joel 1 through 3

Read Joel 1-3 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions:

Joe 1:1-12 {s} A strong nation has come against the land/ the produce of the land stripped like locusts
Joe 1:13-20 {s} Let the priests lament + gather the nation + cry out to God, for even the beasts mourn
Joe 2:1-14 {p} Blow the trumpet in Zion for the day of YHVH is coming/ return to God with all your heart
Joe 2:15-27 {p} Blow the trumpet in Zion/ call a fast + weep/ YHVH will answer + restore
Joe 2:28-3:8 {p} The Spirit + salvation for whoever calls/ YHVH enters into judgment with the nations
Joe 3:9-17 {s} Tell the nations to prepare for war + gathered for judgment/ YHVH will shelter His people
Joe 3:18-21 {p} Judah + Jerusalem restored / Egypt + Edom a desolation

The strong themes:

Joe 1:1-2:14 {s+s+p} Devastation decreed: lament + cry out/ call to repentance, for the day of YHVH comes
Joe 2:15-27 {p} Blow the trumpet in Zion/ call a fast + weep/ YHVH will answer + restore
Joe 2:28-3:8 {p} The Spirit + salvation for whoever calls/ YHVH enters into judgment with the nations
Joe 3:9-21 {s+p} The nations gathered for judgment/ YHVH will shelter His people +restore Judah + Jerusalem

The book of Joel makes an amazing chiastic structure. I will add that there are several overlapping structures which lay on top of this one, and until all of them are mapped, we may not know if this is the final word for the structure of the book of Joel. But for me, the confirmation was clear. The simple structure:

1a) Joe 1:1-3, Give ear: has anything like this happened before? Tell it to the coming generations;
1b) Joe 1:4-2:17, Devastation + war determined, therefore lament/ day of YHVH is coming, therefore repent;
central axis) Joe 2:18, The Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people;
2b) Joe 2:19-3:17, Restoration + abundance determined, therefore rejoice/ day of YHVH is coming, therefore decide;
2a) Joe 3:17-21 {s+p} Judah + Jerusalem will abide forever + I will acquit them + dwell in Zion.

The complex structure:

1a) Joe 1:1-3, Give ear: has anything like this happened before? Tell it to the coming generations;

1b) Joe 1:4-2:17, Devastation + war determined, therefore lament/ day of the LORD is coming, therefore repent;

1) Joe 1:4-5, Locusts devastate the substance of the land + new wine cut off;

1) Joe 1:4, Locusts devastate the substance of the land;
2) Joe 1:5, The new wine is cut off;

2) Joe 1:6-13, A nation has come up against My land + laid waste My vine + fig tree/ lamentation;

1) Joe 1:6-7, A nation has come up against by land + laid it waste;
2) Joe 1:8-13, Lamentation;

1a) Joe 1:8-9a, Lament, for the grain + drink offering have been cut off from the house of the Lord;
1b) Joe 1:19b, The priests mourn, who minister to the Lord;
1c) Joe 1:10, The field is wasted + land mourns for the ruined grain/ new wine is dried up/ oil fails;
central axis) Joe 1:11a, Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers;
2c) Joe 1:11b-12 {s} Wheat + barley harvest of the field has perished/ vine has dried up/ figs +pomegranates + dates + apples withered + joy has withered away from men;
2b) Joe 1:13a, Gird yourselves + lament + wail you priests/ lie in sackcloth, you who minister to my God;
2a) Joe 1:13b, For the grain + drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.

3) Joe 1:14-2:17, Call for repentance, for the day of the Lord is coming;

1a) Joe 1:14-20 {s} Consecrate a fast +sacred assembly, gather together + cry out in the house of God, for the day of the LORD: famine + drought;
1b) Joe 2:1a, Blow the trumpet + sound an alarm in Zion/ let the inhabitants of the land tremble;
1c) Joe 2:1b-11, The great + terrible day of the LORD is coming, who can endure it?

