←Joel 1→BSB

• TheThe word of the Lord gave this message (literally The word of the Lord came): The Lord, not the human prophet, was the ultimate source of these words.
• The name Joel means “the Lord [Yahweh] is God.” Joel’s father, Pethuel, is unknown apart from this verse.

• Hear this: Joel summoned the inhabitants of the land to pay close attention to the prophetic word.
• Leaders (literally elders): The prophet asked the community elders, has anything like this happened before? It hadn’t—this disaster was unique in the history of God’s people.

God’s people would tell future generations about what was taking place so that their descendants would benefit from the lessons they had learned (cp. Deut 4:9; 6:20–25).

The disaster that had befallen Judah was a catastrophic plague of locusts. Some commentators have understood the four kinds of locusts mentioned here to represent four ancient empires that conquered Israel. Others have suggested that the words indicate four stages in the development of locusts. Most likely, the prophet was using multiple terms to emphasize the extent of the destruction wrought by wave after wave of the voracious insects.

Wake up . . . Wail: The prophet sought to arouse the people and alert them to the gravity of the locust plague.

The destructive power of locusts is well documented in both ancient and modern times. The insatiable insects consume annual crops such as grains and vegetables, and they destroy perennial fruit-bearing trees and vines, leaving the branches white and bare.

Weep like a bride (literally a virgin): Judah is compared to a young betrothed woman whose marriage is never consummated due to the death of her husband.

The locust plague threatened the people of Judah with starvation and brought the regular daily animal sacrifices and offerings of grain and wine at the Temple in Jerusalem to a halt (cp. Exod 29:38–41; Num 28:2–8).

The locusts destroyed the three essential staple crops of ancient Israel: grain … grapes and olive oil.

Drought had intensified the devastation of the locust plague; everything had withered and dried up (see also 1:19–20). Spiritually, the people’s joy had dried up along with the fruit trees.

• The locust plague was not simply a natural event, but a sign that the day of the Lord was near. Beginning with Amos in the 700s BC (Amos 5:18), the prophets had spoken of a future time when God would intervene in human history to judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous.
• destruction . . . from the Almighty: The Hebrew text highlights the similar sounds of the word destruction (shod) and the title the Almighty (shadday).

Plague and drought had so reduced the food supply that the barns stood empty.

The inhabitants of Judah were hard pressed by the famine; even sheep and goats, animals that can live on very meager forage, bleat in misery for lack of food.

Lord, help us! (literally to you, Lord, I cry): Joel responded to the plague with an earnest prayer. The people’s only recourse was to turn to the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth and appeal to his goodness; he alone could reverse their desperate situation.

All creation suffers because of human sin (Gen 3:17–18; 9:2; Rom 8:20–21)—even the wild animals cry out to God. The Hebrew word translated “cry out” is the same word used in Ps 42:1 of the deer that “longs” for streams of water. The beasts, urgently requiring their food and drink, set an example of how the people of Judah and Jerusalem should seek their Lord (cp. Isa 1:3).