יואל, פרק ב׳, פסוק י״ד

Sincere repentance carries the hope of changing a harsh divine decree, ensuring that at least a remnant of abundance survives to sustain the bond between the people and God. There are two main perspectives regarding who exactly is expected to turn back and reconsider. The first approach suggests this is a direct call to the sinner. Anyone aware of their wrongdoing must change their ways and feel regret [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק, אברבנאל]. This responsibility applies deeply to the individual. Even if the general public refuses to change, a single person must still take action. While one person's choices will not completely cancel a national decree, they can lessen the severity of their own personal punishment [מלבי״ם].

A second perspective suggests the hope is directed toward God. It expresses a wish that God Himself might reconsider and withdraw His harsh decree following the people's repentance [אבן עזרא, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The hesitant tone of this hope reflects the heavy weight of the people's many sins. Because of these failures, a complete pardon is difficult, and God might still deliver some measure of punishment [רד״ק]. The promise that a blessing will be left behind is widely understood as referring to a devastating plague of locusts. The hope is that the swarm will not destroy the crops entirely, but will leave behind enough plants and fruit to provide for the people [רש״י, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא, רד״ק, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This surviving harvest serves a crucial spiritual purpose, allowing the people to bring grain and wine offerings to the Temple in gratitude to God [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This offers comfort by directly reversing an earlier warning that these very offerings would be cut off [רד״ק]. Alternatively, a historical approach views these events as pointing to the Babylonian exile and the eventual return to Jerusalem. In this light, the hope is that God will end the exile, and the surviving blessing represents the small fraction of exiles who will actually return to the land during the Second Temple era. The specific mention of grain and drink offerings hints that while the physical sacrificial service will be restored, the Second Temple will lack the profound spiritual heights of the First Temple, such as prophecy, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Urim and Thummim [אברבנאל].