Joel 2:24–3:2 - How God Restores What Was Lost (Session 5)

This is a verse-by-verse episode of Joel 2:24-3:2, exploring the historical context, meaning, and faithful application of the passage within the Christian faith.

When life feels stripped to the dirt, what does restoration look like? We open Joel chapter 2 and find in its ending verses a startling promise: God will “restore the years the locusts have eaten.” Not a soft platitude, but a concrete pledge of abundance, dignity, and presence after discipline. We walk through the vivid imagery of wave after wave of loss, then turn to the hope that threshing floors will be full, vats will overflow, and shame will be removed because God is in the midst of His people.

From there we follow a key thread into the New Testament. Why does Peter quote Joel at Pentecost, and what did he mean by “this is that”? We examine the timing in Joel—judgment, repentance, restoration, then an outpouring of the Spirit on “all flesh”—and consider how Pentecost serves as a powerful preview rather than the complete fulfillment. We explore why AD 70 doesn’t match Joel’s promise to restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, how “all flesh” reframes our expectations, and where the prophets point to a Messianic reign from Zion where God judges the nations and dwells with His people.

Across these passages, one theme holds: the same God who disciplines thoroughly also blesses thoroughly. That changes how we face regret, illness, consequences, and a world that still groans. We talk about practical repentance, renewed hope, and the courage to plant new seed, trusting the Spirit to bring harvest from ground we thought was gone. If you’ve felt years slip away, this conversation offers honest theology and real comfort anchored in Scripture’s big story—judgment that leads to mercy, loss that turns to renewal, and a future where shame no longer sticks.

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Transcript

Regret, Loss, And A Promise

SPEAKER_00 0:53

You know, the human condition is one that oftentimes we have regrets. We have regrets over the things that we've done wrong in the past and the things that we've wasted. We've wasted time, we've wasted money and resources, we've broken relationships. And sometimes it's not our fault. Sometimes life just has a way of taking away these things. Well, today, on Reasoning Through the Bible, we're going to learn about a God that can restore the lost years. Hi, my name's Glenn, and I'm here with Steve. Today we're going to be in Joel chapter two, where we learn of God promising to restore the years that have been eaten away. To me, this is one of the better parts of the book simply because it's so reassuring. All of us that have some regrets can approach God have fallen at his feet and trust that he will restore the years that have been eaten away. So let's go ahead and dive in. If you have your copy of the Bible, open it to the Old Testament book of Joel, chapter two. And Steve, can you read from verses 24 down to verse 27?

Mercy After Locust Judgment

SPEAKER_01 2:04

The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, the creeping locusts, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust, my great army which I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. Then my people will never be put to shame. Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other, and my people will never be put to shame.

Hope, Repentance, And Restoration

SPEAKER_00 2:46

If we remember in the earlier parts of Joel, there were these very descriptive sections where he describes wave after wave of these giant clouds of locusts that would eat everything in sight, every green tree, leaving the bare dirt that the wind just blows away. It was a very graphic description of the destruction that's caused by the Lord God when he pours out judgment on the earth. Well, here is the other side of God's character. We see his loving mercy here. In verse 24 and 25, the good part, or at least the part that we like to read, has the people of Israel repenting, coming back to God, and he's going to restore the years that the locusts have eaten. Each of us should ask ourselves: have the locusts eaten away the years of my life? Has my sin caused uh waste over years of my life? Has the enemy come in and taken away things? Well, my Christian friend, God can restore the lost years. We may think they're gone, but the Lord can restore them. Only God can give us blessings that we never dreamed of. So, Steve, does this give us hope, even in the case of when it described the locust plagues? The wave comes in and eats everything, and then the next wave comes and eats what the first one didn't leave, and the third one comes in, and by the time you get through all of this, there's really nothing left. So, can we today look at our lives? We may feel like there's nothing left, but can God restore the years that the locusts have eaten?

