After the cutting locusts finished eating the crops, the swarming locusts took what was left! In a rousing call, the nations are told to prepare for battle (v. 9) and in an eerie reversal of Isaiahs ancient oracle of peace, told to beat their plowshares into swords (v. 10)! Perhaps you grew up with many blessings, but in your heart you wanted to rebel. Indirectly, but nonetheless dramatically and effectively, to fulfill Gods plan for all peoples. Its of vital importance to understand that when it comes to salvation for all peoples, as specifically purchased by Gods Son, Christ Jesus, as well as selecting Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants (the chosen people) specifically through King David to bring us Messiah, it is God who took the initiative. Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent Butler. It appears that this swarm was unusual in that it contained four types of locusts (Joel 1:4), making it particularly severe. It therefore stands to reason that the greatest enemy of progress lies in making the wrong choices and trying to cover them with actions that come as a consequence of the wrong choices in the first place. Consequently, every citizen was affected: drunkards (Joel 1:5-7), inhabitants of Jerusalem (Joel 1:8-10), farmers (Joel 1:11-12), and priests (Joel 1:13). To be sure the ten northern tribes were conquered and exiled to Assyria after only 250 years; however, the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin (the heart and soul of Israel if for no other reason than Jerusalem as their Holy capital) were spared from Gods punishment for nearly four hundred yearsright up to Babylons final conquest of Judah. When were these predictions fulfilled? Four basic elements comprise material creation: Earth, fire, air, and water. Which is why the Jews to this day mourn during the 9th of Av, the same Jewish calendar date when Solomons Temple, then Herods Temple were destroyed by Babylon and Rome, respectively. What the four types of locust have in common is that they are all domineering. Extremely good, when God caused Cyrus to permit all Jews to return to Israel. In all my readings of the book of Joel, I couldnt figure out why the Lord would tell Joel to write about four different types of locusts to describe what every other Bible passage that refers to locusts does so as just a one-time (whole) swarm of locusts. Verse 3: "The land is like . Locusts symbolize destruction or devastation in Scripture. It is close at hand a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Most commentators accept that this refers to locusts in four different stages of development. He did this because he knew (and so do we) that not a single person on earth ever has or ever will be without sin; thus qualified to live forever with a loving but Holy God. These are large, blocky locusts. Up or down doesnt count; if we go beneath or above the earth, we must then travel in one of four directions. Though there had been made the suggestion that stages were indicated, it had been rejected on the ground that the locust had only three stages: the hopping, the crawling, and . BOOK OF JOEL KEY VERSES: 1:4: What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. Part 2 (Joel 34) goes on to speak of the end of days: there will be a renewal of prophecy (3: 12), but soon a great and terrible day of the Lord comes (v. 3), when the sun shall turn into darkness and the moon into blood (v. No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way. At the end of the plague nothing remained in the land, the future was bleak and the inhabitants were left with no help but God. But, in summary, the ultimate and, by far, most devastating penalty is expressed in the following passage: If in spite of all this you still refuse to listen and still remain hostile toward me, then I will give full vent to my hostility. The account begins with an invasion of four types of locust that devastated the land and led to a time of great calamity. To be torn from their land and carted off to a foreign country was the ultimate disgrace and desolation for Israel. Then their remarkable. If we want to move from one place to another, we must go forward, backward, left or right. The desert locust is most important pest in India as well as in intercontinental context. (Hindi). *Note: One of my favorite verses is Amos 3:7, which says, Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. Which means that anything pertaining to Gods plan for Israel and Gentile nations as they interface with Israel has been proclaimed by his prophets! But it was not Gods intention that the Jews remain in Egypt. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it (Amos 8:11-12). Resurrections / How Many Will There Be? complete answer But overall, this captivity invoked times of great hardship and misery and sporadic episodes of hostility such as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace. Real Answers. First, lets begin with a Biblical statement of fact, one that will clarify and correct a common misunderstanding of a good many Bible scholars: In Scripture there are four and only FOUR Gentile kingdoms that are identified; attached and relating to Israels prophetic destiny, beginning with Babylon. Swarms are nearly impossible to wipe out once they begin. But also in the writing of two books and (now) over a hundred Eye of Prophecy articles, Ive had need to read and study hundreds, if not thousands, of Bible passages. