Joel is a prophet who lived during the Second Jerusalem Temple period. The book of Joel was written at a time when locusts had invaded Judah. The invasion destroyed everything, the grains in the field, the vineyards, and the trees. Prophet Joel notes this in Joel, 1: 4. He notes, "What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten." The locusts’ invasion and the destruction of the fields are symbolic of God’s wrath. A severe famine follows the locusts’ plague. These happenings send a big message to the people of Judah that God is angry. Therefore, they need to repent their sins. Joel sends a message from God that unless the people of Judah repent, humans now will come and destroy them, just as the locust destroyed their land.
Joel’s mission is to preach God’s message to the people of Judah. He makes an appeal to the priests in Judah to seek God’s forgiveness in humility. God assures them of renewal and blessings upon asking for forgiveness. He promises both material and spiritual renewal. In Joel 2: 25, God says, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten..." The message therein is very strong. It displays a God of mercy. God’s promises are those of hope and grace to those who repent their sins. The books of Joel fulfill God’s desire to pass a message of God’s wrath and judgment. God’s attributes, as stipulated in the book of Joel, are wrath, power and hope. God also comes out as a God of restoration, physical and spiritual. God also comes out as a firm God. Joel also emphasizes on the day of the Lord, the Judgement day. He describes it as "a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness" (Joel 2:2). The beauty of the message is that God has a solution to it. He offers reconciliation through repentance. However, the repentance should not only be external in terms of wailing and fasting. God desires sincere repentance and a change of ways to righteousness (Boadt, 1984) .
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The use of the locust plague provides a practical example for Joel to preach the message of judgment. It forms a mental imprint on how messy and destructive the judgment will be for those who do not repent. It is a book full of redemptive messages. Ironically, the book also brings in a new dimension of redemption through suffering. The locust destruction followed by the famine has a debilitating effect on the people of Judah. It also points out that after suffering, there is always hope for a better future. Reading the book of Joel helps one to realize the seriousness of the judgment day. The realization helps one to commit to repentance. Joel uses frightening imagery to illustrate the judgment day. Some of the imagery includes a consuming fire. In the book, Joel also notes that the moon will turn into blood. These are scary imagery meant to underscore the need for change and redemption. Joel passes this information perfectly well (Boadt, 1984) .
In conclusion, the book of Joel helps to pass the message that salvation to people of Judah and Jerusalem is only possible if they change their ways and return to Yahweh. There is a promise in this conditional message, that of hope. God says that He will restore everything to those who change their ways and come back to Him. To the people of Judah, he promises to restore their farms that had been destroyed by the locusts. He also promises a renewed spiritual relationship with those who repent.
References
Boadt, L. (1984). Reading the Old Testament. New York: Paulist Press .
The Holy Bible
