The Prophet Joel

By Arno Clement Gaebelein

Chapter 3

We have reached the great Finale of Joel's prophecy. The vision now enlarges and puts before our view events which are in connection with "that day," the day of the Lord. We read in the previous two chapters a prophetic history of Israel and their land, the affliction which came upon them through Gentile powers and the final great trouble through the invasion of the one from the North and Jehovah's intervention in behalf of His people as well as their restoration and spiritual blessings. In this last chapter another fact is made known. In that coming day the Lord will. execute judgment in the earth. He will deal with the nations which sinned against His people, His heritage Israel. His righteous judgment and retribution will come upon them. Then there is given in this chapter a great description of what will precede this judgment of nations. A great final warfare will take place, war is prepared, the mighty ones of the earth draw near and go up and the Lord comes down. It is a vivid portrayal of the events with which the age closes. In the last section of this chapter we find a brief description of the kingdom generally called the Millennium, as it will follow these great judgments. We divide this chapter into three parts:

I. The judgment of the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Tyre and Sidon's retribution (Verses 1-8).

II. The nations making war against Jerusalem before the judgment. Jehovah's glorious manifestation for the help of His people and the punishment of their enemies (Verses 9-16).

III. Jehovah's rule in the midst of His people. The kingdom (Verses 17-21).

I. The judgment of the nations.

For behold in those days and in that time

When I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem;

1' will also bring together all nations

And will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat;

And there will I judge them on account of my people

And my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations,

And they divided my land.

 

And they cast lots for my people,

They gave a boy for a harlot

And sold a girl for wine, and drank it. (Verses 1-3.)

The first verse specifies the time when Jehovah will do what He announces in the two verses which follow. It will be in those days, in that time, when the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem is brought back. Clearly then up to this time this cannot yet have been, for the captivity of His people is not yet ended. They are still scattered in the great dispersion among the nations of the earth. The time is future when the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem is brought back. Israel, the ten tribes are not mentioned here, but they are included in the prophecy; they will likewise be brought back. Joel only mentions Judah, because His prophecy was addressed to Judah and Jerusalem. The captivity, or dispersion, which is the same thing, of the people Israel will not end till divine power accomplishes it according to the many promises in the Word of God. And when at last the heavens are silent no longer and Jehovah in His power begins to fulfill His promises and their captivity ends, it will mean judgment for the nations.

It is Jehovah Himself who speaks, what He is going to do in that day, when He arises and has mercy on Zion. "I will also bring together ail nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat." How the Lord will bring these nations together and thus accomplish His purpose is revealed in verses 9-12. We therefore pass it by for the present till we read the second part of this chapter. But here is also the place mentioned where this great judgment of nations will be executed. It will be in the valley of Jehoshaphat. The word means translated "Jehovah judges." This name occurs elsewhere in the Word of God. King Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat and he was the son of Nimshi (2 Kings ix:2). Significant names of the King who had to judge, for Jehu means "He is Jehovah;" Jehoshaphat, "Jehovah judges;" Nimshi, "Jehovah reveals."

In 2 Chronicles xx we read the account of King Jehoshaphat's victory over hostile nations. But the place where this took place is not the valley of Jehoshaphat, but it was called "Berachah," that is blessing. We mention this for some expositors have claimed that the place where King Jehoshaphat brought judgment upon these nations is the valley of which Joel speaks.

The valley of Jehoshaphat must be looked for in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem. It is generally placed in the valley of the Kidron on the East of Jerusalem. It may not yet be in existence. In Zechariah xiv we read of the same events which are here predicted. When the Lord appears and His feet stand on the Mount of Olives in that day.

The Mount of Olives' will then cleave in the midst and there will be formed a very great valley (Zech. xiv:4). This great valley may be the valley where the Lord judges the nations.

In the valley of Jehoshaphat the Lord will deal with the nations and His judgment will be on account of His people and heritage Israel. The nations scattered them and divided His land. They treated His people like slaves, casting lots for His people, sold a girl for wine and drank it.

