The classic praise and worship song “Give Thanks” contains the line “And now let the weak say: ‘I am strong’”. There are several scriptures that encourage us to see ourselves strong in the Lord, including 2 Corinthians 12:9, but the precise quote, from Joel 3:10, has a very different context.
The Old Testament book of Joel is a book of prophecy, dealing primarily with the coming of the Day of the Lord. Joel chapter 3 speaks of God’s future judgment on the nations. It is in that context that we see the command that the weak say, I am strong (KJV). The ESV puts it this way: “Let the weak say: ‘I am a warrior.'” The NLT says: “Train even your weak to be warriors.”
Joel 3:9–13 has the context:
“Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
Awaken the warriors!
Have all combatants close in and attack.
Turn your plowshares into swords
and your pruning shears into spears.
Let the weakling say:
‘I’m strong!’
Come quickly, all nations everywhere,
and congregate there.
“Put down your warriors, LORD!
“Let the nations wake up;
advance to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
because there I will sit
to judge all the nations around.
shake the sickle,
because the harvest is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,
that the winepress is full
and the jars overflow
so great is his wickedness!
The weak who say, “I am strong,” are untrained warriors called to battle, using their farm equipment as weapons. This prophecy is of a time when nations will rise up to confront God and his armies (cf. Revelation 16:14–16; 20:7–10). God is actually calling them to judgment, and they will be soundly defeated. In Joel’s prophecy, God is challenging the wicked nations. The people who face God in the end will need all the resources and people available if they are to have any hope of fighting; even the weak among them will need to become warriors. No one, not even those normally unfit for war, will escape this conflict; there will be no exceptions or postponements; It is the time of God’s judgment on all the earth.
When the Day of the Lord comes, God will finally judge the world. Joel’s prophecy reveals the nature of the world at that time. Clearly, only a deluded people would think that they can fight against Almighty God. Sinful and weak humanity imagines that they are above God and will consider themselves strong enough to fight Him. We see similar themes in passages like Psalm 2 and 2 Timothy 4:3–5.
Joel 3 tells of a terrible time when wicked nations turn their farm equipment into weapons for a final, futile battle. However, after the judgment, God’s people, Israel, are restored to a place of blessing:
“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
I dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy;
never again will foreigners invade it.
“In that day the mountains will drop wine,
and the hills will flow with milk;
all the streams of Judah will flow with water.
A fountain will flow from the house of the Lord
and he shall water the valley of the acacias” ( Joel 3:17–18 ).
In that moment of blessing, God says that instead of turning their farm implements into weapons, the people will do the opposite:
“In the last days
“the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established
like the highest of mountains;
will be exalted above the mountains,
and all nations will run to him.
“Many peoples will come and say:
“’Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we can walk in his paths.’
The law will go out of Zion,
the word of the LORD of Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle the disputes of many peoples.
They’ll beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning shears.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
“Come, offspring of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord” ( Isaiah 2:2–5 ; see also Micah 4:1–5 ).
God is ultimately the victor. He will avenge his people (Joel 3:21), save them from their enemies, and restore them to a blessed state. In Joel 3:10, God issues a challenge to the enemies of his people: “Let the weak say, I am strong.” The Lord is ready for battle, and it is time for his enemies to surrender or shut up. The Message Bible highlights the mocking nature of God’s challenge:
“Let the weak stick out their chest
and say, ‘I’m tough, I’m a fighter.’
Hurry up, heathens! Wherever you are, move!
Get your act together.
Get ready to be
shattered by God!”