John Calvin Commentary Joel 2:1-11

"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and none hath escaped them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. At their presence the peoples are in anguish; all faces are waxed pale. They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they break not their ranks. Neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path; and they burst through the weapons, and break not off [their course]. They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" — Joel 2:1-11 (ASV)

This chapter contains serious exhortations, mixed with threatenings; but the Prophet threatens for the purpose of correcting the indifference of the people, whom we have seen were very slow to consider God’s judgments.

Now, the reason I wished to join these eleven verses together was because the Prophet’s design in them is none other than to stir up the minds of the people by fear.

The object of the narrative, then, is to make the people aware that it was now no time for taking rest; for the Lord, having long tolerated their wickedness, was now resolved to pour upon them in a full torrent His whole fiery judgment.

This is the sum of it all. Let us now come to the words.

Sound the trumpet, he says, in Zion; cry out in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble. The Prophet begins with an exhortation. We know, indeed, that he alludes to the usual custom sanctioned by the law; for as trumpets were sounded on festivals to call the people, so also it was done when anything extraordinary happened.

Hence the Prophet does not address each individual; but as all had done wickedly, from the least to the greatest, he directs the whole assembly to be called, that they might together confess themselves to be guilty before God and seek to avert His vengeance.

It is as if the Prophet had said that there was no one among the people who could exempt himself from blame, for iniquity had prevailed throughout the whole body.

But this passage shows that when any judgment of God is impending and signs of it appear, this remedy should be used: namely, that all must publicly assemble and confess themselves worthy of punishment, and at the same time flee to the mercy of God. This, we know, was, as I have already said, formerly prescribed for the people; and this practice has not been abolished by the Gospel.

And thus it appears how much we have departed from the right and lawful order of things; for today it would be new and unusual to proclaim a fast. Why is this? Because the greater part have become hardened; and as they generally do not know what repentance is, so they do not understand what the profession of repentance means; for they do not understand what sin is, what the wrath of God is, or what grace is.

It is no wonder then that they are so secure, and that when praying for pardon is mentioned, it is a thing wholly unknown today.

But though people in general are thus spiritually dull, it is still our duty to learn from the Prophets what has always been the actual practice among the people of God, and to work as much as we can so that this may be known.

In this way, when an occasion comes for public repentance, even the most ignorant may understand that this practice has always prevailed in the Church of God, and that it did not prevail through the ill-considered zeal of men, but through the will of God Himself.

But he commands the inhabitants of the land to tremble. By these words he intimates that we are not to trifle with God through vain ceremonies but must deal with Him in earnest.

When, therefore, the trumpets sound, our hearts should tremble; and thus the reality is to be connected with the outward signs.

This should be carefully noted, for the world is always inclined to focus on some outward service and thinks that satisfaction is given to God when some external rite is observed.

But we do nothing but mock God when we present Him with ceremonies while there is no corresponding sincere feeling in the heart; and this is what we will find discussed in another place.

The Prophet now adds a threatening, that he might stir up the minds of the people: For coming, he says, is the day of Jehovah, for it is near. By these words he first intimates that we are not to wait until God strikes us, but that as soon as He shows signs of His wrath, we should anticipate His judgment.

When God then warns us of His displeasure, we should instantly ask for pardon. The day of Jehovah is near, he says. What follows relates to the purpose we have mentioned, for the Prophet paints the terrible judgment of God with the aim of rousing minds that are wholly dull and indifferent.

And then he says, A day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of clouds and of obscurity, as the dawn which expands over the mountains. By calling it a dark and gloomy day, he wanted to show that there would be no hope of deliverance.

For, according to the common usage of Scripture, we know that light designates a cheerful and happy state, or the hope of deliverance from any affliction. But the Prophet now extinguishes, so to speak, every hope in this world when he declares that the day of Jehovah would be dark, that is, without hope of restoration.

This is his meaning. When he says afterwards, As the dawn which expands over the mountains, he mentions this to signify the speed with which it would come; for we know how sudden the rising of the dawn is on the mountains: the dawn spreads in a moment on the mountains, where darkness was before.

For the light does not immediately penetrate either into valleys or even into plains; but if anyone looks at the summits of mountains, he will see that the dawn rises quickly.

It is thus clear, as though the Prophet said, “The day of the Lord is near, for the Lord can suddenly stretch out His hand, just as the dawn spreads over the mountains.”

He then mentions its character: A people great and strong, to whom there has not been the like from the beginning, or from ages, and after whom there will be no more the like, to the years of a generation and a generation.

Here the Prophet specifies the kind of judgment that was to come, of which he had generally spoken before. He shows that what he had until now recorded of God’s vengeance should not be understood as God descending openly and visibly from heaven, but that the Assyrians would be the ministers and executioners of His vengeance.

