Joel gave a broad description of the misery in which God’s people find themselves. He shows that God’s covenant punishment is behind all of this, and that even God’s ultimate judgment threatens the people (the day of the Lord
). In this way he brings the people to the question of what they have done that God punishes and threatens them so severely and whether there is still any room for salvation. With this intense question you can continue your reading of the book of Joel.
19 To you, O LORD, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field.