The Day of the Adonai

2 ¹ “Blow the shofar in Tziyon! Sound an alarm on my holy mountain!” Let all living in the land tremble, for the Day of Adonai is coming! It’s upon us –

In the name of the Adonai, Yo’el demanded that those responsible for the safety of the people ‘Blow the shofar in Tziyon’ and ‘sound the alarm on [God’s] holy mountain’. This was to be no half-hearted, apologetic ‘toot’ but a strong and urgent blast. The prophet reissued this call at 2:15. The shofars of those days were made from rams’ horns, and their sound was nothing like the sweet music of today’s orchestral shofars; it was a juddering signal that an enemy was approaching the city.

² a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick fog; a great and mighty horde is spreading like blackness over the mountains. There has never been anything like it, nor will there ever be again, not even after the years of many generations.

Four unpleasant words are used to describe the atmosphere on that fabulous day. It would be ‘a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick fog’. We associate these kinds of things with the night—the dark night of despair, sorrow, and foreboding. Amos also told his hearers that the day of the Lord would be ‘darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness’ (Amos 5:20). In a spiritual sense, darkness is a picture of people without God, because where the Lord is, there is light. He came into the world to bring light, but the people who were living in darkness did not understand (John 1:5).

³ Ahead of them a fire devours, behind them a flame consumes; ahead the land is like Gan-‘Eden, behind them a desert waste. From them, there is no escape. ⁴ They look like horses, and like cavalry, they charge. ⁵ With a rumble like that of chariots, they leap over the mountaintops, like crackling flames devouring stubble, like a mighty horde in battle array.

As we read this passage, our breath is almost taken away as the rapid advance of the invading locust army is depicted in highly poetic detail. Yo’el tells us what would happen ‘ahead of them’ and ‘behind them’. The hungry locusts would see a rich agricultural land, ‘like Gan-‘Eden’; they would swoop down with the fire of God’s wrath, and all that would be left behind would be ‘a desert waste’ (v. 3). These ‘locusts’ would have ‘the appearance of horses that gallop along like cavalry’ (v. 4). The people of Yerushalayim were reminded of the noise that chariots make as they charge down the hillsides into the homes of unsuspecting people. The crunching of numerous pairs of locust teeth resembled the sound of cracking fire as they consumed the stubble that had been left after the gathering of a harvest (v. 5).

⁶ At their presence, the peoples writhe in anguish, every face is drained of color. ⁷ Like warriors, they charge, they scale the wall like soldiers. Each one keeps to his own course, without getting in the other’s way. ⁸ They don’t jostle each other, but stay on their own paths; they burst through defenses unharmed, without even breaking rank. ⁹ They rush into the city, they run along the wall, they climb up into the houses, entering like a thief through the windows. ¹⁰ At their advance, the earth quakes, and the sky shakes, the sun and moon turn black, and the stars stop shining. ¹¹ Adonai shouts orders to his forces-his army is immense, mighty, and it does what he says. For great is the Day of Adonai, fearsome, terrifying! Who can endure it?

Yo’el used the present tense as he warned the inhabitants of Yerushalayim that they would see terrible devastation. They were brash in their dismissal of Yo’el’s warning, but then they would be in anguish because of the sight of this mighty army. Everyone would turn pale as they realized the horror of the situation (v. 6).

Call for Rededication

It would have been understandable if the Lord had turned his back on them. Yet, immediately following the solemn warnings of future judgment, He now speaks graciously to the people of Yerushalayim and Judah. He tells them there is something they must do about their wickedness if they want to please God and avoid further punishment. They should return to the Lord in a sincere and unreserved desire to repent of their past waywardness.

¹² “Yet even now,” says Adonai, “turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and lamenting.” ¹³ Tear your heart, not your garments; and turn to Adonai your God. For He is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace, and willing to change His mind about disaster. ¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn, change His mind, and leave a blessing behind Him, [enough for] grain offerings and drink offerings to present to Adonai your God.

When God said, ‘Even now … turn to me’, it was as if he was saying, ‘Despite all your disobedience and forgetfulness of me and my laws, I am offering you the hope of mercy if only you will turn round, leave your sinful ways and come back to me with all your heart, mind and soul.’ Amos said something similar when he called the people to ‘Hate evil, love good’ and ‘maintain justice in the courts’. He then added, ‘Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy’ (Amos 5:15).

¹⁵ “Blow the shofar in Tziyon! Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly.” ¹⁶ Gather the people; consecrate the congregation; assemble the leaders; gather the children, even infants sucking at the breast; let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride the bridal chamber. ¹⁷ Let the cohanim, who serve Adonai, stand weeping between the vestibule and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Adonai! Don’t expose your heritage to mockery, or make them a byward among the Goyim. Why should the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’ ” ^[1]

In Yo’el 2:16 -17 the priests were urged to gather the people in the temple for a time of national repentance. This alone could bring the mercy which the Lord wanted to bestow upon his people. How can anyone actually come to the point where they repent – and do so wholeheartedly? The act of repentance is not something that we can merely decide to do when we feel like it. It requires a radical change wrought in our hearts, minds, and wills by the Spirit of God.

Create a ritual in your home where each month, you collectively write down things as a family that you feel need repentance or improvement. Afterward, pray over these concerns together, asking for God’s guidance and help to grow in those areas. This practice reinforces accountability and spiritual growth, keeping the focus on the importance of turning back to God as seen in Yo’el.

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[1] Yo’el 2:1–17.