Joel - Summary

Title:	This book is named for its author, the prophet Joel.
Author:	The author is Joel.  Joel is the son of Pethuel.  The name of Joel means, "Yahweh is God".
Date:	This book is dated by most scholars to be after 586  BC following the exile of Judah to Babylon. However since, unlike the other minor prophetic books, the author gives no 'time marks' to identify specific events, there is no real way to know precisely when this book was written.
Main Theme	There has been a time of national calamity and Joel is calling the people of Judah and Jerusalem to lament and turn to the Lord.   Regardless of the timing of this message and what future event the 2nd invasion may be referring to, the important message is that the people need to turn to God, repent of their sin, be obedient to God and He will restore them.
Location:	It is generally accepted that Joel lived in Judah, and most likely in Jerusalem itself.
History	There is no question the first invasion specifically refers to an actual invasion of locusts that has destroyed their wine and grain crops.  With no crops it will be nearly impossible for the people to provide offerings to God in the Temple.  The meaning of the second invasion would be determined by when the book was written.  If the book was written during the time of the divided kingdom, this invasion of the Army of locusts may very well refer to the invasion of the Babylonian army defeating and taking captive the people of Judah.  Some scholars believe this book was written after the return of the Babylonian captivity and the people of Israel and Judah have been returned to their homes and the city of Jerusalem, the Temple and the city walls had been rebuilt.  They believe this since Joel does not identify a specific king is Israel implying  that Judah may be under the control of other empire. If the latter is in fact the case, this 2nd invasion could be referring to a future campaign such as the destruction of Jerusalem and Temple by Rome, or even possibly refer to events of the end times, "The Day of The Lord".
Major Characters:	Joel