Joel, Chapter 3

A short review for the breakfast study group

At a glance

The last chapter of Joel is the hardest to read. Chapters 1 and 2 dealt with Judah’s own repentance and restoration. Chapter 3 looks outward, at the nations that oppressed God’s people, and at God’s final judgment and final home with his people. The imagery is violent, but the chapter ends with a quiet promise of mercy. (In the Hebrew Bible this material is chapter 4, because the Hebrew counts 2:28–32 as chapter 3.)

Walking through it

Verses 1–8: The nations on trial. God promises to restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem. He will gather the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, a name that means “the LORD judges,” and bring charges against them. They scattered his people, divided his land, and treated human beings as goods to be traded for wine and favors. The coastal cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia are singled out for selling Judeans into slavery. God says what they did will come back on their own heads.

Verses 9–16: The harvest of judgment. The nations are summoned to war with a famous reversal of Isaiah 2 and Micah 4, since plowshares are beaten into swords instead of swords into plowshares. Then the scene changes to a harvest. The sickle is swung, the winepress is full, and multitudes wait in the “valley of decision.” The sun and moon grow dark, and the LORD roars from Zion and shakes the heavens and the earth. Yet verse 16 tells us that the LORD is a refuge for his people and a stronghold for Israel.

Verses 17–21: God dwells with his people. The LORD says that his people will know he is their God, living on his holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, and foreign invaders will pass through no more. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, and the dry streambeds will run with water. A fountain will flow from the LORD’s house. Egypt and Edom, which shed innocent blood, will be desolate, but Judah will be inhabited forever. The last line says it all: the LORD dwells in Zion.

A Lutheran reading

• Christ the judge. We confess in the Creed that Jesus “will come to judge the living and the dead.” Joel 3 is part of that biblical picture. The Book of Revelation (14:14–20) borrows the harvest and winepress images, and Jesus himself spoke of the harvest at the end of the age.
• God hears the oppressed. The nations are judged for treating people as property. This is a reminder that God cares about justice and about the victims of cruelty, and that evil does not get the last word.
• Judgment is not our job. Paul says to leave vengeance to God (Romans 12:19). We hear Joel 3 as comfort for those who suffer and as a warning to those who do harm, and not as permission to settle scores ourselves.
• “Valley of decision.” This phrase is often heard as the place where a person decides for God. In Joel, the decision is the LORD’s, a verdict handed down on the nations. That fits Luther’s explanation of the Third Article, that we cannot believe in Jesus Christ or come to him by our own reason or strength, but the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel.
• The refuge. Verse 16 is the Gospel note in the middle of the thunder. For those who call on his name (2:32), the God who shakes heaven and earth is also their shelter.
• God dwelling with us. The book ends with “the LORD dwells in Zion.” Christians hear the fulfillment in Christ, who is Emmanuel, “God with us,” and in the closing vision of Revelation, where the river of life flows from the throne of God (Revelation 22:1).

A caution

Joel’s “Zion” and “Judah” have sometimes been read as a map of present-day politics. Our tradition has generally been wary of that and reads the promises as fulfilled in Christ and his church. The war imagery should also not be turned into a justification for violence, since in the New Testament the weapons of the church are the Word and prayer. Finally, we should be honest that this chapter is hard, and it is fine to say so in the group.

Questions for discussion

1. Chapter 3 speaks of judgment on those who harm others. Does it comfort you, disturb you, or both?
2. Joel reverses “beat swords into plowshares.” What does it say about the world that the prophets can imagine both directions?
3. The “valley of decision” is often taken to mean our decision for Christ. How does it change the picture to hear it as God’s verdict?
4. Verse 16 says the LORD is both roaring from Zion and a refuge for his people. How do we hold both of these together?
5. The book ends with God living among his people and a fountain flowing from his house. Where do you see signs of that now, in our congregation or in your own life?
6. Looking back at all three chapters, what is the one thing from Joel that you want to remember?

Suggested reading for the morning

Read Joel 3:9–16 aloud, and then 3:17–21 as the closing promise. For contrast, you may want to read Revelation 22:1–5 afterward.