Joel 2:23

²³“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.i

Joel 2 pivots from the devastating locust plague of chapter 1 to a coming day of the Lord that is both terrifying and hopeful. The chapter opens with a trumpet blast warning of an invading army, a vivid picture of divine judgment. Yet in a dramatic turn, God calls for repentance—not