This week in our journey through the Trei Asar (the 12 minor prophets), we come to the prophet Yoel (Joel). And like Hosea, we’re going to spend two blogs looking at this important prophet because there is simply too much here to cover! But before we get into Yoel himself, let’s start with a larger question:
We’ve emphasized the transformative role of the prophets. But how far does that go? In other words, are the prophets revealing anything truly “new” that the Torah didn’t already contain on some level?
You are certainly welcome to disagree with me on this, but my view is that every idea contained in the prophets, and really in the entire Bible, including the Apostolic Scriptures, is contained in the Torah in some form, even if only in a very basic way. You’ll hear Rabbi Jason make the same point on a regular basis. The Torah really is the foundational material of the Bible. Put differently, the rest of the Bible, while equally inspired, develops, clarifies, or highlights ideas already established in the Torah.
Or we might say this another way: the prophets create a new level of consciousness about what the right way to relate to Torah actually looks like. And I would argue that Yeshua and the Apostles do the same thing. They offer fresh and needed emphases, clarifications, and developments to generations that were off track. But the genesis of these prophetic ideas is found in Torah.
Okay, with that in mind, let’s talk about Yoel!
Interestingly, we don’t know a lot about Yoel, and that starts with his address! Strangely, we don’t even know for sure where Yoel lived in the Holy Land. There is a much later Jewish Midrash (Rabbinic source) that identifies Yoel as the son of the prophet Shmuel (Samuel). Others place him around the time of Elisha or perhaps during the reign of King Manasseh in Judah. And still other scholars date Yoel much later. Personally, I don’t have a strong opinion about when to date Yoel. But I can tell you the view I find most interesting: perhaps Yoel intentionally does not specify his time period because his message is meant to be timeless. And truly, Yoel is timeless on so many levels.
Yoel is also somewhat unique among the prophets because he doesn’t say much about the specific sins of the Jewish people or offer ethical advice, even though God’s judgment is a major feature of the book. This makes him somewhat different from both Hosea and Amos, the prophets who come before and after him in the Trei Asar.
Okay then, what is Yoel about then? Two big words characterize this navi. Mishpat (judgment) and teshuvah (repentance/return). And Yoel gives us a powerful vision of what teshuvah can do for individuals and, ultimately, the world – even when judgment seems close.
Famously, Yoel speaks about future things. However, it’s critical to keep in mind WHY he looks ahead. Yoel’s message about the future is meant to transform his generation in the present. The great Jewish thinker Abraham Joshua Heschel put this beautifully when he wrote that the prophet’s task is “to disclose the future in order to illuminate what is involved in the present.” That’s a key idea for understanding Yoel, and really all of the prophets.
Now, there’s one more background detail worth mentioning. Yoel’s book is very short, only three chapters in most Christian Bibles and four in Jewish versions. Yet within this short book, he references Jerusalem six times and speaks repeatedly about the Temple. Perhaps this signals that Yoel was from Jerusalem or somewhere nearby? We can’t say for sure. But it certainly seems reasonable. But now, let’s take a look at the contents of the book itself.
When we get into Yoel chapter one, things become dramatic very quickly. To say the least, Yoel saw some things people don’t normally see! Famously, he describes devastating locusts:
“What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.” (Joel 1:4)
There is quite a bit of debate about the identity of these locusts. I’m sure you’ve heard various theories. Are they literal locusts? Are they symbolic? Or could they somehow be both?
Some commentators think Yoel must be talking about literal locusts because of the detailed nature of his description. But many others understand these locusts as representing foreign armies invading and devastating the land of Israel. That’s a reasonable reading. And Joel 1:6 seems to move us in that direction:
“For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness.”
So if we grant that the locusts represent nations that are invading Israel, who are these nations? Possibilities include Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome, or Babylon. Personally, Babylon seems like a good fit because Yoel 1:9 describes the devastation reaching all the way to the Temple:
“The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord.”
As we know, the Babylonians did this very thing. Centuries later, the Romans did as well. But again, we can’t be sure whether Yoel is speaking about a single nation or multiple nations. And I don’t think we need to solve that question to understand his larger point. What is clear is that devastation, judgment, and exile are coming to the people and land of Israel. And if they are not awake now, they need to be!
But here is the big question: Can the judgment and devastation be averted? Well, this brings us to one of the most important concepts in Yoel. And it’s a question that runs throughout the Neviim.
Can a prophetic decree of judgment and wrath be changed? Yoel’s answer highlights the incredible beauty and power of teshuvah. No matter how bad things appear, and even at the last moment, disaster can be averted if people will return to God. Let’s see how this unfolds in Yoel’s thinking.
Beginning near the end of chapter one and continuing well into chapter two, Yoel gives a graphic description of the “Day of the Lord.” The bottom line is that judgment is right on Judah and Jerusalem’s doorstep, and things are bad. Really bad. And then we arrive at two of the most beautiful (and unexpected) words in the book:
“Yet even now…”
Let’s stop and think about this.
Even now…and even with judgment seemingly moments away, God says:
“Yet even now…return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” (Joel 2:12–13)
I love those words. They give me chills. “Even now,” God says, do teshuvah and return to Me! But the prophet is not done. As chapter 2 continues, Yoel says something powerful:
“Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him?” (Joel 2:14)
Let’s think through what is being communicated here. The prophet is telling his generation that the destruction that eventually came upon Jerusalem could possibly have been avoided if the people had heeded God’s call to teshuvah. Let’s not let this principle escape us.
Clearly, Scripture teaches that God can and does come to a point where judgment comes. But the BIG idea in Yoel is that teshuvah can alter even a divine decree regarding judgment. And Yoel is not the only prophet to make such a declaration. The prophet Jeremiah also expresses this principle. Jeremiah declares that if God announces judgment against a nation and that nation “turns from its evil,” He will relent from the disaster He intended. And conversely, if God announces blessing but the nation turns toward evil, that blessing can be lost (Jeremiah 18:7–10). Again, teshuvah is a powerful, powerful thing.
And I believe this prophetic principle still matters for us.
Now, we should be extremely cautious about declaring that a particular modern tragedy, war, disaster, or crisis is an expression of God’s judgment. I think we can get ourselves into trouble very quickly when we presume to know exactly what God is doing in specific events. But here is something we can say with confidence: these prophetic texts are still speaking. And their call to return to God still applies to nations…communities…families…and it certainly applies to us as individuals.
We should never forget the power of teshuvah and the magnitude of God’s mercy and kindness when we return to Him. And we should never think we have fallen so far that we cannot return.
The Christian author Corrie ten Boom famously said, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” Those words capture something important about Yoel:
Whatever pit we find ourselves in, we can take responsibility for our part, return to God, and trust Him to create a path toward the light. That path may not be easy. And teshuvah certainly doesn’t necessarily eliminate every consequence of our decisions. The road back to God may still include significant pain. But it will always be a better path if it is the path of teshuvah.
