Parallel ISA 13:7

The Day of the Lord

The expression day of the Lord refers to a time of retribution when God judges his enemies in wrath and fury. The ungodly receive the punishment they deserve, while the righteous enter into their full salvation (see Isa 3:16–4:6). On the day of the Lord, God manifests his awe-inspiring lordship over creation. When God comes in glory, humans experience terror (2:10, 19, 21) because all human support structures (religious, economic, military, social) come under his scrutiny.

This expression first appeared in the prophecy of Amos (Amos 5:18), but evidently it did not originate with him. Amos was correcting a popular misunderstanding that the Israelites already held. They believed that the day of the Lord would be a joyous day of salvation when God would intervene in the world to judge Israel’s enemies and reestablish Israelite rule over all of greater Canaan. But Amos warned the Israelites that the day of the Lord would not be light for them, but darkness, for they were in rebellion against him (see Amos 5:10-12, 21-27). Self-confident Israelites assumed that God was always on their side, but their sins had, in fact, made them God’s enemies, and they deserved his full punishment.

The expression became part of the standard vocabulary of the prophets, often being referred to simply as “that day” (e.g., Isa 2:11; 27:1; Zeph 1:8). In light of God’s warnings and the people’s sinfulness, the prophets envisioned that day as imminent (see, e.g., Joel 1:15; 2:1). As such, they hoped that their warnings would spur repentance among God’s people (see Zeph 2:1-3). Unfortunately, their warnings largely fell on deaf ears. The day of the Lord came for the northern kingdom when Assyria destroyed Samaria; it came for the southern kingdom when Babylon invaded in 605–586 BC and destroyed Jerusalem.

While the day of the Lord is catastrophic for the ungodly—Joel compares its devastation to that of a locust plague (Joel 1:1–2:11)—it provides assurance to God’s people that God is sovereign and just, and it serves as a day of salvation for those who have listened to the prophets and turned to the Lord (see Joel 2:31-32). The same God who would bring devastation upon his enemies would be a refuge and a fortress for his people (Joel 3:11). And the nations that were used by God to bring his judgment upon Israel and Judah would later face their own day of the Lord (see, e.g., Isa 13:4-22; Ezek 30:1-5; Obad 1:15-16).

While the judgment referred to by the Old Testament prophets was largely realized in the Exile, New Testament writers picked up the expression day of the Lord to speak of the return of Christ as judge of all the earth. That day will come “as unexpectedly as a thief” (2 Pet 3:10; see also 1 Thes 5:2-4), so God’s people must be prepared—or else face a similar fate to those who failed to heed the warnings of the prophets.

Passages for Further Study

Isa 2:10-22; 4:1-6; 13:4-12; Ezek 30:1-5; Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-11, 28-32; 3:9-16; Amos 5:18-24; Obad 1:15-16; Zeph 1:2-18; Mal 4:1-5; 1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 1 Thes 5:2; 2 Thes 2:2; 2 Tim 1:18; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 20:1-15