Joel 1
1
The Plague of Locusts
1These are the words of Yahweh that came # 1:1 Or literally “that was or came to be.” The prophet Joel received these “words [message]” by supernatural means (a vision, dream, trance, audible voice, divine visitation). Joel’s prophecies come to us with the authority of God himself. to Joel # 1:1 The name Joel means “Yahweh is God.” son of Pethuel. # 1:1 Or “Bethuel” (LXX, Syriac), which was a common name in Hebrew (see Gen. 22:20–23; Josh. 19:2–6; 1 Chron. 4:30). Pethuel may possibly mean “enlarged by God,” “the vision of God,” or “the youth of God.” See Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958), 786.
2Listen to this, you leaders # 1:2 Or “elders.” in the land;
everybody everywhere, pay attention!
Has anything like this ever happened in your lifetime
or in the days of your ancestors?
3Tell your children about it!
And tell them to tell their children
and to tell their children to tell the next generation.
4What the cutting-locust # 1:4 Is this locust plague to be interpreted literally or figuratively? Possibly both. Historians recorded many plagues of locusts that destroyed the land. However, as with all prophetic writings, there can be a metaphorical interpretation as well as a literal one. Joel used four distinct Hebrew words for the locust plague. These four names likely refer to the four stages of the locust as it develops. The first is the Hebrew word gazam, which refers to the larva of a locust that, after hatching, begins to cut and feed or gnaw on the sprout or first part of a plant that emerges. It is similar to a palmerworm or cutworm. Metaphorically, it speaks of doctrines or teachings that “cut” off significant portions of the Bible or “cut” out passages that contradict espoused theological positions. We must not cut or leave out anything from the Bible, even though portions may be confusing, difficult to understand, or beyond our experience. We are not to nibble on the pieces of the Word of God that we prefer but to consume it in its entirety. Locusts are a biblical symbol of intimidation that will keep believers from taking their inheritance by faith. John the Baptizer arrived on the scene and made locusts his food, eating up that symbol of intimidation—devouring the devourer (see Matt. 3:4). All end-time awakeners will likewise swallow up all that comes against them. has left,
the swarming-locust # 1:4 This is the Hebrew word ʾarbeh, which addresses the mature locust that comes in swarms over the land. It can represent the religious spirit that intimidates and makes others feel inferior. The Bible mentions locusts over thirty times. has eaten;
what the swarming-locust has left,
the hopping-locust # 1:4 This is the Hebrew word yeleq, which is likely related to the Akkadian word ilqitu (Ovid R. Sellers, “Stages of Locust in Joel,” The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 52, no. 2 [1936]: 82), meaning “jumping” or “swift.” This is the juvenile locust that has wings but does not yet fly. It can represent the believer who “hops” about, having not yet learned to soar in the ways of the Holy Spirit (see Nah. 3:16; Rom. 8:2). has eaten;
what the hopping-locust has left,
the destroying-locust # 1:4 This is the Hebrew word chasil, which describes a locust known as the “finisher” or “devourer.” This is the full-blown religious spirit that crucified the One who was sent from heaven. This “devourer” will always seek to destroy the harvest and will be rebuked by the Lord (Mal. 3:11). has eaten. # 1:4 The destroying-locust (or “consuming-locust”) is the locust horde that completely devastated the land and darkened the sky. This was the eighth plague that God sent upon Egypt in the days of Moses (see Ex. 10:1–20). These locusts are symbolic of the enemies of the gospel of the kingdom—man’s traditions and lies that attempt to consume the harvest. See Matt. 15:9; Mark 7:13; Col. 2:20–23. It was a “grasshopper [locust] mentality” that kept Israel from going into the promised land (see Num. 13:25–33). Revelation 9:1–12 describes smoke rising from a pit, and from the smoke come locusts, who have the devil as their king. Like a smoke screen, the lies of the Evil One keep people from seeing the truth.
Wake Up!
5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you wine-drinkers!
For the new wine has been snatched from your lips.
6For a nation has invaded my land,
powerful and innumerable,
with teeth like a lion’s teeth,
and with the fangs of a lioness.
