Jo 3:16-21

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Blessings for God’s people (Joel 3:16-21)

The time of God’s judgment on his enemies is also the time of his deliverance of Jerusalem. He protects his people from punishment, purifies them from uncleanness, and gives them peace and prosperity (Joel 3:16-18).

Having punished all enemies (symbolized here by Egypt and Edom), God now dwells among his people for ever. The persecutors receive their just punishment, but the righteous enter into eternal life (Joel 3:19-21).

The day of the Lord In his book Joel has shown how the events surrounding the locust plague were a picture and a foretaste of greater events that were yet to take place. He has shown how the day of the Lord brings both judgment and salvation. For the parallel between the judgment of the day of the Lord in Joel’s day (the locust plague) and the judgment of the final great day of the Lord, compare Joel 2:3 with Joel 2:30; 2:10a with Joel 3:16a; Joel 2:10b with Joel 3:15; 2:11a with Joel 3:11b.

For a parallel between the blessings on God’s people after the locust plague and after God’s final great intervention in human affairs, compare Joel 2:23-24 with Joel 3:18; 2:26-27 with Joel 3:16b-17.