Joel 1
John Phillips · Citado em PreceptAustin
Joel 1
Phillips – A caneta era de Joel, mas a profecia era do Senhor. A palavra do Senhor veio a Joel desde a eternidade — do trono de Deus nas alturas. A profecia veio Daquele que reúne todas as eras no eterno presente, que vê o fim desde o início. Ele vê o distante dia do Senhor de amanhã tão claramente quanto o dia do gafanhoto do ano passado. (Explorando os Profetas Menores: Um Comentário Expositivo) A Palavra do Senhor veio... Gênesis 15:4; 1 Sam. 15:10; 2Sam. 7:4; 2Sam. 24:11; 1 Ki. 6:11; 1 Ki. 13:20; 1 Ki. 16:1; 1 Ki. 17:2; 1 Ki. 17:8; 1 Ki. 18:1; 1 Ki. 19:9; 1 Ki. 21:17; 1 Ki. 21:28; 2 Ki. 20:4; 1 Cr. 22:8; 2 Cr. 11:2; 2 Cr. 12:7; Isa. 38:4; Jer. 1:2; Jer. 1:4; Jer. 1:11; Jer. 1:13; Jer. 2:1; Jer. 13:3; Jer. 13:8; Jer. 18:5; Jer. 24:4; Jer. 28:12; Jer. 32:6; Jer. 32:26; Jer. 33:1; Jer. 33:19; Jer. 33:23; Jer. 34:12; Jer. 35:12; Jer. 36:27; Jer. 37:6; Jer. 42:7; Jer. 43:8; Ezeque. 1:3; Ezeque. 3:16; Ezeque. 6:1; Ezeque. 7:1; Ezeque. 11:14; Ezeque. 12:1; Ezeque. 12:8; Ezeque. 12:17; Ezeque. 12:21; Ezeque. 12:26; Ezeque. 13:1; Ezeque. 14:2; Ezeque. 14:12; Ezeque. 15:1; Ezeque. 16:1; Ezeque. 17:1; Ezeque. 17:11; Ezeque. 18:1; Ezeque. 20:2; Ezeque. 20:45; Ezeque. 21:1; Ezeque. 21:8; Ezeque. 21:18; Ezeque. 22:1; Ezeque. 22:17; Ezeque. 22:23; Ezeque. 23:1; Ezeque. 24:1; Ezeque. 24:15; Ezeque. 24:20; Ezeque. 25:1; Ezeque. 26:1; Ezeque. 27:1; Ezeque. 28:1; Ezeque. 28:11; Ezeque. 28:20; Ezeque. 29:1; Ezeque. 29:17; Ezeque. 30:1; Ezeque. 30:20; Ezeque. 31:1; Ezeque. 32:1; Ezeque. 32:17; Ezeque. 33:1; Ezeque. 33:23; Ezeque. 34:1; Ezeque. 35:1; Ezeque. 36:16; Ezeque. 37:15; Ezeque. 38:1; Jon. 1:1; Jon. 3:1; Bruxa. 1:1; Bruxa. 1:3; Bruxa. 2:1; Bruxa. 2:10; Bruxa. 2:20; Zech. 1:1; Zech. 1:7; Zech. 4:8; Zech. 7:1; Zech. 7:8 Joel dá uma série de descrições e profecias que apontam para o grande e incrível Dia do Senhor (Joel 1:15, Joel 2:1, Joel 2:11, Joel 2:31, Joel 3:14, Joel 3:18). Em Joel 1:1-2:11 o profeta está se dirigindo a Judá descrevendo a praga de gafanhotos que relembra um evento histórico passado de uma invasão de insetos e prediz uma futura "praga" de uma invasão de exércitos gentios e enfatiza que este Dia de YAHWEH é iminente e traz consigo desolação. A praga passada foi terrível, mas como dizem (como diz Joel) “o pior ainda está por vir” e é iminente (Joel 2:1). A etimologia da palavra inglesa iminente é pitoresca, pois é derivada da palavra latina imminens, por sua vez, de imminere, um verbo que significa pendurar ou projetar-se. Então você vê a foto? A ideia de iminente é que algum evento está "pendurado ou projetado" e, portanto, é iminente. À medida que passamos de Joel 1 para Joel 3, o profeta passa de um dia de luto para um dia de alegria. Esta progressão recorda as palavras do salmista David... Pois Sua ira dura apenas um momento, Seu favor dura a vida toda; O choro pode durar uma noite, mas pela manhã vem um grito de alegria. Você transformou meu luto em dança para mim; Desataste o meu saco e me cingiste de alegria; Para que minha alma cante louvores a Ti e não fique calada. Ó Senhor meu Deus, eu te darei graças para sempre. (Salmo 30:5.11-12) O SENHOR - Este é Jeová ou Yahweh (YHWH - o hebraico não tinha vogais) que "fala de intimidade e de um relacionamento ligado metaforicamente através da aliança comparada ao casamento e, portanto, tem um significado especial para Israel (Êx 3:14)." (MacArthur)
Joel 1
Phillips adds an interesting note - The words are structured to provide a rhythmic beat for the ear and a precise order for the eye. Reinforcing the significance of the plague, this literary device helped impress the facts of that scourge on the minds and memories of succeeding generations. The English language cannot adequately convey the force of the original idioms, but they can be expressed as follows: Gnawer's remnant, swarmer eats; Swarmer's remnant, devourer eats; Devourer's remnant, consumer eats. Garrett concludes: "Beyond the fact that they all in some way refer to locusts, we simply do not know what these four words denote" (NAC, 316). See J D Whiting's famous 1915 National Geographic article below - "Jerusalem's Locust Plague" Joel's description of the locusts is detailed and debated as to the meaning of the four different Hebrew words... gnawing locust - Hebrew = gazam (3x in 3v = Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25; Amos 4:9) swarming locust - Hebrew = arbeh (see uses below) creeping locust - Hebrew = yeleq (9x in 7v = Ps. 105:34; Jer. 51:14; Jer. 51:27; Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25; Nah. 3:15; Nah. 3:16) stripping locust - Hebrew = chasil from chasal = to consume (6x in 6v = 1 Ki. 8:37; 2 Chr. 6:28; Ps. 78:46; Isa. 33:4; Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25) Related Resources: Why did God use a locust swarm to punish Israel (Joel 1:4)? Is Joel 1:4 referring to literal locusts? When was this prophecy fulfilled? Watch this well done Locust Video, Swarming locusts (0697)(arbeh from rabah = to be or become much, many, great) is a masculine noun translated in NAS as locust (8), locusts (11), swarming locust (5) and is the most commonly used Hebrew word for locusts. See the discussions below for more specific details about locusts. Solomon asked God that if there was a plague (including locusts) and Israel supplicated to Him, that He would forgive their sin (1 Ki 8:37, 35-40, cf 2 Chr. 6:28) W E Vine on arbeh - This noun, which occurs 24 times, refers to a kind of swarming "locust": "Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land …" (Ex 10:12). Several other nouns related to this verb appear infrequently. Marbeh, which appears once, means "abundance" (Isa. 33:23). Marbît, which is found 5 times, refers to a "great number" (1 Sa 2:33) or the "greater half" (2 Chr 9:6). Tarbût has a single appearance to mean "increase" (Nu 32:14). Tarbît, which occurs 6 times, can mean "interest, increment, usury" (Lev 25:36). (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words) The most concentrated use of arbeh is found in Moses' description of the locust plague on Egypt: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of Mine among them, (Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart?) 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.” 3 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4‘For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory (The 8th of 10 Plagues). 5 ‘They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped–what is left to you from the hail–and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field. 6 ‘Then your houses shall be filled and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God! Who are the ones that are going?” 9 Moses said, “We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10 Then he said to them, “Thus may the LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Take heed, for evil is in your mind. 11 “Not so! Go now, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desire.” So they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat every plant of the land, even all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD directed an east wind on the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again. 15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses and Aaron, and he said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. 17 “Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and make supplication to the LORD your God, that He would only remove this death from me.” 18 He went out from Pharaoh and made supplication to the LORD. 19 So the LORD shifted the wind to a very strong west wind which took up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.(Ex 10:1-19) Arbeh - 24x in 19v - Ex. 10:4; Ex. 10:12; Ex. 10:13; Ex. 10:14; Ex. 10:19; Lev. 11:22 (=These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds); Deut. 28:38 (Part of the curses = "you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it."); Jdg. 6:5 (Midianites and Amalekites "would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate it."); Jdg. 7:12 (Midianites and Amalekites like locusts); 1 Ki. 8:37; 2 Chr. 6:28; Job 39:20; Ps. 78:46; Ps. 105:34 (="He spoke, and locusts came, And young locusts, even without number"); Ps. 109:23; Prov. 30:27 (="The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;"); Jer. 46:23; Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25; Nah. 3:15; Nah. 3:17 ESV Study Bible - The Bible often uses four agents of destruction to stress utter devastation (cf. Jer. 15:2-3; Ezek. 14:21; Rev. 6:1-8; 9:15). Charles