What does it mean to "let the weak say I am strong" in Joel 3:10?

Proclaim this among the nations; Declare a war, Arouse the mighty ones, Let all the men of war draw near, let them come up!

Beat your ploughshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong.

Hence, before that day comes, the utter failure of philanthropic and other schemes of improving the world will be clearly proved. It will be seen that all such efforts of men, or even of Christians, in ignorance of His mind and false hopes, must come to worse than nought. At best they are but nostrums that serve in no way the purpose intended, but keep up the delusion for a little while. They must soon answer the prophet's ironical call: "Hallow war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up." Full time it is for the mighty men to awake, and for all the men of war to draw near and come up. "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble [or 'haste'] yourselves, and come, all ye heathen [or 'nations'], and gather yourselves together [from] round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah." Doubtless those legions of angels are in the mind of the Spirit, which the Lord Jesus declined for Himself. "Thither cause thy mighty ones" to meet the world in its might. For in that day there will be, so to speak, a pitched battle between the powers of God and those of evil, the result of which cannot be doubted. "Let the heathen be wakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge."

Another passage of this class we have in Joel 3 "For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I WILL ALSO GATHER ALL NATIONS, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom, they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." This, one would suppose, is explicit enough. The epoch treated of, is that at. which the Lord shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem; the divine declaration is, that at that epoch the Lord will also gather all nations; and the object for which He determines thus to gather all nations, is to plead with them for Israel, His people, and His heritage, which they have so sorely oppressed. This great gathering of all nations is farther treated of in the same chapter. After a few intervening verses, we have these words: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong." In such a strain of solemn irony does God challenge His adversaries to the battle. He calls on them to summon all their forces, and to muster all their strength. "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord." Here, in this last clause, it is the prophet that speaks, invoking Jehovah's interposition to judge the assembled hosts. Nor does He turn a deaf ear to the appeal. "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." And what is to be the issue of this mighty crisis, in which God thus pleads the cause of His people Israel, and executes judgment on their Gentile oppressors? Who can read the remainder of the chapter, without perceiving that it is a prophetic description of millennial times? And who are they that occupy the foreground in the picture? Restored Israel and Jerusalem. "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountain shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim." Can there be a doubt, in view of this whole passage, that Israel's restoration and God's judgment on the Gentile oppressors of that race, are events that will usher in millennial times?

For behold in those days and in that time, When I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem ; 2. I will also bring together all nations, And will bring down into the valley of Jehoshaphat ; And there will I judge them on account of My people, And My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, And they divided My land. 3. And they cast lots for My people, They gave a boy for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, and drank it. 4. Yea also, what have ye to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, And all the borders of Philistia ? Would you requite Me with retaliation? If you retaliate Swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompense Upon your own head. 5. Because ye have taken My silver and gold, And have brought into your temples My very best things 6. And the children of Judah and of Jerusalem, Ye sold to the children of the Greeks, That ye might remove them far from their border. 7. Behold I will raise them up out of the place whither ye sold them, And I will return the retaliation upon your own head. 8. And I will sell your sons and your daughters Into the hands of the sons of Judah. And they shall sell them to the Sabeans to a far off nation. For Jehovah hath spoken it. 9. Proclaim this among the nations: Declare a war! Arouse the mighty ones! Let all the men of war draw near, let them come up! 10. Beat your ploughshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong. 11. Come together, All ye nations round about Gather yourselves together. Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O, Jehovah! 12. Let the nations arise and come up To the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. 13. Put in the sickle, For the harvest is ripe; Come--Tread! For the wine-press is full, The vats overflow; For their wickedness is great. 14. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Jehovah is at hand in the valley of decision. 15. The sun and the moon are darkened And the stars withdraw their shining. 16. And Jehovah shall roar from Zion, And send forth His voice from Jerusalem ; And the heavens and the earth shall shake; But Jehovah will be a refuge for His people And a fortress for the sons of Israel. 17. And ye shall know that I, Jehovah, your God, Dwell in Zion, My holy mountain; And Jerusalem shall be holy, And strangers shall no more pass through her. 18. And it shall come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drop down new wine, And the hills shall flow with milk, And all the river beds of Judah shall be full with waters, And a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, And shall water the valley of Shittim. 19. Egypt shall be a desolation And Edom shall be a desolate wilderness. For their violence against the children of Judah, Because they shed innocent blood in their land. 20. But Judah shall abide forever. And Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21. And I will purge them from the blood From which I had not purged them And Jehovah will dwell in Zion.

