Study Questions

Joel 2:28-32

This Sunday we turn to the Prophet Joel. There are few details about Joel’s life. All we really know is that Joel preached during a plague of locusts. The grasshoppers were devouring all the crops in the land. The ecological devastation was so extreme that the Temple in Jerusalem had no bread for the worship services. People were hungry and worship ground to a halt. Joel promises a new beginning for God’s people. These words might sound familiar, because Peter preached a sermon on this text in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit poured out on Jerusalem. Please read the text aloud.

Joel 2:28-32

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

Many years ago, I had a great student of the Bible ask me if the Holy Spirit showed up before Pentecost. He was surprised to learn that the Holy Spirit moves throughout the Old Testament. I guess we don’t talk enough about God’s presence and power moving before Acts 2. Here are just a few verses about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.

The second sentence in the Bible concerns the Holy Spirit, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

Biblical heroes were filled with the Holy Spirit and power. “But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel … who saved them. The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge” (Judges 3:9-10). “Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him” (Judges 6:34). Even a complicated figure like Samson experiences the presence of God’s Spirit. “The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon [Samson] so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat” (Judges 14:6).

Israel’s first kings were filled with the Holy Spirit and power. “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger” (1 Samuel 11:6). “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah” (1 Samuel 16:13).

The prophets were also filled with the Holy Spirit and power. Even foreigners recognized the Holy Spirit working in Daniel. “There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him” (Daniel 5:11). Micah declares, “As for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” Moses declared, “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:29).

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit falls on special people in times of special need. Joel looks to the future when Moses’ prayer will be answered and the Holy Spirit is poured out on everybody. Joel prophecies that the Holy Spirit will fall on all flesh: sons and daughters, old men and young men; male slaves and female slaves. No longer will God’s presence and power come just to the special people. All flesh implies that God’s Spirit was going to the fragile and fallible. Everybody who believes in God will have equal access to the Spirit of God.

1. Who do you know that is filled with the Holy Spirit?
2. How do you measure such things? (Hint: Take a look at Galatians 5:22-26, Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28)
3. How have you seen the Holy Spirit show up in your life?
4. Extra credit: If you want to go deeper, take a moment to encourage each other by celebrating the spiritual gifts you see in your friends.

Joel emphasizes people who were not considered very special. In that sexist society, women were not considered as valuable as men. In that rigid culture, young men were not considered as important as old men. In that hierarchical world, slaves were generally foreigners with no ethnic claim on the promises of God. Joel sees a day when everybody would be made special by the presence of God.

The Apostle Paul was almost certainly referring to Joel’s prophecy when he wrote, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29).

1. Can you think of a totally normal person made special by God’s loving Spirit?
2. Can you think of a special use of your spiritual gifts?
3. Pray to God that each of you might find God’s special purpose to your life. No one is too old or young, rich or poor, or excluded because of gender from participating in the purposes of God.

After preaching on Joel 2 on Pentecost, the crowds asked Peter what they should do to get the Holy Spirit in their lives. Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39). About three thousand people became believers on Pentecost.

Luke tells us, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42-49).

Sharing possessions was just as unusual then as it is now. God’s Spirit worked in a dramatic way so that everybody trusted their Christian brothers and sisters with their material possessions. Luke is not advocating socialism or communism or any economic theory. Luke is just offering us this miraculous detail as evidence that the Holy Spirit makes us better than we can be on our own.

1. Can you think of an example of a Christian being so full of the Holy Spirit that they made a remarkable sacrifice?
2. Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit tugging on your heart to go on a mission trip, to protect the weak, or share with those in need? What happened?
3. Can you think of someone filled with the Holy Spirit who didn’t bless others? Is that even possible?

Joel promises that God will “pour out” his Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word can also be translated as “spill.” God is generous with his presence and power. Anyone who draws near to God will be soaked by the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts teaches us that God has already splashed out onto the world. The dam has burst! God’s Spirit is moving throughout the world. You don’t have to be special to get the Spirit, but anyone who believes in Jesus is made special by the power of the Holy Spirit.