Joel 2:1-3 - A day of darkness and gloom

2:1,2

We now get another set of verses describing an onslaught against the land and the people. The description this time is even more militaristic. This part can be looked at in two ways. One is take is as describing an actual military invasion, of which the previous locust invasion was a precursor. The other is to take it as referring to an actual locust invasion again, but being more explicit in its use of the locust swarm as prefiguring a military invasion that was yet to come. Given that there is no direct reference to an actual invading nation, and that the book is prophetic I have a slight preference for the latter. However, one cannot be dogmatic about this, and the prophetic can interpret events that have already happened. Whatever the case, the description is vivid, and would be even more vivid to Joel’s hearers than ours, and is a warning of what is to come. Locust swarms were massive, hence the description of the darkness. Something terrible is going to happen. The reaction of the people may have been to say “such a thing can never happen”, but they knew that the locust swarm had happened. In the same way the even worse invasion would happen.

To put this is in a modern context, people readily dismiss the idea of hell, saying “a God of love would never do that”. Yet, we see disasters in the world almost daily, and from time to time major disasters. We would be very foolish to dismiss the idea of God’s judgement, and would be far wiser to repent.

2:3

When a locust swarm came the land before them would be green with fruitfulness, but they would devour the land like a fire. After the swarm there would be no vegetation left. So it would be with the invading army. They would sweep all before them.