Joel 3

All nations brought to the valley of Jehoshaphat  1
Philistia called to pay its debt  4
Declare war; pruninghooks to spears; come to the valley of Jehoshaphat  9
Reap the harvest; tread the winepress; valley of decision  13
Signs in the sky; the Lord roars but is a refuge for His people  15
Sweet wine from the mountains; Judah inhabited forever  18
Text
Comments
.1 ¶ For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
.2  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.
 3  And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
  1 - Bring again .. Generally means to bring back from captivity but may mean a return to prosperity. ps01407, je3003, je3307
  2 - I will ... gather all nations In the battle of Jehoshaphat, God destroyed the armies that came to attack His people 2ch20.
  2 - Valley of Jehoshaphat Possibly a metaphor drawn from the meaning of the name, Jehoshaphat: "Jehovah has judged" (or judges). The topic of discussion is the treatment of His people.
  3 - Cast lots Picture of slavery. We can imagine child abuse also.
.4  Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
 5  Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
 6  The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
.7  Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
 8  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: for the LORD hath spoken it.
  4 - Tyre and Zidon Phoenician cities. See map.
  8 - Sabeans Merchant people from SW Arabia.
.9 ¶ 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:
 10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
.11  Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
.12  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.
  9 - Gentiles From goyim, "nations." Continuing the thoughts of verse 2. The events portrayed are based on what might have happened if Israel had followed the pattern God had given them.
  9 - Prepare Rather "to sanctify" as in jl0114. Appeal is made to the heathen.
  10 - Into swords Military preparation. 
.13  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.
.14  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
  13 - Sickle re1414, press re1420. It is time of the final gathering of the righteous re1804.
  14 - Valley This is the Lord's decision. It it the time of judgment. Of course we each decide to accept or reject the way of peace and righteousness.
  14 - Day ... near ... valley of decision Notice that the judgment time precedes the "day of the Lord" which is the time of punishment. It also precedes the day of happiness and peace. Thus we may see it as the preadvent judgment, symbolized by the day of atonement jl0215. It is the time of separating sheep from goats mt2531. In Daniel 12, the righteous are saved from the "time of trouble" and are those whose names have been found in the book [of life]. da1201c.
.15  The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
.16  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.
.17  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.
  15 - Sun ... moon Compare the sixth seal re1612.
  16 - Lord will be the hope ... strength is5201.
  17 - No strangers Because only the righteous will be there after the time of decision and judgment.
.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 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.
 19  Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
 20  But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
 21  For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.
  18 - Sweet wine Freshly pressed grape juice. The prophecies of punishment for God's unfaithful people often end with the promise of victory and peace. Such promises are, of course, conditional. Spiritual Israel will finally be blessed because the wicked are not considered part of it. "There shall be no strangers pass through her." v17.
  21 - Cleanse their blood Acquit or exempt them.
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This is the end of the book of Joel

Gathering of Israel
It is important to understand God's plan for His people because most Christians today see the current Israel as significant in the end times, although Bible support for this idea is sketchy at best. Notice that, in the first verses of this chapter, God would "bring again the captivity of Jerusalem and Judah." God allowed the captivity because His people were rebellious. Jer. 25:8-11. He promises that they would be released. In verse 7 above, He will raise them out of the places where they had been sold. Did this happen in the OT times as the context implies? Yes but not many really wanted to leave Babylon. Ezra was commissioned to restore the temple in Jerusalem, Ezra 6. He was then commissioned to restore the city functions in Ezra 7. Later Nehemiah took more people and restored the wall. This was not a glorious restoration as could have happened but the prophecy was fulfilled.

We have no biblical reason to see the movement of people into the modern nation of Israel as related to the Old Testament promises. In fact notice Joel 3:17 above. "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." For the fulfillment of the text, we await the coming of the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven Rev. 21. The people living in the current Israel cannot be classified as holy although some may be. The nation gets revenge on the Palestinians who also hurt the people of Israel. God  has said, "vengeance is mine." Rom. 12:19. Modern Israel does not follow this divine requirement.