SPEAKER_01 4:33

If we're not looking to God, then we really just have nothing but an emptiness. If we have been looking to God during that time as somebody that would be able to relieve and also restore once it's over with, then the answer to that is yes. But if we're not looking to God, if we're not in the body of Christ, then what do we have to look forward to? We don't have anything. Our life is just there in destruction, and we have no hope. So the ability to be able to look to God and expect that restoration at some point is something that gets us through those dire days of discipline that we might be going through, or the consequences of our actions, or just a life period that we're going through of our body breaking down. I've heard uh different stories of people when they're going through these types of situations in their life. They just approach it differently whenever they have a healthy relationship with God, whenever they have that relationship with Jesus Christ, because they know that no matter what happens, there is a restoration on the other side of it, that God is there walking with them through it, but then he's also going to be there during the happy time and the restoration as well. So the key is to have a relationship with God, and that way we can endure whatever comes our way and life throws at us.

God’s Control Over Nature

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Again, my friend, listen to these wonderful words. Verse 24 the threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will compensate you for the years that the locust has eaten. And then down in verse 26, you will have plenty to eat and be satisfied, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God. Note that God does not do things halfway. When he punishes, he punishes thoroughly, and when he blesses, he blesses thoroughly and overwhelmingly. God gives us spiritual blessings that are above and beyond all that we can ask or think. If we ask ourselves whether the life of sin has eaten away all of my good years, my friend, God can bring blessings that we have lost due to a life of sin. We can go to him and he will restore things that we thought were long gone. Then look at the end of verse 25. It says, The great army which I have sent you. So, Steve, is God in control of the natural world?

Discipline, Consequences, And Comfort

SPEAKER_01 7:16

He is, and we've seen that in various books that we've studied. And whenever we get to the New Testament, we see that Jesus is over the natural world in many cases. He walks on water, he calms the storm, various things that he does to show that he is over the things of this world, has complete control over them. In our earlier part of sessions on the study of this book, Lynn, we mentioned whether or not this was a judgment that was being brought by God. It wasn't really clear. The historical things that Israel had done shows that it was something that God was probably bringing some sort of judgment on them. But here at the end of verse 25, I think it's clear that this is some sort of a discipline that he brought on Israel or Judah and Jerusalem itself because he declares it. He said, I'm the one that sent this great army of locusts through all of your fields and crops in your area. But yet he's also showing his loving side that after the discipline, he's going to restore everything to them again and that he's going to be there for them. So I think it's great that we're not left just hanging with a judgmental God who brings about havoc and devastation and then just leaves it that way. No, we have a loving God who, after discipline, brings us to a point of restoration and to a point where we can again have that relationship with Him, a healthy one.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

And again, the end of verse 25, he's talking about restoring things after this great swarms of locust plague. God says, My great army which I sent among you. So that tells us that God was in control of this locust swarm, this enemy that has come in. The reason I bring that up is that there are teachers today that try to tell us that God only does things that feel good to us, that he's going to heal us and pay our bills and make everything all nice and sweet. And he'll be like a rich uncle that brings presents on our birthday. Well, Steve, can God and does God do things sometimes that we find painful?

Blessing And Wrath From One God

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yeah, he does. I mean, that's what discipline is. And we've talked about that in many of our sessions that we've gone through with the various books, that that is a characteristic of God, his discipline. Whenever we stray, whenever we go away from him, then there's uh a disciplinary action many times to get us back to him. Now, some people might look at that as being cruel. They don't want to have anything to do with God. So therefore, why would God go out of his way to bring them some sort of misery? That's how they look at it, bring some sort of destruction in their life whenever they don't want to have anything to do with God. But when you look at it from the perspective of God wanting to have a relationship with his creation, then you see that it's a disciplinary move and it's there to get their attention. It's there to show them that through these types of actions, God is there. And if they turn to God, that they can find relief from it. Now, I know that that gets us into a position where some people want to look at it with a skeptical eye and say, I don't want to have anything to do with a God that's going to squeeze me to get to like him, but it's a perspective. And if we see that God wants to have a loving relationship with us, that sometimes discipline is going to have to come in order to get our attention. Now, sometimes the things that happen are directly related to the things that we do and there are consequences to it, not necessarily things that God has brought about on us. There are things that have to do with our actions. And that happens quite often, is that we bring some of these things upon ourselves. And then the last thing I want to mention is that there's many times death and uh disease that come on people. And I don't want people to think that death and disease is related to God's discipline. We have a body that is going to break down at some point. We live in a world that has a lot of pathogens, germs, and bacteria, cancer, things like that that affect these bodies. The great news, though, is that we are going to have glorified bodies at some point that aren't going to break down and aren't going to be susceptible to the things of this world that will break it down. So that's the joyous part that we have to live and we get with a relationship with God. So those are kind of areas that answer your question is that God is in control, but at the same time, there are things that happen just because of our consequences.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Steve, did you know that everyone dies of the same disease? The last one.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

That's very true. There's no escaping that. And when you we talk with people that ask for healing from the disease that they have, and many times there is healing that comes from it. But at some point, there's not going to be healing that comes from that disease because our bodies just break down and we get old.

