Joel 3:3
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse highlights a chilling dehumanization: not only were God's people divided by lot like mere property, but their sons were bartered for sexual favors and their daughters sold for a drink, reducing them to the value of base desires and fleeting indulgences. This wasn't just about ownership; it was about treating human beings as commodities for the vilest of purposes.
Joel is painting a picture of the utter desecration and humiliation inflicted upon God's people by foreign nations. These oppressors didn't just conquer and enslave; they treated God's chosen people like worthless commodities, casting lots for them as spoils of war and bartering them for the basest pleasures like prostitution and drunkenness. This is the backdrop to God's declaration of judgment, showing the depth of the cruelty that will be repaid.
Imagine your life being decided by a roll of the dice or a draw of straws. What does it reveal about the value placed on you?
Treated Like Property
The nations who conquered God's people didn't just enslave them; they treated them as literal property, dividing them up by casting lots. This wasn't just about ownership; it was a profound act of dehumanization.
What does it say about a society when human beings, especially children, are exchanged for fleeting pleasures like sex or alcohol?
The Depths of Degradation
Joel doesn't stop at the act of dividing people by lot. He details the horrifying exchanges that followed, revealing the depths of depravity.
Understand the original words
gowral · Hebrew Noun
A practice of casting stones or objects to determine a divine or random outcome; here it denotes the dehumanization of God's people as mere property or commodities.
Joel's prophecy vividly portrays the brutal dehumanization of God's people during times of conquest and exile, where captives were treated as mere objects to be gambled away or traded for the cheapest indulgences.
Late 8th century BC
Assyrian Deportations Begin
The Neo-Assyrian Empire begins mass deportations of conquered peoples, including Israelites, to break their national identity and prevent rebellion. This sets a precedent for treating conquered populations as commodities.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon begins deporting Judeans, including members of the royal family and skilled workers, after conquering Jerusalem. This marks the start of the Babylonian Exile.
597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
More Judeans are exiled to Babylon, further destabilizing the kingdom and leading to harsh treatment of those left behind.
586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
Babylon destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling the majority of the remaining population. This event is a profound catastrophe, described in Scripture as a time of immense suffering and humiliation for God's people.
This passage describes a similar act of dehumanization where enemies cast lots for people and gloated over their destruction, highlighting the shared theme of treating God's people as mere commodities.
Nahum 3:10This verse also speaks of casting lots for people, specifically for the honorable men of Nineveh, indicating a deep dishonor and the brutal practice of distributing captives like spoils of war.
Leviticus 26:33This prophetic passage in Leviticus foretells that if Israel disobeys God, they will be scattered among the nations, and their land will be desolate, which provides a theological backdrop to why such devastating events could occur.
Amos 1:6Similar to Joel's prophecy, Amos condemns the Philistines for handing over entire communities to Edom to be sold, emphasizing the widespread practice of profiting from human suffering and bondage.
2 Kings 24:14This historical account describes the Babylonian exile, where vast numbers of Jews, including craftsmen and leaders, were deported, providing a real-world context for the kind of captivity and indignity Joel is describing.
barnesJoel 3:3: "And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink."
And they have cast lots - They treated God's people as of no account, and delighted in showing their contempt toward them. They chose no one above another, as though all alike were worthless. "They cast lots," it is said elsewhere, "upon their honorable men" Nahum 3:10 , as a special indignity, above captivity or slavery. A "girl" they sold for an evening's rev…
pulpitJoel 3:3: "And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink."
Verse 3. - They have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Such was the contumely with which they were treated at the time of the great catastrophe referred to. The captives were distributed by lot among the conquerors; these in turn sold them to the slave-dealers for the merest trifle - a…
The verse highlights a chilling dehumanization: not only were God's people divided by lot like mere property, but their sons were bartered for sexual favors and their daughters sold for a drink, reducing them to the value of base desires and fleeting indulgences. This wasn't just about ownership; it was about treating human beings as commodities for the vilest of purposes.
Joel is painting a picture of the utter desecration and humiliation inflicted upon God's people by foreign nations. These oppressors didn't just conquer and enslave; they treated God's chosen people like worthless commodities, casting lots for them as spoils of war and bartering them for the basest pleasures like prostitution and drunkenness. This is the backdrop to God's declaration of judgment, showing the depth of the cruelty that will be repaid.
Joel is painting a picture of the utter desecration and humiliation inflicted upon God's people by foreign nations. These oppressors didn't just conquer and enslave; they treated God's chosen people like worthless commodities, casting lots for them as spoils of war and bartering them for the basest pleasures like prostitution and drunkenness. This is the backdrop to God's declaration of judgment, showing the depth of the cruelty that will be repaid.
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c. 539 BC
Persian Conquest of Babylon
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon, allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples.
c. 167 BC - 160 BC
Maccabean Revolt
The Maccabean Revolt erupts against Hellenistic rule, during which Jewish captives were sometimes treated with extreme cruelty and sold into slavery.
AD 70
Destruction of Second Temple
Roman forces under Titus destroy Jerusalem and its Second Temple, leading to mass deportations and enslavement of Jews, who were sometimes sold for trivial sums.
"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." — The verse highlights a chilling dehumanization: not only were God's people divided by lot like mere property, but their sons were bartered for sexual favors and their daughters sold for a drink, redu…
