Written by Paul J Bucknell on June, 06, 2026

Joel 2:12-27 Reflections: The Grace We Do Not Deserve

Joel's call to return is surrounded by grace. This reflection highlights how God uses even humbling judgment to awaken His people and draw them back to Himself. The Lord does not delight in destroying His people; He exposes sin, withholds blessing, and chastens in order to restore. When His people repent, He can leave a blessing, remove reproach, renew fruitfulness, and display His glory among them. Grace does not deny judgment; it shines most brightly when judgment should have consumed everything.

Book of Joel: Importance of Joel

Study Questions: Intro1-Purpose | Intro2-Design | 1:1-20 | 2:1-11 | 2:12-17 | 2:18-27 | 2:28-32 | 3:1-21

Commentary and Reflections: 1🔢11 | 2:12-27 | 2:28-32 | 3:1-21

Joel 2:12-27 - The Grace We Do Not Deserve

Although a humbling judgment is mentioned here, it is presented in a way that allows us to see the prophetic word intertwined with words of grace.

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments. “Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting of evil. 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a libation For the LORD your God? 15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly... (Joel 2:12-15).

The Lord called them to return to Him “now” (12). As long as the earth exists, God’s promises of mercy are still proclaimed, urging everyone to come to Him. God’s people are given the promise of forgiveness and restoration if they only turn back to Him. They must come humbly, confessing their sins. They are to gather everyone and repent before Him. This is the time for a solemn assembly that offers the hope of receiving God’s forgiveness and mercy.

With their repentance, they hold every hope that God will restore them to Himself and renew the land’s fertility. In the case of Joel, they need not fear (2:21), but rejoice (2:23) in the abundance that the Lord will provide. 

Above all, God desires to make His grace known in such a way that He alone will be exalted among them, with the hope that others—those who do not belong to Him—will recognize His grace and turn to Him (2:27).

Meaning of Joel 2:14

NASB 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, even a grain offering and a libation For the LORD your God?

NIV 14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing--grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.

The phrase “leave a blessing behind” in verse 14 is somewhat unclear. It clearly suggests the potential for finding relief in God’s grace during times of judgment. Two interpretations come to mind, with the latter being preferred.

(1) What defines that grace is somewhat unclear. Remember when Manoah, Samson’s father, offered a sacrifice and the Lord accepted it? The entire sacrifice is consumed by fire before the Lord (Judges 13:20). In this context, the blessing might mean that the Lord left part of the offering for them to eat. Alternatively, it could be symbolic, indicating that God’s wrath wouldn’t destroy everything but would leave behind a remnant along with some crops. In other words, God grants grace during judgment. David observed this in 2 Samuel 24 after he counted the men and recognized grace amid God’s judgment.

(2) More unclear, perhaps, is the second part of the verse. It could refer to two things. 

1. God would not consume everything but leave a bit behind.
2. God would keep some of His people alive so that they could offer up sacrifices to please Him.

Meaning of 2:15 Blow a trumpet

Where is the trumpet blown? Instructions for blowing the horn are given in Numbers 10:3-8. Why was it directed that a horn be blown? It seems that a blown horn gathers the people around the Lord to seek His grace from the enemy. In this case, God Himself appears to be both the main adversary and the interceder. 

The Hebrew word for “then” (waw) could also be translated as “and.” The context largely highlights this contrast, justifying the use of “then.”

God is jealous of His people (Joel 2:18-19)

In Joel 2:18-19, we see a shift from the third person(“he,” “she”) to the first person (“me,”“my,” “I”). Joel initially describes what Lord Yahweh would do, but then, the Lord Himself begins to speak. It’s as if Joel is recording what he sees the Lord will do, and suddenly, he starts hearing the Lord speak on behalf of His people. “And I will...” (end of 19) and “But I will...” (beginning of 20). Two major changes happen when the Lord’s mercy appears, along with a shift in His treatment of His people. God says they will experience great agricultural blessings from oil, which refers to olive oil, not crude oil.

Judgment from the north

The mention of a “northern army” is one of the few clues about the time period of the Book of Joel, but since the term is so general and commonly used, it doesn’t confidently specify when it was written. However, it excludes certain enemies, such as Moab or Egypt. Many countries were included in the north, such as Syria, Assyria, and Babylon. Some nations located in Israel’s northeast, like Persia, were still considered part of the north because of the roads circling the desert region.

God’s care for His people

This section reveals a lot about God’s interactions with His wayward people. The Lord is not interested in simply judging His people quickly and cleanly, because He loves them too much and has higher goals in restoring them. We should understand, however, that God sometimes withholds His blessings so His people will return to Him with the right heart, and then He will “repay” or “make up to” them His blessings (2:25). 

Many Christians, unfortunately, struggle to understand evil, whether it be chastisement affecting God’s people or judgment for the world. God is not the origin of this evil, but He does not disassociate His Name from the plagues that come upon His people, such as locusts devouring the land (“My great army which I sent among you” 2:25). Along with such crop destruction, many Israelites likely also died from hunger. 

The key point here is God’s grace. With the same people—though perhaps a different generation—God will return and bless them. The timing depends on when those who receive this message humble themselves, just as the first part of this section describes (2:12-17). 

What usually happens is that God’s people become too arrogant to learn from the warnings of prophets and smaller forms of discipline. God is not focused on punishing His people just for punishment’s sake, like His judgment, but performs minor judgments on His children to serve as a refining process. He is shaping them because He cares for them. My daughter could have bought a new chair for her room, but instead, she took this old, broken-down chair and rebuilt the entire seat, first by “destroying” it. It took her many hours to take it apart and repair it, but her goal was to repurpose it for use. Likewise, God is building up His people. He wants to bring His favor upon them and display His glory, but sometimes He must deal harshly with them before blessing them so they don’t continue in their evil deeds and live without awareness of God’s care for them.

God works with His people in such a way that they are restored, built up, and never need to go through that horrific process again (cf., Rev. 19-21). 

Before we can understand prophecy, we must understand God’s person and purpose. The first chapters of Joel affirm God’s true character and nature, serving as the foundation for predicting distant events and scenes that reflect God’s unfailing love for His people.