Gioele 1:12 Commento

This chapter is the description of a lamentable devastation made of the country of Judah by locusts and caterpillars. Some think that the prophet speaks of it as a thing to come and gives warning of it beforehand, as usually the prophets did of judgments coming. Others think that it was now present, and that his business was to affect the people with it and awaken them by it to repentance. I. It is spoken of as a judgment which there was no precedent of in former ages (Joe 1:1-7). II. All sorts of people sharing in the calamity are called upon to lament it (Joe 1:8-13). III. They are directed to look up to God in their lamentations, and to humble themselves before him (Joe 1:14-20).

This chapter describes a dreadful calamity upon the people of the Jews, by locusts and, caterpillars, and drought. After the title of the book, Joe 1:1; old men are called upon to observe this sore judgment to their children, that it might be transmitted to the latest posterity, as that the like to which had not been seen and heard of, Joe 1:2; and drunkards to awake and weep, because the vines were destroyed, and no wine could be made for them, Joe 1:5; and not only husbandmen and vinedressers, but the priests of the Lord, are called to mourn, because such destruction, was made in the fields and vineyards, that there were no meat nor drink offering brought into the house of the Lord, Joe 1:8; wherefore a general and solemn fast is required throughout the land, because of the distress of man and beast, Joe 1:14; and the chapter is concluded with the resolution of the prophet to cry unto the Lord, on account of this calamity, Joe 1:19.

The vine is dried up,.... Withered away, stripped of its leaves and fruits, and its sap and moisture gone: or, "is ashamed" (t); to see itself in this condition, and not answer the expectation of its proprietor and dresser: and the fig tree languisheth; sickens and dies, through the bite of the locusts: the pomegranate tree: whose fruit is delicious, and of which wine was made: the palm tree also; which bears dates: and the apple tree; that looks so beautiful, when either in bloom, or laden with fruit, and whose fruit is very grateful to the palate; so that both what were for common use and necessary food, and what were for delight and pleasure, were destroyed by these noisome creatures: even all the trees of the field are withered; for locusts not only devour the leaves and fruits of trees, but hurt the trees themselves; burn them up by touching them, and cause them to wither away and die, both by the saliva and dung, which they leave upon them, as Bochart, from various authors, has proved: because joy is withered away from the sons of men; this is not given as a reason of the above trees dried up and withered, but of the lamentation of the vinedressers and husbandmen: or else the particle is merely expletive, or may be rendered, "therefore", or "truly", or "surely" (u), "joy is withered", or "ashamed"; it blushes to appear, as it used to do at the time of harvest; but now there was no harvest, and so no joy expressed, as usually was at such times; see Isa 9:3. (t) "confusa est", V. L. "pudefacta est", Cocceius; "pudet", Drusius. (u) "ideo", Grotius; "imo", Piscator; "sane", Mercer.

(V. 9 seqq.) The sacrifice and libation from the house of the Lord have perished; the priests, ministers of the Lord, mourn. The land is laid waste, the earth mourns; for the wheat is destroyed. The wine is spoiled, the oil languishes, the farmers are confused. The vintners wail over the wheat and barley, for the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, the fig tree languishes; the pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up; because joy has been confounded among the sons of men. LXX: The sacrifice and offering have been taken away from the house of the Lord. Mourn, O priests, ministers of the Lord, for the fields are devastated. Let the land mourn, for the wheat is afflicted, the wine has dried up, the oil has diminished. The farmers have withered away. Mourn, O possessions, for the grain and barley have perished. The grape harvest is lost, the vine has dried up, and the fig tree has withered. The pomegranate tree, the palm tree, the apple tree, and all the trees of the field are dried up. The joy of mankind has been destroyed. As far as history is concerned, due to the multitude of locusts or enemies that are described under their appearance, the sacrifice and libation from the house of the Lord perished, with everything devastated and consumed. The former used to offer from flour, and the latter from wine. Therefore, the priests, who are the ministers of the Lord, mourned, since neither the sacrifices nor the libations were properly performed, especially because the tithes, which they used to receive, were not offered at all. For the entire region was populated. The earth mourned, metaphorically, because of what happened to those who work the land: wheat, wine, and oil languished. Even the tenant farmers and vine dressers were confused and wailed because not only did the wheat dry up, but also the barley, which is cheaper and more abundant. And the vegetables, which I believe are signified by what he says, the harvest of the field perished, that is, all that the earth usually produces. What can I say about the grain, wine, oil, and barley, when even the dried fruits of the trees have withered, the fig tree has languished, and the pomegranate, palm, apple, and all the trees, whether fruitless or fruitful, have been devoured by the locust? All these things have happened so that the joy of the children of men may be taken away or be confounded. We can say that the same things happened to the people of Judea after the coming of the Savior when, with equal fury, they cried out, 'Crucify, crucify him! We have no king but Caesar' (John 19:9 and 15). When Jerusalem was surrounded by an army and such great necessity came upon them of famine and pestilence that they ate the bodies of their own children who were not yet mature. And all sacrifices were abolished, and the joy of the children of men was confounded because they did not want to receive the joy that the angel announced to the shepherds: 'I bring you tidings of great joy' (Luke 2:10). According to this interpretation, after the bride, who has received the teaching of God, has been separated from her bridegroom by sins, and has clothed herself in mourning attire, that is, the garments of one in mourning, then the sacrifice will perish, of which it is written: 'A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit' (Ps. 50:19), and the libation of wine, which gladdens the heart of man, from the house of God, which is the Church, as the Apostle says to Timothy: 'So that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God' (1 Tim. 3:15). But the sacrifice and libation will be taken away from the house of the Lord, when charity has grown cold due to the multiplication of iniquity (Matt. 24): and the leaders of the people and the ministers of the altar will see that the fields and plains of the believers do not produce the fruits of virtue, but that everything is filled with vices: when the wheat and barley, vineyards and olive groves, rocket, grasshoppers, weevils, and rust have consumed everything, and we will not have the chalice that is written about: Your inebriating chalice, how preeminent it is (Ps. 23, 5)! And the oil shall perish, of which we read in Ecclesiastes: Let your garments be always white, and let not oil be lacking on your head (Eccl. IX, 8): whereby your face may shine, and your head may be anointed when you fast. Then the farmers shall be confounded, when they see that wheat does not grow in their fields, which sustains men, and barley which sustains irrational animals, and that the vineyard is in disorder, of which it is written: O vineyard of Israel, abundant in fruit (Isai. V, 2): the Lord was waiting for it to produce grapes, and it produced thorns. The fig also withered under which Nathanael was before he believed (John 1), and the pomegranate, whose cheeks are compared to the bride's cheeks in the Song of Songs (Song of Songs 6), and the palm tree that, losing its sap, withered, of which it was once said: But the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree (Psalm 92:13), and the apple tree of which we read in the same Song: As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons (Song of Songs 2:3). Why is it necessary to traverse all the trees, when everything is burned, and for joy and happiness, the sorrow and confusion of mankind will oppress and confound?