The great sin of the nations, the Gentile worldpowers, is the sin against Israel. This is repeatedly mentioned by God's prophets. The foundation of the judgment of the nations of which our Lord speaks in Matthew xxv is likewise the treatment of the Jew. Read also Psalms lxxix:i-3; lxxxiii:i-6; Isaiah xxix:1-8; xxxiv:1-3; Jeremiah xxv:13-17; Zech. i:14-15; xii:2, 3.

In Joel's day such wickedness as described here of casting lots for His people and selling boys and girls was partially known. The Philistines had done this as well as Tyre and Sidon. But these words were fulfilled during the Babylonian captivity and in that great dispersion, which was brought about by the Roman empire. After the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 the very thing happened spoken by the prophet.

Nearly a million and a half of Human beings perished in Jerusalem and the land in that awful warfare. Over 100,000 were taken prisoners. These hundred thousand Jews were disposed by Titus according to Josephus in the following manner:"Those under 17 years of age were publicly sold; of the remainder, some were executed immediately, some sent away to work in the Egyptian mines (which was worse than death), some kept for public shows to fight with wild beasts in all the chief cities ; only the tallest and most handsome were kept for the triumphal procession in Rome." Jews were sold for so small a price as a measure of barley; thousands were thus disposed of. And what else could we add from the history of centuries, the cruel and terrible persecutions God's heritage suffered, the thousands and tens of thousands massacred, tortured, outraged and sold as slaves. Have we not beheld but recently similar horrors in Russia? And that history is not yet finished. Outbreaks of hatred against the heritage Israel are still to come and the time of Jacob's trouble soon to come will eclipse all their former suffering. It will be a time of trouble such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now nor ever shall be (Matt. xxiv:2i). The day will come when the Lord will judge the nations for the evil they have done. There will be a retribution, just and full. Of this the next verses have something to say:

Yea, also, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon,

And all the borders of Philistia?

Would you requite me with retaliation? If you retaliate

Swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompense

Upon your own head.

 

Because ye have taken my silver and gold,

And have brought into your temples my very best things.

 

And the children of Judah and of Jerusalem

Ye sold to the children of the Greeks,

That ye might remove them far from their border.

 

Behold I will raise them up out of the place whither ye sold them,

And I will return the retaliation upon your own head.

 

And I will sell your sons and your daughters

Into the hands of the sons of Judah.

And they shall sell them to the Sabeans to a far off nation.

For Jehovah hath spoken it.

This is an address to Tyre and Sidon. In part at least these words have been fulfilled. Tyre and Sidon and all the border of Philistia have already passed under the swift and righteous judgments of the Lord. As they had done so it was done unto them. They had sold the children of Judah to the Greeks and the children of Tyre and Sidon were sold to the Sabeans. History shows a fulfilment of this. Philistia had conquered Judah and done all this evil and in turn they were spoiled and retaliation came upon their heads. This shows how the Lord will judge in that day. But the words must also have their final fulfilment when the nations are in the valley of Jehoshaphat.

II. The nations making war against Jerusalem before the judgment. Jehovah's glorious manifestation for the help of His people and the punishment of their enemies (Verses 9-16).

The words which now follow in this chapter must be connected with the second verse. There the Spirit of God declared that all nations shall be brought together into the valley of Jehoshaphat to be dealt with on account of Israel. And now the details of that judgment, how the nations will gather, prepare war, assume a defiant attitude and beat their ploughshares into swords is vividly described. The judgment hosts of God, the angels are seen coming down and then Jehovah appears in all His majesty, while sun and moon are darkened. These verses will become clearer if we divide them as to the persons who speak.

The Lord speaking:

 

Proclaim this among the nations:

Declare a war,

Arouse the mighty ones,

Let all the men of war draw near, let them come up!

 

Beat your ploughshares into swords,

And your pruning hooks into spears.

Let the weak say, I am strong.