7They have completely destroyed my vineyards
and reduced my fig trees # 1:7 Vineyards and fig trees are important symbols in the Hebrew and Christian traditions. Vineyards are used metaphorically to refer to all of God’s people—both Israel and the universal church (Jew and gentile)—while the fig tree is often used as a symbol for Israel. to splinters;
they have stripped off the bark and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white.
8Lament like a young bride-to-be dressed in sackcloth
for the bridegroom of her youth. # 1:8 Sadly, many in the church today have left their first love of the heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
9Yahweh’s ministers, the priests, are in mourning
because there is no more grain and wine # 1:9 That is, “grain offerings and wine offerings.” See Lev. 2.
to offer in Yahweh’s temple.
10The fields are stripped bare,
and the ground is plunged into sadness # 1:10 The ground is personified and pictured as mourning over its loss of crops.
over the ruined harvest.
The grapes have dried up, and there is no new wine; # 1:10 Or “the new wine is ashamed.”
only a trickle of olive oil remains. # 1:10 God’s blessing of the land was traditionally found in the abundance of grain, wine, and oil. These three blessings had been removed from the land.
11Be ashamed, you farmers,
for there is no harvest of wheat and barley.
You vinedressers, cry out in despair,
for the harvest of the fields has been lost.
12The vine has withered,
and the fig tree wilts away.
In fact, every tree of the field has withered—
pomegranate, date palm, and apple tree. # 1:12 See Song. 2:3.
And in the same way, the people’s joy and gladness
has withered # 1:12 The Hebrew word for “withered” can also be translated “ashamed,” “confused,” “disappointed.” As believers, our joy withers when we allow our own ideas and circumstances to replace the joy of the Lord. too.
A Call to Repentance
13You priests, put on sackcloth and weep.
You ministers who serve at the altar, mourn and wail!
Go, spend the night in the temple,
you servants of my God,
because there is no more grain or wine offerings
to bring to the house of your God.
14Declare a holy fast. # 1:14 Or “Sanctify [set apart as holy] a fast.”
Call a solemn assembly.
Gather the leaders and all the people of the land
to the house of Yahweh your God.
Cry out with all your hearts to Yahweh!
The Day of Yahweh
15How awful that time will be!
Look! The day of Yahweh # 1:15 The Hebrew concept of “the day of Yahweh” is not a twenty-four-hour day but a period of time when Yahweh rises to judge. The phrase “the day of Yahweh” is found five times in Joel (1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14) and another eighteen times in the Old Testament. is certainly coming—
the day when the Divine Destroyer brings destruction. # 1:15 Or “destruction from Shaddai.” There is a play on words in the Hebrew text that is diminished in an English translation. The word for “destruction” (Hb. shod) resembles the word Shaddai. One of the many possible translations for Shaddai is “the Divine Destroyer.” For additional translations that show more of the depth of meaning in this incredible name of our God, see Gen. 17:1 and second footnote; 28:3.
16Has not the food supply # 1:16 That is, the food brought to the temple as grain offerings and sacrifices. been cut off
before our very eyes?
Have not the joyful celebrations been silenced
in the temple of our God? # 1:16 These are the fellowship offerings or peace offerings that were associated with the joy and gladness of worship in the temple (see Deut. 12:7). These offerings were eaten by the worshipers.
17The seeds shrivel under the dry clods. # 1:17 Or “beneath their shovels.” The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain since three of the four words of this line are used nowhere else in the Hebrew text. The word for “clods” may also mean “shovels.” The Qumran manuscript 4QXXIIc reads “the heifers decay in [their] stalls,” while the Septuagint reads “the heifers stomp in their stalls.” The seed under the dry clods can also be seen in believers today who have the “seed” of God’s Word within them (1 Peter 1:23), but it may remain beneath the dirt (clod) of our flesh. God’s Word must penetrate our hearts and pierce the flesh with its truth.
The storehouses are empty;
the barns are bare and broken down
because the harvest has disappeared.
18How loudly the cattle groan
because they have no pasture!
The herds wander bewildered.
Not even the flocks of sheep are able to graze.
19Yahweh, I cry out to you with all my heart,
for fire # 1:19 It is possible that the “fire” is a metaphor for the severe drought that covered the land. has devoured the open pastures,
and flame has scorched all the trees of the field.
20The sources of water have run dry
and fire has devoured the pasturelands,
leaving the wild animals panting loudly for you.
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Joel 1: TPT
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