Joel 3:1-21

3:2-8 | The Valley of Jehoshaphat, an extended area east of Jerusalem, is where God will judge all nations based on how they treated His people. Some of those nations’ sins are detailed here. This event described by Joel may be the same as the judgment Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25:31-46.

3:2 | Jehoshaphat means “the LORD judges.” Valleys were often preferred locations for battles in biblical times.

3:9-16 | As the Lord issues a call to war, the nations are told to prepare for a great battle by beating their plowshares into swords and their pruning hooks into spears – the opposite of what happens when God reigns (Isa. 2:4). When the nations assemble in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, fully equipped for battle, they will find the Judge of all the nations awaiting them, and in their hands will be the incriminating evidence of their own violent history.

3:13 | This judgment is compared to harvesting grain with a sickle and to treading grapes in vats. As grapes emit juice when trodden, so the blood of God’s wicked enemies will be poured out when He judges them (Rev. 14:14-20).

3:14 | The valley of decision is another name for the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where God will judge the nations for scattering His covenant people and for dividing up His land. It is better understood as “the valley of the verdict,” as it will be too late for any of those people to make a decision: judgment has come. Today, there are many people in a valley of decision. Each one needs to earnestly pray that he might make the right decision and choose Christ before it is too late.

3:16-17 | The LORD also will roar from Zion pictures the Lord as the mighty judge (Amos 1:2), but even in the midst of judgment, God is mindful of His people. The same power that destroys His enemies shelters His people from harm.

3:18-21 | Joel speaks of the blessings that Israel (and all who believe) will attain in the end. The similar vision in Amos 9:11-15 relates this time of blessing to the restoration of the Davidic kingdom in fulfillment of God’s promise to David. Jesus is the One through whom this promise will be realized.

3:18 | The mountains will be so full of grapevines that they could be described as dripping with new wine (Amos 9:13). The many milk-producing animals feeding on the verdant hills are depicted as flowing with milk. Instead of the wadies that contain water only a few days each year, all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water.