 

Come together

All ye nations round about

Gather yourselves together.

 

The Prayer of the Prophet:

 

Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah!

 

The Lord speaking:

 

Let the nations arise and come up

To the valley of Jehoshaphat,

For there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.

 

The Lord to His judgment hosts:

 

Put in the sickle,

For the harvest is ripe;

Come Tread!

For the wine-press is full,

The vats overflow;

For their wickedness is great.

The Prophet beholding the gathering:

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

 

For the day of Jehovah is at hand in the valley of decision.

The sun and the moon are darkened

And the stars withdraw their shining.

 

And Jehovah shall roar from Zion

And send forth His voice from Jerusalem;

And the heavens and the earth shall shake;

But Jehovah will be a refuge for His people

And a fortress for the sons of Israel.

Here a great warfare is proclaimed. The nations are summoned. Some interpreters think the people Israel are called together ; but that is wrong. The summons is to the nations and not to the scattered people Israel. Throughout the prophetic Word we read that confederacies of nations will oppose God at the close of this present age. There will be a double confederacy of nations; the alliance of nations composing the restored Roman Empire, and the alliance of nations coming from the North. This northern confederacy is here described. Many Scriptures could be quoted to show what is predicted for military Christendom and how in the blindness of their hearts they will assemble to make war against God and His anointed coming up against Jerusalem. We mention a few: Psalms ii:1-5; Psalms lxxxiii:1-6; Isaiah xxix:1-8; xxxiv:13; Jeremiah xxiv:13-17; Ezekiel xxxviii; Zech. xii:2-3; 9; xiv:2-5; Revel. xix:19.

In the appointed time when the measure of wickedness is full the nations under the leadership of the beast and the Assyrian will come together for the final great conflict. All seems to be preparing for this. Suggestions are made for the union of all nations with a "world's president." The events in the East, the rejuvenation of Turkey, the restoration of the Jewish people, still in unbelief, to their land, all indicate a near fulfilment of these great prophecies. The so-called "Christian nations" with their ambitions, rivalries, jealousies and in their corruption, increase of crimes and wealth will at last fulfil the long predicted destiny and gather themselves to war. Plowshares, we read in this divine summoning of the nations, will become swords and pruninghooks, spears. In Isaiah ii:4 and Micah iv 13 we read the opposite. Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks. This will be in the millennium. Before that happy time comes the other will take place.

Then there is a prayer. When the Prophet beheld the nations coming up against Jerusalem, assembling with their armies to assail His people, he breaks out in prayer. "Thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down O Jehovah!" Joel is here acting as the representative of the godly Jewish remnant, which is so vividly portrayed in Prophecy. When the true church has left the earth and the consummation of the age takes place a believing remnant gathered from God's ancient people will witness and suffer, pray and wait for the promised deliverance. If one reads the Book of Psalms with this thought in mind, that the many recorded prayers of a suffering people, addressed to God for interference from above and the overthrow of their enemies, belong properly to that believing remnant and will all be fulfilled in the end of the age, the whole Book of Psalms becomes illuminated.

The Prophet's utterance has this meaning. He calls on Jehovah to send down His mighty ones to oppose the nations who invade Israel's land and compass the city of Jerusalem. The mighty ones are the angelic hosts. The angels will be used in that day ; they are the reapers at the time of the harvest (Matthew xiii:39). They have a prominent part in the Book of Revelation.

Then, as an answer, Jehovah speaks again and commands the nations to appear in the valley of Jehoshaphat for the judgment. It hardly needs to be stated that this is not the so-called "universal judgment," a term which is not known at all in Scripture. It is a judgment of "all the nations round about," those who have taken a definite part in the great final warfare and who come against Jerusalem. The 13th verse contains the address of Jehovah to the judgment hosts, the angel reapers. Solemn are these words. What a time it will be when the Lord speaks thus!

Put in the sickle,

For the harvest is ripe;

Come Tread!