Feinberg - The four names in verse 4, meaning literally, the gnawer, the swarmer or multiplier, the licker, and the consumer or devourer, have been taken to mean either four types of locusts or four stages of growth in the case of one locust. (Note that the KJV and the ASV translate these Hebrew words alike.) Neither view is tenable, for the prophet uses the common word for locust (’arbeh) and then gives three poetic equivalents (Ed: But see Yamauchi's comment below). What the prophet means to convey is this: in the successive swarms of the locusts what one portion of them left the other portion devoured. Notice the number four in the matter of judgments in Jeremiah 15:3 and Ezekiel 14:21. Some Hebrew commentators have tried to relate the four names to the four empires in Daniel 2 and 7. Nothing in the text warrants such allegorical treatment. Furthermore, we have only to compare Joel 1:3 with Exodus 10:2, 6, and Deuteronomy 28:38-42 to realize the literal import of the words of the prophecy. Locusts have rightly been called “the incarnation of hunger.” They have been known to devour over an area of almost ninety miles every green herb and every blade of grass, so that the ground gave the appearance of having been scorched by fire. The locusts have a “scorched-earth policy” of their own. Joel’s description of the plague has been confirmed by many accounts of locust devastations. (The Minor Prophets) Ancient Locusts. THE Locust, or grasshopper, is one of the most formidable insects mentioned in the sacred writings. It is used as the symbol of desolation, so great and terrible were its ravages. It is still dreaded in the East. M. Olivier thus describes its attacks : "With the burning south winds (of Syria) there come from the interior of Arabia and the most southern parts of Persia, clouds of locusts, whose ravages to these countries are as grievous, and nearly as sudden, as those of the heaviest hail in Europe. We witnessed them twice. It is difficult to express the effect produced on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled on all sides, and to a great height, by an innumerable quantity of these insects, whose flight was slow and uniform, and whose noise resembled that of rain ; the sky was darkened, and the light of the sun was considerably weakened. In a moment the terraces of the houses, the streets, and all the fields were covered by these insects, and in two days they had devoured all the leaves of the plants." The effects of the locusts in Egypt (Ex 10:12-15) were terrible beyond description. No plague could have been more dreadful or impressive in the East, where the ravages of locusts are so dreadful that they are chosen as the fit symbol of a destroying conqueror. The very threat had urged Pharaoh's courtiers to remonstrance, but he had refused to yield and had driven Moses and Aaron from his presence. Now he recalled them in haste, and asked them to forgive his sin "only this once," and to entreat God to take away "this death only." A strong west wind removed the locusts as an east wind had brought them ; but their removal left the king's heart harder and more rebellious than ever. Locusts were used as food, and are still in some parts of the East. Sometimes they are ground and pounded, and mixed with flower and water, and made into cakes, or they are salted, and then eaten; sometimes smoked, boiled or roasted, stewed or fried in butter, and are considered a luxury. It was the locust that constituted the food of St. John the Baptist. (Animals, Birds, Insects, And Reptiles Of The Bible) Yamauchi on these 4 descriptions of locusts - The four words used by Joel (Joel 1:4; 2:25-note) in his vivid description of the locust plague evidently represent stages of the locusts’ development (RSV, NEB, JB, NAB), rather than separate species of insects (KJV, KB). In Joel 2:25-note we have first the ʾarbeh, the mature locust which deposits the eggs. The yeleq may be the larva as it emerges from the egg. The ḥāsîl may be the intermediate instar (stage between molts). The gāzām may be the ravenous nymph which strips the bark from the trees. Edwin Yamauchi has an excellent of locusts - (ʾarbeh) Locust. The word is probably derived from the root rābâ “to become numerous.” It occurs in Akkadian as erebu, arbû, etc. In