(ד) וְשָׁפַט בֵּין הַגּוֹיִם וְהוֹכִיחַ לְעַמִּים רַבִּים וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבוֹתָם לְאִתִּים וַחֲנִיתוֹתֵיהֶם לְמַזְמֵרוֹת לֹא יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה.
(4) And He shall judge between the nations, And shall decide for many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.
Here we have the quintessential Nevuah: Everyone will be happy, no more war.
(ג) וְשָׁפַט בֵּין עַמִּים רַבִּים וְהוֹכִיחַ לְגוֹיִם עֲצֻמִים עַד רָחוֹק וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבֹתֵיהֶם לְאִתִּים וַחֲנִיתֹתֵיהֶם לְמַזְמֵרוֹת לֹא יִשְׂאוּ גּוֹי אֶל גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא יִלְמְדוּן עוֹד מִלְחָמָה.
(3) And He shall judge between many peoples, And shall decide concerning mighty nations afar off; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.
Michah 4 is almost a perfect copy of Yeshayahu 2. I have added it in for comparison.
(י) כֹּתּוּ אִתֵּיכֶם לַחֲרָבוֹת וּמַזְמְרֹתֵיכֶם לִרְמָחִים הַחַלָּשׁ יֹאמַר גִּבּוֹר אָנִי.
(10) Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning-hooks into spears; Let the weak say: ‘I am strong.’
But Yoel flagrantly disrupts this pattern, tell us to beat the plowshares into swords!
(ז) וַהֲבִיאוֹתִים אֶל הַר קָדְשִׁי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּים בְּבֵית תְּפִלָּתִי עוֹלֹתֵיהֶם וְזִבְחֵיהֶם לְרָצוֹן עַל מִזְבְּחִי כִּי בֵיתִי בֵּית תְּפִלָּה יִקָּרֵא לְכָל הָעַמִּים.
(7) Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer; Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices Shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; For My house shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples.
Another very nice Nevuah. Yeshayahu tells us that everyone will be welcome on the Har Habayit.
(יז) וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם שֹׁכֵן בְּצִיּוֹן הַר קָדְשִׁי וְהָיְתָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם קֹדֶשׁ וְזָרִים לֹא יַעַבְרוּ בָהּ עוֹד.
(17) So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain; Then shall Jerusalem be holy, And there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
And Yoel tells us that no strangers will pass through any part of Yerushalayim!
(א) דְּבַר יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר הָיָה אֶל הוֹשֵׁעַ בֶּן בְּאֵרִי בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּה יוֹתָם אָחָז יְחִזְקִיָּה מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה וּבִימֵי יָרָבְעָם בֶּן יוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
(1) The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Let's put the Nevuot into context. Since Yoel has no chronological subtitle, to find it's dating, we can use the order of Trei Asar to our advantage. In general (excepting one or two exceptions,) Trei Asar is fully in chronological order. If we can date Hosea and Amos, we can date Yoel. Hoshea is in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Achaz and Chizkiah. So when is Amos?
(א) דִּבְרֵי עָמוֹס אֲשֶׁר הָיָה בַנֹּקְדִים מִתְּקוֹעַ אֲשֶׁר חָזָה עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה וּבִימֵי יָרָבְעָם בֶּן יוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁנָתַיִם לִפְנֵי הָרָעַשׁ.
(1) The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Amos is during the days of Uzziahu. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that Yoel was also active during this time of Uzziah, Yotam, Achaz, and Chizkiahu. Now how about Yeshayahu?
(א) חֲזוֹן יְשַׁעְיָהוּ בֶן אָמוֹץ אֲשֶׁר חָזָה עַל יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלִָם בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּהוּ יוֹתָם אָחָז יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה.
(1) The Vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Here we have an identical dating. However, 5 perakim later, we see that Yeshayahu only catches the tail end of Uzziahu's reign.
(א) בִּשְׁנַת מוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ עֻזִּיָּהוּ וָאֶרְאֶה אֶת אֲדֹנָי יֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא וְשׁוּלָיו מְלֵאִים אֶת הַהֵיכָל.
(1) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.
Uzziah died while Yeshayahu's prophecy was in it's infancy. We can therefore assume that if both prophets started in Uzziah's time, Yoel was at least a contemporary of Yeshayahu, if not older. We are then looking at a contemporaneous duel. I suggest that Yoel attacks Yeshayahu, becuase:
(טז) וַיֹּאמֶר יְשַׁעְיָהוּ אֶל חִזְקִיָּהוּ שְׁמַע דְּבַר יְהוָה. (יז) הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים וְנִשָּׂא כָּל אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵיתֶךָ וַאֲשֶׁר אָצְרוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּבֶלָה לֹא יִוָּתֵר דָּבָר אָמַר יְהוָה. (יח) וּמִבָּנֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יֵצְאוּ מִמְּךָ אֲשֶׁר תּוֹלִיד יקח [יִקָּחוּ] וְהָיוּ סָרִיסִים בְּהֵיכַל מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל. (יט) וַיֹּאמֶר חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶל יְשַׁעְיָהוּ טוֹב דְּבַר יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ וַיֹּאמֶר הֲלוֹא אִם שָׁלוֹם וֶאֱמֶת יִהְיֶה בְיָמָי.
(16) And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah: ‘Hear the word of the LORD. (17) Behold, the days come, that all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. (18) And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be officers in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ (19) Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah: ‘Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken.’ For he thought: ‘It means that safety is assured for my time.'
