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Joel 3:9-17

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

9. Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong. 11. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great. 14. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD [is] near in the valley of decision. 15. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD [will be] the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17. So shall ye know that I [am] the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Joel 3:9-17 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Joel 3:9

Theological / Devotional

Gentiles. Heb. goyim, “nations.” Verses 9-17 return to the topic of v. 2. The subject is expanded and graphically portrayed. As noted in the comments on v. 2 the description of a literal conflict is in terms of how events would have evolved if the nation of Israel had fulfilled her God-given mission. Application to the last days must be made in terms of the information provided by later inspired writers who have shown how events that might have had a fulfillment in literal Israel will be fulfilled with respect to spiritual Israel (see on v. 2; see pp. 35, 36).

Prepare. Heb. qadash, literally, “to sanctify.” Qadash is thus translated in ch. 1:14 (see comments there).

Wake up. Heb. ‘ur, “to rouse,” “to stir up.” For an application in principle to the stirring up of the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God see on v. 2. There will be another rousing of the wicked at the end of the millennium, when Satan “makes the weak strong, and inspires all with his own spirit and energy” to attack the New Jerusalem (GC 663; see on Isa. 24:22).

Adventist expositors have generally seen in this prophecy a forecast, not only of climactic events associated with the great day of the Lord, but also of international military activities in the final days of earth’s history. The gradual withdrawal of God’s Spirit in these last days leaves the way open for a corresponding increase in satanic activity designed to lead men on to destroy one another. This process will reach its climax just before the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven.

By SdaBc