Joel 1:1-20

1:1-3 | The word (“message”) came to Joel, whose name means “the LORD is God.” Joel called on everyone, from the most respected ruling elders of the land to the ordinary inhabitants. The double use of hear and give ear emphatically urges all to pay attention to his word (Deut. 32:1).

1:4-7 | Joel was written in the aftermath of a locust invasion that had destroyed every green thing in Israel. Because this was an agricultural economy, the result of the plague was devastating (compare the plague of locusts in Ex. 10:1-20). Joel’s bold response was to remind the people that this devastation was nothing compared to the future judgement of God.

1:6-7 | Here, the locusts are portrayed as an advancing nation’s army, powerful in number and strength. Like a ferocious lion, their teeth destroy the produce of the land (Rev. 9:8). The locust plague of chapter 1 is a precursor to the locust-like plague of the armies of chapter 2. The vine (“vineyard”) and the fig tree were symbols of Israel, but hey also served as metaphors for Israel’s sin and judgment (Isa. 5:1-7; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15:1-8; Matt. 21:33-46; Luke 13:6-9). The locusts – like Israel’s transgressions – had left the whole nation in desperate circumstances.

1:8-12 | Jerusalem is often compared to a virgin daughter in the OT. Here her devastation is akin to a young bride who loses her husband just before her wedding day.

1:10 | Grain, wine, and oil represent the three major types of vegetation in Israel. Grasses, shrubs, and trees were the staples of the Israelite diet. This destruction of Israel’s basic economic supply if she rejected God was prophesied as early as the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 28:42-51).

1:13-14 | Because He is more concerned with the spiritual growth of His children than their physical or economic comfort (Matt. 6:19-21, 31-33), God sometimes allows them to suffer the consequences of their rebellion. Once the Lord had Israel’s attention, He called on the priests to gather all the people at the temple for a sacred assembly (or solemn fast). Such occasions signaled times of prayer, confession, and renewal in Israel’s history.

1:15 | The terms destruction and Almighty sound similar in Hebrew: destruction translates shod, while Almighty translates shadday. Only God Almighty has the power and authority to declare and then carry out destruction for rebellion against Him.

1:19-20 | According to Joel, the brooks were so dry that even the wild animals had to cry out (lit. “pant”) for water. The people needed to see every element of God’s creation dying off due to their sin, and they needed to likewise cry out for God’s forgiveness and deliverance. Still, in His mercy, the Lord promised a new morning (Lam. 3:22-23). When we have nothing but dust and ashes, God promises a new day (Ps. 50:15).