Albert Barnes Commentary Joel 2:19

"And Jehovah answered and said unto his people, Behold, I will send you grain, and new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations;" — Joel 2:19 (ASV)

I will send you corn ... - This is the beginning of the reversal of the threatened judgments. It is clear from this, and still more from what follows, that the chastisements actually came, so that the repentance described was the consequence, not of the exhortations to repentance, but of the chastisement. What was removed was the chastisement which had burst upon them, not when it was ready to burst. What was given was what before had been taken away. So it ever was with the Jews; so it is mostly with the portions of the Christian Church or with individuals now.

Seldom do they take warning of coming woe; when it has begun to burst, or has burst, then they repent and God gives them back upon repentance what He had withdrawn or a portion of it. So the prophet seems here to exhibit to us a law and a course of God’s judgments and mercies upon man’s sin. He takes away both temporal and spiritual blessings symbolized here by the grain and wine and oil; upon repentance He restores them: “Over and against the wasting of the land, he sets its richness; against hunger, fullness; against reproach, unperiled glory; against the cruelty and incursion of enemies, their destruction and putrefaction; against barrenness of fruits and aridity of trees, their fresh shoots and richness; against the hunger of the word and thirst for doctrine, he brings in the fountain of life, and the Teacher of righteousness; against sadness, joy; against confusion, solace; against reproaches, glory; against death, life; against ashes, a crown.”

O fruitful and manly penitence! O noble maiden, most faithful intercessor for sins! A plank after shipwreck! Refuge of the poor, help of the miserable, hope of exiles, cherisher of the weak, light of the blind, solace of the fatherless, scourge of the petulant, axe of vices, garner of virtues. You who alone bind the Judge, plead with the Creator, conquer the Almighty. While overcome, you overcome; while tormented, you torment; while wounding, you heal; while healthfully succumbing, you triumph gloriously. You alone, while others keep silence, mount boldly the throne of grace. David you lead by the hand and reconcile; Peter you restore; Paul you enlighten; the Publican, taken from the receipt of custom, you boldly insert in the choir of the Apostles; Mary, from a harlot, you bear aloft and join to Christ; the robber nailed to the cross, yet fresh from blood, you introduce into Paradise.

What more? At your disposal is the court of heaven.