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Home > Bible on Money > Bible Study Notes > Joel
Stewardship Bible Study Notes (Joel)
By Justin Borger
with assistance from Generous Giving staff
Joel’s prophecy was occasioned by a huge plague of locust that covered the land of Israel and devoured its resources. According to the prophet, this economic disaster foreshadowed the “day of the Lord,” a label applied by Old Testament believers to decisive events in time (including the final judgment) when God acted both in salvation and judgment. During this crucial period of financial vulnerability, the prophet spoke up, calling God’s people to repentance after which the plague subsided and the land was restored to its former prosperity. Joel also spoke of a time in the future when God would pour out his Spirit upon all people (which occurred at Pentecost, Acts 2:17) and bring the hardened enemy nations under judgment.
Our study of Joel consists of two parts. In the first section, readers will find our stewardship study notes. These notes analyze, in a passage-by-passage fashion, the implications of the book’s teaching for Christian generosity and related issues. The second section consists of short essays describing the book’s major stewardship themes. These notes and essays are not intended to be comprehensive explanations of the author’s goals in writing this book, nor do they exhaust the book’s possible applications in matters related to stewardship and generosity.
While Generous Giving’s Bible study material will aid anyone who is searching the Scriptures for guidance, they may prove especially useful as sermon helps for pastors and as a resource for teachers, advisors and lay leaders interested in obeying and teaching the message of Scripture in matters of generosity and stewardship. We readily acknowledge our fallibility in writing these study notes, for they are the work of humans, not God. Please search the Scriptures (Acts 17:11) as you read this material critically, carefully and prayerfully. May God bless you in your studies.
Joel 1:1-2:17 (Key Passage) — Economic Disaster and the Day of the Lord: The prophet Joel’s message revolves around an economic disaster of unprecedented proportions (Joel 1:2). The land had been struck by a plague of locusts which devoured all of the earth’s resources—from the grass of the fields to the bark on the trees (Joel 1:4, 7, 12, 19-20). Even the livestock and wild animals moaned and panted for lack of nourishment (Joel 1:18, 20). But what did it all mean? According to the prophet, the plague of grasshoppers foreshadowed “the day of the Lord” (Joel 1:15; 2:1, 28-32), which Old Testament believers understood to be a time when God would work both to save and to destroy. Of course, to a greater or lesser degree, isn’t this is true of all financial difficulties? When we lose our jobs or the budget gets tight, don’t we tend to either to move either (1) closer toward or (2) farther away from the Lord? For the faithful, financial crises work together for our salvation (cf. Joel 2:32). As the apostle James said, “God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom” (James 2:5; compare with the response of the faithful in Joel 2:12-14). But for those who trust in their own resources, financial difficulties and the day of the Lord will be a time of pure judgment (cf. Proverbs 11:4).
Joel 2:18-27 (Key Passage) — Generosity and God’s Glory: After the people return to the Lord through prayer and fasting, the economic crisis subsides. God demonstrates his mercy by driving the “army” of locusts away and his generosity by restoring all of the land’s resources to full bloom. Joel 2:26-27 tells us that God’s generosity is supposed to result in praise and worship, just as the New Testament tells us that our own generosity ultimately results in “thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11).
Joel 2:28-32 (Key Passage) — Gift of God’s Spirit: The outpouring of God’s Spirit at Pentecost fulfills the promise given in this passage (see Acts 2:17-21). By giving us his Sprit, God has broken the power of greed and released the power of generosity in our lives (cf. Romans 8:4; 12:8). Truly, this is a gift that keeps on giving.
Joel 3:1-8 (Key Passage) — Economic Aspects of God’s Final Judgment: In this passage the prophet speaks of a future day when the nations will be judged for the way they have oppressed God’s people, who are called his “inheritance” (Joel 3:2). Verses 2-6 reveal specific reasons why God is going to judge the nations, all of which have economic aspects: (1) The nations have uprooted God’s people from their inheritance in the promised land, scattering them among the nations; (2) they have divided up Israel’s land for themselves; (3) they have treated God’s people as if they were commodities to be sold; and, finally, (4) they have even stolen God’s silver and gold. As mentioned above, all of these accusations have economic aspects which lend a financial focus to the way God’s final judgment is described. This emphasis on the use and abuse of material resources is consistent with the way that Jesus himself described the final judgment in Matthew 25:31-46, where the righteous are separated from the unrighteous by the use of their material resources to care for poor Christians, who are identified as Jesus’ representatives.
Joel 3:1-2 — See key passage Joel 2:18-27.
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Study Notes by Chapter
1
2
3
Key Passages
1:1-2:17 (Economic
Disaster and the
Day of the Lord)
2:18-27 (Generosity
and God’s Glory)
2:28-32 (Gift of God’s
Spirit)
3:1-8 (Economic
Aspects of God’s
Final Judgment)
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