Chizkiyahu was a good king. However, Yeshayahu just did not get to him. Here was Yeshayahu, telling him that his sons will be taken away, and Chizkiyahu says "Good!????" This is an example of the impotency of Yeshayahu. I think Yoel therefore wanted to get through to Uzziah in an opposite way then Yeshayahu approached Chizkiyahu and other kings such as Uzziah. His statement about Yerushalayim is militaristic and harsh, becuase it is meant for Chizkiyahu, to give him a wakeup call. He talks about a great war, because Chizkiyahu manages to befuddle the Nevuot he gets from Yeshayahu into ones of peace, at least for his time. And Yoel does one more thing.
(א) דְּבַר יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר הָיָה אֶל יוֹאֵל בֶּן פְּתוּאֵל. (ב) שִׁמְעוּ זֹאת הַזְּקֵנִים וְהַאֲזִינוּ כֹּל יוֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ הֶהָיְתָה זֹּאת בִּימֵיכֶם וְאִם בִּימֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם. (ג) עָלֶיהָ לִבְנֵיכֶם סַפֵּרוּ וּבְנֵיכֶם לִבְנֵיהֶם וּבְנֵיהֶם לְדוֹר אַחֵר. (ד) יֶתֶר הַגָּזָם אָכַל הָאַרְבֶּה וְיֶתֶר הָאַרְבֶּה אָכַל הַיָּלֶק וְיֶתֶר הַיֶּלֶק אָכַל הֶחָסִיל. (ה) הָקִיצוּ שִׁכּוֹרִים וּבְכוּ וְהֵילִלוּ כָּל שֹׁתֵי יָיִן עַל עָסִיס כִּי נִכְרַת מִפִּיכֶם. (ו) כִּי גוֹי עָלָה עַל אַרְצִי עָצוּם וְאֵין מִסְפָּר שִׁנָּיו שִׁנֵּי אַרְיֵה וּמְתַלְּעוֹת לָבִיא לוֹ. (ז) שָׂם גַּפְנִי לְשַׁמָּה וּתְאֵנָתִי לִקְצָפָה חָשֹׂף חֲשָׂפָהּ וְהִשְׁלִיךְ הִלְבִּינוּ שָׂרִיגֶיהָ. (ח) אֱלִי כִּבְתוּלָה חֲגֻרַת שַׂק עַל בַּעַל נְעוּרֶיהָ.
(1) The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. (2) Hear this, ye old men, And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, Or in the days of your fathers? (3) Tell ye your children of it, And let your children tell their children, And their children another generation. (4) That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; And that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; And that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. (5) Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, And wail, all ye drinkers of wine, Because of the sweet wine, For it is cut off from your mouth. (6) For a people is come up upon my land, Mighty, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. (7) He hath laid my vine waste, And blasted my fig-tree; He hath made it clean bare, and cast it down, The branches thereof are made white. (8) Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the husband of her youth.
Yoel makes sure to talk about a plague of locusts. And that has signifigance too.
(ה) וְנַסְתֶּם גֵּיא הָרַי כִּי יַגִּיעַ גֵּי הָרִים אֶל אָצַל וְנַסְתֶּם כַּאֲשֶׁר נַסְתֶּם מִפְּנֵי הָרַעַשׁ בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה וּבָא יְהוָה אֱלֹהַי כָּל קְדֹשִׁים עִמָּךְ.
(5) And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel; Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah; And the LORD my God shall come, And all the holy ones with Thee.
(א) דִּבְרֵי עָמוֹס אֲשֶׁר הָיָה בַנֹּקְדִים מִתְּקוֹעַ אֲשֶׁר חָזָה עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה וּבִימֵי יָרָבְעָם בֶּן יוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁנָתַיִם לִפְנֵי הָרָעַשׁ.
(1) The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
(טז) וַיהוָה מִצִּיּוֹן יִשְׁאָג וּמִירוּשָׁלִַם יִתֵּן קוֹלוֹ וְרָעֲשׁוּ שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ וַיהוָה מַחֲסֶה לְעַמּוֹ וּמָעוֹז לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
(16) And the LORD shall roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth shall shake; But the LORD will be a refuge unto His people, And a stronghold to the children of Israel.
(ב) וַיֹּאמַר יְהוָה מִצִּיּוֹן יִשְׁאָג וּמִירוּשָׁלִַם יִתֵּן קוֹלוֹ וְאָבְלוּ נְאוֹת הָרֹעִים וְיָבֵשׁ רֹאשׁ הַכַּרְמֶל.
(2) And he said: The LORD roareth from Zion, And uttereth His voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
There was an earthquake in the time of Uzziahu! It is no coincidence that Joel and Amos both use the imagery of Hashem roaring from Tzion - this is reminiscent of the earthquake. So, Uzziah already had one natural disaster, but a plague of locust would be the second one. This plague would have hit personally:
(י) וַיִּבֶן מִגְדָּלִים בַּמִּדְבָּר וַיַּחְצֹב בֹּרוֹת רַבִּים כִּי מִקְנֶה רַּב הָיָה לוֹ וּבַשְּׁפֵלָה וּבַמִּישׁוֹר אִכָּרִים וְכֹרְמִים בֶּהָרִים וּבַכַּרְמֶל כִּי אֹהֵב אֲדָמָה הָיָה.
(10) And be built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle; in the Lowland also, and in the table-land; and he had husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields; for he loved the ground.
Uzziah is the king who likes planting. A plague of locusts is the last thing he wants to see.
Over the course of this sheet, we see how Yeshayahu is useless in terms of getting through to Chizkiyahu. But Yoel is smarter, and uses imagery that really hits home with Uzziah. This is why it sometimes seems as if the two Nevi'im dispute; however, they are just using different ways to approach the problem.