It’s Mother’s Day, and a sermon about divine judgement and locust plagues and starving animals probably isn’t what most of you came expecting today. But interestingly enough, the overall tone of the first chapter is not so different from some very common maternal phrases, like “sit here and think about what you’ve done”, “You can come back out when you’re ready to apologize and behave”, or “I hope you’ve learned your lesson”.

Today, we’re going to start with the first chapter, and as we read we’re going to see three specific types of calls to action: a directive to listen and tell, a directive to grieve, and a directive to repent; and each of these is followed by a description of the admittedly brutal circumstances that makes these actions necessary.

SERMON MANUSCRIPT 

About a year ago, Josiah was planning to be away for a few weeks this May, and so he decided to offer me the opportunity to do most of my yearly preaching all together in a chunk and actually put together a short series. Part of the idea was that it would be good training and experience for when and if I might apply to a lead or teaching pastor position some day; so yes, this was decided and planned long before I knew or announced I’d be leaving! God has a funny sense of timing!

I knew going into this month that I wanted to go through an entire small book of the Bible, perhaps one that often gets overlooked. It’s been a while since we’ve been in a prophetic book, so I started looking there, and eventually, after flip-flopping a few times, ended up in the book of Joel. If you have a Bible, you can turn there now, cause I know it might take a bit longer to find than some others.

Now, I recognize it’s Mother’s Day, and a sermon about divine judgement and locust plagues and starving animals probably isn’t what most of you came expecting today. But interestingly enough, the overall tone of the first chapter is not so different from some very common maternal phrases, like “sit here and think about what you’ve done”, “You can come back out when you’re ready to apologize and behave”, or “I hope you’ve learned your lesson”.

When it comes to the context of the book of Joel, it’s a little trickier than some of the other books we’ve talked about recently. It’s fairly clear that Joel is writing to the southern kingdom of Judah, so it’s after the kingdom of Israel split in two. There’s reference to the temple, so it wasn’t during the Babylonian exile, but beyond that it get’s complicated to determine what specific time-frame Joel was writing in, because we actually don’t know a whole lot about him. We can make some educated guesses based on the other nations he mentions, and the fact that he never refers to a king, but we just don’t know for certain. And I’m actually going to say that’s okay, because if it was important, Joel would have included it, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

What is important is that he is clearly writing to God’s people, and calling them to respond and return to God through intentional action, in a pattern that isn’t dissimilar to some of the other so-called “Minor Prophets”. And one of the things that makes Joel so interesting is the fact that some of what he has prophesied is clearly still to come in the future, but we’ll get more to that later.

Today, we’re going to start with the first chapter, and as we read we’re going to see three specific types of calls to action: a directive to listen and tell, a directive to grieve, and a directive to repent; and each of these is followed by a description of the admittedly brutal circumstances that makes these actions necessary. Let’s start with verses 1–4 which contains the first instruction.

LISTEN AND TELL (1–4):

Read Joel 1:1–4. I love how dramatically this passage opens. We get a brief introduction sentence, that really has next-to-no information other than a couple names and a standard statement about prophetic authority, and then we’re right into the action. And right away Joel starts with making clear his audience: the elders (which represent the leadership of the people), and “all inhabitants of the land”. So basically everybody. A special shout out to the leaders, but really everyone needs to listen.

Then he starts calling their attention to an event that’s clearly so known and recognizable that he doesn’t even have to address it right away for the people to know what he’s referring to. It would be like in the days and weeks following 9/11—you could say this same sentence “Has anything like this happened in your days or in your father’s days” and people would immediately know what you’re referring to because it’s just that infamous and locked in your mind.

So he wants them to pay attention and listen to what he has to say about this event that has happened, but he doesn’t stop with listening. “Tell your sons about it, and have your sons tell their sons, and their sons the next generation”. So basically, let this serve as a warning for all who would hear about it afterwards, which we could argue, includes you and me reading it now.

