D. Scott Meadows

“His camp is very great.” Joel 2.11

Consider, my soul, the mightiness of the Lord who is thy glory and defense. He is a man of war, Jehovah is his name.

All the forces of heaven are at his beck, legions wait at his door; cherubim and seraphim, watchers and holy ones, principalities and powers, are all attentive to his will. If our eyes were not blinded by the ophthalmia of the flesh, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about the Lord’s beloved.

The powers of nature are all subject to the absolute control of the Creator: stormy wind and tempest, lightning and rain, and snow, and hail, and the soft dews and cheering sunshine, come and go at his decree. The bands of Orion he looseth, and bindeth the sweet influences of the Pleiades. Earth, sea, and air, and the places under the earth, are the barracks for Jehovah’s great armies; space is his camping ground, light is his banner, and flame is his sword. When he goeth forth to war, famine ravages the land, pestilence smites the nations, hurricane sweeps the sea, tornado shakes the mountains, and earthquake makes the solid world to tremble.

As for animate creatures, they all own his dominion, and from the great fish which swallowed the prophet, down to “all manner of flies,” which plagued the field of Zoan, all are his servants, and like the palmerworm, the caterpillar, and the cankerworm, are squadrons of his great army, for his camp is very great.

My soul, see to it that thou be at peace with this mighty King, yea, more, be sure to enlist under his banner, for to war against him is madness, and to serve him is glory. Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is ready to receive recruits for the army of the Lord: if I am not already enlisted let me go to him ere I sleep, and beg to be accepted through his merits; and if I be already, as I hope I am, a soldier of the cross, let me be of good courage; for the enemy is powerless compared with my Lord, whose camp is very great.

—C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, 24 July PM

On Joel 2.11

The OT book of Joel is intended to induce mourning (1.5, 8), shame (1.11), repentance (1.13, 14), distress (1.15), panic, and abject terror (2.1). The means Joel uses to upset people to their core is judgment preaching. Anyone who takes his message to heart for himself must begin to suffer these miserable psychological consequences.

The passage in Joel 2.1–11 terrorizes the deeply sympathetic reader, skillfully weaving literary elements of vocabulary, cadences, intensification, contrast, and imagery to portray cosmic catastrophe and the utter ruin of the guilty on the impending day of judgment when it comes, as it most certainly will. Read it over and over. Read it in several responsible translations. Read it out loud; read it on your knees. It begins by announcing “the day of the LORD” (2.1). It returns to mentioning Him in its climax. “And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (2.11).

Spurgeon makes use of the brief phrase, “his camp is very great,” as the basis for his devotional thoughts. This phrase is much more impressive in its emotionally-charged context. Spurgeon rightly notes the militaristic language. The Hebrew word translated “camp,” in its literal sense, refers to an army dwelling in a particular place. Two Hebrew terms together, translated “very great,” powerfully denote an incomprehensible magnitude. With ample justification, Spurgeon elaborates with terms like mightiness, defense, man of war, forces, legions, powers, horses and chariots, barracks, great armies, banner, sword, squadrons, King, enlist, recruits, soldier, and enemy. But no conflict of earthly nations is in view. Spurgeon focuses upon a much more significant and substantial warfare in the spiritual realm. The truth conveyed is that the more we appreciate the Creator/creature distinction, the more deeply will we be impressed by the peril of any and all creatures who would dare to oppose their Creator.

The structure of this devotional message

I. Consider God as King of Armies
• Armies of heaven
• Armies of nature
• Armies of animals

II. Relate Rightly to God as King of Armies
• Be reconciled with Him
• Be available to Him
• Be encouraged under Him

Closing defense and appeal

Preaching that makes use of militaristic language to frighten the hearers is at least off-putting. These days, it is often roundly condemned. Some argue that no one should try to scare people into becoming Christians, and that any threats of impending punishment are inherently coercive, manipulatory, and abusive. Judgment preaching is allegedly incompatible with love.

If these accusations were valid, prophets, apostles and Jesus Himself would be condemned. They all warned of horrific judgments from God for stubborn impenitents. As a faithful preacher, Spurgeon just sings the dirge found here and throughout the Sacred Text. All the unholy critics belch the malodorous lies of Satan and will share his doom, except they repent. Ω