Joel 1
Joel is one of the minor prophetic books of the Old Testament. It is a text in which the prophet Joel tells the people of Judah about an impending disaster and the need to repent. Chapter 1 mainly describes an unprecedented plague of locusts, using it to convey God’s warning and a message of repentance. It helps readers see the disaster not as a personal or local event, but as a spiritual message that the entire community should pay attention to.
1verseThe LORD’s word that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2verseHear this, you elders, and listen, all you inhabitants of the land! Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
3verseTell your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.
4verseWhat the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
5verseWake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.
6verseFor a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.
7verseHe has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
8verseMourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!
9verseThe meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from the LORD’s house. The priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.
10verseThe field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.
11verseBe confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.
12verseThe vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered— the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the sons of men.
13versePut on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.
14verseSanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD, your God, and cry to the LORD.
15verseAlas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
16verseIsn’t the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17verseThe seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
18verseHow the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19verseLORD, I cry to you, for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20verseYes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Structure and Flow
- Verses 1-4: Joel urges the people to pass on, from generation to generation, the seriousness of the locust plague happening now. It also implies that this is not merely a natural disaster but something to receive as God’s message.
- Verses 5-12: It depicts the sorrow of farmers, priests, and all the people due to the loss of wine and grain and the total destruction of crops caused by the locust plague.
- Verses 13-14: Both priests and people fast and are urged to come before God with repentance and sorrow.
- Verses 15-20: Along with a warning about the coming “day of the Lord” (the day of God’s judgment), it emphasizes how severe the suffering shown through the locust plague was.
Literary Features
In Joel Chapter 1, the book uses vivid descriptions and symbolic language. The swarm of locusts is portrayed almost like an army, dramatizing the magnitude of the devastation. This linguistic feature makes the fear and urgency that people at the time felt more tangible.
The Core Message
The most prominent message in Joel Chapter 1 is to turn to God through the disaster. It acknowledges human helplessness in the face of natural disasters or calamities, and emphasizes that people must come to God with an attitude of repentance and sincere confession. This chapter is not only a declaration of punishment; it is also an invitation to repentance as the starting point of restoration.
Points to Ponder
- When unexpected trials and hardships come upon my life, am I paying attention to God’s will or message within them?
- In the midst of a communal disaster, what place can I set aside for prayer and repentance?
Try Applying It to Myself
- If I have hardships like a swarm of locusts in my life, let’s take time to think deeply about their reason and meaning and approach God with a sincere heart.
- Even in difficulty, let’s examine our hearts today, so we do not lose trust in God and the heart to repent.
