Joel 1: Be reminded that El Shaddai had devastated and shamed His disobedient nation – spiritually, politically, environmentally and our water and animals had paid the price too.  

1: Yehoweh’s word which had happened to be on Joel (Yehoweh is El) son of Pethuel (Pathah entice + El).

2: Hear this, the elders. And give ear all inhabitants of the land. Had this happened in your days and even in your fathers’ days?

3: Recount over this to your children, to their children, and for their children, to a next generation.

4:  Left over which a chewing locust had eaten, the locust swarm.

And left over which a locust swarm had eaten, the caterpillar.

And left over which the caterpillar had eaten, the consuming locust.

5: Cause the drunk to awake. Weep and cause a hullabaloo (hallelu), all wine (yayin) drinkers for all new wine (yasis) was covenant-cut from your mouths.

6: For an unbelieving nation had arisen over my land, large and innumerable. His teeth- the teeth of a lion(Ari), his jaws are of a mature lion(bi).

7: There – My vine to desolation. And My fig tree for fragments – strippingly stripped her and caused her branches to be whitened and caused to be thrown away. 

8:  Wail like a sack cloth girded maiden for a husband/lord (ba’al) of her youth. 

9: Gift aid was caused to be covenant-cut. A libation (wine poured-out for blood on an altar) from Yehoweh’s House was mourned by Yehoweh- ministering priests.

10:  Devastated (shadad) fields (shadeiy) had mourned for soil (Adamah) for produce was devastated. Grape juice (yarash= flowing new wine) was caused to withered/ashamed. Anointing oil (yitskar) ebbed away.

11: Cause to be ashamed, ploughman. Wail, vinedressers over wheat (kitha) and over barley (sora) for a field’s harvest (kitsi) had perished.

12: The vine had been put to shame and the fig tree had languished. A pomegranate, also a palm and apple – all trees of the field had been shamed for joy of sons of men was put to shame.

13:  Belt up, Tear hair and beat breasts, The priests. Cause a hullabaloo (Hallelu) ministers of an altar.  Traverse and lodge the night in sackcloths, ministers of my God for a gift aid and a libation are withheld from God’s house.

14: Separate / Consecrate a fast. Call a holiday. Assemble-to-remove elders, all residents of the land of the house of Yehoweh your God and shriek out to Yehoweh.

15: Aha! To a day! A close day of Yehoweh and devastation from devastator (Shaddai)  traverses.  

16: Is not food, joy and gladness covenant-cut from the house of God before our eyes?

17: Kernels had shrivelled in the shovelled clods. Storehouse were astonished. Barns/silos were pulled down. For grain was caused to be shamed.

18: How cattle were moaned! Cattle herds were wandering for there is no pasture land for them. Even sheep flock were punished / guilty!

19: I cry out to You, Yehoweh, for fire had devoured the desert home pastures. And a flame blazed all trees of the field (Jacob fire, Joseph flame Obad 1:19, Light fire, Holy flame Isaiah 10:18)

20: Also the cattle of the field pant for You and the water canals are ashamed and fire consumes the desert/open pasture lands.

Pause and think about that!

Prayer:  

El Shaddai, save our nation from the consequence of disobedience to You. We remember and tell the next generation that the punishment of national disobedience is truly more than only spiritual (vine) and political (fig) devastation on a scale hitherto unseen,  it is that we were left shamed without every other sustenance and back up too which had been destroyed in fire and flame – and our land and our animals too paid the price. Let it not happen again, we plead. Raise obedient and godly political and spiritual leaders who can bring us back to You. Amen.  

 Glossary

The vine is the symbol of Israel’s spiritual conditions.  

[Psalms 80:8-10]

The fig tree symbolizes  Israel’s national/political conditions.  [Hos. 9:10; Mt 24:32-35; Mk 13:28-31; Luke 21:30 ]