First impressions of the book of Joel may be akin to "same song, different verse," as it includes familiar themes of disobedience and discipline, retribution and restoration. One pastor summarizes the book this way: "Using what was at that time the well-known locust plague in Judah, Joel capitalized on a recent tragedy to dispense the Lord's message of judgment and the hope of repentance. In referring to the terrible locust plague, Joel was able to speak into the lives of his listeners and imprint the message of judgment into their minds, like a brand sears the flesh of an animal."

Didn't Isaiah already talk about this? Jeremiah said something similar, didn't he? What about Hosea? Oh, right, andEzekiel! Do we really need another prophet reiterating the same warnings and promises and sending Bible readers into fits of scriptural deja vu? Well, before we allow our eyes to glaze over and apathy to dull our interest, we should be reminded that there is a necessary uniqueness to Joel that other facets of inspired Scripture lack.

And to help us understand just what that is we welcome back to the podcast Jonathan Ward. Jonathan serves as the Associate Professor of Bible and Theology at the Owen Sound Campus of the Word of Life Bible Institute right here in Ontario. He is a graduate of New Brunswick Bible Institute, Baptist Bible Seminary, and holds a Master of Divinity from Luther Rice Seminary.