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Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Book of Joel Chapter 2 Vs. 19

 The Lord Had Pity


Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: Joel 2:19



Yea, the Lord... By his prophets, as or, "the Lord answered and said"; while they were praying and weeping, or as soon as they cried unto him in repentance. Or, however, praying to him, they might assure themselves that he heard them, and would answer them both by words and deeds.

Behold, I will... That is, cause the earth to bring forth corn, as wheat and barley, and the vines and olive trees to bring forth grapes and olives, from which wine and oil might be made. This is, according to some interpreters, to be understood of an abundance of spiritual blessings.

and ye shall... With each and every of the above things, corn, wine, and oil; they should not only have them, but have enough of them. Even to beyond the point of satisfaction.

and I will... For want of food, and as if forsaken of God (see Joel 2:17).

They did not deserve it, but God will forgave them, and restored their land.

The Lord’s promise began with a proclamation that the agricultural produce (grain, new wine, and oil) destroyed by the locusts (cf. Joel 1:10) would be restored. He then announced that His people would never again be an object of scorn to the nations (cf. Joel 2:17). Similarly (Joel 2:26-27) He promised they would “never again… be shamed.”



The Lord’s promise of restored agricultural blessing



The Lord’s promise began with a proclamation that the agricultural produce (grain, new wine, and oil) destroyed by the locusts (cf. Joel 1:10) would be restored. He then announced that His people would never again be an object of scorn to the nations (cf. Joel 2:17). Similarly (Joel 2:26-27) He promised they would “never again… be shamed.”

The seemingly unconditional tone of these statements is problematic if Joel 2:18-19 describe a historical event in Joel’s day. Whether one posits a preexilic or postexilic date for the writing of Joel, history shows that Israel, after Joel’s day, often did become an object of scorn. Perhaps the best solution to this difficulty is to understand that at least this aspect of the promise is eschatological in its ultimate fulfillment. Joel’s prophecy deals with Israel’s future apart from the chronological gaps which one sees so readily in retrospect. Consequently prophecies pertaining to his own generation are merged here with those that await future realization. This is common in Old Testament prophecies (e.g., Isa. 9:6-7; 61:1-2; Zec. 9:9-10).

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