In short, the Prophet shows here that the coming of that people should have been as much dreaded as if God had put out His hand and executed on His people the vengeance their sins deserved.

And by these words he teaches us that people gain nothing by being blind to the judgments of God; for God will nevertheless execute His works and use human instruments, because people are the scourges by which He chastises His own people.

The Chaldeans and the Assyrians were unbelievers, yet God used them to correct the Jews. This the Prophet now shows: that is, that God was the avenger through these very Assyrians, for He employed them as the ministers and executioners of His judgment.

We see at the same time that the Prophet here describes the terrible wrath of God to shake off the Jews’ slowness, for he saw that they were not moved by all his threatenings and always laid hold of some new, flattering pretenses. This is the reason he gives such a long description.

Before them, he says, the fire will devour, and after them the flame will burn. He means that the vengeance of God would be such as would consume the whole people, for God had in various ways begun to chastise the people, but, as we have seen, to no avail.

The Prophet then says here that the final stroke remained, and that the Lord would wholly destroy people so rebellious, whom He could not until now restore to a sound mind by moderate punishments.

For He had, in a measure, spared them, though He had treated them sharply and severely and given them time to repent. Hence, when the Prophet saw that they were completely irreclaimable, he says that it now only remained for the Lord to utterly consume them at once.

He adds, As the garden of Eden the land is before them, and after them it is the land of solitude; and thus also there will be no escape from them.

Here the Prophet warns the Jews that though they inhabited a most pleasant and especially fruitful country, there was no reason for them to flatter themselves, for God could convert the fairest lands into a wasteland.

He therefore compares Judea to the garden of Eden, or to Paradise. But such also was the state of Sodom, as Moses shows.

What good did it do the Sodomites that they lived as if in Paradise, that they inhabited a rich and fertile land, and thought themselves to be nourished, as it were, in the bosom of God?

So also now the Prophet says, “Though the land is like Paradise, yet when the enemy marches through it, universal desolation will follow, a scattering will follow everywhere; there will be no cultivation, no pleasantness, no appearance of inhabited land, for the enemy will destroy everything.”

His purpose was to prevent the Jews, by trusting in God’s blessing which they had until now experienced, from heedlessly disregarding His vengeance in the future, for His wrath would in a moment consume and devour whatever fruitfulness the land had until now possessed.

This is the meaning. He therefore concludes that there would be no escape from these enemies, the Assyrians, because they would come armed with a command to reduce the whole land to nothing.

He afterwards adds many similes, which anyone can sufficiently understand on their own: I will not, therefore, spend long explaining them, as many words would be superfluous.

As the appearance of horses their appearance, and as horsemen, so will they run. This verse again sets forth the suddenness of vengeance, as if the Prophet had said that long distance would be no obstacle, for the Assyrians would quickly move and occupy Judea.

Distance deceived the Jews, and they thought that there would be a long respite for them. Hence the Prophet here removes this vain confidence when he says that they would be like horses and horsemen. He then adds:

Like the sound of chariots. They interpret מרכבות (merecabut) as chariots, though the Hebrews tend to think they are harnesses or saddles, as we call them; but I still prefer to view them as chariots. For what the Prophet says, that they shall leap on the tops of mountains like the sound of chariots, would not be suitably applied to the trappings of horses.

They then shall leap on the tops of mountains—but how? As chariots; that is, they shall come with great force or make a great and terrible noise. And he speaks of the tops of mountains, for there, we know, the noise is greater when there is any commotion.

The Prophet, therefore, amplifies God’s vengeance in every way, that he might awaken the Jews, who by their indifference had too long provoked the Lord’s wrath.

Like the sound, he says, of the flame of fire, or of a fiery flame, devouring the stubble. He compares the Assyrians to a flame, which consumes all things, and he compares the Jews to stubble, though they thought themselves fortified by many forces and strongholds.

Finally, he adds, As a strong people, prepared for battle; their face the people will dread, and all faces shall gather blackness. By these words the Prophet intimates that the Assyrians at their coming would be supplied with such power that the mere report of it would lay all people prostrate.

But if the Assyrians were to be so formidable to all people, what could the Jews do? In short, the Prophet here shows that the Jews would by no means be able to resist such powerful enemies, for by their fame alone they would so lay all people prostrate that none would dare to rise up against them.

He then compares them to giants. As giants, he says, they will run here and there; as men of war they will climb the wall, and man (that is, every one) in his ways shall walk.

The Prophet heaps together these various expressions so that the Jews might know that they had to do with the irresistible hand of God, and that they would implore assistance here and there in vain, for they could find no relief in the whole world when God executed His vengeance in so formidable a manner.

He says further, They shall not stop their goings, though some render the words, “They shall not inquire about their ways.” For he had said before, “They shall proceed in their ways.”