God Dwelling In Jerusalem

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Notice what we just pointed out at the end of verse 25. But the very next sentence says, you will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. So, my friends, we have God here blessing repentance, blessing the people that come and ask forgiveness. If we want the God that showers down plenty to eat and be satisfied, we have to accept the God that sends in the army and wave after wave of destruction. Because the same God that's loving enough to shower down blessings on repentance will also be the same God that showers down wrath upon evil and disobedience. Our God is not a small God. He is a multifaceted God that destroys evil as well as rewards good. God does what is right and good, including punishing evil, even if it causes pain. We should also notice in this section, in verse 27, it says, You will know that I am in the midst of Israel. Now, that same idea is mentioned two other times in the next chapter. 3.16, it says the Lord speaks from Jerusalem. And 3.17, the Lord will dwell on his holy mountain, Zion. So here in 227, you will know that I am in the midst of Israel. The concept here that is presented is that Yahweh is saying, I will be there in Jerusalem, and my voice will be there. I will be ruling from there. So, Steve, how could it be that God will be speaking from Jerusalem?

SPEAKER_01 14:47

It's going to happen during the messianic reign. We find out that is going to be a thousand years, as it tells us in Revelation 20. And that's the time frame that we see in Revelation. But throughout all of these prophets, you just mentioned a few. We see it referenced here. Over and over again, God is very clear that He is going to be reigning from Jerusalem. It's his city, his location, it's his people, and he's going to reign from there. That's going to be possible through his son, Jesus. Jesus is the one that's going to be reigning from Jerusalem, reigning all the nations of the world from Jerusalem, from the nation of Israel. That is something that's going to happen in the future.

Reading Joel 2:28–3:2

SPEAKER_00 15:37

Note that the same Abrahamic covenant where we get our salvation from, according to the book of Galatians, is also the basis for God's promise to be with Israel forever. And he says it here in Joel and he repeats it in other places. Also note in verses 26 and 27, it says in there twice that God's people will never be put to shame. It says, quote, you will know that I am in the midst of Israel. The prophecy is about the nation of Israel. Chapter 3 is going to make even more references and more specifics to the ethnic Israel, the nation there that has a geographic location. We can apply some of these principles to salvation in the church age, but the prophecy was to Israel. Neither Israel nor the church have ever been in a position to say that they are never again viewed as shameful before the world. Therefore, these prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. We can also note in this section that the Israel that is judged with the locust and military invasions is the exact same Israel that received the blessings from repentance. Some teachers try to separate them. They try to hold that the judgment is on Israel, it means national Israel, but when the blessings are for Israel, it means the church. Well, my friend, we can't have a consistent hermeneutic and change the meaning of terms in the midst of books that are by the same writer and sometimes even the same chapters and change meanings in the midst of that. If a term means one thing by the same writer in one section of the book, then we can't change meanings without some textual clues accordingly. So in here, when it says Israel is being judged for their sin and Israel repents, then God's going to be there with them and bless them again, then it's the same Israel and not the church. Let's move on because there's other great sections here. This next part, starting in 228, is in the Jewish Bible and the Septuagint, a separate chapter. It's very interesting because this is the section that Peter quoted much of this on the day of Pentecost over in Acts. So, Steve, can you start at 228 and read down to chapter 3, verse 2?

Pentecost And Joel’s Prophecy

SPEAKER_01 18:12

It will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind, and your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions, even on the male and female servants, I will pour out my spirit in those days. I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke, the sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehosaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and they have divided up my land.

