Book 29 of 39 in the Old Testament — The Day of the Lord.
Joel uses a devastating locust plague that has stripped the land bare as a springboard to describe the coming ‘day of the Lord’ — a time of judgment beyond anything Israel had experienced. He calls the nation to repentance, fasting, and a return to God ahead of that day. The book also contains a striking promise, later quoted in Acts, that God would one day pour out his Spirit on ‘all people.’ Its short length carries an outsized theological weight for later New Testament writers.
“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”King James Version
God calls Israel to return to him with fasting, weeping, and a torn heart.
“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.”King James Version
God promises to restore the years the locusts have eaten.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”King James Version
God promises to pour out his Spirit on all people, later fulfilled at Pentecost.
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”King James Version
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
“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.”King James Version
The Lord roars from Zion as a refuge for his people.