The Locusts Ravage
Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation. Joel 1:2-3
In the first chapter of Joel the situation is dire, with an army of locusts destroying everything in sight.
The ground mourns because the grain is destroyed. The harvest of the field has perished. The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man. (vs10-12)
Joel calls for the attention of God’s people, for there are four things that he wants them to do: Listen (v2) – Waken up (v5) – Mourn (v8) – Repent (v13).
Listen! – First off, Joel wants every single person to hear the word of the Lord; no exceptions. Having heard the word, he wants them to pass it on to their children and ensure that it continues to be told. We have this same obligation today – to tell each and every generation what is written in God’s word; the joy and hope in following His will, and the consequences of following our own.
Waken-up! – The people of Israel had grown so used to their situation that they seemed oblivious to the destruction taking place all around them. This kind of complacency is a trap that we can all too easily fall into – allowing social norms to become acceptable. God’s holy standards are watered down and made to fit with the will of society. The world has been, and is being, ravaged by evil and too often we are being carried along on its back as silent passengers.
Mourn! – Just like the Israelites, we need to waken up and mourn, not only the consequences of our sin, but sin itself. We need to raise our voices against injustice. God’s bounty was made available to all of humankind but our sin is destroying God’s beautiful world and the people who live in it. We don’t often think of our sin on a global level but maybe we should because, maybe then, it would bring us to our knees.
Repent! – Joel called the priests and the people to repentance; “Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord” (v14). This was a call to return to the Lord; it was a national repentance.
We don’t have to wonder if this passage is still relevant today. Every generation needs to listen, waken-up, mourn and repent.
Pray for your community and your country. Pray for repentance. Pray ‘Lord, let it start with me.’
Narrow Path Ministries 