the Ugaritic KRT text (103, 192), the king’s army is described as covering the field like locusts (irby). Of the many words for locust, ʾarbeh is the general word, and is used most frequently, twenty-four times. The KJV translates it “locust” twenty times and “grasshopper” four times. The ʾarbeh plague (Deut 28:38) is listed as one of the divine curses which would befall the Israelites if they disobeyed God’s commands. The ʾarbeh is one of the plagues which Moses called down upon Egypt (Ex 10:4ff.; Ps 78:46; 105:34). Locusts are used in similes of vast numbers in Jdg 6:5-note; Jdg 7:12-note; Jer 46:23; Nah 3:15. Locusts belong to the order of the Orthoptera, “straight-winged.” With the grasshoppers they belong to the subfamily Saltatoria, “leapers,” which were considered edible (Lev 11:21–22). The biblical locust is not the cicada called “locust” in some areas of the United States. Locusts belong to the family Acridiidae, “short-horned grasshoppers.” Of the ninety-one species found in Palestine only the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria or Acridium peregrinum - see picture) has served to plague the near east from time immemorial. At maturity these locusts are two and one-half inches long. They have two sets of wings and an enlarged pair of legs for jumping. In appearance they are compared to horses (Joel 2:4; Job 39:20; Rev 9:7-see Tony Garland's interesting note on interpretation of the "locusts"; cf. German Heupferd, Italian caiallette). Desert locusts are phenomenal travelers. They are able to fly for seventeen hours at a time and have been known to travel fifteen hundred miles. The sound of their wings is compared to the sound of chariots (Joel 2:5-note; Rev 9:9). Their route of travel is determined by the prevailing winds (Ex 10:13, 19). In the plague of 1915 (see original article below), locusts came to Jerusalem from the northeast (cf. Joel 2:20-note). The Bible does not exaggerate when it speaks of swarms of locusts covering the ground (Ex 10:5). A swarm has been known to cover a hundred square miles and to be so dense as to blot out the sun. A truly large swarm may contain ten billion locusts. Unlike the Babylonians who resorted to magical incantations to avert locust plagues, the Israelites asked God in fasting, repentance, and prayer to remove locust plagues (1 Ki 8:37; 2 Chr 6:28). In Lev 11:22 the ʾarbeh and three other types of locusts (solʾām, ḥargōl, ḥāgāb) are listed as edible insects. Bas reliefs from Nineveh show servants bringing skewered locusts for Sennacherib’s table. John the Baptist subsisted on honey and locusts (Mt 3:4; Mk 1:6). Many Africans and Arabs after removing the wings, legs, and heads eat locusts either cooked or ground up as flour. There are nine Hebrew words which designate locusts: ʾarbeh, gāzām, gēbâ, only as plural gēbîm, gōbay, ḥāgāb, ḥasîl, yeleq, solʿām, ṣĕlāṣal. Akkadian recognizes eighteen names for locusts, and the Talmud twenty names. (TWOT) John Phillips - The swarms move forward in a kind of rolling motion, some of the locusts always being on the ground as the rear ones pass on to the front. As the rear of the swarm passes over them, those on the ground resume flight. The period spent on the ground enables each locust to replenish its fuel supply for further flight. Locusts look like well-armed horsemen and have incredible strength. With teeth like saws, they devour grass and leaves, fruit and foliage—everything green and edible; they attack the young branches of trees and the bark on trunks; they consume corn in the field and fall on vines, willows, and even bitter hemp; they strip palm trees bare. Many observers have described locust plagues. One person saw the air eighteen feet above the ground filled with the insects. Reddish-brown in color with gauzy wings sparkling in the sunlight, they reminded him of dense snowflakes driven by a storm. He was awed by their numbers and said the strange sight would have seemed beautiful if he could have forgotten about the devastation the locusts were bringing. Another person observed a plague that came like a living deluge on his village. The villagers dug trenches, kindled fires, beat drums, and flailed and burned locusts to death by the thousands, but their efforts were useless. The swarm rolled up the