1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

2 Hear this, you old men, and give ear, all you inhabitants of the land. Has this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

3 Tell you your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

4 That which the palmerworm has left has the locust eaten; and that which the locust has left has the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm has left has the caterpillar eaten.

5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep; and howl, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation is come up on my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the cheek teeth of a great lion.

7 He has laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he has made it clean bore, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, mourn.

10 The field is wasted, the land mourns; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languishes.

11 Be you ashamed, O you farmers; howl, O you vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.

12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languishes; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

13 Gird yourselves, and lament, you priests: howl, you ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God.

14 Sanctify you a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry to the LORD,

15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

19 O LORD, to you will I cry: for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.

20 The beasts of the field cry also to you: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

palmerworm

The palmerworm, locust, etc., are thought to be different forms, at different stages of development, of one insect. The essential fact is that, according to the usual method of the Spirit in prophecy, some local circumstance is shown to be of spiritual significance, and is made the occasion of a far-reaching prophecy (e.g.) Isa 7:1-14 where the Syrian invasion and the unbelief of Ahaz give occasion to the great prophecy of Joe 1:14. Here in Joel a plague of devouring insects is shown to have spiritual significance Joe 1:13; Joe 1:14 and is made the occasion of the prophecy of the day of the Lord, not yet fulfilled. (See Scofield " Isa 2:12"). This is more developed in Joel 2, where the literal locusts are left behind, and the future day of Jehovah fills the scene.

The whole picture is of the end-time of this present age, of the "times of the Gentiles" Luk 21:24; Rev 16:14 of the battle of Armageddon; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:11-21 of the regathering of Israel. (See Scofield " Rom 11:26") and of kingdom blessing. It is remarkable that Joel, coming at the very beginning of written prophecy (B.C. 836), gives the fullest view of the consummation of all written prophecy.

The order of events is:

(1) The invasion of Palestine from the north by Gentile world-powers headed up under the Beast and false prophet Joe 2:1-10 "Armageddon," (See Scofield " Rev 16:14").

(2) the Lord’s army and destruction of the invaders Joe 2:11; Rev 19:11-21.

(3) the repentance of Judah in the land Joe 2:12-17 (See Scofield " Deu 30:3").

(4) the answer of Jehovah Joe 2:18-27

(5) the effusion of the Spirit in the (Jewish) "last days" Joe 2:28; Joe 2:29.

(6) the return of the Lord in glory and the setting up of the kingdom Joe 2:30-32; Act 15:15-17 by the regathering of the nation and judgment of the nations Joe 3:1-16

(7) full and permanent kingdom blessing Joe 3:17-21; Zec 14:1-21. (See Scofield " Mat 25:32").