A voice for the word of God
Joel
Joel used a devastating locust plague as a call to repentance and a window into the day of the Lord. His book moves from ruined fields to an outpoured Spirit and a promise of restoration. Peter would stand up at Pentecost and say, this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.
“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:”Joel 2:28
His life and calling
His life and calling. Joel, son of Pethuel, prophesied to Judah, though his exact dates are uncertain and Scripture does not fix them, so his time is best held loosely. What is clear is the occasion of his message: a catastrophic invasion of locusts had stripped the land bare, and Joel read it as a summons from God. He called every generation to attention: "Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children" (Joel 1:3). He summoned the priests to mourn and the whole nation to a solemn fast, "Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders" (Joel 1:14). Joel was a covenant voice interpreting a present disaster as a call to return to God, not a distant fortune-teller. Through the ruined harvest he pointed to something larger, the day of the Lord, a day of reckoning and, for the repentant, of astonishing grace. His short book carries a weight far beyond its length, moving from present grief to future hope and outpoured Spirit.
His message
His message. Joel's message is a call to wholehearted repentance in view of the day of the Lord. He pleaded, "turn ye even to me with all your heart... rend your heart, and not your garments" (Joel 2:12-13), grounding the appeal in God's character, "gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness." He promised restoration to the repentant: "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten" (Joel 2:25). Then his message soars to a great promise: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28), a day when God's Spirit would come not on a few leaders but on all kinds of people, and "whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered" (Joel 2:32). Joel joins sober warning about God's judgment with the widest promise of mercy and the Spirit. His book insists that the day of the Lord is both dreadful and, for those who turn to Him, full of hope.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Joel's promise of the poured-out Spirit is claimed by Peter on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit fell on the disciples: "this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). What Joel foresaw, the Spirit given to all kinds of people, was inaugurated through the risen Christ, who received the Spirit and poured it out. Joel's promise that "whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered" is taken up by Paul and applied to calling on the name of Jesus for salvation (Romans 10:13). The day of the Lord that Joel announced is ultimately the day of Christ's judgment and salvation. Joel points to Jesus not by naming Him or fixing a date, but by promising the Spirit and the deliverance that Christ secures and gives. God spoke through Joel's call to repentance, and has spoken decisively in the Son through whom the Spirit is poured out (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Questions people ask
How is Joel connected to Pentecost?
Joel promised that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28-32). When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter declared, "this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16), identifying the outpouring as the fulfillment of Joel's promise through the risen Christ.
What is the day of the Lord in Joel?
It is a coming day when God acts decisively in judgment and salvation. For the unrepentant it is dreadful, but Joel promises that all who turn to God and call on His name will be delivered (Joel 2:32), a hope the New Testament centers on Christ.