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Commentary on Joel 1 verses 14–20
We have observed abundance of tears shed for the destruction of the fruits of the earth by the locusts; now here we have those tears turned into the right channel, that of repentance and humiliation before God. The judgment was very heavy, and here they are directed to own the hand of God in it, his mighty hand, and to humble themselves under it. Here is,
I. A proclamation issued out for a general fast. The priests are ordered to appoint one; they must not only mourn themselves, but they must call upon others to mourn too: "Sanctify a fast; let some time be set apart from all worldly business to be spent in the exercises of religion, in the expressions of repentance and other extraordinary instances of devotion." Note, Under public judgments there ought to be public humiliations; for by them the Lord God calls to weeping and mourning. With all the marks of sorrow and shame sin must be confessed and bewailed, the righteous of God must be acknowledged, and his favour implored. Observe what is to be done by a nation at such a time. 1. A day is to be appointed for this purpose, a day of restraint (so the margin reads it), a day in which people must be restrained from their other ordinary business (that they may more closely attend God's service), and from all bodily refreshments; for, 2. It must be a fast, a religious abstaining from meat and drink, further than is of absolute necessity. The king of Nineveh appointed a fast, in which they were to taste nothing, Jon 3:7. Hereby we own ourselves unworthy of our necessary food, and that we have forfeited it and deserve to be wholly deprived of it, we punish ourselves and mortify the body, which has been the occasion of sin, we keep it in a frame fit to serve the soul in serving God, and, by the appetite's craving food, the desires of the soul towards that which is better than life, and all the supports of it, are excited. This was in a special manner seasonable now that God was depriving them of their meat and drink; for hereby they accommodated themselves to the affliction they were under. When God says, You shall fast, it is time to say, We will fast. 3. There must be a solemn assembly. The elders and the people, magistrates and subjects, must be gathered together, even all the inhabitants of the land, that God might be honoured by their public humiliations, that they might thereby take the more shame to themselves, and that they might excite and stir up one another to the religious duties of the day. All had contributed to the national guilt, all shared in the national calamity, and therefore they must all join in the professions of repentance. 4. They must come together in the temple, the house of the Lord their God, because that was the house of prayer, and there they might be hope to meet with God because it was the place which he had chosen to put his name there, there they might hope to speed because it was a type of Christ and his mediation. Thus they interested themselves in Solomon's prayer for the acceptance of all the requests that should be put up in or towards this house, in which their present case was particularly mentioned. Kg1 7:37, If there be locust, if there be caterpillar. 5. They must sanctify this fast, must observe it in a religious manner, with sincere devotion. What is a fast worth if it be not sanctified? 6. They must cry unto the Lord. To him they must make their complaint and offer up their supplication. When we cry in our affliction we must cry to the Lord; this is fasting to him, Zac 7:5.
II. Some considerations suggested to induce them to proclaim this fast and to observe it strictly.
1.God was beginning a controversy with them. It is time to cry unto the Lord, for the day of the Lord is at hand, Joe 1:15. Either they mean the continuance and consequences of this present judgment which they now saw but breaking in upon them, or some greater judgments which this was but a preface to. However it be, this they are taught to make the matter of their lamentation: Alas, for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand. Therefore cry to God. For, (1.) "The day of his judgment is very near, it is at hand; it will not slumber, and therefore you should not. It is time to fast and pray, for you have but a little time to turn yourselves in." (2.) It will be very terrible; there is no escaping it, no resisting it: As a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. See Isa 13:6. It is not a correction, but a destruction; and it comes from the hand, not of a weak creature, but of the Almighty; and who knows (nay, who does not know) the power of his anger? Whither should we go with our cries but to him from whom the judgment we dread comes? There is no fleeing from him but by fleeing to him, no escaping destruction from the Almighty but by making our submission and supplication to the Almighty; this is taking hold on his strength, that we may make peace, Isa 27:5.
2.They saw themselves already under the tokens of his displeasure. It is time to fast and pray, for their distress is very great, Joe 1:16. (1.) Let them look into their own houses, and was no plenty there, as used to be. Those who kept a good table were now obliged to retrench: Is not the meat cut off before our eyes? If, when God's hand is lifted up, men will not see, when his hand is laid on they shall see. Is not the meat many a time cut off before our eyes? Let us then labour for that spiritual meat which is not before our eyes, and which cannot be cut off. (2.) Let them look into God's house, and see the effects of the judgment there; joy and gladness were cut off from the house of God. Note, The house of our God is the proper place of joy and gladness; when David goes to the altar of God, it is to God my exceeding joy; but when joy and gladness are cut off from God's house, either by corruption of holy things or the persecution of holy persons, when serious godly decays and love waxes cold, then it time to cry to the Lord, time to cry, Alas!
