S4: Week 44 Day 2: Going Deeper in Joel 2:28-29

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace
Episode: S4: Week 44 Day 2: Going Deeper in Joel 2:28-29
Hosts: Alexa and Beth
Date: October 28, 2025

This episode of "A Year in the Bible" explores Joel 2:28-29, focusing on its context within the Old Testament prophetic literature and its insights into God's character. Alexa and Beth guide listeners through an understanding of Joel’s message, the Day of the Lord, and what the promise of God’s Spirit means in the larger biblical narrative—especially how it points forward to Jesus.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Context of Joel 2:28–29

• Background of Joel:

  • Joel is a prophet about whom little is known—unlike other prophets, his book does not give details about his setting, the reigning king, or specific dates ([00:54]).
  • Scholars generally place Joel’s book in Judah, pre-exile to Babylon, inferred from internal evidence ([00:54–01:14]).
  • The book is addressed to God’s people who are experiencing or about to experience judgment for their idolatry and disobedience ([01:14]).
  • Chapters 1 and 2 establish the seriousness of God’s coming judgment.

  "So, like all of the prophets we have studied so far, Joel is pronouncing judgment on God's people for their idolatry and disobedience to his commands."
  — Beth, [01:14]

The Day of the Lord & Call to Repentance

• The Day of the Lord:

  • A theme found throughout the prophets—God’s day of judgment, described as “terrible and dreadful. Who can endure it?” ([01:58]).
  • Joel 2:11 specifically highlights the severity of this coming day.

  "On this day, God's judgment will fall on the people, and it will not be pretty. He says explicitly in Joel 2:11 that the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful. Who can endure it?"
  — Alexa, [01:58]

• Call to Repentance:

  • Despite clear warnings of judgment, Joel also calls for heartfelt repentance:
    • Joel 2:12–14 invites the people to turn to God “with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God.”
    • Emphasizes God’s willingness to relent and restore if repentance is genuine ([02:14]).

  "Even now, this is the Lord's declaration. Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and he relents from sending disaster."
  — Alexa quoting Joel 2:12–13, [02:14]

God’s Response and Promise

• Restoration:

  • Upon repentance, God promises restoration both to the people and their land ([03:14]).

• Promise of the Spirit:

  • Joel 2:28–29 describes a future outpouring of God's Spirit, an unprecedented act of divine generosity and relationship.
  • This promise is significant not only in Joel’s time but as a prophecy ultimately pointing to the fuller revelation in Christ and the New Testament ([03:14–03:34]).

  "God will then pour His Spirit out on his people."
  — Alexa, [03:32]

God’s Character Revealed

• Attributes of God:

  • Joel’s language echoes and repeats the self-revelation God gave Moses in Exodus: gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love ([03:43]).
  • Though God’s judgment is real and just, His steadfast love is even more enduring.

  "He is abundantly merciful. I love that phrase, abounding in steadfast love. His judgment is great, but his steadfast, faithful love towards his people abounds."
  — Beth, [04:03]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Of all the prophets, Joel is one of the ones that we actually know the least about. So while many prophetic books begin with a description of where the prophet is, what king was reigning…Joel doesn't give us any of that information."
  — Beth, [00:54]

• "Judgment is great, but his steadfast, faithful love abounds."
  — Beth, [04:03]

• "This is actually a common description of who God is. We saw it first in Exodus, and then it's repeated throughout Scripture, all over the different Old Testament books. He is abundantly merciful."
  — Beth, [03:43]

• "Joel here is encouraging the people to repent and turn back to the Lord."
  — Alexa, [02:39]

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:54] – Context and historical background of Joel
• [01:58] – Explanation of the Day of the Lord and judgment
• [02:14] – Joel’s call for repentance; reading of Joel 2:12–13
• [03:14] – Sequence: sin, judgment, repentance, mercy, and outpouring of the Spirit
• [03:43] – Discussion on the character of God as gracious and merciful
• [04:03] – Emphasis on steadfast love and God’s response to repentance

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Episode Takeaways

• Joel’s prophecy, though rooted in judgment, is ultimately a narrative of grace, restoration, and future hope.
• God’s judgment and steadfast love are both real; through repentance, there is always a pathway to restoration.
• The promise of God’s Spirit poured out on all people points forward to Christ and the New Testament, demonstrating that the whole Bible points to Him.

Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the character of God, recognizing His mercy and faithfulness, and to see how even in judgment, God’s ultimate purpose is restoration and relationship with His people.

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Next Episode Teaser:
Tomorrow, Alexa and Beth will turn to the New Testament to further explore these themes and see how the promise in Joel is fulfilled in Christ.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to A Year in the Bible with daily grace. This year, we want to spend a few minutes with you every day walking through our study, Christ in All of Scripture. Each week we will dive deeply into two passages of scripture, one from the Old Testament and one from the new, seeing how they connect and point to Jesus.

[B]

Whether you are doing the study yourself or just following along with us here, we are hopeful that through studying these passages each week, you will see how Christ is not only present throughout the entire biblical story, but but the center of it. Hi, friends. Welcome back to Year in the Bible. I'm Alexa and this is my co host, Beth.

[A]

Hey, everyone. So today we are continuing our conversation about Joel 228 29. We're going to be unpacking the context of this passage and looking at what it teaches us about the character of God. That's right.

[B]

So Beth, can you tell us about the context here? Where does Joel 2:28:29 fit in the biblical story?

[A]

Yeah, so this is a fun question for this passage, because of all the prophets, Joel is one of the ones that we actually know the least about. So while many prophetic books begin with a description of where the prophet is, what king was reigning at the time they were speaking, and some even tell us exactly what year the prophet was speaking in. But Joel doesn't give us any of that information. All we know about Joel is his father's name. However, given what is written in the book, as well as some of the other historical factors, many scholars assume that this book was written in Judah before the people were exiled to Babylon. But even though we don't know for certain the historical context, we can still learn a lot about what Joel is speaking about from the book itself. So, like all of the prophets we have studied so far, Joel is pronouncing judgment on God's people for their idolatry and disobedience to his commands. The first half of chapter one condemns the people for their actions and tells them to prepare themselves for God's judgment, which is what he goes on to describe in the second half of chapter one and in chapter two.

[B]

That's super helpful. Do you want to help us understand what this judgment will entail that Joel is speaking about?

[A]

Yeah. So Joel tells his people about a day that is coming that he calls the day of the Lord. And this is a day that's actually mentioned in many of the different prophetic books. On this day, God's judgment will fall on the people, and it will not be be pretty. He says explicitly in Joel 2:11 that the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful. Who can endure it? But then, after describing all the horrific events of that day, Joel goes on to call God's people to repentance. Joel 2:12, 14 is actually really important here, so I'm going to read it for us. It says, even now, this is the Lord's declaration. Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and he relents from sending disaster. Who knows, he may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him. So you can offer a grain offering and a drink offering to the Lord your God. So Joel here is encouraging the people to repent and turn back to the Lord.

[B]

That's helpful. I feel like once again we see how the prophetic books both include just judgment, but also gracious restoration most of the time. So how does this relate to the specific verses we annotated yesterday?

[A]

Yeah, so the book goes on to say that God responds to his people and their repentance. He tells them that he will be gracious to them and restore them and their land. And then we get to the verses we read yesterday. So after all of that, the people's sin, the day of judgment, the people's repentance, and God's demonstration of mercy, God will then pour His Spirit out on his people.

[B]

That's great. I feel like you're already getting to this a little bit. But just in terms of God's character, how do we see God's character? Through God's promise to pour out his spirit.

[A]

Yeah, that was a lot of context. But it is necessary to highlight who God is and how he responds to his people. I think we can go back to what we read a minute ago in Joel 2:13. It says, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster. This is actually a common description of who God is. We saw it first in Exodus, and then it's repeated throughout Scripture, all over the different Old Testament books. He is abundantly merciful. I love that phrase, abounding in steadfast love. His judgment is great, but his steadfast, faithful love towards his people abounds.

[B]

Such a helpful picture of who God is. So thanks, Beth, for walking through Joel some more with us. And we hope that you will be back with us tomorrow when we turn.

[A]

To the New Testament.

[B]

Thank you for listening to Today today's episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. Be sure to check out our show notes for some helpful links and resources related to today's episode. And make sure you're following Daily Grace Podcast and hedaily Grace Co on Instagram for more Bible study resources and encouragement. We're looking forward to studying God's Word with you again tomorrow. Bye, friends.