Joel 3:18

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

This verse begins a paragraph concluding the whole prophecy in which there is a metaphorical description of the wonderful blessings available to the children of God in their service of Christ and his kingdom. It may well be admitted that it is very unlikely that Joel himself fully understood these words, that probably being the very reason that God gave him the description in metaphorical terms that he COULD understand. Joel was not writing for himself alone and his own generation merely, but he most certainly did know that the words he gave had implications for other generations to come; because, as an apostle expressed it:

"To whom it was revealed (that is, to the prophets), that not unto themselves, but unto you did they minister these things, which have now been announced to you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven" (1 Peter 1:12).

What is seen in this verse is a picture of universal peace, security, plenty, and tranquility. It is appropriate to remember that even for Christians the blessings here are not literal, but spiritual. A literal view of this passage is impossible. It is a picture of the spiritual joys in the days of the outpouring of God's Spirit, namely, in the days of the present dispensation of the N.T.

"The valley of Shittim ..." was a very dry and unproductive area; and the imagery is that through the great spiritual blessings available in Christ, some of the most unpromising situations shall yield precious fruit for the kingdom.