Joel 1:13–20

1:13 The leaders of God’s people carried heavy responsibilities; in addition to performing rituals associated with sacrifice, the priests were also responsible for instructing the people (cf. Mal. 2:7: “The lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth”). They are called “ministers of the altar” here because of their special responsibilities at the place of sacrifice, where they are to serve the Lord (cf. “ministers of the LORD”; Joel 1:9). The priests are to “put on sackcloth,” the traditional clothing of those in mourning (Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31; Job 16:15), and are also called to “lament,” a verb often associated with weeping in bereavement (Gen. 23:2; 1 Sam. 25:1; 1 Kings 13:29). They are to mourn because of the absence of grain offerings and drink offerings (cf. Joel 1:9). The relationship of the people to God still continues, however, as the Lord is called “your God.”

1:14 Deep sorrow was to be shown in other ways as well, including fasting, which implies self-denial in order to encourage deeper devotion to God and his ways. The only obligatory fast in ancient Israel occurred on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29–31; however, after the exile four additional fasts were also instituted—cf. Est. 9:1–32; Zech. 7:3; 8:19). To “consecrate a fast” was to set aside a holy day of fasting, and the parallel phrase, “solemn assembly,” reinforces the idea of a formal gathering before the Lord. In such an assembly, the elders and all the people were to “cry out” to their God. This verb is used almost exclusively to describe crying out in time of great need and seeking help when in distress (e.g., Judg. 6:6–7; 1 Sam. 4:13; Jer. 47:2). Corporate prayer to God was what was most needed, just as when Israel gathered over Achan’s sin (Josh. 7:13–16) or went up to Bethel to ask who was to lead the fight against the Benjaminites (Judg. 20:18).

1:15 Suddenly Joel introduces a new concept, “the day of the LORD,” with a cry of dismay: “Alas.” If Joel’s date of writing is early (cf. Introduction: Date and Occasion), this may be one of the earliest occurrences of the important concept of “the day of the LORD.” Just as the expression “the day of Midian” (Isa. 9:4) referred to victories achieved there (Judges 6–8), so the expression “the day of the LORD” refers to victories the Lord will achieve. He is the warrior king who overcomes his enemies in dramatic fashion. While earlier passages in the OT did not use the term “the day of the LORD,” they nevertheless depicted a day in which God’s rule would be celebrated and his righteous judgment executed (Pss. 96:7–13; 98:4–9). It seems that people focused on the aspect of joy but neglected the threat of judgment. Joel, however, warns that “as destruction from the Almighty¹ it comes” (Joel 1:15; cf. Isa. 13:6). The destroyer, the Lord, is going to bring destruction.

1:16 Sorrow and grief were not merely possibilities of the future but were in fact already present in the land. The locust plague had devastated the country, and the house of God, which was meant to be a place of joy (cf. Ps. 122:1–4), had become a place of gloom because of the lack of offerings. A dearth of food led to the absence of joy and gladness.

1:17 The first part of this verse (“The seed shrivels under the clods”) is difficult to translate (cf. ESV mg.), as the three main terms appear only here in the OT. The ESV translation fits the context well (although the presence of a Hebrew suffix could yield “their clods”; cf. NKJV, NASB). The picture is of a drought so severe that the ground has dried up into clods, seeds have shriveled beneath them, and storehouses and granaries decay because of disuse.

1:18 The picture of famine continues, although now cattle and sheep, not humans (v. 16) or crops (v. 17), are in focus. Both herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are distressed because their normal pastures provide no feed. Even when there is no grass for cattle, sheep can survive on roots, but now even that source of food is gone. Just as Israel groaned when under bondage in Egypt (cf. Ex. 2:23), so now the beasts groan in their present distress.

1:19 Amid such distress, Joel directs his prayer to the redeeming God. The word “call” is a common verb indicating approach to God in prayer, often employed in the fuller expression “to call on the name of the LORD” (cf. 2:32). The order of words, “to you . . . I call,” emphasizes to whom Joel’s cry is made: the prophet knows there is only One who can answer his prayer. The reference to “fire” could be a metaphorical expression denoting the severity of the drought and the absence of fodder. However, it could also refer to literal fires that spread over the barren landscape. “Pastures of the wilderness” and “trees of the field” are parallel expressions indicating how widely the distress has covered the land.

1:20 The concept of appealing to God is continued with personification of the animals, who are pictured as echoing the prayer of the prophet as they too long for the Lord—the language is very close to Psalm 42:1 (“pant,” “water brooks,” and “for you” echo “pants,” “flowing streams,” and “for you”). No streams flow, and even the wilderness, whose pastures often provided some nourishment for cattle and sheep, has been consumed by fire.