Joel 3:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He stirs up the Israelites with an irresistible fervor and steadfast bravery, encouraging them to engage the assembled adversaries. He urges even those who fear the horrors of war and would typically refrain from battle to take action; instead, they often prize a life of comfort and exult as though they have reaped a bountiful harvest. Therefore, He declares, “Let the sickles be put forth, because the grapes are to be harvested,” emphasizing readiness for destruction. He instructs that the enemy be dealt with as one would with a cluster of grapes, to be trampled down beneath their feet; saying, “Enter in, trample down as the fulfillment of an axe,” indicating that countless nations are gathered for annihilation, posing no impediment to be underfoot.

“The winepresses are poured out,” a reference to the multitude of nations primed for destruction, is indicative of abundance leading to an overflow as wine is pressed. The phrase highlights the vast number beneath their feet. Typically, the holy prophets prophesy the future and envision the events about to unfold, as when Nebuchadnezzar faced slaughter in battle, Jeremiah, in a vision, beheld the grim sight of conflict and saw countless slain, lamenting, “Woe is me, for my soul is faint over the slain” (Jeremiah 4:31). Something analogous, I believe, was experienced by Joel, who may have perceived the sounds of warfare; he states, “The voice was heard in the valley of judgment.” This battlefield is named so because the nations have gathered there solely to face a severe reckoning. The sounds of the fallen can be heard there; during combat, the defeated groan, while the victors rejoice and boast over their foes.

“The sun and the moon shall be darkened,” he proclaims, and the stars will lose their luster—not because the creation itself is subjected to this fate, but as if the clash of war induces obscurity, casting a shadow over the eyes of the defeated. The fear of death brings darkness, and the weight of unforeseen tragedy overwhelms the mind, casting shadows on the spirit. He declares that the Lord will summon them as if He were present in battle, like a commander rallying the Israelites against their foes. It is particularly appropriate to say that during the general resurrection, the Lord will call forth from Zion, since, as Paul writes, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16).

The law given through Moses foreshadowed this, instructing the Israelites to blow the trumpet at the new month, which serves as a symbolic representation of the forthcoming age and the new era beyond the present. The trumpet signifies the penetrating sound of the archangel’s call, a divine summons awakening all who lie in the earth with a resounding call that reverberates far and wide. It is notable that the Lord, performing the miracle of raising Lazarus, entered the tomb and, as the Evangelist recounts, called out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43). Yet He speaks through the prophet, declaring, “He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets” (Isaiah 42:2). Therefore, the Savior’s act of raising Lazarus with a mighty voice signifies the universal call of the trumpet, echoing to the ends of the earth and resonating from heaven.

In the Hebrew text, the term "amonim" indicates throngs, symbolizing the multitudes prepared for judgment, as well as the noise and clamor associated with it. The phrase "the valley of the beating," as rendered by Aquila, Symmachus, and others, implies a scene of judgement and decision. The LXX and Theodotion refer to it as the valley of justice, meaning divine judgment, while the Hebrew term "harus" connotes not only beatings but also the process of refining, indicating that in this judgment valley, thought by some to signify Gehenna, the impurities of sin will be purged, leaving behind only pure gold.

The nations gathered in this valley of judgment are destined for destruction, to succumb to the Lord's divine judgment. Even the celestial bodies—the sun, moon, and stars—will turn away from witnessing the anguish of that day and the fate of the lost; they will fade in their brightness, unable to endure the gravity of the Judge, who will dispense rewards according to each one's actions. This turning away does not suggest they are more merciful than God's own judgments, but rather that all creation, when afflicted, fears its own accountability.

Blessed are those who grasp the significance of these alarming occurrences that foreshadow the harsh judgment and are thereby stirred to awareness; but lamentations will befall those who remain oblivious to these warnings and will stand unprepared when the Lord, the Righteous Judge, arrives.