mountainside, poured over obstacles, and descended on crops and trees. It took days for the whole swarm to pass through the area. The roads were covered with locusts marching along like soldiers. The villagers broke their ranks, but the locusts closed rank again as soon as they passed the men. Someone else who witnessed a locust plague said that hundreds of the insects sat on each bush and after eating the leaves, gnawed frantically at the woody fibers. The locusts invaded towns and houses and devoured food, linen, woolen garments, and leather belts. Such a locust plague had devastated Judah in Joel's day. To the prophet the plague was both a parable and a prophecy. Although the scourge was past, Joel used it as a picture of worse things to come. The real locusts became symbols of real warriors who would invade the land in successive waves. (Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary) Related Resources: American Tract Society Locust Easton's Bible Dictionary Locust Fausset Bible Dictionary Locust Holman Bible Dictionary Destroying Locusts Bald Locust Locust Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Bald Locust Locust Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Locust Locust Vines' Expository Dictionary Locust 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Locust - Nice summary International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Bald Locust Locust Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia Locust McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Locust Bald Locust The Jewish Encyclopedia Locust McComiskey on locusts - In our generation areas having the potential for a locust outbreak are monitored by international agencies using satellite reconnaissance and other technology; incipient swarms are met by aircraft and trucks carrying powerful pesticides. However, if the locusts are not destroyed or contained shortly after the hatch, once the swarm has formed, control efforts are minimally effective even today. For example, in 1988 the civil war in Chad prevented international cooperation in attacking the hatch, and a destructive swarm spread throughout North Africa devastating some of the poorest nations and threatening Europe as well. It is difficult for modern Western people to appreciate the dire threat represented by a locust plague in earlier periods. Such outbreaks had serious consequences for the health and mortality of an affected population and for a region's economy. Scarcity of food resulting from the swarm's attack would bring the population to subsistence intake or less, would make the spread of disease among a weakened populace easier, would eliminate any trade from surplus food products, and would stimulate high inflation in the costs of food products. Disease outbreaks are further aggravated when swarms die; the putrefaction of the millions of locust bodies breeds typhus and other diseases that spread to humans and animals (see the description in Augustine's City of God 3.31). Baron (Desert Locust, pp. 3-7) catalogues many locust outbreaks known to have been accompanied by outbreaks of pestilence. It was only in 1921 that the mystery of the locust was solved. Prior to this date researchers wondered what became of the locust during the years in which there were no outbreaks. In 1921 B. P. Uvarov demonstrated that the swarming locust was none other than an ordinary species of grasshopper. However, when moisture and temperature conditions favored a large hatch, the crowding, unceasing contact, and jostling of the nymphs begin to stimulate changes in coloration, physiology, metabolism, and behavior, so that the grasshopper nymphs make the transition from solitary behavior to the swarming gregarious and migratory phases of the dreaded plague. Plagues continue as long as climatic conditions favor the large hatches. Once entering their gregarious phase, swarms of locusts can migrate great distances and have even been observed twelve hundred miles at sea. The swarms can reach great sizes: a swarm across the Red Sea in 1889 was estimated to cover two thousand square miles. A swarm is estimated to contain up to 120 million insects per square mile (Baron, Desert Locust, p. 32). In 1881 an effort in Cyprus to prevent a possible outbreak of locusts by digging up