Then the meaning is, they shall not come like strangers who, when they journey through unknown regions, make anxious inquiries whether anyone is lying in wait, whether there are any turnings in the road, or whether the ways are difficult and perplexing.

They shall not inquire, he says; they shall proceed securely, as though the road were open to them, as though the whole country were known to them. This part also serves to show speed, so that the Jews might dread the vengeance of God as if it were quite near them.

He then adds, A man shall not push his brother. By this manner of speaking, the Prophet means that they would come in perfect order, so that the multitude would create no confusion, as is usually the case.

For it is very difficult for an army to march in regular order without tumult, unlike two or three men walking together. When a hundred horsemen march together, some commonly hinder others. When, therefore, so large a number assemble together, it is hardly possible for them not to slow down and impede one another.

But the Prophet declares that this would not be the case with the Assyrians, for the Lord would direct their movements. Though the Lord would bring so large a multitude, it would yet be so well arranged and in such order that no one would push his companion or be any hindrance to him.

A man, he says, shall proceed in his way, even without any impediment.

And on swords they shall fall, and shall not be wounded: that is, they shall not only be strong men of war, so that they will intrepidly face every kind of danger, but they shall also escape unhurt from all weapons. Though they may rush on swords like madmen and show no care for themselves, they shall still not be wounded.

But this may be taken in a still simpler way: “They shall not be wounded,” that is, as if they could not be wounded. And it seems to me to be the genuine sense of the Prophet that they would not entertain any fear of death, so as to cautiously attack their enemies, but would with impunity provoke death itself by casting themselves on the very swords. They would not then fear any wound, but would dare to face swords as if they were wholly harmless to them.

Some render the word, “They shall not covet,” and then the word would mean, as if the Prophet had said, that they would not be covetous of money. But this meaning can hardly suit this place, and we see that the best sense seems to be that they would heedlessly rush on swords, as though they could not be wounded.

It afterwards follows, Through the city shall they march; over the wall shall they run here and there; into houses shall they climb; through the windows shall they enter like a thief. The Prophet here shows that the Jews trusted in their fortified cities in vain, for the enemies would easily penetrate them.

They shall march, he says, through the city; that is, as though there were no gates to it. The meaning then is that though Judea abounded in cities which seemed impregnable and appeared sufficient to stop the course of enemies (as had happened almost always, so that great armies were forced to desist when any strong, fortified city stood in their way), yet the Prophet says that cities would be no impediment to the Assyrians when they came to Judea.

For they would march through the city as along a plain road where no gates are closed against them.

They shall then march through the midst of cities as through a plain or open fields. To the same purpose is what follows; he says, They shall run here and there over the wall. These are indeed hyperbolical words; yet, when we consider how slow people are to fear punishment, we must allow that the Prophet in these expressions does not exceed moderation.

They shall then run up and down through the city; that is, “In vain you expect that there will be any rest or quietness for you, for you think that you will be able for a time to sustain the attacks of your enemies. This,” he says, “will by no means be the case, for they shall run here and there over the wall, as though it were a plain.”

Besides, they shall climb into the houses, and enter in through the windows, and do this as a thief; that is, though there should be no hostile attack, yet they will stealthily and secretly penetrate into your houses.

When there will be a great tumult, when the whole regions meet in arms, and when you will think yourselves able to resist, they will then, like thieves, quietly enter into your houses and come in through the windows, and you shall not be able to close up the passage against them.”

Then he adds, Before their face shall the earth tremble, and in anguish shall be the heavens; the sun and the moon shall become dark, and the stars shall withdraw their brightness.

The Prophet speaks here more hyperbolically; but we must always remember that he addressed people who were extremely dull. It then befitted him to speak in an unusual manner, that he might touch their feelings.

For it avails nothing to speak in an ordinary way to perverse people, especially to those who have cast off all shame and whom Satan has fascinated, so that they fear nothing and grieve at nothing.

When, therefore, such dullness lays hold of the minds of people, God must thunder so that His word may be heard. As the listlessness of the people was monstrous, so it was necessary, so to speak, for the Prophet to utter monstrous words.

This is the reason why he now says, Before their face (namely, that of the enemies) shall the land tremble; and then he adds, The heavens also shall be in anguish.

This is not because the heavens would fear the Assyrians, but the Prophet intimates that the vengeance would be such that it would terrify the whole world. This he intimates so that the Jews might cease to expect any escape routes, for they flattered themselves as though they could fly on the clouds or could find for themselves some hiding-places or distant corners.

The Prophet makes them understand that the whole world would be full of horror when the Lord would come equipped with His army. He also speaks of the sun and the moon, as though he said, “There will no longer be any hope of aid from created things, for the vital light itself shall fail when the Lord shall pour out the flood of His fury.”

He says, The sun and the moon shall become dark, and the stars shall withhold their brightness.

