John Calvin Commentary Joel 2:14

"Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto Jehovah your God?" — Joel 2:14 (ASV)

The Prophet seems at first sight to leave people here perplexed and doubtful; and yet in the last verse, as we have seen, he had offered a hope of favor, provided they sincerely repented. Hence the Prophet seems not to pursue the same subject, but rather to vary it. We have already said that all exhortations by which God stirs us up to repentance would be ineffectual, indeed useless, unless he testifies that he is ready to be reconciled.

Since the Prophet here leaves the minds of people in suspense, he seems to revoke what he has previously stated respecting God’s mercy. But we must understand that this is a way of speaking that often occurs in Scripture. For wherever God is portrayed to us as one hardly willing to pardon, it is done to rouse our laziness and also to shake off our negligence.

We are at first sluggish when God invites us, unless he applies his many prods; and then we act perfunctorily in coming to him. It is therefore necessary that both these vices should be corrected in us—our sluggishness must be roused, and those self-satisfactions, in which we too much indulge ourselves, must be shaken off.

And this is the purpose of the Prophet, for he addresses, as we have seen, people almost beyond hope. If he had only said, "God is ready to pardon"—if he had used this way of speaking—they would have come carelessly and would not have been sufficiently touched by the fear of God. Hence the Prophet here, as it were, debates the matter with them: "Even though we ought justly to despair of pardon (for we are unworthy of being received by God), yet there is no reason why we should despair; for who knows"—which means, "God is appeasable, and we must not despair."

The Prophet then presents here the difficulty of obtaining pardon, not to leave people in suspense (for this would be contrary to his former doctrine), but to create in them a desire for the grace of God. He intends that they might gradually gather courage, yet not immediately rise to confidence, but that they might come anxiously to God, and with much deliberation, duly considering their offenses. We now understand the Prophet's purpose.

But this will be more easily understood by considering two stages in repentance. The first step is when people feel how gravely they have offended. Here, sorrow is not to be immediately removed in the manner of deceivers, who flatter the consciences of people so that they indulge themselves and deceive themselves with empty self-flatteries. For the physician does not immediately ease pain but considers what is more necessary; it may be that he will increase it, for a thorough cleansing may be necessary.

So also do the Prophets of God: when they observe trembling consciences, they do not immediately apply soothing consolations. On the contrary, they show that people ought not, as we have already said, to trifle with God. They exhort them, even while willingly running to God, to set before themselves his terrible judgment, so that they may be more and more humbled. The second step is when the Prophets encourage people and show that God now willingly meets them, desiring nothing more than to see people willing to be reconciled to him.

The Prophet is now urging them to take the first step when he says, Who knows whether the Lord will turn? But some may object and say, "Then the Prophet has spoken inconsistently. For first he has described God as merciful and has spoken of his goodness without any reserve; then he introduces a doubt. He seems here to observe no consistency."

I answer that the Prophets of God do not always very anxiously adhere to what seems consistent in their discourses. Furthermore, the Prophet has not spoken here in vain or thoughtlessly. In the first place, he generally presents God as merciful. Afterwards, he particularly addresses a people who were almost beyond hope, saying, "Though you think that it is all over with you regarding your salvation, and you deserve to be rejected by God, yet you ought not to continue in this state; rather, entertain a hope of pardon." This is what the Prophet had in view. He introduces no doubt that would make the sinner uncertain whether or not he could obtain pardon; but as I have said, he wished only to rouse sluggishness and also to shake off vain self-flatteries.

He then adds, And leave after him a blessing. We see here more clearly what I have already said: that the Prophet, considering the state of those whom he addressed, states a difficulty. For the Jews were not to escape temporary punishment, and the Prophet did not intend to dismiss them in a secure state, as though God would inflict no punishment on them. Indeed, he wished to bend their necks so that they might receive God's blows and calmly submit to his correction.

But all hope might have been lost when the Jews saw that, though the Prophet had declared that God would be gracious, they were still not spared but suffered severe punishment for their sins. They might ask, "What does this mean? Has God then disappointed us? We hoped that he would be gracious, and yet he does not cease to be angry with us." Hence the Prophet now adds, Who knows whether he will leave behind him a blessing?

What is this—behind him? What does it mean? It means this: since God was to be a severe judge to punish the people’s wickedness, the Prophet now says, "Though God beats you with his rods, he can yet relieve you by administering comfort. You indeed think that you are beaten almost to death; but the Lord will moderate his wrath, so that a blessing will follow these most severe punishments." We now, then, understand the Prophet's purpose: for he does not simply promise pardon to the Jews, but mitigates the dread of punishment—that is, though God would discipline them, he would yet give place to mercy.

Then God will leave behind him a blessing; that is, "These blows shall not be incurable." And this admonition is very necessary whenever God deals severely with us; for when we feel his wrath, we then think that there is no grace remaining. It is then not without reason that the Prophet says that God leaves behind him a blessing, which means that when he shall pass by us with his rod, he will yet restrain his severity, so that some blessing will remain.

He afterwards adds, מנחה ונסך ליהוה אלהיכם meneche unesac laIeuve Aleicam, an offering and a libation, he says, to Jehovah your God. This has been intentionally added so that the Jews might entertain more hope. For with regard to them, they had deserved to be wholly exterminated a hundred times; indeed, they deserved to waste away utterly through famine. But the Prophet intimates here that God would have regard for his own glory and his worship.

"Though," he says, "we have deserved to perish by famine, yet God will be moved by another consideration, namely this: that there may be some offering, that there may be some libation in the temple. Since then God has chosen us as a people for himself, and has required the first-fruits to be offered to him, and has consecrated for himself all our provision and all our produce in the first-fruits and also in the daily offerings, though he has now resolved to consume us with famine and want, yet so that his worship may continue, he will make the land fruitful for us; corn and wine will yet be produced for us." But the Prophet does not mean that there would only be so much corn as would be enough for offerings, or only so much wine as would be sufficient for libations. Rather, he means, as I have already said, that though God would not provide for the safety of the people, he would yet have regard for his own glory.

God required the corn and the wine to be offered to him, not because he needed them, but because he consecrated to himself our provision. Since he would have the food and provisions on which we live to be sacred to him, he will not allow them wholly to fail. "God will yet surely pity us, and he will pity us, because he has deigned to choose us as a people for himself, and so to join us with himself, that he wishes to eat, as it were, with us." For God seemed then to partake, as it were, of the same table with his people. The law required bread or the ears of corn, and also wine, to be offered to God—not that he, as I have said, needed such supports, but that he might show that he had all things in common with his people. This communion then, or shared participation of God with his chosen people, gave them more hope; and this is what the Prophet had in view.

Grant, Almighty God, that as you see us so foolish in nourishing our vices, and also so ensnared by the gratifications of the flesh, that without being constrained we hardly return to you—O grant, that we may feel the weight of your wrath, and be so touched with the dread of it, as to return gladly to you, laying aside every insincerity, and devote ourselves so entirely to your service, that it may appear that we have from the heart repented. May it also be clear that we have not trifled with you by an empty pretense, but have offered to you our hearts as a sacrifice, so that we and all our works might be sacred offerings to you throughout our whole life, so that your name may be glorified in us through Christ our Lord. Amen.