and destroying their egg cases netted thirteen hundred tons of their egg masses. Locusts were the eighth plague on Egypt described in Exodus (Exod. 10:4-19); images of locusts were already carved in sixth-dynasty tombs at Saqqara over three-quarters of a millennium earlier (Baron, Desert Locust, p. 2; for Egyptological evidence, see Keimer, "Pendeloques en forme d'insects"). The lifespan of individual locusts is also influenced by temperature and other climatic conditions. In one swarm incubation was 14 days; the hopper period, 38 days; the immature stage, 45 days; and the breeding stage, 30 days—for a total of 127 days (Baron, Desert Locust, p. 34). During breeding the female lays approximately 250 to 300 eggs in individual pods dug in suitable soil, each pod containing 70 to 80 eggs. The hatch of an egg-field portends the swarm to follow. In the words of one entomologist (cited in Baron, Desert Locust, p. 41), "So far as the eye could see they were boiling out. Every inch of open ground appeared to be bubbling young locusts as pod after pod, many of them only a couple of inches apart, gave up its contents.... Within three days the whole of a vast egg-field had been hatched out and the hoppers were ready to march." (The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary) Joel 1:5 Awake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, on account of the sweet wine that is cut off from your mouth. Awake, drunkards,: Isa 24:7-11 Am 6:3-7 Lu 21:34-36 Ro 13:11-14 weep: Joe 1:11,13 Jer 4:8 Eze 30:2 Jas 5:1 That is cut off from your mouth: Isa 32:10-12 Lu 16:19,23-25 A SOBERING THOUGHT FOR DRUNKARDS! The effect of the locust plague is described on (1) Drunkards (Joel 1:5-7) (2) Priests (Joel 1:8-10, 13-16) (3) Farmers (Joel 1:11, 12, 17, 18) (4) the Prophet Joel (Joel 1:19, 20) Wake up and weep and wail was the prophet's cry, a strong statement given that this was a triplicate of imperatives or commands! While this cry is to those who are physically drunk, the cry to awake clearly conveys a deeper meaning for them to awaken spiritually. Paul applies this same idea to the Church in his day (and surely to the church in our modern times which seems to be asleep spiritually, largely illiterate Biblically and with much too big of a "foot in the world!") Romans 13:11-14-note Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; (SPIRITUALY ASLEEP!) for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed (OUR FUTURE REDEMPTION - Eph 4:30-note, OUR GLORIFICATION - 1 Jn 3:2-3-note). 12 The night (SPIRITUAL DARKNESS OF THIS PRESENT EVIL AGE - Gal 1:4-note) is almost gone, and the (GLORIOUS) day is near (OF CHRIST'S RETURN!). Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (CONDUCT THAT IS RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY AND HAS A PROPER FEAR OF THE LORD - 1 Pe 1:16-18-note) 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on (aorist imperative) the Lord Jesus Christ (BY GETTING HIS WORD IN US, DEPENDING ON HIS SPIRIT'S POWER TO ENABLE CHRIST-LIKE LIVING - Eph 5:18-note, Gal 5:16-note), and make no provision (present imperative with a negative - STOP PLANNING YOUR SIN!) for the flesh in regard to its lusts (WHICH CONTINUALLY WAGES WAR AGAINST OUR SOULS! - 1 Pe 2:11-note).. Comment: May God grant by His enabling Spirit for the Church in America to "wake up" to discern the signs of the times so that we might redeem the time, for the days are evil and becoming more so every day! (Eph 5:16). In Jesus' Name. Amen. Dear brother and sister in Christ - can I encourage you to take 5 minutes to listen to an old Keith Green song almost "prophetically" entitled "Asleep in the Light." (A line for his lyrics = "How can you be so dead, when you've been so well fed?") May God's Spirit awaken our spiritual slumber and cause us to weep for the lost, for Jesus' sake. Amen Awake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, on account of the sweet wine that is cut off from your mouth - Hordes of gnawing locusts mean no vines. No vines mean no grapes and no wine. There is surely a bit of irony in this exhortation. Drunks can be difficult to arouse, but here Joel is arousing them with the bad news that their supply of alcohol will be cut off! As they go into withdrawal, one can see them weeping and wailing. Further, the