Joel , Sarah Barry
A PLAGUE OF HUNGRY LOCUSTS
Passage: Joel 1:1~20  
Key verse: 19a
1 The word of the Lord that came(A) to Joel(B) son of Pethuel.
An Invasion of Locusts2 Hear this,(C) you elders;(D)
listen, all who live in the land.(E)
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?(F)
3 Tell it to your children,(G)
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.(H)
4 What the locust(I) swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left(J)
other locusts[a] have eaten.(K)
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you drinkers of wine;(L)
wail because of the new wine,
for it has been snatched(M) from your lips.
6 A nation has invaded my land,
a mighty army without number;(N)
it has the teeth(O) of a lion,
the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste(P) my vines
and ruined my fig trees.(Q)
It has stripped off their bark
and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white.
8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth(R)
grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings(S)
are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,(T)
those who minister before the Lord.
10 The fields are ruined,
the ground is dried up;(U)
the grain is destroyed,
the new wine(V) is dried up,
the olive oil fails.(W)
11 Despair, you farmers,(X)
wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,(Y)
because the harvest of the field is destroyed.(Z)
12 The vine is dried up
and the fig tree is withered;(AA)
the pomegranate,(AB) the palm and the apple[b] tree—
all the trees of the field—are dried up.(AC)
Surely the people’s joy
is withered away.
A Call to Lamentation13 Put on sackcloth,(AD) you priests, and mourn;
wail, you who minister(AE) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings(AF)
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;(AG)
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land(AH)
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out(AI) to the Lord.(AJ)
15 Alas for that(AK) day!
For the day of the Lord(AL) is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c](AM)
16 Has not the food been cut off(AN)
before our very eyes—
joy and gladness(AO)
from the house of our God?(AP)
17 The seeds are shriveled
beneath the clods.[d](AQ)
The storehouses are in ruins,
the granaries have been broken down,
for the grain has dried up.
18 How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;(AR)
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.(AS)
2 Hear this,(C) you elders;(D)
listen, all who live in the land.(E)
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?(F)
3 Tell it to your children,(G)
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.(H)
4 What the locust(I) swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left(J)
other locusts[a] have eaten.(K)
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you drinkers of wine;(L)
wail because of the new wine,
for it has been snatched(M) from your lips.
6 A nation has invaded my land,
a mighty army without number;(N)
it has the teeth(O) of a lion,
the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste(P) my vines
and ruined my fig trees.(Q)
It has stripped off their bark
and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white.
8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth(R)
grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings(S)
are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,(T)
those who minister before the Lord.
10 The fields are ruined,
the ground is dried up;(U)
the grain is destroyed,
the new wine(V) is dried up,
the olive oil fails.(W)
11 Despair, you farmers,(X)
wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,(Y)
because the harvest of the field is destroyed.(Z)
12 The vine is dried up
and the fig tree is withered;(AA)
the pomegranate,(AB) the palm and the apple[b] tree—
all the trees of the field—are dried up.(AC)
Surely the people’s joy
is withered away.
13 Put on sackcloth,(AD) you priests, and mourn;
wail, you who minister(AE) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings(AF)
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;(AG)
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land(AH)
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out(AI) to the Lord.(AJ)
15 Alas for that(AK) day!
For the day of the Lord(AL) is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c](AM)
16 Has not the food been cut off(AN)
before our very eyes—
joy and gladness(AO)
from the house of our God?(AP)
17 The seeds are shriveled
beneath the clods.[d](AQ)
The storehouses are in ruins,
the granaries have been broken down,
for the grain has dried up.
18 How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;(AR)
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.(AS)
Footnotes
Cross references
- Joel 1:1 : S Jer 1:2
- Joel 1:1 : Ac 2:16
- Joel 1:2 : Hos 5:1
- Joel 1:2 : Joel 2:16
- Joel 1:2 : S Hos 4:1
- Joel 1:2 : Joel 2:2
- Joel 1:3 : S Ex 10:2
- Joel 1:3 : S Ps 71:18
- Joel 1:4 : S Ex 10:14
- Joel 1:4 : S Ex 10:5
- Joel 1:4 : S Ex 10:15; S Dt 28:39; Am 7:1; Na 3:15
- Joel 1:5 : Joel 3:3
- Joel 1:5 : S Isa 24:7
- Joel 1:6 : Ps 105:34; Joel 2:2, 11, 25
- Joel 1:6 : Rev 9:8
- Joel 1:7 : Isa 5:6
- Joel 1:7 : Am 4:9
- Joel 1:8 : ver 13; Isa 22:12; Am 8:10
- Joel 1:9 : S Hos 9:4
- Joel 1:9 : S Isa 22:12
- Joel 1:10 : S Isa 5:6; S 24:4; S Jer 3:3
- Joel 1:10 : S Hos 9:2
- Joel 1:10 : S Nu 18:12
- Joel 1:11 : S Job 6:20; Am 5:16
- Joel 1:11 : S Ex 9:31
- Joel 1:11 : S Isa 17:11
- Joel 1:12 : S Isa 15:6
- Joel 1:12 : S Ex 28:33
- Joel 1:12 : S Isa 16:8; Hag 2:19
- Joel 1:13 : S Ge 37:34; S Jer 4:8
- Joel 1:13 : Joel 2:17
- Joel 1:13 : ver 9; S Hos 9:4; Joel 2:14
- Joel 1:14 : S 2Ch 20:3
- Joel 1:14 : S Hos 4:1
- Joel 1:14 : Jnh 3:8
- Joel 1:14 : 2Ch 20:4
- Joel 1:15 : S Isa 2:12; Jer 30:7; S 46:10; S Eze 30:3; Mal 4:5
- Joel 1:15 : Joel 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Am 5:18; Zep 1:14; Zec 14:1
- Joel 1:15 : S Ge 17:1
- Joel 1:16 : Isa 3:7
- Joel 1:16 : S Ps 51:8
- Joel 1:16 : Dt 12:7
- Joel 1:17 : S Isa 17:10-11
- Joel 1:18 : S Ge 47:4
- Joel 1:18 : S Jer 9:10
- Joel 1:19 : Ps 50:15
- Joel 1:19 : S Ps 97:3; Am 7:4
- Joel 1:19 : S Jer 9:10
- Joel 1:20 : S Ps 42:1; S 104:21
- Joel 1:20 : 1Ki 17:7
- Joel 1:20 : Joel 2:22
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. A national crisis (1-12)
The word of the LORD came to Joel during an intense, national disaster unlike anything they had ever seen before. Millions upon millions of hungry locusts invaded the land of Judah like an unstoppable army. They chewed and gnawed through every bit of vegetation until nothing was left. The vines and the fig trees (symbols of Israel's prosperity in the past) were destroyed. Crops, orchards, and pastures were all devoured and all the rich blessings of the Promised Land disappeared one after another. Even worse, the priests had nothing to offer for the grain and drink offerings. Their fellowship with God was cut off and their joy was gone.
2. A call to lament (13-20)
What should God's people do in such a time of disaster? Turn back to God! God called his people to mourn over the devastation brought on by their sin and rebellion. The lament would start with the priests and then spread throughout the elders and all the people. We feel their agony today. Our own nation has been ravaged again and again by the effects of sin. It is a time for us to turn to God and lament along with the people of Judah. Joel says, "To you, LORD, I call..." This is the response that God desires. Even the wild animals panted for God. Shouldn't we as well?
Prayer: Father, have mercy on us. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. Heal our nation.
One Word: Lament before the LORD