1'BE
PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDITED JIY THJI:
VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., DEAS 011' GLOUCESTER;
AllD BY THE
REV. JOSEPH S. EXELL, M.A..
~OE L. Jfntro'buctf.on DY REV. W. J. DEA.NE, M.A., BIICTOB OJ' ASBElf.
<!Sxposftion an'll le!omflrtfcs BY REV. PROF. J. J. GIVEN, Pn.D., D.D., LA'l"J. l'KOFBBSOB OJ' BEBllBW AllD BEBlllEJn:tJTICS, lllAGn: COLLEGB, 1.ONDO!IIDDBBY.
~omfHrs b~ l-Jntfous :autbors. BEV. PROF. :J. B. THOMSON, M.A. IlEV. A. ROWLAND, B.A., LL.n. REV. D. THOMAS, D.D.
NEW EDITION,
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LONDON AND NEW YORK 1906 THE BOOK OF JOEL
INTRODUCTION.
§ I. SUBJECr 01' THB Bo01c.
THE prophecy of Joel is concerned with a. natural calamity which had befallen his country, and from which, as his text, he educes a. caJl to repentance, seeing in it the harbinger of the great day of judgment. Upon their repentance the people are promised present safety a.nd blessing, and a future outpouring of the Spirit, not confined to them only, accompanied with a judgment on heathen nations, after which shall ensue a.n era of holiness and peace. This is the subject-matter of the book, stated generally. The details are equally simple. The prophecy is usually divided into two parts, consisting respectively of eh. i.-ii. 17, and eh. ii. 18 to the end. These parts are, however, closely united, the latter growing naturally out of the former, a.nd both forming one connected whole, representing chastise- ment, repentance, pardon, blessing, outpouring of the Spirit, punishment of enemies, final establishment of the kingdom of God. The book may be analyzed as follows: The prophet begins by calling attention to a terrible invasion of locusts, hitherto unparalleled in the land, which has cut off the vine and the fig tree, and all the fruits of the ground, so that there is left no material for offering and libation. For this he ea.lie on Judah to weep "like a virgin girded with sackcloth" ( eh. i. 8); the husbandman and the vinedresser must mourn over their stricken harvest, and the priests are t'hemselves to lament, and to proclaim a fast and a solemn supplication for all the people. In this visitation is an omen of sopiething greater, more terrible -" the day of the Lord" ( eh. i. 15). This plague of locusts, accompanied by a long-continued drought, which destroyed all fodder for cattle and all hope of another harvest, was the harbinger of a severer judgment ( eh i. 16-20 ). For these ills the only remedy is true and immediate repentance. Before he dilates on this subject, the prophet again depicts the onslaught of the locusts and the fearful results of their devastations ( eh. ii. 2- 11) ; and then he bids tbe pi-irsts souo.d their trumpets and summou the people to JOEL. b ii INTRODUCTION TO
fa:c,ting-. mourning, and prayer, that they may avert the wrath of God and prepare for the day of judgment ( oh. ii. 12-17). Th<' prophet's appeal was not ineffectual: priests and people fasted, mournert. nnd prayed, and the Lord accepted their repentance ; 80 the sPcon<l part of the book commences with the statement, "Then was the Lord .,iealous for his land, and had pity on his people " ( oh. ii. 18). He prom1sps the removal of the scourge and the return of plenty, so that the heathen might no longer ha.ve oause to deride them (vers. 19, ~O). Land and beasts and men may now rejoice; abun'dant rain shall fall, and the crops i,hall be rich ; and barn and vat shall be full to overflowing; and, inspired by grati1ude, the people shall praise the Lord, the Giver of all good ( ,·ers. 21-27). Then, some day, they shall receive large spiritual bles~ings ; there shall be an effusion of the Spirit upon all flesh, which shall be attended by wonders in heaven and earth-a soUI"ce of terror to the enemies of piety, but the deliverance and glorification of the Church of God ( vers. 28- 32). In those days shall be the judgment of the nations according to the attitude they have assumed towards Israel, according as they have yielded themselves unto, or resisted, th!i Spirit poured forth. The prophet mentions, as types of hostile nations, certain neighbouring peopleB who have vexed and cruelly treated the Jews; and denounces on 1,hem just retribution ( eh. iii. 1-8). He calls on all who love ,goodness to engage in a holy war against the enemies of God; he cries to God himself to send his mighty ones forth for the final contest of good and evil ; he sees the countless multitudes that throng the plaoe of judgment, and the Lord himself coming in awful majesty to utter the final sentence and to be the Refuge of his people, who alone shall dwell in the new Jerusalem (vers. 9-17). The land shall overflow with Divine blessing, fertilizing the very valley of Shittim, the most unpromising spot; hostile powers shall be utterly overthrown; but Judah and Jerusalem shall abide for ever, and none shall evermore make them afraid (vers. 18-21), Such is the argument of the prophecy. The question remains-Is this description of a plague of locusts to be taken 'as the narrative of e.'1iterai fact, or as a metaphorical representation of an invasion by a hostjle army? It is supposed that the four kindB of locusts mentioned (eh. i. 4) adumbrate four enemies of the Jewish people, though all commentators are not agreed as to the particular nations intended. The earlier exegetes saw in them Ti~lath-Pileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar; later critics :fiud the Assyrians and Chaldeans, the Medes and Persians; the Macedonians, and the Romans; or, the Babylonian, Byro-Macedonian, Roman, and anti- Christian powers. Hengstenberg does not limit the metaphorical sense tu any particular invaders, but refers it to all the enemies of the spiritual lErael in all ages of the world. We have no hesitation in asserting that the literal view is the correct one, though doubtless, under the aotual visitation, other judgments and other truths are signified. The allegorical iuterprefation is maintained by great names, both ancient and modern, TJIE BOOK OF ,JOEL. iii