3.The prophet returns to describe the grievousness of the calamity, in some particulars of it. Corn and cattle are the husbandman's staple commodities; now here he is deprived of both. (1.) The caterpillars have devoured the corn, Joe 1:17. The garners, which they used to fill with corn, are laid desolate, and the barns broken down, because the corn has withered, and the owners think it not worth while to be at the charge of repairing them when they have nothing to put in them, nor are likely to have any thing; for the seed it rotten under the clods, either through too much rain or (which was the more common case in Canaan) for want of rain, or perhaps some insects under ground ate it up. When one crop fails the husbandman hopes the next may make it up; but here they despair of that, the seedness being as bad as the harvest. (2.) The cattle perish too for want of grass (Joe 1:18): How do the beasts groan! This the prophet takes notice of, that the people might be affected with it and lay to heart the judgment. The groans of the cattle should soften their hard and impenitent hearts. The herds of cattle, the large cattle (black cattle we call them), are perplexed; nay, even the flocks of sheep, which will live upon a common and be content with very short grass, are made desolate. See here the inferior creatures suffering for our transgression, and groaning under the double burden of being serviceable to the sin of man and subject to the curse of God for it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake.
III. The prophet stirs them up to cry to God, with the consideration of the examples given them for it.
1.His own example (Joe 1:19): O Lord! to thee will I cry. He would not put them upon doing that which he would not resolve to do himself; nay, whether they would do it or no, he would. Note, If God's ministers cannot prevail to affect others with the discoveries of divine wrath, yet they ought to be themselves affected with them; if they cannot bring others to cry to God, yet they themselves be much in prayer. In time of trouble we must not only pray, but cry, must be fervent and importunate in prayer; and to God, from whom both the destruction is and the salvation must be, ought our cry to be always directed. That which engaged him to cry to God was, not so much any personal affliction, as the national calamity: The fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, which seems to be meant of some parching scorching heat of the sun, which was as fire to the fruits of the earth; it consumed them all. Note, When God calls to contend by fire it concerns those that have any interest in heaven to cry mightily to him for relief. See Num 11:2; Amo 7:4, Amo 7:5.
2.The example of the inferior creatures: "The beasts of the field do not only groan, but cry unto thee, Joe 1:20. They appeal to thy pity, according to their capacity, and as if, though they are not capable of a rational and revealed religion, yet they had something of dependence upon God by natural instinct." At least, when they groan by reason of their calamity, he is pleased to interpret it as if they cried to him; much more will he put a favourable construction upon the groanings of his own children, though sometimes so feeble that they cannot be uttered, Rom 8:26. The beasts are here said to cry unto God, as from him the lions seek their meat (Psa 104:21) and the young ravens, Job 38:41. The complaints of the brute-creatures here are for want of water (The rivers are dried up, through the excessive heat), and for want of grass, for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness. And what better are those than beasts who never cry to God but for corn and wine, and complain of nothing but the want of delight of sense? Yet their crying to God in those cases shames the stupidity of those who cry not to God in any case.
(Verse 16) Have not the provisions perished before our eyes from the house of our God, joy and exultation? LXX: The provisions have perished before your eyes: from the house of our God, joy and delight. The provisions of sinners perish before our eyes when the expected crops are taken from their hands, and the locust precedes the harvester, so that what is stored in the barns with hope is consumed by weevils and rust. Likewise, those who dwell in the Church, according to the quality of their merits, if they have sinned, the grain of the spirit, and the barley of literacy, is taken away from them, so that they may experience the hunger of the word of God. And when the nourishment is removed, joy and gladness are also taken away from the house of God, so that those who heard before the Apostle saying: Rejoice in the Lord always, I say again, rejoice (Philippians 4:4); afterwards they hear the Lord calling them to repentance: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:5).
