Rather than blathering on about the introductory material to the prophet Joel, I thought I might just paste it here. This information comes from the handy sheet I created and linked on the first post. It gives a pretty decent intro to the Prophet Joel. Also, please disregard the lazy spelling error on my chart (I know indifference is spelled indifference, but I am indifferent).
Let me fill-in some info that is missing from this poorly presented chart. Joel was writing during the reign of King Jehoash. If you know your litany of biblical kings, you will know then that Jehoash is a unique king. Why? Because he was 7 when he became king. So the priests, namely, Jehoiada, kind of ruled as regency in his stead until he was old enough to rule (which lasted for 40 years). Generally speaking, the bible says Jehoash was a decent dude, but there were some lingering problems in Judah that Joel confronts...
At the time of Joel's writing- Judah saw a severe draught and an invasion of locusts- which is normally a sign of God's judgement. Joel takes this sign of judgment and extrapolates it out a little further in his discussion of the Day of the Lord- both in his lifetime and in the future. Thus the "Day of the Lord," which pertains to pretty much any day where the Lord steps in to human history and does something (mostly judgement related), is at the fore in Joel and serves as a major theme.
To that end Joel points out the historical "days of the Lord," as they relate to Israel and the nations, the "illustrative" days of the Lord that point forward to the THE Day of the Lord at the end of time, and finally, Joel gives us a little taste of THE Day of the Lord, specifically as it relates to the 2nd coming of Christ.... so, is your interest piqued? Mine is!... Horay for Joel... let's get moving.
Without further adieu- I ask that you please open your Bibles to Joel 1 so that we can go through it together, as Bible buddies.
Ok, done reading? Good. Does it make your skin crawl? If not- check out these youtube video about the destructive power of locusts.
Locusts are gross, no doubt. But even more- they are totally destructive, with the power to wipe out a lively hood and leave a village or city without vital food stores; hence Joel's lament. Everything has been destroyed. There is no longer any vines to make grapes, not more grain for the grain offering and drink for the drink offering. So not only is their livelihood destroyed, but they are now in spiritual turmoil because they have not sufficient goods to make the necessary sacrifices to the Lord.
In Ch 1, Joel basically says, "the locusts have destroyed everything- everything- and we are ruined!" Did you catch v. 5? We get a little glimpse at perhaps a cause of this plague- too much drinking in Judah. It seems the men of Judah were enjoying their sweet wine a little too much and had incurred God's wrath. It is one thing to partake of a glass of wine here and there. But it seems the people of Judah were drunkards of the first order. As a result- they were invaded by a countless swarm of little soldiers, relentless and merciless.
The response? Vv. 13-14 give us the only response needed- repent. But more than saying "I'm sorry." Joel instructs the people to wrap themselves in sack cloth, fast, and cry out to the living God. These are actions that Joel hopes will, "get God's attention." If that sounds weird, its not. This kind of thing happened all the time. Take for example the Ninevites. God was ready to wipe them off the map- but they repented. The whole city came out in a display of "sorry," by wrapping themselves in sack cloth and sprinkling ashes on their heads? Why? Because this was uncomfortable. If you are doing something so uncomfortable, then God has a good idea that you mean what you say. And of course, God knows the heart of men, but an action drives the point home a little more. If you are really sorry, then you are willing to go the extra step and show a little apologetic spirit. This was not only a way of "getting God's attention," but of showing your neighbor that you are serious and that you recognize that sin is serious and demands a serious response.... I wonder if we have lost this mind-set? Maybe...
In the final verses of ch1, Joel uses this example as an "illustration," of what the Day of the Lord will be like. In the same way, Joel implies, everything will be laid waste. There will be no food in the barns and no animals in the fields. Your way of life will be kaput. Your livelihood, your sustenance, your everything is laid bare. In essence, Joel is making the reader abundantly aware that, "though you have experienced a day of the Lord, keep this time in the front of your brain, because it will be nothing like THE Day of the Lord, and you want to be prepared when that day comes so that you are not on the receiving end of THE day, like you are today."
So here we have the close of ch 1. Locusts have come and completely devoured the fields. The people don't have any spare grain nor grape with which to give to the Lord, which is indeed a troubling turn of events. They are spiritually, albeit temporarily, separated from giving their thanks and worship to the living God! This would indeed be troubling.
For us, we can't imagine something like this. We have the ultimate sacrifice of Christ which links us together and with God. We have a High Priest, Jesus Christ, interceding for us and ministering on our behalf to God the Father. As a result, His sacrifice finally ended the need for any other sacrifice. As a result, the risk of our separation from God is null... unless of course you are not a follower of Jesus. Therefore we, followers of Christ, are promised salvation from THE day of the Lord.
How wonderful it is that we never have to worry about being cut-off from worshipping God. Though we ought to heed the practical warning from Joel. Let's contain our sampling of the "adult beverages," lest we fall into the drunken ways of the men of Judah in Joel's days... we may not see a plague of locusts as a result- but a metaphorical "plague of locusts," might be headed our way!
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