Locusts Cover The Land
August 2, 2019
Commentary
The only fact given about Joel is that he was the son of Pethuel (v. 1). Two unique and never-to-be forgotten events are prophesied in this book. These are to be remembered and communicated to their decedents: the locust plague upon Israel and the day of the Lord. Nothing in the experience of Joel’s generation or that of their ancestors would be able to match the magnitude of the locust plague (vv. 2-3). This event was a massive invasion by locusts which completely destroyed the land’s vegetation (v. 4) . These dreaded insects flew into Palestine from the north-east, completely covering the earth for several miles and brought famine, death and pestilence in their wake. All the crops of the land were consumed, and the trees and plants were stripped of their bark and leaves (vv. 5-7).
The Jews were familiar with locusts. God had used this as one form of judgment that He sent upon Egypt and ultimately caused the Egyptians to let the Israelites leave the land. He takes one of the most insignificant instruments, the locust, to fulfill His purpose by executing judgment upon His people. His ultimate purpose is not merely for punishment but for the restoration of His people and bringing them back into fellowship with Him.
The virgin or young woman probably refers to the land itself or Jerusalem (v. 8). This virgin daughter of Judah was told to mourn bitterly, as a bride or bride-to-be would mourn over the unexpected death of the man to whom she was betrothed. Because of the devastation there was no fine flour or wine for the drink offerings (vv. 9-10). So powerful and tragic is that moment, that Joel lives through, that he talks about how people will tell their children. And the children will tell their children. And their children’s children will pass it onto the next generation. In the midst of disaster, the world around us can change, but God does not change. For Joel, the locusts came and changed everything, except God.
Application
Crises in our lives may bring us to grief as it did in Joel’s generation but it should also remind us that the Lord is still on the throne. He always knows what is best and I just need to trust Him at any cost with all my heart.
Joel 1:1– 10 (NET)
1 This is the Lord’s message that came to Joel the son of Pethuel:
2 Listen to this, you elders; pay attention, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life or in the lifetime of your ancestors?
3 Tell your children about it, have your children tell their children, and their children the following generation.
4 What the gazam-locust left the ‘arbeh-locust consumed, what the ‘arbeh-locust left the yeleq-locust consumed, and what the yeleq-locust left the hasil-locust consumed.
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine drinkers, because the sweet wine has been taken away from you.
6 For a nation has invaded my land, mighty and without number. Their teeth are lion’s teeth; they have the fangs of a lioness.
7 They have destroyed my vines; they have turned my fig trees into mere splinters. They have completely stripped off the bark and thrown it aside; the twigs are stripped bare.
8 Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth, lamenting the death of her husband to be.
9 No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of the Lord anymore. So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.
10 The crops of the fields have been destroyed. The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished. The fresh wine has dried up; the olive oil languishes.
Illustration: Farmer Sends His Nephew a Crate of Chickens
A farmer sent his nephew a crate of chickens, but the box burst open just as the boy started to take them out. The next day he wrote his uncle: “I chased them through my neighbor’s yard but I only got back eleven.” Answered the uncle, “You did all right. I only sent six." ©. McDonald in The Christian Word).