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SUMMARY
Joel 1:16 captures the devastating impact of a severe locust plague and drought on ancient Judah, portraying a scene of profound desolation where not only physical sustenance but also the very means and spirit of worship have been stripped away. The rhetorical question underscores the complete absence of food necessary for daily life and Temple offerings, leading to a pervasive loss of joy and gladness from the sacred communal space dedicated to God.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Joel 1:16 employs several powerful literary devices. The most prominent is the Rhetorical Question, "Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, [yea], joy and gladness from the house of our God?" This question is not meant to elicit an answer but to emphasize the undeniable truth of the dire situation, drawing the audience into the prophet's lament and making them acknowledge the severity of the crisis. The verse also uses Parallelism, linking the physical "meat cut off" with the spiritual "joy and gladness from the house of our God," thereby demonstrating the profound interconnectedness of material provision and spiritual vitality in Israelite life. Furthermore, Imagery is powerfully utilized, painting a vivid picture of empty fields and a silent, joyless Temple, evoking a strong emotional response of despair and desolation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Joel 1:16 profoundly illustrates the theological truth that material blessings and the capacity for worship are deeply intertwined, often serving as indicators of a nation's spiritual health and God's favor. The cutting off of food and the subsequent cessation of joyful worship in the Temple signify a broken covenant relationship, where God's provision and presence are withheld due to the people's unfaithfulness. This verse serves as a stark reminder that true joy and gladness are ultimately derived from God's sustaining hand and a right relationship with Him, and their absence points to a spiritual famine even more severe than the physical one. It underscores the Old Testament principle that disobedience can lead to the withdrawal of blessings, impacting every facet of life, including the most sacred acts of worship.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Joel 1:16 offers a timeless reflection on the fragility of our circumstances and the profound impact they can have on our spiritual lives. When life's "meat"—our provisions, health, security, or even our sense of purpose—is "cut off," it can indeed diminish our joy and make our spiritual "house" feel barren. This verse challenges us to consider where our ultimate joy and sustenance truly lie. Are we so dependent on external circumstances that their removal cripples our ability to worship and find gladness in God? It calls us to cultivate a faith that transcends material abundance, finding our deepest satisfaction and capacity for worship in God alone, even amidst scarcity and hardship. It also serves as a powerful reminder to cherish the freedom and means we have to gather, worship, and offer thanks, recognizing these as precious gifts that can, at times, be threatened or removed.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "meat" refer to in Joel 1:16?
Answer: In Joel 1:16, the King James Version's use of "meat" (from the Hebrew ʼôkel) does not primarily refer to animal flesh as it commonly does today. Instead, it signifies "food" or "sustenance" in a broader sense, specifically the agricultural produce of the land—grains, fruits, and vegetables. This distinction is crucial because these crops were the staple diet of the people and were also essential for the various offerings, such as grain offerings (e.g., Leviticus 2:1-16), that were brought to the Temple for worship. The "cutting off" of this "meat" therefore implies not only widespread famine but also the inability to perform the prescribed religious rituals.
Why is the loss of "joy and gladness from the house of our God" so significant?
Answer: The loss of "joy and gladness from the house of our God" in Joel 1:16 is profoundly significant because the Temple was the center of Israelite worship, communal life, and festive celebration. Many Old Testament feasts, such as the Feast of Tabernacles (e.g., Deuteronomy 16:13-15), were commanded to be observed with great joy and thanksgiving. The ability to bring offerings and participate in these celebrations was a tangible expression of God's blessing and the people's covenant relationship with Him. When the agricultural produce was destroyed, the people could not bring their offerings, disrupting the very acts of worship and thanksgiving that fostered communal joy. This absence of joy signifies a deep spiritual crisis, indicating that the people's relationship with God was strained, and His blessings were withheld, leading to a pervasive sense of despair and the cessation of religious festivities.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Joel 1:16, with its lament over the cutting off of physical sustenance and the consequent loss of joy and gladness from the house of God, finds its ultimate fulfillment and reversal in Jesus Christ. The prophet's cry for "meat" (food) foreshadows humanity's deeper hunger for spiritual nourishment, which Christ perfectly provides. Jesus declared Himself to be the "bread of life" (e.g., John 6:35), offering eternal sustenance that can never be "cut off." Unlike the perishable food of Joel's day, the spiritual food Christ offers satisfies completely and forever. Furthermore, the lost "joy and gladness from the house of our God" points to the brokenness caused by sin, which Christ came to heal. Through His atoning sacrifice, Jesus restored humanity's access to God, becoming the ultimate Temple (e.g., John 2:19-21), and ushering in a new covenant where true worship is not dependent on physical offerings but on spirit and truth (e.g., John 4:23-24). In Christ, believers find an unceasing source of joy (e.g., John 15:11) and gladness, regardless of external circumstances, as the Holy Spirit dwells within them, making their bodies temples of the living God (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:19). Thus, what was lost in Joel's time due to judgment is superabundantly restored and made eternal in the person and work of Jesus Christ.