Joel, as with many other prophets, was preaching a message of urgency and repentance to a nation that was on the verge of being annihilated by an invading horde of “locusts.” The beginning of his book is doom and gloom, but here, in this passage, he offers a glimmer of hope.
Read Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:1-39
There are some observations that are worth making from these two passages.
- In the coming “day of the Lord” about which Joel was prophesying, the Spirit of God would be poured out on all people — men and women, young and old, slave and free. This is extremely significant because the Old Testament is a very male dominated story. One of the promises of the Kingdom of God is freedom and equality for all people!
- In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord was only given to the leader of the people or to a prophet, and only for a limited time. In the “Day of the Lord,” the Spirit of God would be freely poured out on anyone who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved. Praise God that we have access to His Holy Spirit today; the same spirit that empowered Moses, anointed David, inspired the prophets, and raised Jesus from the dead!
- According to Peter, Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost. As a result, we are now living in the Kingdom of God…today!