For the wine-press is full,

The vats overflow;

For their wickedness is great.

There is a double representation of the judgment, reaping and treading the wine-press. This is the same as revealed in the great New Testament book of Prophecy, the Apocalypse.

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle in the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Rev. xiv:14-20.)

Everything then is ripe for judgment as in the harvest, when the corn is ripe, the sickle must come into play. The harvest is the end of the age, as our Lord tells us in Matthew xiii. The treading of the wine-press is the type of the wrath of God. Then the day of vengeance has come. Isaiah Ixiii:6 will see its terrible accomplishment. "And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drink in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth." God's love and patience now are incomprehensible; His wrath and judgment will be so likewise. That day of wrath is rapidly approaching. The heavens will be silent no longer. The Lord will arise and shake the earth,

Again the seer speaks. It is an exclamation of the Prophet. He beholds the multitudes in the valley of decision. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision ! The day of Jehovah is at hand.

And all at once darkness spreads over the face of the earth. Sun and moon are darkened. The stars withdraw their shining. How ominous that darkness must be! These physical phenomena are seen repeatedly by the Prophets and the Lord Himself mentioned them (Matthew xxiv:29-31 ). But at the same time His voice will be heard, the voice of Him who hung on the cross' when the Sun was darkened, the voice which was heard in that deep and never to be forgotten cry, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? That voice will speak again and He Himself will appear in majesty and glory. He will roar from Zion. Heaven and earth will be shaken. (See Haggai ii:6 and Heb. xii:26.) But while He comes thus to judge His enemies and deal with them in wrath, He will remember His people Israel in mercy and be a refuge and fortress for the Sons of Israel.

Most all the prophetic books close with visions concerning the glorious future in store for God's earthly people and the establishment of the theocratic kingdom in their midst. The last chapter in Isaiah reveals this: "For thus, saith the Lord, Behold I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream ." (Isaiah Ixvi:i2). "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon unto another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord of hosts" (verse 23). Jeremiah announces the judgment of Jerusalem's mighty enemy Babylon, which will only be final when the last trouble has swept over Jeremiah's nation, that is the great tribulation yet to come. "And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates. And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah" (Jeremiah li 163-64). Ezekiel closes with a most vivid description of the glory of the land, the new temple, the restoration of the tribes to the land of promise. The last sentence in Ezekiel is "Jehovah shammah," which means, "The Lord is there." It is Jerusalem's new name, because the Lord will manifest Himself in their midst. Daniel closes his book, too, with a great prophecy concerning the end, when Israel dead nationally and spiritually will arise out of the dust, when Daniel's people shall be delivered. Hosea speaks by God's Spirit in his last chapter on the healing of Israel and that the anger will be turned away from them. This is followed by the promise of blessing, such as can only be realized in the future. "The nation Israel shall be in beauty as the olive tree" (Hosea xiv:4-7). The "herdsman of Tekoa," Amos, after announcing coming judgments assures us by divine revelation in his last chapter that only good is in store for the people who wandered to and fro over the face of the earth, during the time of their apostasy. "And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God" (Amos ix:14-15). Obadiah's little book closes with the sentence, "And the kingdom shall be the Lord's," a prediction still unaccomplished. Micah has for his ending the assurance of blessing for Israel and that the sworn promises will be performed (Mic. vii:19-20). Habakkuk's great third chapter tells the same story. "I will bring you again; I will gather you; I will turn back your captivity," is the divine message with which Zephaniah closes (Zeph. iii:20). The shaking heavens and the shaking earth and what is connected with this coming catastrophe is the last message of Haggai (ii:21-23) . The great finale of Zechariah is a wonderful chapter in which are brought together once more the prophecies of the former prophets concerning Jerusalem's great and glorious future (Chap. xiv). And while it is true that the last word in the Prophet Malachi is the word "curse," the last chapter also announces that the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.

Our book has also for its final vision, a vision of blessing.

