Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, in that they have shed innocent blood in their land.
Joel's book ends with two nations in ruins: Egypt and Edom. God names the reason — violence against Judah, and innocent blood shed in the land.
The verse belongs to a scene on earth, not at the end of the world. Kelly marks off what this scene is and what it is not:
It is the earthly Jerusalem, not the heavenly; it is not the Lord's shout calling His own to meet Him in the air, but His lion-like roar against His enemies on earth. He dwells in Zion, His holy mountain, so that the holiness of Jerusalem is no longer a mockery but a blessed reality. It is not yet the hour when the heavens will pass away with a great noise… It is the time when God restores all things, as the whole stream of prophecy testifies.
Kelly also refuses to read the two ruined nations as the church's spiritual enemies:
We cannot lightly speak of the church's enemies being cut off for ever, unless we limit our thoughts to the powers of darkness (Eph. 6:12) — and they are surely not what is meant here by the desolations of Egypt and Edom.
The word "for" gives the reason for the ruin: what these nations did to God's people. Darby sums up the whole chapter:
He lists all the wrongs done to His people as done to Himself. Through His people He will repay the same evils in judgment on the nations that inflicted them.
Grant places this ruin at the end of a sequence, not at the start of it:
Joel speaks, using the picture of what was no doubt a real locust judgment, of the northern enemy of the last days. But he is only a rod in God's hand for endless blessing to the people. When they turn to Him and call on the name of the Lord, they are saved. Then the Lord repays their enemies: Egypt becomes a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of their violence against the children of Judah; and with the Lord dwelling in Zion, no stranger's foot desecrates her any more.
Gaebelein explains who the Edomites were, and traces where their hostility showed itself:
The Edomites (3:19) are ranked among the enemies of Judah. They came from the same stock as the Jews, and because of their sin against their brothers, their country was to become a perpetual desolation. From 2 Kings 8:20, compared with 2 Chronicles 21:8, we learn that they broke free from Judah in the time of Joram, about 889-883 B.C. They were subdued again later, and their capital city Petra was captured.
The verse pairs Egypt and Edom, but their stories do not end the same way. Gaebelein points to a second prophet who carries Egypt further:
Joel speaks also of the judgment that will fall upon Egypt in that day. Isaiah also tells of judgment, but through him we learn that Egypt will turn to the Lord and the Lord will graciously heal Egypt (Isa. 19). Judah will remain for ever. His people will be cleansed.
Edom gets no such reversal:
Edom's case is very different from Egypt's. According to the counsel of the Lord, Edom will be a desolation like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, with no one left living there (Jer. 49:17-22). Not a word of hope is held out to Edom, which has followed in the footsteps of godless Esau and found no place for repentance… If Egypt is a witness to the goodness of God, Edom witnesses to His severity.
The sin punished here is not only an ancient crime. It is an attitude, and we can share it. One writer makes it a test of our own hearts:
Let us take the lesson to heart, because we can easily fall into the same spirit as the Edomite. Jeremiah saw the failures and sins of God's people, but he wept over them. Daniel and other godly men confessed them as their own. The spirit of the Edomite is bitter hatred against those who are still the people of God, however they may have failed. This spirit is especially displeasing to Him.
- Cause. The ruin has a reason. It answers the violence against Judah and the innocent blood shed in the land. God counts those wrongs as done to Himself, and He repays them in kind.
- Court. The scene is the earth, not the end of the world. The Lord roars against His enemies from Zion, at the time when God restores all things.
- Contrast. Egypt and Edom stand side by side in ruin. Yet Egypt later turns to the Lord and He heals her, while Edom has no such hope. One verse shows both God's goodness and His severity.
- Concrete. These are real nations, not symbols of the church's spiritual enemies. The verse keeps its plain sense.
- Caution. Edom's sin was hatred toward a brother people. The same spirit is still possible today. Weep over the failures of God's people, as Jeremiah did. Do not gloat over them, as Edom did.
But Judah shall abide for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And I will purge them from the blood from which I had not purged them for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion.
Joel's book ends with two short promises: a stain washed away, and God living among His people. Older translations end it "I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed," so the writers below speak of cleansing where the ESV speaks of avenging.
Joel 3 has been about God judging the nations. The last two verses turn to His own people.
In Joel 3 we have again the judgment of the Gentiles summoned to wake up and come to the great day of God, to the valley of Jehoshaphat (the judgment of God). There, says Jehovah, I will sit to judge all the nations round about. Then the harvest arrives — judgment that separates — and the vintage — judgment of pure vengeance. Of the Jews it says (v. 20, 21): "But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed, for the Lord dwells in Zion."
Which blood needs cleansing? One writer points to a stain on the land itself.
The land of the Jews is the distinguished field of blood; the blood of Jesus, in a great sense, is specially on them and on their children. And so, like Cain, that people are under the special protection of God. And further, that blood is to be cleansed from off their land, though it now so stains it. Joel 3:21.
The word behind "avenge" can also mean to declare someone free from guilt. One writer keeps both senses, and marks out who the promise belongs to.
Their blessing will last for ever, as long as the earth lasts — yes, and Judah's blessing in a new form throughout all eternity. "And I will avenge [or pronounce free from guilt] their blood [that] I had not avenged; and Jehovah dwells in Zion." This is not the church, whether still fighting on earth or already in glory. It is the lasting vindication and blessing of His people on earth, when He keeps His promise about the hill He chose long ago as His rest for ever.
The cleansing is God's own act. One writer names what that makes it.
Egypt and Edom should be made desolate; but Judah and Jerusalem should dwell in everlasting blessing, for Jehovah should have cleansed them. We perceive that it is effectual and sovereign grace.
The verse names only "the LORD." One writer says who that turns out to be.
Like nearly all the other prophetic books, Joel ends with the vision of the kingdom and the Lord dwelling in the midst of His people. He will appear in all His glory. Jehovah will be a refuge for His people. Then they will come to the knowledge they so long refused — that the delivering Jehovah is their God. But the Jehovah who appears there is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the one among them, and the people handed Him over to be crucified. What a day it will be when "they will look upon Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him" (Zech. 12:10). He will dwell in Zion, the mountain of glory.
One writer marks out which city Joel means.
It is the earthly Jerusalem, not the heavenly. He dwells in Zion, His holy mountain, and so the holiness of Jerusalem is no longer a mockery but a blessed reality.
The verse ends with a reason, not a demand: the LORD dwells in Zion. That order tells us what God is finally after.
God's great end, however, is that He may dwell. With this there must, of course, be holiness. But holiness in itself is not the object. If we have any object or end before our souls short of God's end, we shall be losers.
What God is after in Zion works out in us too.
The practical result in us should be holiness. When God dwells in Zion, Jerusalem shall be holy. And holiness is more than mere abstinence from sin. It involves the exclusive possession of us by God, so that "no stranger" has any part in us.
- Stain — The land carries blood-guilt. One writer calls it "the distinguished field of blood," still stained by the death of Jesus.
- Cleared — God Himself removes it. The word means both avenging the blood and declaring the people free from guilt. What God clears stays cleared.
- Grace — The people pay nothing. Judah and Jerusalem dwell in everlasting blessing "for Jehovah should have cleansed them" — grace that is sovereign and effective.
- Presence — The One who dwells in Zion is the Lord Jesus. The people who handed Him over to be crucified will look on Him and mourn.
- Purpose — The cleansing serves the dwelling. Holiness is not the finish line; God at home with His people is. And holiness means God has us so fully that no stranger has a share.