Locust+Plague+in+the+Book+of+Joel

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This article describes the locust plague in the book of Joel; it focuses on the actual organism and how they correlate to all the various descriptions in Joel 1. The land of Israel suffers massive destruction caused by a locust plague and drought. The illustration of the locust plague ties into the overall theme of Joel’s book: the power of God’s judgment, especially emphasizing the Day of the Lord. God’s power is incomprehensible; however, through His word, He has demonstrated such wrath and devastation through events, people, places, and things that one can relate to or better understand. This isn’t to say that the Lord is unjust; His wrath and devastation are deserved, but they are committed out of a deep and abiding love for His children. In order to best understand the effects of the locust, it is important to first study the actual organism.

=The Organism =

Locusts are the swarming  phase of short-horned grasshoppers . They come from the family //Acrididae//  and  are a species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions.[|[i]] They become gregarious and migratory. When environmental conditions produce green plants and promote breeding, locusts can congregate into thick, mobile, ravenous, swarms.[|[ii]]

=Effects on the Land =

Groups of nymphs  and swarms of adults can travel immense distances, instantly stripping fields and greatly damaging crops . A nymph is the immature form of some such <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">insects <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">; i <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">t undergoes gradual <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">metamorphosis <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> (in a total of 6 stages) before arms as reaching its adult stage.[|[iii]] It is estimated that the largest swarms have covered hundreds of square miles and consisted of many billions of locusts. They occur in many parts of the world, but today locusts are most destructive in sustenance farming regions of Africa. The desert locust is notorious. Found in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, these creatures inhabit some 60 countries and can cover one-fifth of the earth's land surface.[|[iv]] Desert locust plagues may threaten the economic livelihood of one-tenth of the world's humans. A desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles (1,200 square kilometers) in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile (one square kilometer).[|[v]] Each locust can eat its weight in plants each day; therefore, a swarm of such size would eat 423 million pounds (192 million kilograms) of plants every day.[|[vi]]

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Correlation to Joel 1 =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The locust plague of Joel 1 was a wake up call. Joel is speaking to the people of Judah. Restoration and blessing will come to the people of Judah only after judgment and repentance. There is no mention of this locust plague in history; however, one can infer that it happened during the time of Joash because of economic problems recorded during that period. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Was the Locust plague real or figurative? There are two main views. Some interpret the text as an allegorical representation of the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and Romans.[|[vii]] They believe that the invasion is an actual army compared metaphorically to locusts. On the other hand, others argue that the locust plague was real for several reasons: 1) locusts are always real creatures in the Old Testament, 2) locusts are not used as symbols in ancient literature, and 3) the plague is not an analogy, since Joel did not use the term in a direct metaphor. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Joel begins with a proclamation to the nation (Joel 1:2-3). Joel’s words grab the audience’s attention. There is important news to be heard—important news regarding the locust infestation (if you take the literal view). According to commentator Thomas Finely, “The locusts and resulting drought threatened the existence of Judah, but repentance would make it possible for God to restore them; therefore, the severity of the catastrophe and the greatness of the deliverance were to be imprinted on the minds of all generations.”[|[viii]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Verse 4 describes the four different actions of the locusts. The “gnawing locust” implies chewing and feeding on the crops. The harvest has been destroyed by the gnawing and cutting of the locust.[|[ix]] Whatever crops are leftover are eaten by the “swarming locust.” The term “swarming” indicates an enormous and uncontrollable infestation. Next comes the “creeping locust”; the term “creeping” refers to a licking action. This implies that all moisture is sucked out and absorbed. The nation is left dry and desolate. And when one would expect that nothing more could be taken, the “stripping locust” arrives and devours every last grass and grain until there is absolutely nothing leftover. This is the devastation that Joel describes in the opening chapter.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Interpreting the Text =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">There are multiple ways in which the reader can interpret this text. One view argues that there are 4 stages of locusts.[|[x]] First, the adult locusts and swarm locusts (2 generations) enter the land and eat a great majority of the crop. While the adults and swarms are eating, the nymphs and younger stage locusts are maturing and they will soon step in to devour what’s remaining. Another interpretation views the infestation as four separate plagues, not necessarily four stages of locusts. Others believe that the plague is actually one attack involving four different kinds of locusts. In one sweep, these locusts will consume all the harvest. Still, some readers interpret the plague in a different sense. Some view the plague as one attack including only one type of locust, but involving all four actions previously mentioned. The plague could be a mixture of any of these possibilities.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Results of the Plague =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">There are no spiritual benefits of such a plague. Every physical material that the people could have used to worship God had been wiped out.[|[xi]] According to Joel, this is a foretaste of the destruction to come—a preview of what is to come on the Day of the Lord (Joel 2). Furthermore, the destruction of agriculture reflects the health of the nation of Israel.[|[xii]] The Lord uses agricultural metaphors for His people because Israel is an agricultural nation. Joel reiterates this idea in verse 7: “It [referring to the locust plague] has made my vine a waste, And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; their branches have become white” (Joel 1:7). Such devastation has caused great wailing. The priests mourn because the grain and drink offerings have been cut off; it is a spiritual catastrophe (Joel 1:9). Moreover, the land mourns for the grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, and the fresh oils are gone; it is a physical catastrophe (Joel 1:10). Joel continues by calling the farmers to mourn for the wheat and barley and all the harvest that has been destroyed (Joel 1:11). He calls the vinedressers to mourn for the vine has dried up and the fig trees have been ruined (Joel 1:12). Finally, Joel calls the priests to continue mourning for the lack of grain and drink offering (Joel 1:13). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Joel concludes the first chapter with a response to such an event. Joel is not necessarily talking only about the Day of the Lord, but his ultimate goal is to lead people to repentance. Joel proclaims, “For the day of the Lord is near” (Joel 1:15). The term “near” in this context deals with the space of events, rather than a period of time. The locust plague is just the beginning—a small taste of the future events to come.

[|[i]] “Locusts, Locust Pictures, Locust Facts - National Geographic,” http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/locust.html. [|[ii]] “locust Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about locust,” []. [|[iii]] “Locusts, Locust Pictures, Locust Facts - National Geographic.” [|[iv]] Ibid. [|[v]] “locust Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about locust.” [|[vi]] “Locusts, Locust Pictures, Locust Facts - National Geographic.” [|[vii]] K. L. Barker and D. W. Burdick, //The NIV study Bible, New International Version// (Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985), []. [|[viii]] T. J. Finley, //Joel, Amos, Obadiah// (Moody Press, 1990), []. [|[ix]] Ibid. [|[x]] J. MacArthur, //MacArthur Study Bible-NASB// (Thomas Nelson, 2006), []. [|[xi]] D. A. Garrett, //Hosea, Joel// (Broadman & Holman, 1997), []. [|[xii]] I. Busenitz and I. A. Busenitz, //Joel & Obadiah// (Christian Focus Publications, 2003), []

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