"...it is yet our duty to learn from the
Prophets what has always been the actual mode of proceeding among
the people of God, and to labour as much as we can, that this may be
known, so that when there shall come an occasion for a public
repentance, even the most ignorant may understand that this practice
has ever prevailed in the Church of God, and that it did not prevail
through inconsiderate zeal of men, but through the will of God
himself."
"It is the work of ministers to
warn of the fatal consequences of sin, and to reveal the wrath from
heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men."
Commentary,
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Esther M Menn, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2013.
The book of Joel tells the story of an otherwise unknown locust plague (1:1-5) that devastated Jerusalem and its environs sometime during the Persian period."
Commentary, Joel 2:12-17, Martha Simmons, The African American
Lectionary, 2010.
"Judah has been crippled by an
agricultural drought sent by God through locusts. So, they need literal
rain. However, they and we need spiritual rain much more. This is the
greatest gift that we can receive in spite of all of our other perceived
needs."
Locusts and Lent, Reflections on Ash Wednesday from Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, John C. Holbert, Patheos, 2011.
"
We, like Israel in the time of Joel, are in need of repentance, for their lives and ours are far from the paths that God has established for us.
Commentary,
Joel 2:1-12, 12-17, Rolf Jacobson, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
"Joel has
confidence that ritual repentance can change the course of the
history of God's people because he believes the old confessional
formula: [God] is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love, And relents from punishing. (2:13)."
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal.
"Too often Lenten observance
becomes an individual thing: what am I going to give up for Lent?
How is my heart before God this Lenten season? But to restrict Lent
to individual piety is to miss the words from the prophet Joel, that
true repentance is something done together."
"The impasse between the two roots in Joel 2:17 can be
solved by recognizing a double entendre or even identifying
משׁל
as a ?pivot? word. This polysemy has a role in the
rhetoric of the passage and in the overall complexity and richness of
Joel?s imagery."
Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
Ash Wednesday Comes and, Lord, We Hear, Text: Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Tune: TALLIS' CANON 8.8.8.8 (“All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night”), A new hymn based on Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 was written for The Presbyterian Outlook magazine for Lent 2011 and available with the music.