And what is this big dramatic event that should be listened to, learned from, warned about? A massive plague of locusts. By the way it’s described, perhaps a greater locust plague than anyone had ever seen before. Verse 4 piles onto the imagery with pictures of waves upon waves of the creatures, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. In fact, the language is so extreme that some have even gone so far as to say he is being hyperbolic, exaggerating beyond the norm for the sake of making a point.

But whether that’s the case or not, we have to ask: what is the point? Locusts can be a natural phenomenon, right? How do we know this has to do with the Lord or judgement on his people, as I suggested earlier? Well for one, the Old Testament often talks about swarms of locusts being used as a means of discipline from God. We think of the eighth plague in Egypt when Moses was beseeching Pharoah to let the people go. We see passages like Deuteronomy 28 where destructive locusts are specifically described as a disciplinary curse God will send against his people if they are disobedient. Combine that with Joel’s clear call here to listen and warn—it’s clear this is no ordinary, natural event.

And that should be enough reason for us to heed whatever warning is coming as well. While we aren’t Israel or Judah, and we want to be cautious to not apply their judgements, warnings, or promises directly to us, “all scripture is God-breathed and useful”, so clearly the Holy Spirit included this passage for a reason. Clearly we should pay attention to this story.

I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me something positive, I pay attention and listen, but it doesn’t always sway my opinion right away. Let’s say someone tells me about a restaurant they went to and enjoyed—I like hearing about and trying restaurants, so maybe I’ll go check it out some day. But on the other hand, if I hear a negative review from someone I trust, about a bad experience they had, I often almost immediately make up my mind to never go there. I typically take a warning much more seriously than the opposite.

It’s the same here. This is a very negative event that happened to God’s people, and Joel wants it shared far and wide so that everyone will heed the warning and learn from it. And so he then spends the majority of the chapter describing how horrific this plague was, reminding the people, calling every one of every social status and level to mourn before God for the consequences of disobedience.

GRIEVE (5–13):

As we move into the next section of the chapter, we see a continued theme of calls to action, followed by descriptions of the tragic consequences faced by various groups. Specifically, Joel addresses four groupings of people, each with a strong, visceral verb: “wail”. The first group he starts with is a little bit unexpected

Read Joel 1:5–7. There’s different theories as to why Joel would start with drunkards of all people. Some think it’s because he wanted to show how these consequences affected all people groups, from the so-called low end of their society, all the way up to the priests at the top. Others have noted the contrast between the drunkards who are usually joyful and jubilant, uninterested in the cares of the world and Joel’s call to mournful weeping and wailing. In this case, starting with “awake” could be a call to wake from their stupor, to open their eyes to the reality of the world around them, and that even the source of their joy and revelry was affected by this divine plague.

I immediately think of the times I’ve thought “this doesn’t concern me” or the times I try to ignore or distract myself from bad news by doing something fun and pretending it doesn’t exist. Joel isn’t leaving that as an option. “Wake up, this is real and it affects everyone.”

When he talks about the vine being made a waste and the fig tree a stump, obviously there is a connection to the drunkards he’s addressing, but it likely goes deeper than that. One commentator I read pointed out that “The vine and the fig tree were symbols of God’s blessings on Israel and symbols of Israel itself, so Joel probably also means that the locusts had left the whole nation bare”, (Constable’s Notes). This is a big problem for everyone.

The next group starts in verse 8. Read Joel 1:8–10. Many have suggested that this section is actually referring to Jerusalem as a whole. Between the comparison to a virgin as was common elsewhere in the OT, to the clear language of temple and worship. Verse 9 in particular is striking, because it’s acknowledging the consequences are so bad that the very items required for proper worship of the Lord are unavailable, and thus the offerings have been “cut off”, causing the priests to mourn. In fact, verse 10 goes so far as to imagine the land itself mourning over it’s ruined fields, ruined grain, dried up wine, and failing oil; all of which seems to be another statement about the entirety of their agriculture being affected. The fields, plants, trees can’t produce what they need to, and so the people can’t worship as they ought to; a theme we’ll see repeated shortly.

