JOEL

Reading this book of the bible made me wonder what would happen if the exact same invasions and misfortunes happened in current time in America. Would the people cry out to the government, search within them selves to find the answer, or would the cry out to God? How would people react? I couldn’t imagine being attacked by a bunch of locust. I personally HATE insects. I am not fan of them and most likely never will be. But these insects devoured everything in site! The book says, “The field is ruined, The land mourns, For the grain is ruined, The new wine dries up, Fresh oil fails…” In order grasp the concept of how truly horrible this was you have to understand the biblical times. It wasn’t like today’s world, where we have factories and we can make food fast, in bulk, and preserve it for long periods of time. Back then, it took a long time, hard work, and patience for the little things. The simple fact that the “…new wine dries up, fresh oil fails” is completely devastating, a waist of months of preparation.

The book of Joel also speaks of starvation and drought which is sadly common in most part of the world today. The pitiful thing is, so many people can do something about it. Back then, all was pretty much lost, starvation and drought covered the land, but in current times we can do something about it. Devastation and pain is nothing to be celebrated. Just the simple facts that some of the horrible accounts still go on today make me want to do something about it.

The good thing is, God still intervened. This book reminded me of one of my favorite verses, 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all you anxiety on him because he cares for you”. I don’t think I’ve ever read this book before, but it sure did open my eyes and bring a lot to my attention.