There are twelve men in the Old Testament, who are often referred to as the ‘minor prophets’, on account of the brevity of their writings. However, they were far from being ‘minor men of God’.

Very little is known of Joel or Pethuel, his father, but their names are highly significant. Joel means, ‘Jehovah is God’, which reminds us that God is sovereign. Pethuel means ‘enlarged of God’ and speaks of the God, who loves to enlarge His people. Sadly, the people of God in Joel’s day rebelled against Him; therefore, there was very little spiritual enlargement. We might well challenge ourselves today as to whether there is as much spiritual growth among us as there ought to be. God is faithful but are we?

We must learn from what happened in Joel’s day. The people’s rebellious ways meant that God had to chasten them! Surprisingly, He did not, as we would have expected, use the powerful nations surrounding them, to do so. There is no mention of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Syrians or Egyptians. The ‘great army’ that He sent among them was not men, but a plague of LOCUSTS! They were a fearsome enemy, in that, unlike a human invading army, it could not be held back or overcome. There was no possibility of escape from their incessant attack. Some have looked upon them as symbols of the great empires, but there is no compelling reason why they should not be viewed as literal locusts. Such swarms can cover great distances and consist of huge numbers.

Joel’s message for today.

Joel spoke a great deal about the coming ‘DAY OF THE LORD’, i.e. the coming day of God’s judgement. It is not a popular theme in our current permissive society. We are comfortable about considering a God of love, but reluctant to recognize that He is also the God who judges evil. This has often led preachers to water down the gospel, with little emphasis on sin and the need for repentance towards God.