But first we have those responsible for the crops, those suffering the loss of their livelihood. Read Joel 1:11–12. Again we read about the vine and fig tree, the harvest of the field, and now additional fruits and plants. The impression is to acknowledge that it’s not just the necessities but the luxuries too. And explicitly now in verse 12, a reference to the joy that comes from a bountiful harvest, the idea that was implied with the drunkards loss of wine before. The crops are all gone and along with them the very enjoyment of all the people and the nation.

Because again, the crops were associated with the blessings of the Lord; no crops means no blessings, and that is something that should rob the people of their enjoyment. The Lord doesn’t withhold blessing without reason.

And finally, Joel turns to the priests, those responsible to serve as the connection between the people and God. Read Joel 1:13. There’s a few notable things here. First, the instruction to dress in sackcloth, which we also saw back in verse 8, is a call to proper mourning, public grieving. The fact that the direction is to “spend the night” in sackcloth shows that this isn’t a brief grief, but one that is worth mourning, day and night.

And Joel explains why, including himself with the people by referring to the priests as “ministers of my God”: Once again, the items required for the grain offering and the drink offering aren’t available. And so the people can’t (or perhaps won’t) worship God the way they ought to, and arguably need to. Notice back in verse 9 it says the grain and drink offering have been “cut off” and here it says they’ve been “withheld”, which to me implies there’s once again more being addressed here than lack of availability.

I think of those situations when you have a fight with someone you care about deeply—a friend, family member, spouse—and then you come to recognize that you are in the wrong. What you need to do to restore that relationship is humble yourself and apologize. But often times that’s the last thing you want to do, because it just adds to the embarrassment and the shame.

Or what about those situations where someone is told they need a life-saving surgery, but the surgery itself brings with it risk of further injury or even death. For some people, the understandable fear is too much and it just isn’t worth the risk.

Here, what the people need to do is return to proper worship of their God, and whether because of their own guilt or shame or fear or love of sin, or simply lack of availability due to the consequences of their own actions that they brought upon themselves, they can’t or won’t. And for the priests who stand to represent the people before God, that should be enough reason to wail and grieve.

9 verses. Almost half the chapter, devoted to directing various people groups from one end of the spectrum to the other to mourn the loss caused by this horrific plague of locusts, which was no doubt a divine judgement for their disobedience. What’s interesting is in this passage at least, Joel doesn’t actually name what the disobedience is. Likely, again, because the people know exactly what actions had led to this discipline. And, again, because what the specific sin is isn’t the issue. It’s the consequences of disobedience, and the eventual directive to turn from it and return to God, which we see in the final section of verses in a moment. What Joel is urging them to do is take their sin seriously and acknowledge the consequences of it.

It’s a lesson we can learn from, as we too struggle with disobedience. We may not always face the same extremity when it comes to sin consequences in a post-new covenant world. But the reality is that even if we don’t see the consequences ourselves, Christ had to face the ultimate punishment on the cross because of our sin. We still, like Joel’s audience, ought to listen to these warnings of judgements past, and be grieved by our sin and the consequences of it. We, too, need to be reminded to turn from our sin and turn to God, so let’s see how Joel does that.

REPENT (14–20):

Let’s continue with verse 14. Read Joel 1:14. You may have noticed the call-back to the language from verse 2 in referring to “the elders and all the inhabitants of the land”, as well as the reference to “the house of the Lord your God” connecting back to verses 9 and 13. It’s clear there is a tone shift here, at least for a verse. The words used, “consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly…cry out to the Lord”, are all language of repentance.

To go back to the former idea, that what the people need is to be returning to the Lord in worship and obedience, that involves first turning away from, repenting of, whatever it was that got them disciplined in the first place. That is to say, if they want to throw a lifeline to the Lord, it helps to actually be facing him first. And so the imperative is clear: leaders and all people, turn away from sin and turn to the Lord. Repent, and seek after him. And perhaps to increase their motivation, Joel now turns to his own warning in verse 15.