After This: Timing And Fulfillment

SPEAKER_00 19:22

Now much of what we just read was quoted by Peter over in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost. And if we remember what was happening on the day of Pentecost, it'll help us to answer a question that has arisen for this. There was a huge sound of a wind that attracted a big crowd, and everyone heard the apostles speaking in multiple languages, the languages that all these people were from. The topic they were talking about was not religion, but God and his deeds, what he had done through Jesus Christ. People were confused about what was happening because there was this huge dramatic change. These Galileans, they were the low men on the totem pole, they were lower class people. Suddenly, these apostles were standing up and speaking with authority, and they were speaking as educated people. Peter at that point stood up in Acts 2 and said, quote, this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel. Well, Peter was saying, in effect, don't be surprised at what you're seeing here. Joel spoke about the Holy Spirit being poured out. This is that same Holy Spirit that Joel was talking about. So that's what Peter meant when he says, this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel. So, Steve, many people take when Peter quoted this prophecy in Joel, that Peter meant it was fulfilled in their hearing. Is it the case that the last part of Joel II was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, or did it mean something else?

SPEAKER_01 21:15

I think that Peter was quoting this because there was an expectation of Jesus was going to return. Jesus shows up to the disciples after his resurrection in Acts 1, 6. They ask, Is it now, Lord, the time that you're going to restore the kingdom? So that was something that they were expecting, the return of Jesus to set up the messianic kingdom. So as Peter is speaking there in Acts, and the spirit is poured out, I think that's possibly a backdrop that is running through his mind. But as we look at it, why would they think that? If you look at the first part of 28, it says, It will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. What is the this? Everything that he had just previously been talking about as far as restoration. Then he goes through everything that's going to happen with the pouring out of spirit. And as that continues into chapter three, it says, For behold, in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem. So I think that that's possibly the backdrop, Glenn, that Peter is thinking is that Jesus is going to come back at any point in time. The kingdom is going to be restored. And so this is the time frame that Joel is talking about. Also, this is what's going to happen when the kingdom is restored. So I think that's both things that Peter was talking about. Something that was actually happening that was going to happen when the kingdom was going to be restored. Peter was witnessing it. He was seeing it happen right there before his eyes. And he was giving it to the people as an example. This is what's going to happen when the spirit is poured out to everyone. Does that make sense to you?

All Flesh And The Spirit

SPEAKER_00 23:09

Makes perfect sense to me. And we have to consider what you just said. I'll just repeat for emphasis: Joel 2.28 is the beginning part of what Peter was quoting in Acts 2. He says, quote, It will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. Now, what's the this? The this is what he'd been talking about through most of the book at this point, which is the great and terrible day of the Lord, the mass destruction. And he had just said, if you repent, Israel, then I will bless you. Well, after this great day of the Lord, and after people repent, then I'm going to pour out my spirit on all mankind. He starts talking about all these great blessings. The context is after the great and terrible day of the Lord. Now, to further answer this question, we also have to consider where did Peter stop quoting? Well, Peter stopped quoting at the end of Joel 232. And it will come about that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Well, that's right in the middle of a sentence. Well, be saved from what is the question. Joel's not talking about personal salvation. Be saved from what? Well, the next part of the sentence in Joel 2.32 answers the question. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be those who escape, just as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. So when God said this in Joel, what does he mean? Well, he's Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, just as the Lord has said, even among the survivors. So escape from the great and terrible day of the Lord. That's what he's talking about. The focus of the entire book of Joel is the great and terrible day of the Lord. Reason we bring this up, some Bible teachers try to put the great and terrible day of the Lord in 70 AD, but the pouring out of the spirit on the day of Pentecost. Well, a few issues with this. One is that the sequence is backwards, according to Joel 2.28. He said, After this, I will pour out my spirit. And secondly, he says, Pour out my spirit on who? All mankind. So Steve, when he says he's going to pour out his spirit on all mankind, did that happen on the day of Pentecost?

SPEAKER_01 25:40

On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out on those particular men that were there listening to Peter speak. That was what the Spirit was poured out on at that time. Now, in general, the Spirit is here to indwell us. Jesus said, I'm going to go and I'm going to send you a comforter, and I must go so that the comforter might be sent to you. In that sense, the spirit has been given to us, but on that particular day of Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out on those people that were standing there listening to Peter's message.