III. Jehovah in the midst of His people. The Kingdom (Verses 17-21).

And ye shall know that I, Jehovah your God

Dwell in Zion my holy mountain;

And Jerusalem shall be holy,

And strangers shall HO more pass through her.

And it shall come to pass in that day

That the mountains shall drop down new wine,

And the hills shall flow with milk,

And all the river beds of Judah shall be full with waters.

And a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah,

And shall water the valley of Shittim.

 

Egypt shall be a desolation

And Edom shall be a desolate wilderness

For their violence against the children of Judah,

Because they shed innocent blood in their land.

But Judah shall abide forever

And Jerusalem from generation to generation.

 

And I will purge them from the blood

From which I had not purged them.

And Jehovah will dwell in Zion.

The previous verse spoke of the Lord's appearing in behalf of His people. His voice will be heard. This great manifestation of the Lord and His voice is frequently mentioned in prophecy. In Isaiah we read of His voice, when He appeareth. "And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering and tempest and hailstones" (Is. xxx:30) . When the trouble will be upon the remnant of Israel then that voice will be heard. "A voice of noise from the city, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to His enemies (Is. lxvi:6). That voice is mentioned in the Psalms. Seven times we read of the voice of the Lord in the xxix Psalm; it is a Psalm which describes the deliverance of Israel from an invading enemy, the same northern power, which we saw described in Joel's vision. It is the same voice which spoke to Saul while on the road to Damascus. And that voice will mean in that coming day wrath for the enemies of God and blessing for His people Israel. Jehovah will be a refuge for His people. Then they will come to that knowledge which they so long refused, that the delivering Jehovah is their God. But the Jehovah who appears there is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who was in their midst and who was delivered by the people to be crucified. What a day it will be when "They will look upon Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him" (Zech. xii:10). He will dwell in Zion, the mountain of Glory. The Glory from above will find a resting place on that holy hill. There He will be enthroned as King (Ps. ii:6). From there the glory will be spread over all (Isaiah iv:5-6; Ps. Ixviii:16). "For the Lord hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation. This is my rest forever; here will I dwell for I have desired it" (Ps. cxxxii:13-14). It is the literal Zion and not something spiritual. Even good expositors of the Bible have missed the mark. One good commentator says: "For Zion or Jerusalem is of course not the Jerusalem of the earthly Palestine, but the sanctified and glorified city of the living God, in which the Lord will be eternally united with His redeemed, sanctified and glorified church." Such exposition emanates from ignorance of God's purposes with His earthly people and in not dividing the Word of Truth rightly. It is not at all the heavenly Jerusalem which is in view anywhere in these Old Testament prophecies but the earthly Jerusalem.

That city will at last become the "city of a great King" and as such will be holy, and strangers, the 'Gentiles, shall no more pass through her. The same truth the Lord uttered when He said "Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."

Elsewhere we read the same facts concerning the holiness of Jerusalem in that day. We call attention to Zechariah xiv:20-21:

In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, holiness unto the Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the alter. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

"That day" is the day when the Lord's voice will be heard, when He arises and has mercy on Zion. But more than that will take place in the day the Lord appears to reveal His Glory. The mountains shall drop down new wine, the hills flow with milk and the river beds of Judah shall be full with water. There is no need of spiritualizing these words and make spiritual blessings out of it. That great spiritual blessings will then flow forth and be poured out upon the remnant of His people is true; but the prediction here rather points to the blessings, which the land will receive.

The numerous prophecies given by the other prophets predicting a wonderful state of fertility, great changes in the physical conditions we cannot all quote here. Amos, for instance, predicts in Jehovah's name, "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him that soweth the seed ; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt" (Amos. ix:13). It will be the time of restitution of all things, as Peter calls this coming, blessed age, when he spoke to the Jews in Jerusalem. That the prophecy here in Joel refers exclusively to Israel's land is obvious. Other prophecies, however, show that the whole earth will share in these blessings. What a change that will be when the now barren hills and mountains flow down with new wine and when the dried up river beds are filled with water. Once more that land will be literally flowing with milk and honey. But there is also a special fountain mentioned.

