The Prophet Joel

The Prophet Joel

Open Ended

What are some facts you know about the Prophet Joel?

• Joel is known as one of the Minor Prophets

• Not much is known about him as a person

Multiple Choice

What does Joel mean?

• God's Strength

• Jehovah is God

• Beloved

• God is Salvation

• We know that he is the son of Pethuel (Joel 1:1)

• He was probably one of the earliest Old Testament's writing prophets

• He lived in or near Jerusalem

• Joel stressed that the word of God "came" to him; but how it came we do not know

• Book of Joel consists of only three chapters

• Begins with Joel preaching to the people of Judah about the devastation that has passed

• Joel begins by addressing the elders regarding the severity of the devastation (Joel 1:2-4)

• In verse 4, Joel goes on to describe what happened.

• "What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten."

Multiple Choice

What did God use to punish the people of Judah?

• Drought

• Darkness

• River of Blood

• Locusts

• What is remarkable about Joel’s description of the devastation caused by the locusts is how he dealt with it.

• He did not minimize the severity of the devastation. He did not treat the disaster lightly. He understood that something terrible has struck the people of God.

• He wanted the people to understand the full severity of the devastation, and so he called on various groups in the land to mourn with him.

Open Ended

What was so great about how Joel dealt with the devastation?

• Joel appealed to 3 groups regarding the devastation

• The first were the drunkards

• Second was the entire nation

• Third were the farmers

• Joel called the nation to sorrow and mourn with him over the devastation that had been caused by the locust plague.

• He wanted people to understand what God was saying to them through that natural disaster.

Multiple Select

Which three groups did Joel appeal to? (check all that apply)

• Priests

• Entire Nation

• Drunkards

• Farmers

Open Ended

What are some modern day catastrophic events you can list?

• In all of the issues that come our way, Joel wants us to ask, “What is God saying to us?”

• Joel wrote his book so that people would know what God was saying through these critical events.

• In his book, Joel calls the leaders to repent (1:13-14)

Poll

Although we are disciplined by our parents, don't we still feel secure with them?

• Yes

• No

• Joel issued a call to ministers to lead in repentance. 

• Think of parents discipling their children

• We begin to now see the theme of prayer, Joel 1:15-18

• “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.” 

• The day of the Lord is a theme repeated throughout the Old Testament.

• Finally we look at the call to prayer, Joel 1:19-20

• Joel himself led the people in prayer.

• He was not outside of the Lord’s judgment and salvation.

• He prayed not only for the people but even for the beasts of the field because of the locust infestation.