1a) Joe 2:1b-2a, The day of the Lord is coming + at hand/ a day of clouds + thick darkness;
1b) Joe 2:2b-9, A people come, great + strong set in battle array/ they leave desolation behind them;

central axis) Joe 2:10-11a, Earth + heaven tremble/ sun, moon, stars grow dark/ YHVH gives voice;
1) Joe 2:10a, The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble;
2) Joe 2:10b, The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness;
3) Joe 2:11a, The Lord gives voice before His army;

2b) Joe 2:11b, For His camp is very great: strong is the one who executes His word;
2a) Joe 2:11c, For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?

central axis) Joe 2:12-13, “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm;

2c) Joe 2:14 {p} He may turn + relent + leave a blessing behind Him: grain + drink offering for your God;
2b) Joe 2:15a, Blow the trumpet in Zion;
2a) Joe 2:15b-17, Consecrate a fast + sacred assembly, gather together + cry out to God: spare your people;

central axis) Joe 2:18, The Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people;

2b) Joe 2:19-3:17, Restoration + abundance determined, therefore rejoice/ day of YHVH is coming, therefore decide;

1) Joe 2:19-25 New wine restored + devastation from locusts restored;

2) Joe 2:19-24, The grain + new wine + oil restored to the land;

1a) Joe 2:19a, The Lord will answer His people: I will send grain + new wine + oil to satisfy you;
1b) Joe 2:19b-21a, No more a reproach/ I will remove him who has done monstrous things/ fear not, be glad + rejoice;

1) Joe 2:19b-20, No more a reproach + I will remove the army because it has done monstrous things;
2) Joe 2:21a, 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice;

2b) Joe 2:21b-22, The Lord has done marvelous things/ do not be afraid, be glad + rejoice;

1) Joe 2:21b, For the Lord has done marvelous things;
2) Joe 2:22-23 Do not be afraid, beasts of the field/ be glad + rejoice, children of Zion, in the Lord;

2a) Joe 2:24, The threshing floors shall be full of wheat + the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil;

1) Joe 2:25 I will restore to you the years that the locust has devastated;

2) Joe 2:26-27 {p} Thanksgiving/ My people shall never be put to shame;

3) 2:27-3:17, Call for a decision, for the day of the Lord is at hand;

1a) Joe 2:27-31, I am YHVH + My Spirit poured out + wonders in the heavens before the day of YHVH;

1) Joe 2:27 {s} You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel + I am the Lord your God and there is no other/ My people shall never be put to shame;
2) Joe 2:28-29, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh in those days;
3) Joe 2:30-31, Wonders in heaven + earth/ sun + moon into darkness + blood before the day of YHVH;

1b) Joe 2:32, He who calls on the name of YHVH shall be saved + deliverance among the remnant YHVH calls;
1c) Joe 3:1-2a, When I bring back the captives of Judah, I will gather all nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment because of My heritage Israel;
1d) Joe 3:2b, For they scattered them among the nations/ divided My land/ cast lots for My people;
1e) Joe 3:4, Tyre + Sidon + Philistia: Will you retaliate against Me? I will return your retaliation upon your head;
1f) Joe 3:5-6a, Because you have taken My treasures + sold My people Judah;
central axis) Joe 3:6b, That you may remove them far from their borders;
2f) Joe 3:7a, Behold, I will raise them out of the place to which you have sold them;
2e) Joe 3:7b, And I will return your retaliation upon your own head;
2d) Joe 3:8 {p} I will sell your sons + daughters into the hand of Judah to sell to a people far off. I have spoken;
2c) Joe 3:9-13, Let the nations awake + prepare for war/ assemble in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment;

1a) Joe 3:9-11a, Proclaim among the nations: Prepare for war, wake up your mighty men/ assemble + come up;
central axis) Joe 3:11b, Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O YHVH;
2a) Joe 3:12-13, Let the nations be wakened/ come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat where I will judge you;

2b) Joe 3:14, Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! The day of YHVH is near in the valley of decision;
2a) Joe 3:15-17 {s} Wonders in the heavens before the day of YHVH + YHVH will shelter His people + I am YHVH;

3) Joe 3:15-16a, The sun + moon + stars will grow dark/ The Lord’s voice/ heavens + earth will shake;
2) Joe 3:16b, The Lord will be a shelter for His people + the strength of the children of Israel;
1) Joe 3:17 {s} You shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion/ Jerusalem shall be holy;

2a) Joe 3:17-21 {s+p} Judah + Jerusalem will abide forever + I will acquit them + dwell in Zion;

1a) Joe 3:17a, You shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain;
1b) Joe 3:17b {s} Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again;
1c) Joe 3:18, Mountains + hills drip with new wine +milk/ brooks with water/ fountain flows from the house of the Lord to water the Valley of Acacias;
central axis) Joe 3:19, Egypt + Edom desolate because of violence + innocent blood in Judah;
2c) Joe 3:20, But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation;
2b) Joe 3:21a, For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
2a) Joe 3:21b {p} For the Lord dwells in Zion.

The puzzles within the structure:

The A pair is forced together by the surrounding elements. 1a is like an introduction, and 2a is like a conclusion.

