Read
1I am Joel the son of Pethuel.
And this is the message
the Lord gave to me.
Locusts Cover the Land
2Listen, you leaders
and everyone else
in the land.
Has anything like this
ever happened before?
3Tell our children!
Let it be told
to our grandchildren
and their children too.
4Swarm after swarm of locusts
has attacked our crops,
eating everything in sight.
5Sober up, you drunkards!
Cry long and loud;
your wine supply is gone.
6 A powerful nation
with countless troops
has invaded our land.
They have the teeth and jaws
of powerful lions.
7Our grapevines and fig trees
are stripped bare;
only naked branches remain.
8Grieve like a young woman
mourning for the man
she was to marry.
9Offerings of grain and wine
are no longer brought
to the Lord's temple.
His servants, the priests,
are deep in sorrow.
10Barren fields mourn;
grain, grapes, and olives
are scorched and shriveled.
11Mourn for our farms
and our vineyards!
There's no wheat or barley
growing in our fields.
12Grapevines have dried up
and so has every tree—
figs and pomegranates,
date palms and apples.
All happiness has faded away.
Reflect
Joel’s message opens with the pressing circumstance of a plague of locusts. It’s an outbreak of apocalyptic and catastrophic proportions. Repeated swarms (v 4) are invading and advancing across the land (vv 4-9). They’re devouring every blade of grass, every stalk of wheat, and every leaf on every tree (vv 7-12). Nothing is spared, everything is ruined; all that’s left is a bleak, desolate desert of sand and earth (v 10a).
Yet for Joel, the most serious effects of the plague aren’t physical, they’re spiritual. Verse 9 provides the first hint of enormous spiritual ramifications, and reveals that behind the actions of the locusts God is seen to be cutting himself off from his people. It’s a religious disaster second to none. The locusts are more than bringers of hunger and ruin, they’re heralds of judgment. No wonder the priests are in mourning (v 9b), for the locusts have destroyed the whole basis of the sacrificial system (v 9a).
The main theme of the book as a whole is the “Day of the Lord” – the time when God judges evil persons and nations, and establishes his reign of righteousness and grace. The sub-themes are penitence, punishment, promise and prosperity.
While the plague of locusts is a national tragedy resulting in utter despair and disappointment, Joel’s message is not all doom and gloom. He’s also the prophet of Pentecost. A time is coming when there will be an outpouring of God’s Spirit (Acts 2:18-19) and people being saved (Acts 2:38). And here we find hope. For the coming of the day of the Lord is also one that leads to Christ – the Saviour in whom we find liberation from condemnation and the corruption of sin.
Respond
Lord, this prophecy reminds us that disobedience leads to punishment and that our future is desolation if we ignore you. Help us to repent and be saved. Amen.
Lawson Murray
Lawson is the President of Scripture Union Canada and the Managing Editor of theStory™. Lawson takes every opportunity to enthusiastically invite people of all ages to connect with Jesus and His Story. He says, “We have been given the greatest story ever - God's Story! Should we not, with all our might and energy immerse ourselves in it? I believe we should. For without the Story we really have nothing to offer the millions who hunger and thirst for something more. But, with God’s Story we have what everyone needs!” Publications: jumpintotheword - Bible Engagement Blog; iConnect: Life words for growth, for story, for community; Bible Engagement Basics; Seize the Day: Meditations for the Year.