weeping and wailing both speak of public mourning over this devastation. God is calling for a "spiritual awakening" not just a sobering up. The call to weep and wail is not for show but was a call for brokenness and recognition of the fact that the locust plague was not a freak of nature, not a random or accidental event, but was a warning message sent by God to stir the nation to repentance. Thomas Finley - In his final appeal Joel calls explicitly for repentance and prayer to the Lord (Joel 2:12–17). Between the two parts of his admonitions, however, he compares the magnitude of the disaster to the day of the Lord (1:15–2:11). The only thing that might possibly avert such final judgment is a time of national lamentation and fasting; thus the urgency in the pleas to the people. (Joel, Amos, Obadiah) See Isaiah 5:11, 22, 23; 24:7-9; 28:7, 8; Amos 6:1-6 for drunkenness in the land. The drunkards are the first of five groups who mourn the locust calamity - (1) drunkards (2) Nation depicted as a virgin (Joel 1:8), (3) priests (Joel 1:9), (4) the land (Joel 1:10) and (5) farmers and vinedressers (Joel 1:11). Why the drunkards first? They would be representative of those in the nation who had come obsessed with the pursuit of pleasures in lieu of the pursuit of Jehovah! Sound familiar America? While most Americans know we have an escalating drug and alcohol problem in our nation, far fewer understand the depth and gravity and potential future repercussions. As an infectious disease specialist trained in the study of epidemics, the drug and alcohol problem is nothing short of a devastating epidemic (like a "locust plague" in a sense!) crossing all socio-economic strata. America (the Church of born again believers) needs to awaken and weep and wail, and seek the Lord while He may be found (Isa 55:6). Patterson explains the historical context of Joel's call to awake and weep and wail - Although the first half of the eighth century BC had seen some spiritual awakening in Judah (2 Chr 26:4–5), King Uzziah was not always the spiritual leader he should have been (2 Ki 15:4 - Ed: over and over in the OT the failure here proved to be a spiritual Achilles' heel! Are there any "High Places" in your life that you are unwilling to totally eradicate? If you do not then be forewarned and beware! cf Nu 32:23b). Ultimately, his sinful pride led to his downfall (2 Chr 26:2, 6–21). Nor were things better in the north (THE 10 NORTHERN TRIBES USUALLY KNOWN AS "ISRAEL"). Indeed, the eighth-century prophets indicate that the spiritual level of the populace had not risen above that of the kings of the northern and southern kingdoms (cf. Hos 4:11–19; 7:5, 13–14; Amos 2:4–8; 6:6). No doubt, the very prosperity of the eighth century contributed to the desperate spiritual condition of God’s people (ED: AS I WRITE IN DEC, 2017, THE U.S. STOCK MARKET HAS REPEATEDLY ACHIEVED ALL TIME HIGHS!). How tragic it is that times of ease and prosperity too often lead to spiritual and moral lethargy, and to compromise and defeat. The great military and economic gains of the era for both north and south are detailed in the Scriptures and validated by the archaeologist’s spade. Excavations at various biblical sites illustrate the condition of the times. At Samaria a cache of ostraca was found which proved to be receipts for wine, oil, and barley. The names of those involved in the transaction often included the name of the pagan deity Baal, attesting to the growing loss of true religion. Joel’s designation of the populace as “wine drinkers” was thus appropriate. They had turned what God intended as a blessing into a wanton consumption that all too often led to drunkenness and debauchery. Israel’s religious experience was seriously affected, degenerating into an empty formalism devoid of spiritual vitality. The eighth-century prophets denounced the wine-drinking habits of the people, complaining that such had permeated all levels of society (from the king downward) and had infected every area of the peoples’ lives (cf. Isa 5:11–12, 22; 22:13; 28:1; Hos 4:11–19; 7:5, 13–14; Amos 2:4–8; 6:6; Mic 2:11). (Cornerstone Bible Commentary) The devastating effect to the three groups addressed in Joel 1:5-12 emphasize the total destruction at all social and economic levels. John