Though you then lift up your eyes, not even a spark of light will there be to comfort you, for darkness on every side will cover you; and you shall know by heaven, as well as by earth, that God is angry with you.

Here, in short, he closes off every avenue of hope for the Jews; for not only will the Assyrian rage on earth, but God will also give signs of vengeance from heaven, so that the sun will be constrained to show such a sign, as well as the moon and all the stars.

Finally, he adds, And Jehovah will utter His voice before His army. The Prophet seems in this verse to anticipate whatever objection people might bring forward: “Oh! You pronounce great terrors upon us, as if the Assyrians were not to be counted as men, as if no other people were in the world, as if there were no other army, as if there were no other forces, as if no one else had courage!

But if the Assyrians are formidable today, they still have neighbors who can easily gather a sufficient force to oppose them.” And Egypt was then a populous and well-fortified country; and who would not have said that the Egyptians were equal to the Assyrians? The Jews also thought themselves safe through a treaty with them.

And then there was Syria, and there were many kingdoms with which the Jews might have boasted they were surrounded, so that no access to them was open to the Assyrians. For however insufficient the people of Moab or the people of Ammon might be, yet they were all joined together—even Edom, Ammon, and Moab. And then Tyre and Sidon, and the many neighboring kingdoms, might certainly have been sufficient to resist the Assyrians.

Now, so that no one might object to all this, the Prophet briefly anticipates it by saying that God would be the leader of His army, as though he had said, “I have already declared this to be the hand of God, for the Assyrians will not come here of their own accord—that is, without being stirred up by God.

But as this truth has not yet sufficiently moved your feelings, know that God will be the leader of this army: God will send forth His voice before His army.”

Here he distinctly calls the Assyrians the attendants of God. They shall not then come as soldiers hired by their own king, nor as carrying on war for an earthly king, but the Lord Himself shall guide them and by His voice encourage them.

By this expression the Prophet shows that the Jews would not have a contest with one nation only, but also with God Himself and with all His celestial power.

He therefore says, God will utter His voice before His army; for very great will be His camp. He again repeats that the multitude which was to execute the commands of God would be so great that the Jews would seek forces in vain to resist it.

Strong, he says, is he who executes His word. He expresses more clearly what I have stated already: that though greed impelled the Assyrians, though they were intent on robbery and plunder, yet they would not come merely through an impulse of their own, but the Lord would prepare them and use them as His instruments.

“Powerful, then, is he who does the word of God; that is, who executes His command. This is not because the Assyrians intended to show regard to God or to offer Him their service, as the faithful do, who willingly devote themselves to Him, but because the Lord by His secret providence guided them and employed them to punish His own people.”

Finally, he adds, For great will be the day of Jehovah and terrible, and who will endure it? In this clause he shows that the vengeance would be such as would reduce the Jews to nothing, and that it was now time to repent. If they still turned a deaf ear to what the Prophet denounces, God would punish their perverseness.

Now with regard to what he says, that strong is he who does the word of God, we have elsewhere reminded you that people serve God in two ways: they either execute His commands willingly, or are led to do so by a blind impulse.

The angels and the faithful perform God’s commands because they are guided by the spirit of obedience. But the wicked also, and the devil who is their head, fulfill God’s commands; this, however, is not to be credited to them as obedience, for they are only led by their own wicked purposes and seek to destroy, as far as they can, the whole government of God.

But they are constrained, whether willing or unwilling, to obey God—not of their own accord or willingly, as I have said, but the Lord turns all their efforts to accomplish the end which He has decreed.

Whatever, then, Satan and the wicked attempt to do, they at the same time serve God and obey His commands; and though they rage against God, He yet holds them in by His bridle and also so guides their attempts and their purposes as to accomplish His own ends.

In this sense, then, Joel says that the Assyrians would do the word of God; not that it was their purpose to obey God, nor that God had commanded them anything, but he puts the word of the Lord here for His secret purpose.

As, then, the wicked perform no voluntary obedience to God, but are constrained when they execute God’s commands, so there is a twofold command or word of God.

There is the command by which He teaches His own children and leads them to obey Him; and there is another, a hidden command, when He does not deign to address people and does not show what pleases Him or what He means to do, but allows them to be led by their own sinful desires.

In the meantime, He has His own secret purpose, which He executes through them, though without their intention.

Prayer:

Grant, almighty God, that as You invite us daily with so much kindness and love, and make known to us Your paternal goodwill, which You once showed to us in Christ Your Son—oh grant that, being allured by Your goodness, we may surrender ourselves wholly to You, and become so teachable and submissive, that wherever You guide us by Your Spirit, You may accompany us with every blessing.

Let us not, in the meantime, be deaf to Your warnings; and whenever we deviate from the right way, grant that we may immediately awake when You warn us, and return to the right path. Deign also to embrace us and reconcile us to Yourself through Christ our Lord. Amen.