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Joel

Joel 2:27-3:21

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Note: Based on Mark Allfree’s earlier schematic outline.

A. Ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Yahweh your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed (2:27)
B. Heavens… earth… sun… moon (2:30,31)
C. The great and terrible day of Yahweh (2:31)
D. The valley of Jehoshaphat (3:2)
E. Speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head (3:4)
F. The children Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians (3:6)
F’. I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them (3:7)
E’. Will return your recompense upon your own head (3:7)
D’. The valley of Jehoshaphat (3:12)
C’. The day of Yahweh is near (3:14)
B’. Sun… moon… heavens and the earth (3:15,16)
A’. So shall ye know that I am Yahweh your God dwelling in Zion my holy mountain (3:17)

A. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

B. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens 
and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
32 And it shall come to pass that  everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.  For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape,  as the LORD has said,
and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.

C. 3:1 “For behold, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all the nations  and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
And I will enter into judgment with them there,
on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel,

D. because they have scattered them among the nations
and have divided up my land,
3 and have cast lots for my people,
and have traded a boy for a prostitute,
and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.

E. 4 “What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon,
and all the regions of Philistia?
Are you paying me back for something?
If you are paying me back,
I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily.

F. 5 For you have taken my silver and my gold,
and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.
6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks
in order to remove them far from their own border.

F’. 7 Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them,  

E’. and I will return your payment on your own head.

D’. 8 I will sell your sons and your daughters
into the hand of the people of Judah,
and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away,
for the LORD has spoken.”

C’. 9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”
11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O LORD.
12 Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread, for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow, for their evil is great.

B’. 14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
16 The LORD roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the people of Israel.

A’. a. 17 “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God,
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again pass through it.

b. 18 And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water;
and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD
and water the Valley of Shittim.

b’. 19 Egypt shall become a desolation
and Edom a desolate wilderness,
for the violence done to the people of Judah,
because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

a’. 20 But Judah shall be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem to all generations.
21 I will avenge their blood,
blood I have not avenged,
for the LORD dwells in Zion.

Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20

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Note: In any translation this is a difficult passage to follow. Here is an attempt to tease out the sense. The Galatians were turning back from the gospel preached by Paul (C) to the ritual of law under the influence of Judaizers (C’) who sought a following. The Galatians had moved away from faith – the “blessedness” referred to in v15.

A. 8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God,

B. ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

A’. 9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God,

B’. how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

A. 11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

B. 12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

C. 13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

D. 14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised  not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

E.15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of?

D’. for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. 16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

C’. 17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. 18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

B’. 19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

A’. 20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

Isaiah

Isaiah 15-16

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Note: Isaiah 15 and 16 appear to be one prophecy. The sections are divided by “voice” . The centre focuses on the throne of David. Translations differ on the identity of  the refugees – are they Moabite or Israelis?  i suggest the latter and that this is a prophecy of the effects of the Gogian invasion. 

Moab’s ruin foretold
15:1 The burden of Moab.
Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;
because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;

B. Moab weeps and howls
2 He is gone up to Bajith,  and to Dibon,
the high places, to weep:
Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba:
on all their heads shall be baldness,  and every beard cut off.
3 In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth:
on the tops of their houses, and in their streets,
every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
4 And Heshbon shall cry,  and Elealeh:
their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz:
therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out;
his life shall be grievous unto him.

C. The LORD grieves for Moab – food stocks gone
5 My heart shall cry out for Moab;
his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old:
for by the mounting up of Luhith  with weeping shall they go it up;
for in the way of Horonaim  they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate:
for the hay is withered away,
the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten,
and that which they have laid up,
shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.
8 For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab;
the howling thereof unto Eglaim,
and the howling thereof unto Beerelim.
9 For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood:
for I will bring more upon Dimon,
lions upon him that escapeth of Moab,
and upon the remnant of the land.

D. Moab to seek the protection of the ruler in Zion
a. 16:1 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land
from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be, that,  as a wandering bird cast out of the nest,
so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.

b. 3 Take counsel, execute judgment;
make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday;
hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.

b’. 4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab;
be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler:

a’. for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth,
the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 And in mercy shall the throne be established:
and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David,
judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

B’. Moab’s weeps and howls
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud:
even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath:
but his lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab,
every one shall howl:
for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn;
surely they are stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,  and the vine of Sibmah:
the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof,
they are come even unto Jazer,
they wandered through the wilderness:
her branches are stretched out,
they are gone over the sea.

C’. The LORD’s grief over Moab’s plight – no harvest
9 Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah:
I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh:
for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
10 And gladness is taken away,  and joy out of the plentiful field;
and in the vineyards there shall be no singing,
neither shall there be shouting:
the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses;
I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab,
and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
12 And it shall come to pass,
when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place,
that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray;
but he shall not prevail.

A’. Moab’s Ruin foretold
13 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

Joel

Joel 2:1-11*

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As Dorsey

A. 2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.

B. 3 Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
but behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.

C. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.

D. 6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.

C’. 7 Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
 8 They do not jostle one another;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.

B’. 10 The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.

A’. 11 The LORD utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?

Joel

Joel 1:1-14*

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Note: After further consideration I have departed from the proposal of  Dorsey. He suggests the organising principle is exhortation – A (v2) A'(14), instruction – B(vv3-4) B’ (v13), call to wail – C(vv5-7) C’ (vv11-12), and a centre  (vv8-10) of mourning because the house of the LORD is affected. I think the parallels indicate an ABCB’C’A’ structure.

1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:

A. Elders and people
2 Hear this, you elders;
give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.
4 What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.

B. the consumers of wine
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
and wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has come up against my land,
powerful and beyond number;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vine
and splintered my fig tree;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
their branches are made white.

C. the priests
8 Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
for the bridegroom of her youth.
9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
from the house of the LORD.
The priests mourn, the ministers of the LORD.
10 The fields are destroyed,
the ground mourns, because the grain is destroyed,
the wine dries up, the oil languishes.

B’. the producers of wine and food
11 Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up from the children of man.

C’. the priests
13 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, pass the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.

A’.  Elders and people
14 Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the LORD your God,
and cry out to the LORD.

2 Kings

2 Kings 6:8-23

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Note: this section begins with the king of Syria warring against Israel and ends with Syria stopping their skirmishes. The first sub unit has to do with the king of Israel being blessed by Elisha’s miraculous hearing. The last section sees the Syrians blessed with mercy by Elisha’s counsel. The two centre sections have to do with Elisha’s servant having his spiritual sight opened to see the angelic hosts, and the Syrians having their sight taken away and then restored to find themselves  receiving mercy and freedom from captivity. 

A.  Elisha’s miraculous hearing!
a. 8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

b. 9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

b’. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

a’. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

B. Elisha’s servant has his eye opened!
a. 13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

b. 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.

c. And his servant said unto him,
Alas, my master! how shall we do?

c’. 16 And he answered, Fear not:
for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

b’. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said,
LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.
And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw:

a’. and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

B’. Syrians have their eyes closed
a. 18 And when they came down to him,

b. Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said,
Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness.
And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

b’. 19 And Elisha said unto them,
This is not the way, neither is this the city:
follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek.

a’. But he led them to Samaria. 20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria,  that Elisha said,
LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.
And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw;
and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

A’. Syrians shown mercy by Elisha
a. 21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

b. 22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow?

b’. set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

a’. 23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master.

So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.