"And a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah,

"And shall water the valley of Shittim."

This fountain, sending forth a life giving stream is not mentioned by Joel exclusively. Ezekiel had a great vision in connection with the marvelous millennial temple, which will some day stand in Jerusalem.

Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the outer gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side (Ez. xlvii:1,2).

And after the Prophet had measured the waters and found them "waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over," he heard that these waters were for healing.

And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live:and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh (verse 9).

In the Prophet Zechariah, in the last chapter a similar prophecy is found.

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea; in summer and in winter shall it be (Zech. xiv:8).

Three prophets witness to this fountain, Joel, Ezekiel and Zechariah. It is interesting that a fountain from beneath the Temple used to supply the city with water. We quote from a reliable source:

"The existence of a large supply of water under the Temple is beyond all question. While the Temple was still standing, mention is made of an ever-flowing fountain under it, as well as pools and cisterns for preserving rain-water. One well acquainted with the localities says, 'The pavements had slopes for the sake of a flush of water in order to cleanse away the blood from the victims. For on festival occasions many thousands of animals were slain. But of water there was an unfailing supply, a copious and natural fountain within gushing over; and there being moreover wonderful underground receptacles, in the substructure of the temple, and each of these having numerous pipes, the several streams inter-communicating.' The same writer relates that, more than half a mile from the city, he was told to stoop down, and heard the sound of gushing waters underground. The natural fountain, then, beneath the Temple, was doubtless augmented by waters brought from a distance, as required by the "diverse washings" of the priests, and to carry off the blood of the victims. Whencesoever this water was supplied, it furnished Jerusalem with an abundant supply of water."

What a fountain of living and lifegivmg water this will be which shall gush forth again from the house of Jehovah ! Even the valley of Shittim, beyond the Dead Sea, will be reached and will be watered by the fountain.

There is no reason why the literalness of all this should be doubted. That a stream of spiritual blessing will also go forth from Jerusalem unto the uttermost parts of the earth is not less true.

The 10th verse presents a difficulty. It speaks of judgment to fall upon Egypt. They shed innocent blood in their land, they did violence against the children of Judah. Desolation is to come upon Egypt and Edom. But in Isaiah xix we read:

In that day shall Israel he the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance (Verses 24, 25).

According to this Egypt is to have a great blessing and be the people of God and share a portion with Israel. But here in Joel the prediction declares that Egypt is to be a desolation. Some have therefore claimed that there is a glaring contradiction between these two statements. But the context in Isaiah xix solves the difficulty. In the 22d verse we find the following prediction:

And the Lord shall smite Egypt: He shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

When the Lord appears His hand will rest upon Egypt in judgment. He will smite Egypt. But Egypt will cry out of that judgment when desolation rests upon the land and return to the Lord and He in His infinite mercy will heal them. Egypt will be lifted out of the dust and receive a place of blessing only second to that which Israel enjoys. 'Mercy shall then rejoice over judgment and in wrath the Lord will remember mercy. What a miracle of mercy that will be ! A nation so debased as Egypt, with such a record of evil against God's people lifted out of desolation and judgment into a place of blessing. "Blessed be Egypt my people" shall it then be said; in the seed of Abraham even this repenting nation will be blessed. God is ever true to His promises.

Joel speaks only of the judgment which will fall upon Egypt in that day. Isaiah also tells of judgment, but through him we learn that Egypt will turn to the Lord and the Lord will graciously heal Egypt. Judah will abide forever. His people will be cleansed. Jehovah, our ever blessed Lord, will dwell in Zion. The happy and glorious state of the land and the whole earth during the millennium is thus tersely stated. For when He reigns there will be righteousness and peace; glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the deep. Thus ends the great vision of Joel, the son of Pethuel. May the eye of faith behold these blessed revelations and may we live in anticipation of what is soon to be.