Bible Study and Discussion on the OT book of Joel

The Minor Prophets and the U.S. (the United States)*

Joel:

-Joel is Hebrew for “Yahweh is God.” (“Baugher” is a variant spelling for “one who plays in the mud,” i.e. “mud bogs.” J

-In the form of a “call to lament,” Joel warns of a surface level ecological crisis (locust plague) that foreshadows a much deeper spiritual crisis entailing God’s coming judgment through the hands of the Babylonian invasion.

-Written to Judah (Southern Israel) in the 590s – 580s BC

“Israel’s past is stained with disobedience and rebellion, Israel’s future holds the ominous threat of calamity, and Israel’s present demands an immediate and complete change of heart if that calamity is to be averted” (Overview in The Daily Walk Bible,” pg. 1152).

“The Day of the Lord is the central, indeed, exclusive, topic of the Book of Joel”

(D. Stuart, Word Biblical Themes: Hosea – Jonah, 52).

1.    The Day of the Lord ~ Israel’s present tense – Joel 1:13-15; 2:11-17

a.     What is “the Day of the Lord” depicting in these passages?

b.    Whose doing is this?

c.     What is the solution to prevent this catastrophe?

d.    How can we encourage a public lament over our actions?

2.    The Day of the Lord ~ the Final Days (Eschatological Days) – Joel 3:12-16

a.     What does this text say?

b.    What does this text mean for believers and non-believers today?

3.    God’s Blessings and Redemption – Joel 2:25-32; 3:16-21; Rev. 21:1-7, 22-27

a.     In what ways does the Spirit do away with human distinctions?

b.    How does Joel 3 point forward to Rev. 21?

c.     In light of current circumstances, how do these passages encourage us?

“Here in Joel the communal lament functions as an expression of repentance. It must be wholehearted: The people are to appear before God not only in torn clothing but with the broken hearts it signified. … Prayer is not imposing one’s own will on God, but being open to his will” (L. Allen, NIDOTTE, 798).

“The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:


Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;


The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,


His kingdom is forever.”

(M. Luther, A Mighty Fortress is our God, 1529).

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*In this devotional I’m not trying to make a one-to-one correlation between 6^th century Israel and 21^st century America. Nevertheless, God “is the same yesterday, today and forever” and God’s Word is Truth and applicable to our individual and corporate lives today as we live here in the U.S.