# Joel 01 š: The Locust Plague
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#š Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#š Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#š§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#āļø Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#š Key Principles / š Life Application]]
> [[#š¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#āļø Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#š Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#š Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#š Internal Notes]]
## š Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Introduction
[[#Verse 01.]]Ā ThisĀ is theĀ Lordās message that came to JoelĀ the son of Pethuel:
### A Locust Plague Foreshadows the Day of the Lord
[[#Verse 02.]]Ā Listen to this, you elders;
pay attention,Ā all inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life
or in the lifetimeĀ of your ancestors?
[[#Verse 03.]]Ā Tell your childrenĀ about it,
have your children tell their children,
and their children the following generation.
[[#Verse 04.]]Ā What theĀ _gazam_-locust left theĀ _āarbeh_-locust consumed,
what theĀ _āarbeh_-locust left theĀ _yeleq_-locust consumed,
and what theĀ _yeleq_-locust left theĀ _hasil_-locust consumed.
[[#Verse 05.]]Ā Wake up, you drunkards,Ā and weep!
Wail, all you wine drinkers,
because the sweet wineĀ has been taken awayĀ from you.
[[#Verse 06.]]Ā For a nationĀ has invadedĀ my land,
mighty and without number.
Their teeth are lionās teeth;
they have the fangs of a lioness.
[[#Verse 07.]]Ā TheyĀ have destroyed my vines;
they have turned my fig trees into mere splinters.
They have completely stripped off the barkĀ and thrown it aside;
the twigs are stripped bare.
### A Call to Lament
[[#Verse 08.]]Ā WailĀ like a young virginĀ clothed in sackcloth,
lamenting the death ofĀ her husband to be.
[[#Verse 09.]]Ā No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the templeĀ of theĀ LordĀ anymore.
So the priests, those who serve theĀ Lord, are in mourning.
[[#Verse 10.]]Ā The crops of the fieldsĀ have been destroyed.
The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.
The fresh wine has dried up;
the olive oil languishes.
[[#Verse 11.]]Ā Be distressed,Ā farmers;
wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley.
For the harvest of the field has perished.
[[#Verse 12.]]Ā The vine has dried up;
the fig tree languishesā
the pomegranate, date, and appleĀ as well.
In fact,Ā all the trees of the field have dried up.
Indeed, the joy of the peopleĀ has dried up!
[[#Verse 13.]]Ā Get dressedĀ and lament, you priests.
Wail, you who minister at the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God,
because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the temple of your God anymore.
[[#Verse 14.]]Ā Announce a holy fast;
proclaim a sacred assembly.
Gather the elders andĀ all the inhabitants of the land
to the temple of theĀ LordĀ your God,
and cry out to theĀ Lord.
[[#Verse 15.]]Ā How awful that day will be!
For the day of theĀ LordĀ is near;
it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer.
[[#Verse 16.]]Ā Our food has been cut off right before our eyes!
There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God.
[[#Verse 17.]]Ā The grains of seedĀ have shriveled beneath their shovels.
Storehouses have been decimated,
and granaries have been torn down,
because the grain has dried up.
[[#Verse 18.]]Ā Listen to the cattle groan!
The herds of livestock wander around in confusion
because they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
[[#Verse 19.]]Ā To you, OĀ Lord, I call out for help,
for fireĀ has burned upĀ the pastures of the wilderness,
flames have razedĀ all the trees in the fields.
[[#Verse 20.]]Ā Even the wild animalsĀ cry out to you,
for the river bedsĀ have dried up;
fire has destroyedĀ the pastures of the wilderness.
## š Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
## š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Joel's name means "the Lord is God."
2. The book does not name a king, so scholars debate whether Joel was written early or after the exile.
3. Joel uses four different Hebrew words for locusts (1:4). They may describe stages of growth or different kinds of locusts.
4. A desert locust can eat roughly its own weight in plants each day, and swarms can contain millions of insects.
5. The locusts strip the bark from fig trees, leaving the branches white (1:7).
6. "The day of the Lord" is a major theme in Joel, appearing in 1:15, 2:1, 2:11, 2:31, and 3:14.
7. Grain and drink offerings were daily offerings at the temple (Exodus 29:38-41), so their loss was a spiritual crisis.
8. Sackcloth (1:8, 13) was rough cloth, often made of goat hair, worn in mourning and repentance.
9. Joel compares the land to a young woman mourning the husband of her youth (1:8).
10. Joel 1:15 echoes Isaiah 13:6, which also says the day of the Lord is near and comes as destruction from the Almighty.
## š§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## āļø Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who restores what was devoured. Joel's locusts stripped the land bare (1:4), but Jesus came so that we may have life to the full (John 10:10).
## š Key Principles / š Life Application
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š¬ Discussion Questions
1. Joel tells the people to pass this story down to their children and grandchildren (1:3). Why is it important to tell the next generation what God has done, even in hard times?
2. The plague cut off the grain and drink offerings at the temple (1:9, 13). How can hardship affect our worship, and how should we respond?
3. Joel calls the people to fast, gather, and cry out to the Lord (1:14). What does a sincere cry to God look like for us today?
## āļø Key Verses to Remember
- š verse 3: Tell your children about it, and let them tell their children.
- š verse 4: Wave after wave of locusts devour what the others left.
- š verse 15: The day of the Lord is near and will come as destruction from the Almighty.
## š Related Passages/Cross Reference
- š [[John 10#Verse 10.|John 10:10]] - Jesus came to give abundant life.
- š [[Exodus 10#Verse 12.|Exodus 10:12-15]] - The plague of locusts in Egypt.
- š [[Deuteronomy 28#Verse 38.|Deuteronomy 28:38-39]] - Locusts as a covenant curse.
- š [[Psalm 78#Verse 04.|Psalm 78:4]] - Tell the next generation the praises of the Lord.
- š [[Isaiah 13#Verse 06.|Isaiah 13:6]] - The day of the Lord is near.
## š Devotional Reflection
š SOAP: [[Joel 01 - SOAP|The LORD is Not Silent]]
## š Internal Notes