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In this write-up on Brian Peckham's History and Prophecy, I will talk a little about Peckham's view on the Book of Joel.
Peckham believes that Joel is disagreeing with the Deuteronomistic History (DtrH). The Deuteronomist believed that the Babylonian destruction of Judah and Jerusalem as well as the exile were divine punishments for Judah's sin. The Deuteronomist also thought that God preserved Israel out of faithfulness to his promises, and he denied that God dwelt in an earthly temple, for he maintained that the earthly sanctuary was for God's name, whereas God actually dwelt in heaven.
Joel, by contrast, does not say that the Judahites are being punished for sin. Rather, Joel blames natural cycles or nearby nations for Judah's predicament; at the same time, Peckham does seem to acknowledge (if I am understanding him correctly) that the suffering Judahites are experiencing the Day of the LORD, according to Joel. For Peckham, Joel advocates humble prayer as the means to convince Israel's gracious God to reverse her predicament. Joel does not endorse repentance of sin, as if Judah's sin led to her downfall, nor does he refer to any promises to which God is faithful. And, unlike the Deuteronomist, Joel assumes that God dwells in the temple (in whatever capacity it existed after 587 B.C.E.).
Another point: As with his understanding of the Book of Ezekiel, Peckham holds that the Book of Joel had an editorial stage designed to create a practical program of restoration. There is a difference of opinion within prophetic literature over who were God's favorites: the exiles or those who stayed behind in Judah. Second Isaiah and the author of the Book of Jeremiah answer "the exiles". (See Jeremiah 24. I'm not sure if Peckham attributes that to the prophet Jeremiah, for Peckham says that Jeremiah himself thought that God would deliver Judah at the last minute, preventing a large-scale exile. But Peckham may distinguish the prophet Jeremiah from the author of the book that bears Jeremiah's name.) But, according to Peckham, the editor of Joel believes that the remaining people of Jerusalem were "now the nucleus of the holy restored community" (page 677).
