Tag: locusts

Joel 2:1-11 – Day of the LORD

Read Joel 2:1-11

The locust theme continues as Joel describes for us in more detail the path of destruction and what the “day of the LORD” will look like. This fearsome day will involve a terrible invasion. No wonder he ended our last reading by saying it was horrible! Today’s reading ends in similar fashion. “The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can possibly survive?”

The locusts from our last reading are now personified into an army with strict marching orders. We get a clue to the locust’s target when Joel tells us Jerusalem is involved. From spending time reflecting on prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, we know Jerusalem’s fate is precarious.

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Joel 1:1-20 – It’s More Than Locusts

Read Joel 1:1-20

Welcome to the book of Joel, another one of the twelve minor prophets. You may have noticed that Joel, compared to other prophets, started with a strikingly abbreviated “editorial heading.”  That’s what opens the book and sets forth the time frame and sometimes location where the prophet received the message from God. That being absent in Joel’s prophecy leads to much speculation among scholars. It’s good to keep in mind the timeless message given by Joel that sin brings God’s judgment, yet with God’s justice there is great mercy as well.

As you read through Joel, focus on the Holy Spirit’s message for you today regarding the contents. You may be also asking, is the prophecy about locusts? That’s part of it, but the questions should be, what’s the “real” message behind the locusts, and who do the locusts represent?

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