Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 20:2 (Winter 2011)
Article: The Message Of Joel: When God Invades
Author: Robert Spender

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EMJ 20:2 (Winter 2011) p. 179

The Message Of Joel: When God Invades

Robert Spender1

Introduction

What happens when God invades our life or community? Sometimes we don’t even recognize it. It may be a small disturbance or a major disruption, but is God really at work? The Lord used his prophet Joel to help his people wrestle with a difficult situation and to spur them on to grapple with greater spiritual truths. Thinking meditatively through the book of Joel can help believers understand some of the ramifications of God invading their lives.

The Prophet Joel

Little is known about this mighty prophet aside from the introduction and the circumstantial evidence that can be gleaned from his writing. His name, while short, is unique among the prophets, since it combines two of God’s names. Most would interpret Joel as “Yahweh (Jo = Jehovah) [is] El (God).” The book is one of the more controversial as to its date, with suggestions spanning several centuries from the eighth to fourth centuries bc. Arguments from silence that are, at best, difficult to assess include Joel’s silence about idolatry or any reigning king over the northern kingdom. Contextual clues point to a time when the temple was active, with the leadership in the hands of priests and elders rather than a king. Enemies which are named are closer neighbors rather than the great kingdoms of Assyria or Babylon, and reference to the Greeks in

EMJ 20:2 (Winter 2011) p. 180

Joel 3:6 is inconclusive, since Assyrian records mention the Greeks as early as the eighth century bc.2 The restoration from dispersion mentioned in Joel 3:1–2 could be a prophecy of a future restoration or a historical reference to the Babylonian captivity. Additionally, quotes and allusions from Joel to other prophetic books could be a borrowing in either direction. Finally, Joel’s inclusion with the eighth century prophets in the canon could be for reasons of content rather than chronology, leaving the question still unsettled.

The brief introduction in 1:1 affirms Joel’s prophetic office. He was a recipient of God’s revelation when the word of the Lord came (הָיָה, hāyâ, “was”) to him. Aside from his father’s name, Pethuel, we know little else about the man. After all, the book is not about Joel; it is about the Lord’s relationship with his people. Yet this powerful message about God invading the land provides neither a location nor a time. For that, we ne...

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