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Joel
Book type: Prophets (Minor)
Author: Joel, son of Pethuel.
No. of chapters: 3
Key character(s): God, Joel.
Brief description: Joel – The day of the Lord is the centre of Joel’s theology.
Theological outline:
01) The Day of the Lord calls for God’s people to respond (1:1-2:17)
02) God will respond to his people’s mourning & repentence (2:18-27)
03) God is preparing a Great day of Salvation (2:28-3:21)

Joel means “the Lord is God” in Hebrew.

The land of Judah was devastated. Locusts, like a huge army, had destroyed much of the vegetation. A severe drought made the situation worse.

Joel understood that the problem was primarily a theological matter. He interpreted the calamity as judgement God sent because of the sin & unfaithfulness of his people.

Joel provided a rarity among biblical prophets. Israel most often ignored or rejected prophetic counsel. Apparently they heeded the words of Joel.

Contemporary teaching.
Few of life’s tragedies are the direct judgement of God. The unfair & dangerous idea that every calamity is due to personal sin in the life of the sufferer still haunts & hurts people. (Remember John 9:1-3 [1]).

Even Christians sin, & our sins are serious. They dilute joy, harm others, & have an adverse effect on the world in which we live. The Book of Joel continues to remind us of the ongoing need for confession & for lives of faithfulness. We are also reminded of the need to encourage non-Christians to decide to turn to the Lord for forgiveness & abundant life.
[Source: NIV Disciple’s Study Bible]

[1]
John 9:1-3 (NLT)
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.
“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”