Matthew Henry on Joel 3:9-17
What the psalmist had long before ordered to be said among the heathen (Psa 96:10) the prophet here will have in like manner to be published to all nations, That the Lord reigns, and that he comes, he comes to judge the earth, as he had long been judging in the earth. The notice here given of God's judging the nations may have reference to the destruction of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and to the Antichrist especially, and all the proud enemies of the Christian church; but some of the best interpreters, ancient and modern (particularly the learned Dr. Polock), think the scope of these verses is to set forth the day of the last judgment under the similitude of God's making war upo…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joel 3:17
shall ye know--experimentally by the proofs of favors which I shall vouchsafe to you. So "know" (Isa 60:16; Hos 2:20).
dwelling in Zion--as peculiarly your God.
holy . . . no strangers pass through--to attack, or to defile, the holy city (Isa 35:8; Isa 52:1; Zac 14:21). Strangers, or Gentiles, shall come to Jerusalem, but it shall be in order to worship Jehovah there (Zac 14:16).
John Gill on Joel 3:17
So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain,.... The church of God, which is his dwelling place; and will appear more manifestly to be so at this time, when Christ the Lamb will stand on Mount Zion, with an 144,000, having his Father's name in their foreheads, Revelation 14:1; and which presence of the Lord will be clearly discerned by his people; by the destruction of their enemies, and by his protection of them; by his being their hope and strength, their refuge and their fortress; they will experimentally know his divine inhabitation among them:
then shall Jerusalem be holy; or "holiness" (s); not Jerusalem, literally taken, as Kimchi; though, it being…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Calvin on Joel 3:17
Joel 3:17
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.
17. Et cognoscetis quod ego sim Jehova Deus vester, habitans iu Sion, monte sanctitatis meae: et erit Jerusalem sanctitas, et alieni non transibunt per eam amplius.
This is a confirmation of the preceding doctrine, ye shall know, he says, that I am your God. The Prophet intimates that the favor of God had been so hidden during the afflictions of the people, that they could not but think that they were forsaken by God. His word ought indeed to be sufficient for us in the greatest evils; for though God may cast u…