2:1 Blow ye a the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my
holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:
for the day of the LORD cometh, for [it is] nigh at hand;
(a) He shows the great judgments of God which are at hand,
unless they repent.
2:2 A b day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and
of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains:
a c great people and a strong; there hath not been ever
the like, neither shall be any more after it, [even] to the
years of many generations.
(b) Of affliction and trouble.
(c) Meaning, the Assyrians.
2:3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame
burneth: the land [is] as the garden of d Eden before
them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and
nothing shall escape them.
(d) The enemy destroyed our plentiful country, wherever he
went.
2:6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces
e shall gather blackness.
(e) They will be pale and black because of fear, as in
(Na 2:10).
2:8 Neither shall one f thrust another; they shall walk every
one in his path: and [when] they fall upon the sword, they
shall not be wounded.
(f) For none will be able to resist them.
2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall
tremble: the g sun and the moon shall be dark, and the
stars shall withdraw their shining:
2:11 And the LORD shall h 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?
(h) The Lord will stir up the Assyrians to execute his
judgments.
2:13 And i rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn
unto the LORD your God: for he [is] gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of
the evil.
(i) Mortify your affections and serve God with pureness of
heart, and not with ceremonies.
2:14 Who knoweth [if] he will k return and repent, and leave a
blessing behind him; [even] a meat offering and a drink
offering unto the LORD your God?
(k) He speaks this to stir up their slothfulness, and not
that he doubted of God's mercies, if they did repent.
For the way in which God repents, )read Geneva
"Jer 18:8")
2:16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the
elders, gather the l children, and those that suck the
breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and
the bride out of her closet.
(l) That as all have sinned, so all may show forth signs of
their repentance, so that men seeing the children who
are not free from God's wrath, might be the more deeply
touched with the consideration of their own sins.
2:18 Then will the LORD be m jealous for his land, and pity
his people.
(m) If they repent he shows that God will preserve and
defend them with a most fervent affection.
2:20 But I will remove far off from you the n northern [army],
and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with
his face toward the o east sea, and his hinder part
toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his
ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great
things.
(n) That is, the Assyrians your enemies.
(o) Called the Salt Sea, or Persian Sea: meaning, that even
though this army was so great that it filled all from
this sea to the Mediterranean Sea, yet he would scatter
them.
2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD
your God: for he hath given you the former rain p
moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the
rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first
[month].
(p) That is, such as would come by just measure, and would
be sent when God was reconciled with them.
2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour q
out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream r
dreams, your young men shall see visions:
(q) That is, in greater abundance, and more broadly than in
times past. And this was fulfilled under Christ, when
God's graces and his Spirit under the Gospel were
abundantly given to the Church; (Isa 44:3 Ac 2:17)
(Joh 7:38-39).
(r) As they had visions and dreams in ancient times, so
will they now have clearer revelations.
2:30 And I will shew s wonders in the heavens and in the
earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
(s) He warns the faithful what terrible things would come,
with the intent that they should not look for continual
quietness in this world: and yet in all these troubles
he would preserve them.
2:31 The t sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon
into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the
LORD come.
(t) The order of nature will seem to be changed because of
the horrible afflictions that will be in the world;
(Isa 13:10 Eze 32:7 Joe 3:15 Mt 24:29).
2:32 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call u
on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount
Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD
hath said, and in the x remnant whom the LORD shall call.
(u) God's judgments are for the destruction of the
unbelievers, and to exhort the godly to call upon the
name of God, who will give them salvation.
(x) Meaning the Gentiles by this; (Ro 10:13).
