Old Testament · Divided Kingdom
Joel
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”Joel 2:28
Biography
Joel was a prophet in Judah who used a devastating locust plague as a call to national repentance and a window into the coming 'Day of the Lord.' He called the people to 'rend your hearts and not your garments' — to return to God with inward transformation, not external ritual. His prophecy of the Spirit being poured out on all flesh was cited by Peter at Pentecost as being fulfilled in the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Lesson
Joel teaches that crises are not merely disasters — they are divine invitations to return. The same God who permits judgment also promises restoration: 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.' Genuine repentance is not performance but transformation. And the promise of the Spirit given to all — sons and daughters, old and young, servants — is the hallmark of the new covenant era inaugurated at Pentecost.