Book of Joel Chapter 2 Vs. 18

 

The Lord Had Pity

Verses 2:18 – 3:21: With the advent of verse 18, the text makes a decisive transition, devoting the remainder of the book to restoration.

It assumes an interval of time between verse 17 and verse 18 during which Israel repented. As a result of her repentance, the 3 major concerns of 1:1 – 2:17 are answered by the Lord: physical restoration (2:21-27), spiritual restoration (2:28-32), and national restoration 3:1-21).

Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Joel 2:18

Then will the... Then (when Israel has fully repented as in Joel 2:12-17) the Lord will restore them (Joel 2:18-19), and remove the northern army (Joel 2:20). Then (when Israel has fully repented as in Joel 2:12-17) the Lord will restore them (Joel 2:18-19), and remove the northern army (Joel 2:20). Or "zealous" for it; for the honor of it, and the good of its inhabitants, and for the glory of his own name, it being the chief place in the world for his worship and service. And his indignation will be moved against those who have brought desolation on it.

be jealous for... This section marks a turning point in the argument of the book. It describes the divine response (Joel 2:18) to the nation’s repentance and records the Lord’s comforting words to His people (Joel 2:19-27). The effects of the locust plague (Joel 1:1-20) are reversed (see esp. Joel 2:25).

and pity his... As a father his children, who had suffered much, and had been reduced to great distress by the locusts, or by their enemies. This the prophet foretells would be done upon their repentance, fasting, prayers, and tears.

That the people meeting together with their princess and priests, and humbling themselves before the Lord, and crying to him, he expressed a zeal and compassion for them, and delivered them out of their troubles. For though their humiliation is not expressed, it may be understood and supposed, as doubtless, it was fact.

His land, and... In response to this genuine repentance, the Lord was jealous for His land and took pity on His people. The Lord’s jealousy is His passionate loyalty toward what is His, a loyalty that prompts Him to lash out against anything that would destroy it (cf. Isa. 26:11; Eze. 36:5-6; 38:19; Zec. 1:14; 8:2). The military protection described in Joel 2:20 is in view here.

This is forgiveness on the way. This reminds me of the following Scripture.

Luke 15:20 "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

Forgiveness and Restoration

This section marks a turning point in the argument of the book. It describes the divine response (Joel 2:18) to the nation’s repentance and records the Lord’s comforting words to His people (Joel 2:19-27). The effects of the locust plague (Joel 1:1-20) are reversed (see esp. Joel 2:25), and the threatened invasion (Joel 2:1-11) is averted (Joel 2:20).

The divine message of Joel 2:19-27 displays the following chiastic structure:

a. Joel 2:19

b. Joel 2:20

c. Joel 2:20-24

b.¹ Joel 2:25

a.¹ Joel 2:26-27

Parts a and a1 correspond as both parts promise a restoration of crops and a cessation of shame. Parts b and b1 both refer to an elimination of enemies (or their effects). Part c contains two cycles (Joel 2:20-21, 2:21-24), the second of which repeats and/or expands the three elements of the first (cf. Joel 2:20 with Joel 2:21; Joel 2:21 with Joel 2:22; and Joel 2:21 with Joel 2:23-24).

The Lord’s gracious response described

The relationship between Joel 2:18-19 and the preceding context is problematic. The NIV translation (cf. also NASB, KJV), which employs the future tense (“will be jealous,” etc.), interprets these verses as a promise conditional on the people’s positive response to the call to repentance in Joel 2:12-17. However, that interpretation of the Hebrew verbal forms in this context is unlikely (cf. S.R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew. 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1892, p. 95; Keil, “Joel,” in Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, 10:200). The forms seem better translated with the past tense (cf. NIV marg., NASB marg., RSV) and the text understood as a description of the Lord’s turning to His people in Joel’s time. This would, of course, imply they had responded positively to the appeal of verses 12-17 (cf. Allen, The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, p. 86).

In response to this genuine repentance, the Lord was jealous for His land and took pity on His people. The Lord’s jealousy is His passionate loyalty toward what is His, a loyalty that prompts Him to lash out against anything that would destroy it (cf. Isa. 26:11; Eze. 36:5-6; 38:19; Zec. 1:14; 8:2). The military protection described in Joel 2:20 is in view here.