308 Turn to Joel 3:9-17. "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat [Jehoshaphat means judgment of Jehovah]: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more."

I will here ask you to turn to other Scriptures, merely to refer to what is going to take place in that day. Look at Joel 3:9, where you will see clearly what the Lord will do. God summons the earth to try conclusions with Him. "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow: for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision" (Joel 3:9-14). It is a stupendous fact, that at that moment Jehovah comes, and deals with the nations of the earth, and men are obliged to bow down before God. There again we read that the "harvest is ripe," and "the press is full." Although a terrible, it will, at first, be a discriminating judgment.

"I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots." But the nations, all nations, are to be judged as such in this world in that day. Hence the various indignities which they had done to Israel are described, and Jehovah declares that He will return their recompence. He holds to righteous retribution. What they caused Israel to suffer, they must suffer themselves. It is righteous in the eyes of God that the nations which wronged and insulted Israel, not only during the law, but up to the last, after Christianity should receive as they had given to the Jews. "And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off." Hence it is to be proclaimed among the Gentiles that they may muster all their forces and avert their fate if they can. "Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up."

Thus, instead of peace being brought about before the day of Jehovah comes, such a wide-spread gathering for war is to be as the world will have never yet seen. The desire to do great things, impatience of obligations, lust of conquest and military glory, will bring on men such a taste for war ere long that no restraints will suffice to keep them within bounds, especially as jealousy of each other will have led to the accumulation of vast stores for military purposes. So the closing scenes of this age will be found to be described in scripture. I repeat, if one's conclusion were drawn from the thoughts of men, much might be said for the contrary. Some might think the age had gained better sense, that they had too deep a conviction of their forefathers' sin and folly in this respect, and that henceforth remonstrance and arbitration would gradually supersede the more savage diplomacy of "blood and iron." But in vain is it hoped thus to control the passions and will of man. The time of peace is not yet. Men may think that they are going to succeed, but it will be with the Gentiles as of old with Israel. The Jews will try to get back into their land, and the political power of some nations will be used to establish them in peace. But when it is thought that all is going well, the work is arrested, and the Jews become once more an object of jealousy to the Gentiles. Before the harvest, as it is said in Isaiah 18, the fair promise of fruit is nipped in the bud and comes to nothing. Instead of having Christ to reign over them in that state, they but prepare a throne for antichrist. Such will be the speedy result of it, with unspeakable dishonour to God and unexampled ruin to all concerned. The fact is, that God means to bring His people Himself into His land. We see all through the Old Testament the people's blessing in the land He gave them. All attempts to anticipate the time, or change the methods of God for human means, are not only vain, but will involve ruin as the direct consequence of such presumption.

105 And this is the day of which the Lord hath spoken, as Gog and Magog were the party of whom the Lord hath spoken. Here, too, I may quote the solemn announcement of Joel 3:9-18: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near: let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens, and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim" - describing thus, as we have seen in too many places not to determine its character, some solemn and determinate, act, closing up the intentions of God: an act of judgment at once upon the heathen, and by which, yet, the heathen, with Israel, are to know that God is the Lord in Israel, and when God shall thereupon turn to the people a pure language.

Both figures — the harvest and the vintage — are used in Joel, with reference to this time: "Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war: stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: hither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord! Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye, for the wine-press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall roar from Zion, and utter His voice from, Jerusalem; and the heaven and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be a refuge unto His people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel."

Both figures, the harvest and the vintage, are used in Joel with reference to this time: "Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Haste ye and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together; hither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the nations bestir themselves and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread ye, for the wine-press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining; and the Lord shall roar upon Zion and utter His voice upon Jerusalem, and the heaven and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be a refuge unto His people and a stronghold to the children of Israel."