Joel 2:20

My Notes

What Does Joel 2:20 Mean?

"But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things." God promises to REMOVE the northern army — driving it into barren land, splitting it between two seas (the Dead Sea to the east and the Mediterranean to the west), and letting it ROT. The army's stench will rise. The decomposition will be visible and smellable. The enemy that 'did great things' (acted arrogantly) receives a great defeat.

The phrase "drive him into a land barren and desolate" (ehiddiphenu el eretz tsiyyah ushemamah — I will push/drive him to a dry and desolate land) means God PUSHES the enemy away: the army isn't just defeated. It's DRIVEN — propelled, forced, pushed into a place of desolation. The dry, barren land is the destination God assigns. The army ends up where nothing lives.

The "his stink shall come up" (ve'alah bo'asho — his stench will ascend) is the aftermath that proves the destruction: the rotting corpses of the destroyed army produce a STENCH — a rising, spreading, unavoidable smell. The defeat isn't just military. It's olfactory. The entire region smells the enemy's death. The decomposition is the testimony.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What overwhelming threat is God driving away from your life?
• 2.How does the enemy being pushed into barren desolation describe divine displacement?
• 3.What does the STENCH of defeated arrogance teach about the sensory evidence of God's victory?
• 4.What 'great things' (arrogant actions) have produced a great defeat that you can now smell?

Devotional

I will DRIVE the northern army away. Into barren land. Between two seas. And the STENCH of its death will rise. The army that 'did great things' — that acted with arrogance and overwhelming force — decomposes in the desert. The smell of its defeat fills the air.

The 'remove far off from you' is the relief: the northern army that devastated the land (whether literal military or locust-plague) is PUSHED AWAY. God doesn't just stop it. He DRIVES it — forces it into a land of desolation, splits it between two seas, removes it from the territory it consumed. The removal is active, forceful, and comprehensive.

The 'face toward the east sea, hinder part toward the utmost sea' splits the army between the Dead Sea (east) and the Mediterranean (west): the front pushed one direction, the rear pushed another. The army is DIVIDED — torn apart geographically, scattered across the entire width of the land. The splitting is the dismembering. The geographic separation is the military destruction.

The 'stink shall come up' is the most vivid aftermath detail: the army ROTS. The corpses decompose in the barren land and the SMELL rises — unavoidable, spreading, filling the atmosphere. The stench is the evidence of the defeat. You don't just SEE the victory. You SMELL it. The decomposition of the enemy's body is the sensory proof that God acted.

The 'because he hath done great things' — the enemy's arrogance — is the REASON for the total destruction. The 'great things' the army did weren't great accomplishments. They were great ARROGANCE. And the stench of the defeat is proportional to the size of the arrogance.

What 'northern army' is God driving away from your life — and can you smell the decomposition of the threat?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture