Lord. Like a cloud of blackest hue
the horde swallows the land.
Nothing can escape it, nothing
can stop it. The earth “quakes” be-
fore this army, and the heavens
“tremble” (2:10). But again we
have the imagery of a theophany.
The earthquake symbolized God’s
divine presence both at Sinai and
Golgotha.
The prophet asks of the day of
the Lord, “Who can endure it?”
(verse 11, NIV). But that does not
mean that God has abandoned His
people even though they have wan-
dered away from Him. There is yet
hope—otherwise why would He
call for an alarm to be sounded in
Zion? The trumpet summons His
people to make a response.
The clouds and darkness and
earthquakes of the day of the
Lord should not inspire fear, but
are to remind us of the continual
presence of a loving God. What
might frighten us should actually
inspire us with hope. Yes, God's
people have apostatized. The day
of the Lord is near. Everything
might seem hopeless. Yet Joel
knows his God hovers near be-
hind the clouds and darkness. A
God that the prophet will go on to
describe as “gracious and compas-
sionate, slow to anger and
abounding in love” (verse 13, NIV).
In the traumatic and fearful
buzz of the locusts, Joel heard the
voice of the Lord. It might speak
the fearsome sounds of judgment,
but that judgment can save as
well as condemn.
1. Eric C. Rust, The Book of Judges; The Book of
Ruth; First and Second Books of Samuel, The
Layman's Bible Commentary, val. 8 (Allanta: John
Knox Press, 1982), p. 44.
2. Peter C. Craigie, Twelve Prophels, Volume 1:
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah (Philadel-
phia: The Westminster Press, 1984), p. 96.
3. Rust, p. 18.