Yahweh's Northern Army Text: Joel 2:1-11
Introduction: When God Declares War
We live in a soft age, an age that prefers a soft god. Our generation wants a god who is a celestial therapist, a divine affirmation machine, a god who would never, ever declare war on his own people. We want a god who is endlessly tolerant, which is to say, a god who is morally indifferent. But the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is not a soft god. He is a consuming fire. He is a man of war. And there are times, in the course of human events, when He declares war, not just on the pagan nations, but on His own covenant people when they have become spiritual adulterers.
The prophet Joel has already described a devastating locust plague in chapter one. That was not an unfortunate natural disaster. That was the finger of God. That was the overture. But as bad as that was, Joel says, it was just the appetizer. The main course is coming. The locusts were a down payment, a warning shot. Now, in chapter two, the trumpet is blown in Zion, the alarm is sounded, because the full-blown invasion is imminent. This is the Day of Yahweh.
We must understand what the Bible means by "the Day of the Lord." It is not just one single day at the end of time. The Day of the Lord is any time in history when God steps into the normal flow of events to bring a decisive, catastrophic judgment. There was a Day of the Lord for Sodom and Gomorrah. There was a Day of the Lord for Babylon. There was a great and terrible Day of the Lord for Jerusalem in A.D. 70. And there will be a final Day of the Lord when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. Joel is speaking of a historical judgment that is about to befall Judah, an invading army. But because all of God's judgments are patterned after His character, this historical judgment serves as a type, a preview, of that final day.
What Joel describes here is terrifying. It is an army, but it is Yahweh's army. He is the one sounding the charge. This is not a message our therapeutic age wants to hear. But it is a message we must hear. Because if we do not understand the holy wrath of God against sin, we will never understand the breathtaking grace of the cross. If we do not see the terrible reality of judgment, we will never flee to the only place of refuge, which is Christ Himself. God is not safe, but He is good. And His judgments are a severe mercy, designed to drive us back to Him.
The Text
Blow a trumpet in Zion, And make a loud shout on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of Yahweh is coming; Surely it is near, A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of clouds and dense gloom. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a numerous and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it For the years from generation to generation. A fire consumes before them, And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run. With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consumes the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle. Before them the peoples are writhing; All faces turn pale. They run like mighty men; They climb up the wall like men of war; And they each march in line, And they do not deviate from their paths. They do not crowd each other; They march everyone in his path; When they fall against the defending weapons, They do not break ranks. They rush on the city; They run on the wall; They climb up into the houses; They enter through the windows like a thief. Before them the earth trembles; The heavens quake; The sun and the moon grow dark, And the stars lose their brightness. But Yahweh gives forth His voice before His military force; Surely His camp is very numerous, For mighty is he who does His word. The day of Yahweh is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?
(Joel 2:1-11 LSB)
The Alarm and the Darkness (v. 1-2)
The chapter opens with a frantic, urgent alarm.
"Blow a trumpet in Zion, And make a loud shout on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of Yahweh is coming; Surely it is near, A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of clouds and dense gloom." (Joel 2:1-2a)
The trumpet, the shofar, was used to call Israel to worship, but it was also used to sound the alarm for war. Here, the alarm is sounded in Zion, the very center of their covenant life, on God's holy mountain. This is not a foreign threat on a distant border. The judgment is coming to the heart of the nation. The proper response to this alarm is not stoicism or defiance; it is to tremble. This is a holy fear, a recognition that they are not dealing with a mere human enemy, but with the hand of God Himself.
Joel describes this day as one of "darkness and thick darkness." This is not just meteorological. This is covenantal darkness. God promised in Deuteronomy that if Israel broke covenant, one of the curses would be darkness (Deut. 28:29). This is the opposite of the light of His presence. It is the darkness of judgment, confusion, and terror. When God's people forsake Him, the light of His favor is withdrawn, and they are plunged into a world that no longer makes sense.
The Unprecedented Army (v. 2-5)
Next, the instrument of this judgment is described.
"As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a numerous and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it... A fire consumes before them, And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them... Their appearance is like the appearance of horses... With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains..." (Joel 2:2b-5)
The army appears suddenly, like the dawn spreading over the mountains. This is not a slow, creeping threat. It is an overwhelming, sudden invasion. The description here is hyperbolic, "there has never been anything like it," to emphasize the severity of this particular judgment. Whether this is a human army described in locust-like terms or a locust plague described as a human army is a matter of some debate, but the effect is the same. It is total devastation.
