Book of Joel Chapter 3 Vs. 9

The Lord Judges the Nations

 

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Joel 3:9

Proclaim ye this...In Joel 3:9-12 we have reference to the preparation for war in fulfillment of Joel 3:2; Zec. 14:2; Rev. 19:19. This decree of God, concerning the deliverance of his church; and the destruction of their enemies. Which is to be proclaimed among them, to the terror of them, and the comfort of God's people, encouraging them to the battle, since they might be sure of victory.

For the prophet here returns to give an account of the armies to be gathered together, and to be destroyed in the valley of Jehoshaphat, as appears (from Joel 3:12). And to this end heralds are here ordered to make proclamation of war throughout the nations, and to gather them to the battle of Almighty God.

Whether seriously, or ironically, may be considered; what follows seems to be spoken in the latter way, to the enemies of the church. Though they may be interpreted as spoken seriously to the people of God themselves.

Prepare war, wake... Get all things ready for it, men and arms.

the mighty men... Generals, captains, and other officers, men of strength and courage. Let them arouse from the sleep and lethargy in which they are, and get themselves in a readiness for war, and put themselves at the head of their troops.

let all the... The Gentiles here, would be speaking of the unbelieving world. Whatever their rights were before they went to war is what is spoken of here. The Hebrews had prayer and made sacrifices to God before war.

Revelation 16:16 "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."

A Call to War: Judgment Is Described

In this section the judgment of the nations is described. It contains three sub-units: (a) a call to the participants (the nations and the Lord) to assemble their forces (Joel 3:9-11), (b) a statement by the Lord (Joel 3:12-13), and (c) a description of the battle site (Joel 3:14-16).