God's Ultimate Day

Major Points of the Minor Prophets
God’s Ultimate Day
Joel

The Book of Joel is all about devastation and deliverance. Joel first laments over present devastation and then rejoices over future deliverance.

The book of Joel is arranged in three basic categories. In the first section (1:2-20) the prophet describes the contemporary Day of the Lord, which is characterized by great suffering throughout the land because of massive devastation caused by locust plague and drought.

In the next section (2:1-17), Joel provides a transition from the historical plague of locusts to the eschatological Day of the Lord in 2:18-3:21. Using the contemporary infestation as an illustration, the prophet paints a powerful and vivid picture of the impending visitation by the Lord and then then makes forceful appeal for repentance.

In the third section (2:18-3:21), the Lord speaks directly, assuring His people of His presence among them. He does this through material restoration by divine healing of the land (2:21-27), spiritual restoration through divine outpouring of His Spirit (2:28-32), and national restoration through the divine judgement on the unrighteous (3:1-21).