“Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten” (Joel 1:2-4).

Joel opens his letter with a call to the elders and everyone else to listen. So often, we think it is someone else’s job to listen to God’s word. Here, Joel calls on everyone to listen. Then, he used a historical event to make a spiritual truth/warning that should be passed on from generation to generation. 

During our first winter in Missouri, the weather forecast called for ice/sleet over the course of a few days. We weren’t alarmed by the weather forecast. We were alarmed by the reaction to it. Chatter started around town about the bad weather coming and that everyone should be prepared. The stores started running low on essentials, and every generator in town was purchased. Finally, we were told about the cause of the panic: Nine years before our arrival, an ice storm came through Springfield, taking down trees and power lines. Some parts of the city were without power for three weeks … in January! No wonder people were panicked. Now, 20 years after the initial ice storm, people still react to ice warnings because the story has been passed down, generation to generation. 

Joel reminded the people of an event they had passed, in which the locusts took it all:

“What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.”

He is using the locust event to encourage the people to repent and walk with the Lord lest his judgment come. And God’s judgment will be far worse than a locust plague. 

Father, please help me to see my own heart and repent of any sin that lingers. I feel like I’m in the middle of the locust swarm right now, so this word picture hits close. Please, Father, bless me with strong faith and a pure heart. Amen.