Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 2. God's everlasting kingdom 145:8-16
  145:8-10 Verses 8 and 9 are a classic expression of praise for God's character. The same statement in Hebrew occurs in six other places in the Old Testament (Exod. 34:6; Neh. 9:7; Pss. 86:15; 103:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). God...
• A lament about Yahweh's ravaged inheritance 12:7-13
  Most scholars believe this lament dates from the time when Jehoiakim revolted against Babylon after three years of submission (about 602 B.C.; cf. 2 Kings 24:1-2).225"The second part of God's reply is remarkable, saying in ef...
• Its writing 36:1-8
  36:1 The Lord sent a message to Jeremiah in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim's reign, sometime between April of 605 and April of 604 B.C. (cf. 25:1)36:2 Jeremiah was to write on a scroll (Heb. megillath sepher) all the proph...
• The idolatry of the priests 8:16-18
  8:16 The Lord next took Ezekiel to the main entrance into the temple, to a place between the altar of burnt offerings and the temple porch. There Ezekiel saw about 25 men bowing down to the ground with their backs to the temp...
• Date
  The date of Joel is its largest introductory problem. There are four most likely possibilities. First, some scholars advocate an early pre-exilic dateduring the reign of King Jehoshaphat (872-848 B.C.) or possibly his grandso...
• Place of Composition and Audience
  Joel's frequent references to Judah and Jerusalem suggest that he lived and ministered in the Southern Kingdom (cf. 1:2, 9, 13-14, 16, 23, 32; 2:1, 14-15, 17, 23; 3:1-8, 12, 14, 17-21)."Joel was a man of vitality and spiritua...
• Message6
  The Book of Joel contains a threefold vision.The first part of Joel's vision concerned a locust plague that had recently swept over the Promised Land. Joel prophesied about this plague because of the desolation that it had pr...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1II. A past day of the Lord: a locust invasion 1:2-20A. An initial appeal 1:2-4B. A call to mourn 1:5-13C. A call to repent 1:14D. The significance of the plague 1:15-20III. A near future day of the Lord: a ...
• B. A call to mourn 1:5-13
  Joel called on four different entities to mourn the results of the locust invasion: drunkards (vv. 5-7), the land (vv. 8-10), farmers (vv. 11-12), and priests (v. 13). In each section there is a call to mourn followed by reas...
• 1. An appeal for private repentance 2:12-14
  2:12-13a Speaking for the Lord, Joel urged his hearers even now--even though judgment was threatened--to repent. However, he clarified that their repentance needed to be wholehearted, not just external. Fasting, weeping, and ...
• 2. An appeal for public repentance 2:15-17
  Joel went beyond calling for personal heart-felt repentance to urging the people to assemble for a corporate expression of their sincere contrition.2:15-16 The prophet urged the blowing of the shophar in Zion again, but this ...
• A. Israel's spiritual renewal and deliverance 2:28-32
  2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
• C. Jonah's displeasure at God's mercy 4:1-4
  The reader might assume that the Lord's deliverance of the Ninevites from imminent doom is the climax of the story. This is not the case. The most important lesson of the book deals with God's people and specifically God's in...
• 4. A call to repentance 2:1-3
  This section of the book (1:4-2:3) concludes with an appeal to the Judeans to repent and so avoid the punishment destined to come on them if they did not repent."The prophet meant in that terrible description of approaching j...
• I. Introduction 1:1-6
  That this pericope introduces the whole book seems clear since verse 7 introduces the eight night visions that follow it (1:7-6:8). Its content is also foundational to all that follows."It strikes the keynote of the entire bo...
• B. The Lord's rebuke 7:4-7
  This is the first of four messages that Zechariah received from the Lord that bear on the question just raised. That there were four separate messages seems clear since each one begins with the same preamble: "The word of the...
• Peter's defense 2:14-21
  2:14-15 Peter, again representing the apostles (cf. 1:15), addressed the assembled crowd. He probably gave this speech in the Temple outer courtyard (the court of the Gentiles). He probably spoke in the vernacular, Aramaic or...
• A. The beginning of the day of the Lord 2:1-5
  2:1-2 Paul introduced his teaching by urging his readers not to be shaken from their adherence to the truth he had taught them by what they were hearing from others. The issue centered on Paul's instructions concerning the Ra...
• The impact of the locusts 9:1-6
  9:1 Again John saw a "star"(cf. 6:13; 8:10), but this time the "star"was an intelligent being. If "fallen"(Gr. peptokota) has theological connotations, the "star"may refer to Satan (vv. 2, 11; cf. 1:20; Job. 38:7; Luke 10:18)...