Joel 1

The locust plague (vs. 1-7)—As noted in the introduction, the setting for this prophecy was a devastating locust plague. And they were devastating. They came literally by the millions, ate everything in sight, and always left a famine behind. A locust swarm was one of the greatest fears of the ancient Near East. And it happened in Israel during Joel’s day. One of the things that the Lord wanted the people to do was “tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, and their children another generation” (v. 3). If each generation will be reminded, then perhaps the reason behind the plauge can be avoided—more on that in chapter 2. These locusts left nothing (v. 4), and that would cause weeping among the drunks who could no longer get any wine (v. 5). “He [the locusts] has laid waste My vine, and ruined My fig tree” (v. 7). It was a time of great mourning and Joel suggests that the people do just that…

Lament, for there’s nothing left (vs. 8-13)—“Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the husband of her youth” (v. 8). “Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; wail, you who minister before the altar” (v. 13). They certainly had reason to. “The field is wasted, the land mourns; for the grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails” (v. 10). “The vine has dried up, snd the fig tree has withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree--all the trees of the field are withered” (v. 12). This is serious stuff, because, for the most part, people in the ancient world lived from year to year. If they had a bountiful harvest one year, they could store up for the next. But that didn’t happen all that often. And if the harvest was poor, a famine nearly always followed. We in our abundance today have no idea what it was like; we’re concerned about our kids being too fat, not starving to death, though if a politician thinks he can make some political hay over the latter, he’ll certainly try. We are truly blessed people, but unfortunately, that often causes people to become complacent and forget God (Deut. 31:20).

The day of the Lord (vs. 14-20)—In verse 15, Joel introduces a major theme of his short prophecy: “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.” The “day of the Lord” is always a day of judgment. For many people—the righteous—it can be a glorious day. But for most—the wicked—it’s a horrible time. The “day of the Lord” will pop up more than once in these minor prophet books. The thing to do, Joel says, is repent: “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the Lord” (v. 14). This locust plague affects every living thing, of course: “How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment” (v. 18). The locusts just don’t leave much of anything. It looks like a fire has ravaged the land: “For fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field” (v. 19). That might be literal; the land was so dry after the plague that a fire might have broken out and further desecrated the earth. But it’s probably a figurative allusion to the way the locusts left the land—as if a fire had come through. The chapter ends on a note of pathos: “The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooks are dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures” (v. 20). So in chapter one, Joel explains the devastation that the locusts caused. In chapter 2, he will explain why the plague came in the first place. Nothing in this world happens arbitrarily, not with God in control. And there was a definite rationale for this locust attack. Knowing Israel, the reason probably won’t surprise us.