The Day of the Lord Prophet
In verse 1, the word of the Lord came to Joel.
He asks them to recognize how momentous the disaster is. This is no small event.
The gnawing locus take a pass, the swarming locust eat what's left, then the creeping locust eat what's left, and finally the stripping locust eat after that. Four kinds of pestilence in the land.
Joel commands them to wake from their drunken stupor and wail. The locust have just consumed the fruit that would have made their wine.
Then he equates swarms to actual human invaders coming like lions.
The locust ate down to the bare white of the branches for their wine and figs.
The people are told to wail in grief, like a virginal bride grieving for the bridegroom. Also lost are grains and wine that should go toward offerings to the Lord. We can hear the priests mourn for the loss of their offering, as well as their anointing oils.
The field is ruined,
The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil fails. Joel 1:10
Just a friendly reminder, this verse is another example of the personification of the land. It mourns. It fell during the fall and suffers like a person.
Verse 11 actually tells the farmers and vinedressers to be ashamed because they lost their wheat and barley. That should tell us that the people brought on this destruction. Sometimes the rain falls on the just and the unjust; but in this case, He is telling them to be ashamed. They lost vines, figs, pomegranates, palm, and apple (likely apricots). All the trees of the field dried up. [Wiersbe points out God uses the pronoun "My" as a reminder that it is all His. None of us has a right to it. We are deeply dependent on grace because we can never truly earn or deserve what He gives us.]
Rejoicing dried up from the sons of men. Those days are hard. It's easy to sink into a depression when things are bad and you know that you brought it on yourself.
He tells the priests to mourn and lament. To wail and sleep in sackcloth because the grain and wine offerings will be withheld from the house of the Lord. He tells them to fast, gather together the elders and inhabitants and come cry to the Lord in the house of the Lord. Again, He is telling them to come and repent. This destruction had a cause in them.
This isn't in the text or the commentaries that I've seen, but the 7 year old who is now king only because a woman murdered and conspired to lead the nation. She tried to wipe out the line of David. She was evil. I wonder if that sin was one aspect that made this punishment so harsh. Jehu had purged the land of baal, so idols are not mentioned as the sin; so it had to be something else extraordinary for the times that garnered such a strong disaster. I know the point of the book is pointing to the Day of the Lord; but it wouldn't hurt to know what brought about such a wrath in this instance. [Wiersbe points out that drunkenness and insincerity of worship are the only two sins noted; and it brought about such devastation that it would be spoken of for generations. I wonder if drunkenness is a metaphor for just focusing on their own pleasure and turning a blind eye to big sins, such as having a traitorous woman king outside of the line of David.)
Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
And it will come as destruction from the Almighty. Joel 1:15
There it is. The premise of the book of Joel. The Day of the Lord is near. This multi-layer attack will strip resources bare and take away even our ability to offer to the Lord. And it will be well-deserved. Take note of what happened here and translate it worldwide.
- food cut off
- no gladness or joy in the house of the Lord
- seeds shrivel (future losses)
- the storehouse is desolate
- barns torn down
- grains dried up
- beasts grown
- cattle wander without pastures
- sheep suffer
Joel cries out to the Lord. Fire has come behind and burned the pastures and trees. Even the animals are panting and suffering with the creeks dried up and pastures burned.
Another reminder that the earth suffers when we sin. The animals are living in the same environments that we are. When we sin, they suffer.
Things are grim in Jerusalem. Locust and drought. It's a good reminder that we are totally dependent on Him for live and joy. Keep your gratitude loud and your heart humble.
In Wirsebe's introduction to his commentary on Joel (Be Amazed), he points out that the priests' job was to teach the law. the prophet's job was to call the people back to the law. Prophets also interpreted current events in the light of the word of the Lord for teaching. Wiersbe points out we should always seek God when these disasters strike and inquire about our own behaviors.
He points out that Joel's prophesies were telling the people about their own time; and near future events (the coming of the Assyrians), and distant end times events.