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 25 "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming [ a]locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. Which Is It? 5 With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. The locusts have eaten them. Rome: Here the metaphorical comparison of the first three kingdoms changes from an animal to just that of a Beast. Consumer eats. Rest assured, the story didnt end there. Its like, what do locusts have to do with the number four and with four mighty Gentile nations that shaped the course of Israels destiny and world history. Times of & Fullness of the Gentiles What Do They Mean? They are not to be equated to any of the four kingdoms listed in Daniel. Why had this come upon the land of Israel? complete answer on nationalgeographic.com, View () The East African region has for many years experienced the scourge of locust devastation of crops and vegetation. The liturgies of penitence are now replaced by divine assurances and joyful proclamations by the ravished soil. We are told, "What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; and what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten" (Joel 1:4). The Lord protects us from our enemies. These nations were identified through a spectacular vision that the prophet Daniel experienced when he was well into his 60's. change in the text is on the basis of Joel 2:25, where the four terms for the insects appear in the same order as that in which the locusts are manifest: 2 p, p ~', , a3.N Joel 1:4, then, should be read: MII is the term most frequently employed for the locust in a general sense. / A Decisive Answer (PartII), The Shroud of Turin Real or Fake? Rome: I saw a fourth beastterrifying, dreadful, and very strong. And the covenant with King David will be fully accomplished when Messiah (King of all kings) returns to the Mount of Olives and rescues the Jews from the onslaught of the ten-king federation led by the Antichrist. Joel 1:4 shows the thoroughness of God's discipline and judgment with the four kinds of locust. Joel has been called the prophet of Pentecost. The four stages of the locusts are: Gnawer`s remnant, Swarmer eats: Swarmer`s remnant, Devourer eats; (these last stages are when the fallen angels (supernatural) join the men (Arbeh, Arab`s) Devourer`s remnant. A covenant that most Jews refused to recognize as it was accomplished by Jesus Christ. Swarming locust 3. In short order, they can completely devastate an agricultural economy. Most concur that it speaks of four different waves of locusts, gnawing, swarming, creeping, and stripping, as they consumed the land. There is no further information either in the superscription or from indications in the text regarding the time or place of the prophet. In general, two interpretation have been held regarding the plague of locusts in Joel 1: (1) The literal view, which states that Joel is describing a mainly distressing scourge of locusts, and that the prophet makes this disaster the time of a call to repentance; the deliverance from the natural plague is then made an event for speech on the future day of the Lord, when Gods people will be saved from all their foes. There you will find that seven times over (7 x 7 x 7 x 7) translated to years (which was the basis for Gods measuring out of his discipline) lasted exactly until 1967; the remarkable year when Israelis once again assumed control of the Holy City of the Holy Land in the Six-Day War of 1967. The dramatic and traumatic magnitude of this locust onslaught strongly indicates that the locusts are much more than just insects that may have ravaged the land in a one-time plague. What should I do with my retirement money after retirement? This is done by planting seeds of corruption into your conscience through the medium of what we see and what we hear. Does Israel Belong To The State of Israel? I suppose Id get there eventually, but. Two-State Solution & The Seven-Year Treaty Impossible? Antichrist and Anzio What Do They Have in Common? From a divine perspective, these (grasshopper) nations rose and fell according to Gods providential plan and purpose for Israel; specifically through divine discipline that would lead to purification and restoration of Gods chosen people, the Jews. In Hebrew there are nine different names for locusts. Four major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Jewish Christian / Christian Jew An Oxymoron? Your email address will not be published. The background that prompted Joel to write about locusts was about a real situation that involved a whole nation of people. Lets look at the (locust) passage from one of the so-called Minor Prophets (all of them are major to me! The destruction of Tyre comes to mind: begun by Nebuchadnezzar and completed by Alexander the Great. And then there is a report of the restored fortunes of Israel and a judgment of the nations for all that they have done to the people (Joel 4:18). Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part I), Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part II). But sadly, Gods people rejected their very Messiah, who was the Mediator, Author and Finisher of the New Covenant. This post is also available in: What is the lifespan of someone with dementia? Cutting locust: It means shearer. (Think of shearing wool from a sheep). Not the least of which was Messiahs death on the (four-pointed) cross during the ascendancy of the Roman Empire, to redeem every person who would accept him as their personal Savior. Did you know that God announced this period of silence with Israel ahead of time? In Europe the term locust denotes large acridids, whereas smaller species are called grasshoppers. 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