Joel 2:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He clearly delineates how to pray and return to Him, saying, “And now saith the Lord your God, Turn ye unto me with all your heart.” He urges them to forsake past transgressions and to forget previous shortcomings; to strive for improvement: to once again seek favor with God through fasting and diligent efforts, with weeping and lamentation, for those who earnestly begin to do this will surely receive divine blessings and true contentment in due course. Just as extreme idleness and indulgence lead to sorrow and judgment, the practice of virtuous deeds and acts of penance ushers in abundant prosperity. Therefore, it is wise to mourn over one's sins and humble oneself before God, since, as Paul writes, “sorrow, which is for God, makes repentance for salvation unrepentant” (2 Cor. 7:10), and Christ Himself honors those who mourn, “for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4); moreover, the wise Solomon also teaches, “it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting” (Ecclesiastes 7:3).

We must recognize the significant power of fasting: it appeases the Lord, soothes His anger, and averts punishment, for by humbling ourselves, we can effectively placate the wrath of God, who may be furious and disturbed against us, and can thereby delay the hand of the one who strikes. If by merely confessing our sins we find justification through God's mercy, how can we doubt that by exerting ourselves in the rigors of ascetic practice, akin to serving a sentence, we will receive forgiveness from God? Thus, He instructs us not to weep or rend our garments, but rather to open our hearts, which are rebellious and hardened, and into which the fear of God does not easily enter. That is why Paul writes to the Corinthians: “We do not dwell within us, but you are comforted in your wombs: the same retribution, as I say to the children, will spread among you” (2 Corinthians 6:12-13). Therefore, we must expand our hearts before God and open our minds to accept His truth. Consequently, merely displaying sorrow through the tearing of garments will not benefit the one who engages in such actions; on the contrary, opening one’s heart and entrusting thoughts to God will yield great profit and lead to salvation.

He assures those who pray that they will reach their desired outcome, declaring that the Lord of all is merciful, compassionate, and benevolent, and “repent of evil”; if He decides to afflict those who have sinned, yet even after a brief period, He will show mercy because He is easily moved to favor. This leads us to understand the meaning of “repenting of evils.” In addressing the despair regarding salvation, the prophet states, “Who knows whether He will repent, and leave behind Him a blessing,” signifying that He will grant those who return to Him a portion of His blessing so that they may once again offer Him a libation and sacrifice, filled with joy and singing songs of gratitude.

The greater our dignity, the more we should willingly embrace sorrow, that through our example we might guide the people towards recognizing their brokenness and the need for repentance, thereby experiencing God's patience and a reprieve from punishment. Therefore, beloved brethren, let us humble ourselves in worship, prostrating and weeping before the Lord who created us (Psalms 94:6); let us raise a collective lament, acknowledging our differences in age and gender. Let us lift our voices of supplication to the Lord of hosts instead of the cries that provoke His anger. Let us express our confessions as a reflection of His wrath, and as we have witnessed His anger, may we long to see Him reconciled. But you might wonder, who can know if He will turn and show mercy (1 Kings 15:29) and withhold His blessing?

In previous passages, we hear the call to sound the trumpet in Zion, to cry out on My holy mountain, so that all inhabitants of the earth may tremble. It is proclaimed, “The day of the Lord is great and very dreadful; who can endure it?” The invasion of the Chaldeans and the coming woes for the people are depicted as a locust swarm. They have been summoned to repentance and encouraged to return to the Lord, that they might be transformed in their entirety, avoiding the perils the Lord has warned against.

This message aims to shock you with My warnings. Therefore, return to Me wholeheartedly, showing true remorse with song, weeping, and lamentation—in your sorrow now, find the promise of joy later, be comforted after your mourning. Since it is common practice to tear garments as a sign of grief, something which, as the Gospel recounts, was done by the high priest to intensify the accusations against the Lord, and which Paul and Barnabas illustrated upon hearing blasphemies—yet I urge you, do not rend your garments, but your hearts, burdened with sin, which, if not torn, would burst with its weight. After you have done this, return to your God, whom you have distanced by your transgressions, and do not give in to despair over the enormity of your wrongdoings; immense sins can be erased by immense mercy.

For He is good and compassionate, desiring the repentance of sinners more than their demise (Ezekiel 33). He is patient and long-suffering, contrasting the quick tempers of mankind—He waits for our return and can compassionately soften His response to our straying. Thus, if we turn from our sinful ways, He may also withdraw His threats of calamity, adjusting His disposition towards us.

In this context, when referencing evil, we should understand it not in the moral sense but in terms of suffering, as reflected in Scripture, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34), and, “If disaster comes to a city, does not the Lord have a hand in it?” (Amos 3:6). Yet, as it is stated that He is good and kind, slow to anger, and repents of evil, caution is advised against becoming complacent in such goodness. Thus, the prophet queries, “Who knows if He will not turn and forgive, leaving behind a blessing?” He calls you to repentance, affirming that God is incomprehensibly good, as stated by David: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1). But since we cannot fathom the depths of God’s wisdom and knowledge, I offer this as a hopeful wish rather than a certainty: who knows if He may turn and grant forgiveness? This uncertainty emphasizes the potential barriers to our understanding. The blessing and offerings to the Lord our God are intended so that once we receive mercy and forgiveness, we may present sacrifices to Him.

Abundant harvests of grain and vines will grace the fields once more, enabling the faithful to return to the temple with offerings of grain and drink, a privilege denied to the Jews during the barren times wrought by the locusts and drought.