection between the place (Valley of Jehoshaphat) and the action of the Lord (judgment) is made explicit. The irony of v. 9 is apparent as there is no battle, only the Lord's verdict upon surrounding nations (v. 11).

3:13 Lack of harvest due to the locusts (1:11) is now a full harvest of the gathered nations cut with a sickle like grain (Isa. 17:4-5; Jer. 9:22; 51:33; Mic. 4:11-12). winepress . . . vats. The evil of the nations is so great that the vats of judgment are overflowing (Isa. 63:1-6; Rev. 14:14-20). This is an ironic reversal of the promise of Joel 2:24 that the threshing floors and wine vats would be full!

3:14 Multitudes, multitudes is a picture of all the people of the world standing before the Lord for judgment. valley of decision. This is the Valley of Jehoshaphat (vv. 2, 12), where the Lord will be the judge. Only the Lord makes decisions in this valley, and his decree is absolute. the day of the Lord is near. While the day was near for Israel (1:15; 2:1), the Lord's covenant love and the people's repentance halted his judgment.

3:15 darkened. See note on 2:10.

3:16 roars . . . utters his voice. Cf. Amos 1:2. God thunders as he engages the battle (Jer. 25:30-31; Joel 2:11 and note). refuge. Cf. Ps. 73:28; 91:2, 9. stronghold. Cf. Ps. 27:1; 37:39; Isa. 25:4. Amid the cosmic and military confusion, the people of God are held secure and spared destruction.

3:17 you shall know that I am the Lord your God. Judgment and salvation lead to knowledge of the covenant Lord, his presence, and the removal of the people's shame (see 2:27). Zion (cf. 3:21) is the original stronghold (see note on 2:1); here it denotes the promise of God's intimate residence among his people (cf. Rev. 21:3). strangers. Those who do not worship the Lord. Jerusalem shall be holy. Where God is present, all is purified and even ordinary deeds become acts of holy worship. Nothing unacceptable is found in a place of such holiness (cf. Isa. 35:8; 52:1; Nah. 1:15; Zech. 14:21).

3:18 in that day. I.e., the day of the Lord (2:2; 3:1). wine . . . milk . . . water. (Cf. Amos 9:13.) This and other descriptions of God's provision (Joel 2:19, 22-26) recall the earlier scarcity (1:5, 9, 12, 16-20). a fountain . . . from the house of the Lord. Cf. Ezek. 47:1-13; Zech. 14:8; Rev. 22:1-2. Abundant waters extend even to the arid-dwelling acacia trees (Shittim). The location of this "fountain" may be Wadi en-Nar, extending from the Kidron Valley to the Dead Sea.

3:19 The restoration of God's people (v. 18) is contrasted with the judgment upon the nations (2:19-20; 3:1-3). Egypt and Edom were ancient adversaries representing all of those opposed to the people of God (cf. 1 Kings 14:25-26; 2 Kings 23:29-34; Isa. 34:5-17; Obad. 1-21). Desolation was prophesied against Egypt (Ezek. 29:10, 12; 32:15) and Edom (Ezek. 35:3, 4, 7, 9, 14, 15). shed. The nations "poured out" (Hb. shapak) blood but the Lord will "pour out" (Hb. shapak) his Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).

3:20 The Lord's residence in Zion (vv. 17, 21) coincides with that of his people living in unending security.

3:21 The first two lines are difficult to interpret; God will either avenge what he has not avenged (ESV text), or "acquit" what he has "not acquitted" (ESV footnote). The context seems to favor the ESV text. their blood. This is a comment on the "innocent blood" of the Judeans in v. 19. The verse brings together the two primary themes of Joel: judgment on the day of the Lord, and the fact that the Lord dwells in Zion (2:27; 3:17).