The land before them is like Eden, a picture of covenant blessing and prosperity. But behind them is a desolate wilderness. This is de-creation. This is the covenant curse in action. They have turned their hearts from God, and so God is turning their land back to the tohu wa-bohu, the formless waste we saw before creation week. The imagery is of a scorched-earth policy. The noise is terrifying, like chariots, like a raging fire. This is psychological warfare as much as it is physical. The goal is to induce utter panic and despair.
The Terrifying Efficiency (v. 6-9)
The prophet then details the disciplined, unstoppable nature of this invading force.
"Before them the peoples are writhing; All faces turn pale. They run like mighty men; They climb up the wall like men of war; And they each march in line, And they do not deviate from their paths... They do not crowd each other... They rush on the city; They run on the wall; They climb up into the houses; They enter through the windows like a thief." (Joel 2:6-9)
The reaction of the people is visceral terror. They writhe in agony; their faces turn pale. This is what happens when men who have forgotten God are confronted with His raw power. There is no defense against this army. They are perfectly disciplined. They do not break ranks. They are relentless. They scale walls, they rush the city, they even enter houses through the windows like a thief.
This language of a thief is important. Jesus uses it to describe His own coming in judgment (Matt. 24:43). The Day of the Lord always comes unexpectedly upon a complacent and unbelieving world. Judah had grown comfortable in her sin, thinking her rituals and her temple would protect her. But judgment was coming through the windows. No place is safe. There is no hiding from the judgment of God when it is appointed.
Cosmic Collapse and Divine Command (v. 10-11)
The description culminates in what appears to be the collapse of the cosmos itself, and the final revelation of who is truly in charge.
"Before them the earth trembles; The heavens quake; The sun and the moon grow dark, And the stars lose their brightness. But Yahweh gives forth His voice before His military force... The day of Yahweh is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?" (Joel 2:10-11)
Now, we must learn to read our Bibles like adults. This is the language of covenantal de-creation. When the Old Testament prophets describe the sun and moon going dark and the stars falling, they are speaking of the collapse of nations, kingdoms, and political orders. Isaiah used this exact language to describe the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13:10). Jesus uses it to describe the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (Matthew 24:29). This is apocalyptic imagery, which means it is unveiling the spiritual reality behind the historical event. The fall of a nation is, for its inhabitants, the end of their world. Their lights have gone out. Their order has collapsed. This is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of God's judgment.
And then, the curtain is pulled back entirely in verse 11. Who is commanding this terrifying, unstoppable army? "Yahweh gives forth His voice before His military force." This invading horde, whether Assyrian, Babylonian, or a swarm of locusts, is His army. They are His camp. They are the mighty ones doing His word. God is not a frantic spectator, wringing His hands in heaven. He is the field marshal, directing every movement. He uses the wicked for His holy purposes. He uses the Babylonians to judge Judah, and then He judges the Babylonians for their wickedness. He is utterly sovereign.
The chapter concludes with the only sane question: "The day of Yahweh is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?" The implied answer is that no one can endure it. No one can stand before the unmitigated wrath of a holy God. This is meant to strip away all self-reliance, all false hope, all pretense. It is meant to drive the people of God to the only possible solution, which Joel will outline in the next section: repentance.
The Day of the Lord Has Come
This passage is not just a history lesson about ancient Judah. It is a paradigm. It shows us how God works in the world. And it points us directly to the ultimate Day of the Lord, which occurred at Calvary.
On that day, there was a great darkness over the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. The sun was darkened. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. All the cosmic signs of judgment Joel describes were present at the cross. Why? Because on that day, the full, undiluted, terrifying wrath of God against sin was poured out. The great and awesome Day of the Lord came, and there was one man standing in its path.
Jesus Christ stood before the full force of Yahweh's military force. He endured it. He absorbed it. He exhausted it. The question, "who can endure it?" has an answer, and His name is Jesus. He endured it so that we would not have to. He faced the invading army of God's wrath so that we could be brought into God's camp as sons and daughters.
Therefore, for the unbeliever, this passage in Joel remains a terrifying warning. A Day of the Lord is coming for you. It may be a historical judgment in this life, or it will certainly be the final judgment in the next. And you cannot endure it. Your only hope is to flee to the cross, to hide yourself in the one who endured it for you.
But for the Christian, this passage is a sobering comfort. It reminds us of the terror from which we have been saved. It reminds us that our God is not a tame lion; He is a sovereign warrior who rules over all the affairs of men. And it reminds us that even when the earth trembles and the heavens quake, even when nations fall and our world seems to be collapsing, our God is on His throne. He is giving forth His voice, and He is mighty to do His word. And because of Christ, that word for us is not judgment, but salvation.