Saved From What Exactly

Why AD 70 Doesn’t Fit

SPEAKER_00 26:18

Exactly. It was poured out on some. It was not poured out. What it literally says is all flesh. So when we add the fact that the sequence is wrong, in Joel, he's saying the day of the Lord will come, and after that the Holy Spirit will be poured out. That was just the opposite of what happened in the first century. Verse 28 says, I'm going to pour out my spirit on all flesh. That didn't happen in the first century. Next, in this passage we just read, God emphasizes everyone when he lists the old, the young, the sons, the daughters, the male and female, even the servants, everyone will have the Holy Spirit in that day. Quote, your sons and daughters will prophesy means that the young will be teachers. That's what prophesy means. Normally, the old folks have to teach the young because the young are inexperienced. But here, in this day, the young are going to be teachers. This is supported elsewhere in Scripture. Hebrews 8.11 quotes Isaiah 31.34 and repeats this same concept, saying, quote, they will all know me from the least to the greatest. In the new covenant, no one will need teaching. The Holy Spirit was not poured out on all mankind at the day of Pentecost. There's people that need teaching. There's still unbelieving people in the church age. Peter lastly did not use the word fulfilled in Acts 2. He said, What? This is that. Well, this is that what? It's this is that spirit. Joel talked about the pouring out of the spirit. Well, this is that same spirit. That's really all Peter was talking about. Therefore, when we look at Joel too carefully, this is yet to be fulfilled. There's going to be a great tribulation period where Israel will be attacked from the north. God will deliver them, pour out his spirit on all mankind, and Jesus will return and reign in his millennial kingdom. I also note, Steve, that the chapter divisions here are generally not our friend because very often people stop reading at the end of chapter two and they don't continue reading into chapter three. That's why we read it that way today. End of chapter two says that will come about that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Well, saved from what? Saved from the great and terrible day of the Lord, and there's going to be those who escape. The next verse, 3-1. For behold, in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem. So, Steve, once again, on the day of Pentecost, were the fortunes of Jerusalem and Judah restored?

SPEAKER_01 29:07

No, it wasn't on that day, and it wasn't certainly in A.D. 70 years later, the exact opposite happened. Jerusalem was sacked and the temple was destroyed completely. So there was no restoration that took place on that particular day of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

Judgment Of Nations And Restoration

SPEAKER_00 29:29

And we can't really spiritualize it simply because Rome, who was the one who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, didn't spare the Christians. In fact, the Christians were persecuted for the next 250 years. It was a capital of punishment to be a Christian. There's these infamous stories about the Christians being killed in the Colosseum by wild beasts and soldiers. There was a lot of death and destruction of both Jews and Christians for over 200 years. So we can't really say they were restored. Also, in chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, it talks about restoring the fortunes of who? Judah, Jerusalem. Verse 2, I will gather all the nations to the valley of Jehosaphat. He's talking about specific locations there. These locations are not the church, but geographies in Israel. Therefore, 3-1, in those days and at that time, what time is he speaking about? It's the same one as at the end of two. If we were to wrap that up, Steve, what were we to summarize and conclude about this section?

Closing And Next Steps

SPEAKER_01 30:43

God is taking action in this section. There at the first of three, two. I will gather the nations, bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat means Yahweh judges. It's a time of Him judging the nations. He had brought the plague on the nation of Israel. We saw that in this session that God was the one that brought it on them. Disciplinary reasons. And during that period of restoration, how is he going to do it? He's going to judge the other nations that have divided up God's land, that have scattered his people. It's God's land, it's his people, it's his city, and he's the one doing the action of gathering the nations for them to be judged at the valley of judgment. Joseph, Yahweh, judges. So this is all a time period of God pouring out his judgment on the nations and bringing Israel, his people, back into a time of restoration where he's going to dwell in the midst of him. To me, Glenn, based on the other prophets, what they say and what we have studied with Ezekiel and Zachariah so far, this is talking about the Messianic kingdom, whenever Jesus is going to rule from there. That's when he's going to be in their midst. So to me, it's just very plain and clear what time the frame that this is talking about and the actions that are taking place.

SPEAKER_00 32:23

We should stop right there for today because of time, but there's still some great teaching that we'll reason through in Joel chapter three next time. Thank you so much for watching and listening.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

God bless you.