Some regard this section as a second account of the locust plague described in ch 1, but in ch 1, the plague is in the past, whereas in this section, the verb tenses seem to depict it as a future event. Thus, others see it as a warning of yet another locust plague. Still other commentators have understood this passage as an apocalyptic description of the coming day of the Lord, using the language of a locust plague to describe an invading human army.
The locusts would invade urban as well as agricultural areas, advancing like a disciplined, well-trained army to scale city walls and swarm over the city. Finding every means of entrance, they would even climb like thieves through the windows.
Joel calls on the people to repent and throw themselves on the mercy of their compassionate God.
God promised to restore his people’s material lives in the immediate future, replenishing their fields, orchards, vineyards, and flocks.
Up to this point, the book of Joel has focused on God’s judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem, but from here on, it describes God’s promise of restoration. If the people sincerely repented, God would respond graciously.
grain and new wine and olive oil: God would restore the fruits of the land. This would again make available the elements necessary for sacrifice and worship (see 1:10, 13). God would also eradicate the invading armies from the north.
Don’t be afraid: God’s great deliverance would be full and complete.
and you will praise the Lord your God: God’s promised restoration of their crops and food supply should lead the people of Judah and Jerusalem to praise and adoration, acknowledging that the Lord was in their midst and that he alone is God.
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people: In Israel, the empowering gift of God’s Spirit had previously been given only to select individuals such as judges (Judg 3:10; 15:14), priests (2 Chr 24:20), kings (1 Sam 10:10), and prophets (Isa 61:1). A time was coming when the Spirit would be given to every one of God’s people, regardless of gender, age, or social position. In fulfillment of Moses’ wish that every Israelite might be a prophet (Num 11:29), all would prophesy and see visions. In Acts 2:1–47, Peter expanded this promise to include people from all over the known world who were gathered in Jerusalem, regardless of their ethnicity (Acts 2:39; see also Gal 3:28).
In the more distant future, God would restore his people’s spiritual lives, pour out his Spirit on all people who respond to him in faith, and render judgment on the peoples and nations that refuse to acknowledge his lordship.
The prophet looked beyond his time to the future day of the Lord, when God would pour out his Spirit in ways never before seen and would perform signs and wonders for all humanity to see. The apostle Peter quoted this passage as being fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16–21).
The future outpouring of God’s Spirit would be accompanied by signs and wonders. Blood and fire and . . . smoke, together with the darkening of the sun and the moon, are indications of God’s coming in judgment (see 2:10; Mark 13:24; Rev 6:12).