Describing the calamity at greater length to bring to repentance those suffering from indifference, he bids even the produce to lament the failure of the barley and the wheat and the defoliation of the vine, and in general the lack of fruit on olives and figs and the other fruit trees due to their being deprived of moisture. Now it should be understood that he instructs the land and the produce to lament, not as rational creatures but in his attempt to rouse those endowed with reason through the inanimate creatures. To emphasize this, he went on, “because human beings confounded joy,” that is, the cause of the infertility is people’s lawlessness—hence the end of happiness and the onset of depression.

THE DESOLATE ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY THROUGH THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS; THE PEOPLE ADMONISHED TO OFFER SOLEMN PRAYERS IN THE TEMPLE; FOR THIS CALAMITY IS THE EARNEST OF A STILL HEAVIER ONE. (Joel 1:1-20) Joel--meaning, "Jehovah is God." son of Pethuel--to distinguish Joel the prophet from others of the name. Persons of eminence also were noted by adding the father's name.

pomegranate--a tree straight in the stem growing twenty feet high; the fruit is of the size of an orange, with blood-red colored pulp. palm tree--The dates of Palestine were famous. The palm is the symbol of Judea on coins under the Roman emperor Vespasian. It often grows a hundred feet high. apple tree--The Hebrew is generic, including the orange, lemon, and pear tree. joy is withered away--such as is felt in the harvest and the vintage seasons (Psa 4:7; Isa 9:3).

I. The Judgment of God, and the Prophet's Call to Repentance - Joel 1:2-2:17 An unparalleled devastation of the land of Judah by several successive swarms of locusts, which destroyed all the seedlings, all field and garden fruits, all plants and trees, and which was accompanied by scorching heat, induced the prophet to utter a loud lamentation at this unparalleled judgment of God, and an earnest call to all classes of the nation to offer prayer to the Lord in the temple, together with fasting, mourning, and weeping, that He might avert the judgment. In the first chapter, the lamentation has reference chiefly to the ruin of the land (Joel 1:2-20); in the second, the judgment is depicted as a foretype and harbinger of the approaching day of the Lord, which the congregation is to anticipate by a day of public fasting, repentance, and prayer (Joel 2:1-17); so that ch. 1 describes rather the magnitude of the judgment, and ch. 2:1-17 its significance in relation to the covenant nation. Lamentation over the Devastation of Judah by Locusts and Drought - Joel 1 After an appeal to lay to heart the devastation by swarms of locusts, which has fallen upon the land (Joe 1:2-4), the prophet summons the following to utter lamentation over this calamity: first the drunkards, who are to awake (Joe 1:5-7); then the congregation generally, which is to mourn with penitence (Joe 1:8-12); and then the priests, who are to appoint a service of repentance (Joe 1:13-18). For each of these appeals he gives, as a reason, a further description of the horrible calamity, corresponding to the particular appeal; and finally, he sums up his lamentation in a prayer for the deliverance of the land from destruction (Joe 1:19, Joe 1:20).