In this passage, Joel states, “…the day of the LORD is coming” (2:1). What is the “day of the LORD?” After an intense period of Scripture study and pondering, the answer was a bit of a surprise to me, yet now makes total sense.
Since Joel does not give a specific context for this specific “day” in this immediate passage, we need to apply a key Biblical interpretation method. We need to take this verse in the context of the passage, and the passage in the context of the chapter, and the chapter in the context of the book, and the book within the context of all Scriptures!
And through it all, we must let the author speak for himself, one whose writing was inspired by God.
Look at what Joel writes later in this “chapter:” “The LORD will reply to them: ‘I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations. I will drive the northern army far from you…’” (Joel 2:19-20).
Thus considering this prophecy within the chapter, this specific “day of the LORD” is a prophecy of the attack by Assyria on the ten tribes of Israel.
(Joel is going to get to the day of the LORD I was expecting.)
Remember that in the wake of King David’s reign, after his son Solomon's reign, the nation of Israel went through the sad split, creating the northern kingdom, which kept the name Israel, and the southern kingdom, which was called Judah.
However, in 723-722 B.C., Assyria ransacked Israel.
Taking the class “Western Civilization” as a student at Colorado Christian University with the superb History professor Dr. Stan Dyck, I recall him making the statement in class one time about how vicious the Assyrian army was.
Do keep in mind that God miraculously protected Judah, thus Assyria never overtook Judah, though they tried.
So “the day of the LORD” prophesied by Joel in this passage was the vengeance God took on the rebellious northern kingdom.
In this passage, Joel foretells of that Assyrian attack using the imagery of the locust attack. Again, he was a gifted writer.
Please note that in Joel 2:1-11, Joel is not giving a continued description of the locust invasion. That was done. The “day of the LORD” was a future event. And that ‘day,’ the Assyrian attack, tragically happened.
This view is supported as we look at another Scripture book. In the book of Isaiah, that prophet speaks of “the day of the LORD” in Isaiah 13:9. That term was used by Isaiah within his prophecy to foretell that Babylon would be ransacked by the Median empire.
(That prophecy by Isaiah supports my view that Babylon was conquered in a violent manner by the violent and deranged King Astyages the Mede. My thesis is once King Cyrus, the Persian, overthrew King Astyages, the weak but proud nation of Babylon slipped back to independence. But sometime later, King Cyrus conquered them without even having to fight, as is told of by the historian Herodotus.
The bottom line: Ancient Babylon met its’ demise, just as Isaiah foretold.)
So the answer to my question: The general term “the day of the LORD” is an occasion of God’s righteous vengeance, carried out by an epic specific event.
In Joel 1:15, Joel 2:1, and Joel 2:11, the day of the LORD is God’s judgment against the northern kingdom. And that happened.
In the case of Isaiah 13:9, the day of the LORD is God’s vengeance against Babylon. And that happened.
Thus the term as used on various occasions does not refer to only one single event, yet I emphasis that this term is used only for a handful of turning point events.
There are a number of Christians who disagree on this important point. They advocate “the day of the LORD” always refers to a single occasion or single time period. The occasion usually starts with the day prophesied by Zechariah as recorded in chapter 14 of his book. In fact, Zechariah 14:1 states: “A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you.”
And some extend the “Day” to go for a thousand years, and then to include the judgment told of in the book of Revelation. Some advocate it is only 'judgment day.'
I understand that position and I respect their view.
(The reason I can see where they are coming from is the fact that Hebrew writing sometimes involved the literary practice of patterns. Thus a Hebrew writer sometimes took a quick shift from the present to a distant future, and then shifted back to the subject at hand. Yet I am convinced Joel is not doing that here!)
Joel is a fitting book in which to raise this issue, because Joel uses this term five times, yet in two different chronological contexts. (Joel 2:31 and Joel 3:14 being the other two times he uses the term. We will get to those and the subject of a finale “day of the LORD.”)
We need to go at Joel’s pace. And we need to understand his literary structure.
Also, my point is reinforced by the fact “the day of the LORD” in this passage signifies judgment against the Israelites. On the flip side, as we continue with this book of Joel, he will get to the day of LORD prophesied by Zechariah. That will take place after the ‘tribulation,’ and God will rescue the Jewish people from an overwhelming attack. Judgment will come upon the rebellious people of all other nations. It will be a time for celebration for the Jewish people!
Thanks to the further revelations we have as followers of Jesus under the New Covenant, we can assume that within all of the prophecies of “the day of the LORD,” there is foreshadowing of the ultimate occasion of vengeance and glory, a day which is recorded in the book of Revelation. This coming “day” will be the ultimate “day of the LORD," and be a finale event in the history of this world. This is detailed in Revelation 20:11-15.
How interesting Joel states at the end of this passage: “…The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11).
Can something be great and dreadful at the same time? Something can be great to one person, and dreadful to another.
Any “day of the LORD” is great, because God’s vengeance is the justice of God being carried out!
This specific “day of the LORD” was dreadful, because many Israelites physically died. How tragic. Yet there was the mercy of God as He protected the Israelites of Judah.
And the mercy of God continues for all Israelites, and we will see that in the next passage.
Hunter Irvine