The B pair is each composed of 3 matching elements:

1b) Joe 1:4-2:17: Devastation, therefore lament/ day of YHVH is coming, therefore repent:

1) Joe 1:4-5, Locusts devastate the substance of the land + new wine cut off;
2) Joe 1:6-13, A nation has come up against My land + laid waste My vine + fig tree/ lamentation;
3) Joe 1:14-2:17, Call for repentance, for the day of the Lord is coming.

2b) 2b) Joe 2:19-3:17, Restoration, therefore rejoice/ day of YHVH is coming, therefore decide:

1) Joe 2:19-25 New wine restored + devastation of locusts restored;
2) Joe 2:26-27 {p} Thanksgiving/ My people shall never be put to shame;
3) 2:27-3:17, Call for a decision, for the day of the Lord is at hand.

In the 3rd element of the 1b pair, the central axis contains the 3 part description of the sun, moon and stars on the day of YHVH, mirroring the exact same language found in the 3rd element of the 2b pair, where it is found in the bookends rather than the center. But this is an area where an overlapping structure might exist.

It struck me that Joel presents a chronological and prophetic history of Judah and His people Israel. The devastation referred to the front of the structure is likely associated with the two destructions of Jerusalem and the Temple, the first when Judah was carried captive to Babylon in 586 bc, and the second when the Temple was destroyed in 70 ad by the Romans, and the Jews scattered from the land in 135 ad.

But at that time, “The Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people.” Joe 2:18.

So then the second half of the structure begins to lay out the restoration of His people, as the front half laid out their devastation. At the time of the restoration, the abundance of the land will return, His people will return, and no more shall any armies put them to shame. Tyre, Sidon, and the coasts of Philistia (not the people of Philistia, interesting) are even called out for their oppression, as well as Egypt and Edom. Tyre and Sidon was in ancient Phoenicia, the land today known as Lebanon. Today’s Lebanon is controlled by Hezbollah. The coasts of Philistia is the land today controlled by Hamas, where Gaza is.

Lebanon is on the north side of Israel. The coasts of the Philistines are on her west side. Epgyt is on her southern border, and Edom is on her eastern border. It is as if the Lord is saying, even though your enemies surround you, O Israel, north, south, east, and west, I will establish you forever, and devastate those who have devastated you.

Back to the B pair. On the restoration side, note these chronological event markers:

1b) Joe 2:32, Whoever calls on the name of YHVH shall be saved + deliverance among the remnant YHVH calls; (fulfilled at the death and resurrection of Yeshua and ongoing).

1c) Joe 3:1-2a, When I bring back the captives of Judah, (fulfilled in 1948 and ongoing — how interesting that only the captives of Judah are mentioned and not the captives of Israel, just as it has been since 1948).

1c) Joe 3:1-2a, I will gather all nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment because of My heritage Israel (this is future to us still, but events are leading up to it).

1d) Joe 3:2b, For they scattered them among the nations/ divided My land/ cast lots for My people (this has been the case since 70 and 135 ad, and they are still arguing over how to divide up the land, with Israel standing in the middle saying, we will not be removed from our land nor relinquish our borders).

1e) Joe 3:4, Tyre + Sidon + Philistia: Will you retaliate against Me? I will return your retaliation upon your head (the territories controlled by Hezbollah and Hamas disputing with Israel and claiming the land as their own).

2d) Joe 3:8 {p} I will sell your sons + daughters into the hand of Judah to sell to a people far off. I have spoken (the far off land of the Sabeans I believe are historically within the Arabian sphere. This has not happened yet, but if ISIS turns these territories even more radical, Arabia might even help Israel dispose of them).

2c) Joe 3:9-13, Let the nations awake + prepare for war/ assemble in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment (future to us still, but the mighty men of the [ united ] nations are being drawn into a war against Israel, and this is so that they will be together in one place, where YHVH will judge them for what they have done to His people and His land. Somewhere in here I believe Messiah Yeshua will return as King of kings and Lord of lords).

2b) Joe 3:14, Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! The day of YHVH is near in the valley of decision. This is the matching pair to, Whoever calls on the name of YHVH will be saved. So I believe the decision that the multitudes are facing, is the decision of salvation. Will they accept Jesus, receive forgiveness for their sins, and walk in His ways? Or will they reject Him? This decision appears here in the time of the day of the LORD, because I believe a world-wide revival will wash over the earth before His return, and multitudes will indeed have the opportunity to decide.

And the conclusion, is that everyone will know that YHVH is God. He will dwell among His people, and His city Jerusalem shall be holy. A fountain of water shall flow from His house (Eze 47:1, Joh 7:38, Rev 22:1). The time is short!  ♥