വ്യാഖ്യാനം നിലവിൽ ഇംഗ്ലീഷിൽ മാത്രമേ ലഭ്യമാകൂ. മലയാള പരിഭാഷ പുരോഗമിക്കുകയാണ്.
Joel 3 — Multitudes in the Valley of Decision
God will gather all nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat to judge them for their treatment of Israel. The nations are summoned — prepare for war. Multitudes in the valley of decision. The sun and moon are darkened. The Lord roars from Zion. Judah and Jerusalem will dwell forever. The Lord dwells in Zion.
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”
— Joel 3:14
- v.1-8 Judgment on the nations for treatment of Israel
- v.9-17 The valley of decision; the Lord roars from Zion
- v.18-21 The blessing of Judah; the Lord dwells in Zion
The reverse of Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 — there, swords are beaten into plowshares for peace. Here the order is reversed; the nations rearm for the final battle.
The same imagery used both ways shows that history runs both directions. There are times of beating swords down and times of forging them again. The final time before Christ's return will see the world preparing for war on a scale never before seen.
One of the great verses of the Bible. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. The Hebrew word for decision (charuts) also means threshing. The valley is both a place of choice and a place of judgment.
For evangelists the verse has often been preached individually — every soul faces a personal valley of decision. But the prophet's primary meaning is corporate and eschatological — the nations gathered for final judgment.
The Lord shall roar. The Lion of Judah roars from His holy mountain. Amos 1:2 and Hosea 11:10 use the same imagery. The roar terrifies enemies and gathers His people.
But the Lord will be the hope of his people. The same roar that judges the nations comforts His own. The believer hears the roar with confidence; the enemy of God hears it with dread.
The Lord your God dwelling in Zion. The final state of God's people — the indwelling presence permanent, the city wholly holy, no defilement entering. Revelation 21:27 echoes — there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth.
The trajectory of the whole Bible — God dwelling with His people in unbroken fellowship — finds its consummation in this kind of verse. Joel's vision and Revelation's vision align.
The reversal of Joel 1. Where the locusts had destroyed wine and ruined the rivers, the new age produces overflowing wine and rivers from the house of the Lord.
A fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord. The same river that John saw in Revelation 22:1 — a pure river of water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The vision is the same.
The final word of Joel. The Lord dwelleth in Zion. The whole book has moved from locust devastation to this declaration. The Lord is at home with His people.
The same theme that closes Ezekiel — the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there (Ezekiel 48:35). And Revelation 21:3 — the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. Joel ends where the whole Bible ends.
God remembers how nations and individuals have treated His people. The valley of Jehoshaphat awaits the final accounting. If you have wronged a believer, make it right now. If you have suffered as a believer, leave the vindication to Him who roars from Zion. He is not slow. He is patient. And He is just.
The Lion of Judah roars from Zion in Joel 3:16. Revelation 5:5 identifies that Lion — the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed. Christ is the One who will speak from Zion at the end. The river that flows from the temple in Joel 3:18 is the same river that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb in Revelation 22:1. Joel ends pointing to what Revelation describes.
Valley of Jehoshaphat means Jehovah judges. The location is symbolic as much as geographical — the place where God personally adjudicates the conduct of nations toward His people.
The principle: God remembers the treatment of His people. Every nation that has scattered, persecuted, or oppressed Israel and the church faces eventual accounting. History's ledger is not closed in history.