Isaiah chapter 29 - Joel

What is the prophecy of Isaiah chapter twenty-nine all about? It is about the coming demise of Jerusalem. It is not hard to see this. We need only observe the opening words of the chapter:

“Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!”

Verse two continues the theme, where God says:

“Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow”

God’s condemnation of Israel is presented with the details of military tactics that will be used against Jerusalem, and God says that this attack is coming from Him. There are many specifics given as to how far the destruction will be allowed to proceed, what kind of warfare will be conducted, but one detail that stands out is in Isaiah 29:6.

“Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.” (v6)

Another detail of the prophecy is that the prophesied destruction will be terminated, and Israel will be restored. Beginning in verse seventeen and continuing through the end of the chapter, the prophet is painting a picture of a renewed and regenerated Israel.

It is clear that the destruction shown here and the regenerated state of Israel following that destruction is a prophecy of the Day of The LORD. As with all prophecy, there may also be another application of this one, but The Day of The LORD is certainly one certain application.

The book of Joel is a prophecy of the Day of The LORD. Joel tells us so in three places.

“Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” (Joel 1:15)

This is exactly the theme of the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah. Also;

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;” (Joel 2:1)

“And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:11)

Some of the signs always connected with the Day of The LORD can be seen both in the book of Joel and in the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah. These are signs in the heavens and in the Earth.

“The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” (Joel 2:10)

We have already seen it here, but here it is again for comparison.

“Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.” (Isaiah 29:6)

Also:

“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” (Joel 2:30-31)

Finally, as in the last part of Isaiah chapter twenty-nine, a large passage from the book of Joel speaks of the time of peace that follows the Day of The Lord.

“Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 20 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. 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” (Joel 2:18-29)

This is the same theme that we read about in Isaiah 29:17-24.

“Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.” (Isaiah 29:17-24)

Both texts speak of the same things. The two texts have some specifics in common. Both concern the Day of The LORD and the events which surround that time period. One text is the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah. The other is the twenty-ninth book of our Bible, the book of Joel. They are connected.