DAY OF THE LORD The Coming Judgment of Mankind. Joel 1:1-20 Locusts Destroy the Crops 1..¶ The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. 2..¶ Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 3. Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4..¶ That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 5..¶ Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. 8..¶ Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 9. The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORDS ministers, mourn. 10. The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. 11. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. 12. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. 13..¶ Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. 14. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, 15. Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. 16. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17. The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. 18. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. 19. O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 20. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. Study Notes Joel 1:4 —The palmerworm, locust, cankerworm, and caterpillar are probably not four different kinds of insects, but four stages in the growth of the locust. The verse emphasizes that the locusts would totally consume everything edible in the land. It is assumed that these were desert locusts, a type of locust that devastated Palestine as recently as A.D. 1915. They represent an unexplained metamorphosis from grasshoppers to their locust form. Furthermore, when their density reaches a certain level, the swarm of insects will devour any green plants in its path. The plague of locusts (Ex. 10:1–19) had a significant impact on Egypt. The servants claimed that Egypt was “destroyed” (Ex. 10:7), and even Pharaoh called the plague “this death” (Ex. 10:17). Just as that plague of locusts mocked the Egyptian’s pride in the fertility of their land, so this locust invasion would rebuke God’s people, who had forgotten that from God came their prosperity (see Deut. 6:10–12; De 8:10–14, 17–20). Joel 1:15 —The “Day of the LORD” is also mentioned in Joel 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14 (see also Amos 5:18, 20; Obad. 1:15; Zeph. 1:7, 14, 18; 2:2; and Mal. 4:5). For more information on the “Day of the LORD” and related phrases, see the note on Zephaniah 1:7. Study Notes on Zephaniah 1:7 —The phrase “Day of the LORD” is one of the primary expressions in the Old Testament that is relevant to eschatological events. It properly refers to any time the Lord openly intervenes in the affairs of men. Thus it often can apply to two separate events in two different time periods. Zephaniah saw the fall of Jerusalem as “that time” which would occur very soon (v. 12), and therefore used terms such as “at hand” (v. 7) and “near” (v. 14). Yet, as is common in Old Testament prophecy, this near intervention of God becomes merged in the prophet’s vision with the “Day of the LORD,” God’s ultimate intervention in the affairs of His people. At that time, He will judge the whole earth (vv. 2, 3; 3:8), purge Israel (Zeph. 3:11–13; see the note on Ezek. 43:13–27), and then reestablish His people into their land (Zep 3:14–20). The apostate people of Israel and Judah had to be constantly reminded that the Day of the LORD would be a time of judgment, and for the ungodly, a time of utter darkness (see the notes on Jer. 30:3–31:26; Amos 5:18–20). Some believe the “sacrifice” mentioned here refers to Christ’s atoning work on the cross of Calvary (Heb. 10:12). In the phrase “bid his guests,” God is inviting His people to accept this offering and come into a right relationship with Him (Matt. 10:6; 15:24). Study Notes Taken From The complete word study Bible: King James Version Zodhiates, S., & Baker, W. : AMG Publishers. Chattanooga, TN. Commentary on Joel 1 1:1 The word of the Lord … came attests to the divine origin of the prophet’s message. The presentation of the message was the work of the prophet. Joel means “The Lord Is God.” 1:2 Has anything like this happened: The calamity of recent days was unprecedented in the memory of the people. 1:4 Many interpreters have viewed this locust swarm as foreign armies that attacked Judah in successive waves—Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome. Yet literal locust plagues were one of the judgments promised if the people disobeyed God and broke their covenant with Him (see Deut. 28:38, 39, 42). Further, Joel’s description of the damage done by the locusts compares with eyewitness reports. The impression given is one of overwhelming devastation. 1:5 Awake, you drunkards: The vineyards had been destroyed, and the wine had been lost. 1:6 Nation may refer to a literal or figurative swarm of locusts. They came in such numbers that they were like a vast army. 1:7 Branches of trees stripped of bark by the rasping teeth of the locusts were left splintered and ghostly white. 1:8 The image here is of a young bride widowed on her wedding day. Sackcloth was worn by those in mourning in ancient Israel. 1:9 The drink offering refers to the wine offerings that accompanied the priests’ morning and evening sacrifices (see Ex. 29:38–41). The devastation of the locusts meant that no sacrifice could be offered. 1:10 The land is personified as mourning because the three principle crops it produced—grain, grapes, and olives—had been destroyed (see Deut. 7:13; Ps. 104:15). 1:11, 12 The people had anticipated the joy of harvest, but due to the disaster of the locust plague, their joy has withered away. 1:13–20 Joel reminds the nation’s leaders that being restored to blessing requires repentance (see Deut. 30:1–5; 2 Chr. 7:14). God will not withhold His favor and blessing from those who are truly repentant. 1:15 The day of the Lord refers to a time of judgment and deliverance. Joel views the locust plague as a contemporary day of judgment that was serving as a token or forewarning of an even greater, future “day of the Lord.” 1:16 Is not the food cut off … Joy and gladness: With the sudden loss of food, there was also a loss of joy at harvest (see Is. 9:3). 1:17 The seed shrivels indicates further devastation in the land and an inability to replant the following year. 1:18, 19 Not only did the people of Judah suffer from the drought, so did the animals, cattle, and flocks. Joel depicts the animals poetically as joining in the lament, groaning in their hunger and distress (see Rom. 8:22). I cry out: The prophet adds his own voice to the bellowing of beasts, the wailing of drunkards, and the mourning of priests. He was part of the suffering community, not an outsider looking on from a distance. The NKJV Study Bible. (2007). (Joe 1:1–20). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 11:11:52 +0000
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