1:8,9
To modern ears verse 8 may seem somewhat contradictory. How can a virgin lament for her husband? However, the answer is quite simple. A virgin could have a “husband” if the marriage had already been arranged, but not yet consummated. So the woman, a very young woman, had been betrothed (which was a far more binding state that our engagement is) but her betrothed has been killed before they were actually married. This was a tragic situation, and Israel is called upon to mourn as if she was in that situation. The locust plague had led to the temple having no grain or drink offerings. So instead of ministering to the Lord, the priests could only mourn.
1:10-12
These verses again puts things in terms of what had happened to the harvest. All the crops had failed because of the onslaught. The devastation was complete. The people would appreciate this, so God has used the disaster to bring them to their senses, to wake them up. When we are comfortable it is very easy for us to take a light attitude towards sin. By nature, we are very governed by the comfortableness of our lives. If everything is going well materially then we tend not to worry overmuch about other matters. So God had sent disaster to give the people a wake-up call.
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