Exposition on Joel -11 - Verse 4-6

     In v. 4-18 Joel describes the enemy and its effects and calls the people to lament. In v. 4 in particular, Joel imagines an unrivaled swarm of locusts. As Yahweh God, their Father was drawing them out of Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart against the descendants of Abraham and God sent a series of plagues to convince Pharaoh to let His people go but also displaying the power that the One True Creator God had over the very images of created things the Egyptians had worship. They idolized the beetle and the frog and other living things. So God sent them those gods in abundance. So the Jew in Joel’s day would be reminded of the locust plague God sent through Moses and also of the past “invasions” of locusts that had left their fields desolate, and left their harvest bare for a season or more. Considering again, v. 2, it is as if Joel was saying, this tragic event will surpass all those other things in your minds. It is very likely that, if not the people themselves, their parents or their grandparents would have endured a swarm of locusts that ruined a season or even several years of crops. Thinking of verses 2-4 together is a bit like me reflecting on the economic pressures we face today and asking my parents how it compares to the recession in the ‘70s. Or, if there were still living, it would be like me asking my grandparents if this present difficulty is similar to the Great Depression. Of course both of those former tragedies have so far, proven to be more terrible than the one we now face, but the point is the perception of similar types of tragedies through time. So the sound of the onslaught of locust’s wings made the people shudder with fear, but so would the sound of a company of horsed men and men on foot. Is this swarm of locusts literal or figurative? To introduce this topic, a little information about desert locusts: As they swarmed and foraged they were aptly described as a plague by Mediterranean peoples even 4000 years ago. A single locust that lays her eggs in June will, by September, have nearly 8 million descendants. That is a veritable army of locusts. As a matter of fact, no human army has ever amassed such substantial numbers. But the theological ramifications of Joel’s imagery should be recognized here as he uses “Pentateuchal Curse” language—this is a curse for disobedience. You’ll remember the passage in Deut. 28 (specifically v. 25-59) where, in the context of the punishment of invasion and exile, God warned the people of an army of men which would be used to destroy them and remove them from the Land.  In Deut. 28:38 and 42, in addition to the invasion of a foreign army, God promised that locusts would also be used to punish the people by destroying the Land. You’ll also notice there in Deut. 28 that the locusts and the army are mentioned in the context of the same curse, which has given Stuart and others the liberty to interpret the locusts of Joel 1:4 and the powerful nation of 1:6 as a single consequence of Judah’s disobedience. Regarding the debate over the literalness of these locusts, several options present themselves. Bear in mind that this could be considered a comparison/contrast of verses 4 and 6: 1) the locusts in v. 4 are figurative, and the nation in v. 6 is literal. 2) The locusts in v. 4 are literal and the nation in v. 6 is also literal. 3) The locusts in v. 4 are literal and the nation in v. 6 is figurative. If the nation described in v. 6 is literal, then verses 4 & 5 are one curse being fulfilled, and verses 6-18 represent a second curse being fulfilled. If the locusts in verse 4 are literal and the nation in v. 6 is figurative, then it could actually be considered a metaphor for the locust swam in v. 4. A view for which 2:18-25 could be used for support. Perhaps 2:25 alone may lead the interpreter to think of the description of the invaders in 2:1-11 as an illustration of the literal swarm of locusts described in an extended metaphor of an army of men. In any case, Joel is careful to call the people’s attention to the uniqueness of this invading army.