Read Joel 1:15. The tone here is sort of like “You think that was bad? It’s going to get a whole lot worse.” You no-doubt noticed his first of several references in this book to the day of the Lord, which for many New Testament Christians conjures images of final judgement and the book of Revelation. But as one commentator noted, the day of the Lord “refers to a day in which the Lord is working obviously, in contrast to other days, the day of man, in which man works without any apparent divine intervention”, (Constable’s notes). It isn’t always explicitly about the end of times.

In this case, it seems like a caution: judgement has come, and it was horrible. Think of how much worse it could be if you don’t repent and turn to the Lord. And just in case warnings of “destruction from the Almighty” doesn’t get the picture across, Joel continues with more description of what that day will look like. Read Joel 1:16. You already know this from what the locust plague brought. No food, lack of enjoyment, lack of proper offerings in the temple worship. And on top of that…

Read Joel 1:17–18. There’s a reason the NASB titles this section “Starvation and drought”. Seeds die before they grow. The reserve stores are empty. There isn’t even food for the animals, they groan like the land itself did in verse 10. The cattle wander and even the sheep, who require just a bit of grass in a pasture, have suffered. This is a bleak picture, affecting everyone and everything, serving as a warning: repent and return to the Lord now, or else.

Now, I briefly mentioned before how Joel used some language to include himself amongst the people. Back in verse 13 he referred to “The Lord my God”, even though most of the other words are addressing the people as a separate audience. As he ends this chapter, he once again steps in as one of the people, in what seems to be a demonstration of what he is demanding of them. Read Joel 1:19. It’s sort of the idea of “if I’m going to tell you what to do, I need to be willing to do it myself, so I’m going to start us off”.

Ask any preacher and it’s not so different from the struggle many of us face when we study to be able to communicate God’s word and the response demanded by it, only to be confronted with those stern realities ourselves as we prepare. It’s hard to call someone else to account if we aren’t willing to listen to it ourselves.

So here Joel sets the example and cries out to God in the midst of what he now describes somewhat poetically, yet no-less intensely as a fiery, burning judgement. We don’t have to overthink that one. And I think it’s important to note here that “crying out” to God is more than just asking for his help or asking for him to relent of his judgement and show mercy. If repenting is turning away, crying out is turning to him, seeking him, relying on him, beseeching him, and ultimately trusting him.

We get an even more evocative picture in the final verse. Read Joel 1:20. The animals, struggling themselves under the weight of the consequences of judgement, turn to the Lord by instinct. They rely on him for their next breath (or in this case, their next drink). Many of you will remember that classic 80’s chorus, quoting Psalm 42, “As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee. You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship thee.”And that’s really what a cry to the Lord is, a longing of the heart and soul. Turning to the God who loves us and away from the disobedience that so easily entices us.

And it’s a lesson we should pay attention to as well. Although we are saved from the “fiery judgement” if we have believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and the salvation of our souls, the Bible tells us very clearly that we will all still stand and account before the Lord one day for our actions. That still-future Day of the Lord is coming, and we need to be ready. We need to repent of sin in our life, turn and call out to God, and depend on him to give us the strength to move forward faithfully.

COMPLY, CRY, RELY

To put it another way, we should Comply, Cry, and Rely.

Comply, by learning from stories like this one. By calling sin sin (which we can’t do unless we actually know what sin is by growing in our knowledge of God’s word), and acknowledging its horrific consequences. By turning away from it and asking God’s forgiveness as we walk towards him.

Cry, by calling out to him. For wisdom, strength, guidance, help, discernment, courage, the resolve to say no to temptation and continue in his ways.

And Rely, by trusting that he will provide what we truly need. Not what we think we need, but what he knows we need. Depend on him, wait on him.

The struggle with sin and disobedience is a constant one that we will continue to face until Christ comes again. It’s one we address frequently here, even just a few weeks ago in 1 John, because the bible addresses it frequently. And it’s one that we can’t and shouldn’t try face in our own strength. Instead we need to trust that the God who demands our obedience actually wants to give us the ability to do so, and so we turn to him as the source of every blessing and strength.

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