Joel, Chapter 1
A short review for the breakfast study group
At a glance
The first chapter of Joel is a lament. A locust plague has stripped the land of grain, vines, and fruit, and Joel calls everyone, from the elders to the drunkards to the priests, to see what has happened and to cry out to God. There is no good news yet. The chapter sets the scene so that the call to return in chapter 2 has something to answer.
Walking through it
Verses 1–4: Listen and remember. The word of the LORD comes to Joel, son of Pethuel. He asks the elders whether anything like this has ever happened, and tells them to pass the story to their children and grandchildren. Four kinds of locust are named, each one eating what the last one left. Nothing is spared.
Verses 5–12: The whole community mourns. Drunkards wake up to find the wine gone. A nation of locusts, strong and countless with lion’s teeth, has ruined vines and fig trees. Joel compares the grief to a bride mourning the husband of her youth. The grain and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD, so the priests mourn too. Farmers and vinedressers despair, and joy has dried up along with the crops.
Verses 13–14: The priests are told what to do. They are to put on sackcloth, spend the night in prayer, and proclaim a holy fast. The elders and everyone in the land are to gather at the house of the LORD and cry out to him.
Verses 15–20: The Day of the LORD is near. Joel names the disaster as a sign of something greater. Seed shrivels, barns stand empty, and the cattle and sheep suffer. Joel does not only preach; he prays, “To you, O LORD, I cry,” and even the wild animals long for water.
One thing to notice. The people lose their food and also their worship. Without the harvest there is nothing to offer in the temple. For Joel, a hungry land and an emptied sanctuary are one grief.
A Lutheran reading
- The Law doing its work. The chapter does not comfort. It strips away false security and shows us how dependent we are. This is the Law as a mirror before the Gospel speaks in chapter 2.
- Lament is faithful. Joel does not explain the plague away. He tells people to weep and then to take their loss to God, much like the psalms of lament.
- Worship is at the center. The priests are called to lead, and the gathered community is called to pray. We can hear in this our own conviction that God gives his gifts through Word, prayer, and gathered worship.
- Tell your children. The command to pass on the story is a reminder that faith is handed down, which is a good thing for older men to hear.
- Creation suffers too. The animals and fields groan, and Paul says something similar in Romans 8:19–22.
A caution
It is tempting to say that every disaster is God’s punishment for particular sins. Joel calls the whole community to repent, but he does not point to a specific sin behind the plague. Jesus also warns against reading calamity that way (Luke 13:1–5). The chapter calls us to humility and prayer, not to assigning blame.
Questions for discussion
- Joel asks the elders whether anything like this has happened in their days. What hard times have you lived through, and what did they teach you?
- Why does Joel call for lament before any promise is given? Is it hard for us to lament?
- The priests lose the offerings and mourn. What would we lose, and what would we grieve, if we could not gather for worship?
- Joel says to tell the next generation. What story would you want your grandchildren to hear about God’s faithfulness?
- Joel himself cries out to the LORD in verses 19–20. What does it mean for a leader to pray alongside the people?
Suggested reading for the morning
Read Joel 1:1–4 and 1:13–20 aloud. Then glance ahead to 2:12–13, where the call to return begins, so the group can see where this lament is heading.