The Call Goes Out For The Whole Of Judah To Gather Together For A Time Of National Repentance In Order To Remedy The Situation In The Light Of God's Call To Them (Joel 2:15-17).
Joel then gives his instruction to the priesthood to have a time of national mourning for sin because of what has happened, and because of YHWH's call to them which he has brought. They are to blow the summoning ram's horn on the Temple mount, they are to set apart time for a fast, they are to call all the people of Judah to a solemn assembly, they are to gather the people, and then once they have assembled they are to sanctify them (either by sacrifices, or by washing (possibly in ‘water for purification') and abstinence from sexual activity), and this is to include both the old men and the children (none are to be exempted for any reason whatever. For even breast fed babies with their nursing mothers, and the bridegroom and bride in the midst of their marriage celebrations, are to assemble. No reason for absence is to be accepted.
Then the priests and Temple servants are to weep between the porch and the altar, in the very place where sacrifices are offered and where the wine of the wine-offerings would be poured out, facing the entrance to the sanctuary, and are to call on YHWH to spare His people, and not let them be overcome by an enemy so that, as YHWH's heritage, they come under reproach and are ashamed. And the main reason for this is in order to justify God, lest conquering nations say, ‘where is their God?'
It is apparent from this that Joel saw in the warning of the locust plagues an indication that, unless they repented, YHWH would move on to the further curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 which included invasion and subjection to an enemy.
‘Blow the ram's horn in Zion,
Sanctify a fast,
Call a solemn assembly,
Gather the people,
Sanctify the assembly,
Assemble the old men,
Gather the children,
And those who suck the breasts,
Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber,
And the bride out of her closet.'
The rapid fire instructions are an indication that what he is speaking of must be done at speed. There was to be no delay. The locusts were possessing the land. The blowing of the ram's horn in Zion, either as an alarm call, or as a call to a feast, is the first item on the agenda. It was a call to a solemn fast. This call is a repetition of the one in Joel 1:14, or possibly a further one because the situation has got more severe. It may parallel the one in Joel 2:1 although that may rather have been an alarm signal in view of the approaching hordes of young locust/grasshoppers.
The ‘sanctifying of a fast' indicated the solemn setting aside of a time for an emergency approach to YHWH in fasting and prayer. They were then to give the official summons to a solemn assembly (the gathering together, usually of the menfolk, to a special gathering in Jerusalem), but in this case it was to be a gathering of everyone, male or female, young or old. The assembly was then to be sanctified. There were a number of ways of doing this, one of which was by washing their clothing (Exodus 19:10; Exodus 19:14) and abstaining from sexual activity (Exodus 19:15). This was as a symbol of their cleansing of their lives and rightly attuning their minds to meet with God.
Instructions were then given that everyone must be involved. They were to assemble the old men (who might under certain circumstances have been excused) and the children, and even the smallest infants with their nursing mothers. Furthermore even marriage celebrations were to provide no exception. Usually being involved in a marriage feast exempted those present from certain normal strict requirements of the Law (e.g. those related to making merry; compare also Deuteronomy 20:7; Deuteronomy 24:5), but in this case it was not to be allowed to provide an exception. Even the bridegroom and bride must attend. This demonstrated the extremely serious nature of what was happening. The whole covenant community was to be involved, for all were in one way or another tainted by the sin and disobedience of the nation.
‘Let the priests, the ministers of YHWH, weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, Spare your people, O YHWH,
And do not give your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them,
Why should they say among the peoples,
“Where is their God?” '
Then the priests, the servants of YHWH, were to stand between the porch and the altar facing the door of the sanctuary in which YHWH was seen as enthroned on the Ark of the Covenant, and weeping over the sins of Israel, were to officially call on Him to spare His people, so that His people should not suffer the reproach of having their enemies ruling over them. (This would suggest that these statements at least were made prior to the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian invasions, otherwise they were meaningless. It therefore confirms an early date for Joel). The position facing the door of the sanctuary, no doubt with representatives of the people behind them, would indicate that the priests were making their plea as representatives of the people, not as representatives of YHWH.
Note how Joel's concern was for the honour of YHWH, in line with that of most of the prophets. He recognised that Judah were God's inheritance, and was concerned lest the question be asked among the peoples who knew of this, ‘where is their God?' The nations would expect Judah's God to intervene on their behalf regardless of their sinfulness. Their view would be that if the sacrifices were maintained then God was bound to act. They had no understanding of the requirements of the covenant. So Israel which was intended to be an example and witness to the nations would have become a witness for the prosecution. For the astonishment of ‘they' compare Jeremiah 19:8; Leviticus 26:32; Deuteronomy 28:37, which it will be noted is also connected with a judgment of locusts. For the question, ‘where is their God?' compare Exodus 32:11-12; Micah 7:10; Psalms 42:10; Psalms 79:10; Psalms 115:2. For ‘the people of your heritage' compare 1 Kings 8:51; Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 32:9. See also Exodus 19:5-6.