There were "locusts", "great locusts", "young locusts" and "other locusts" or as another version renders, "swarming locusts". Your imagination can picture that quite well. Rather alarming. I recall seeing a Little House On the Prairie episode depicting just such an overwhelming occurrence. The crops were laid bare in no time flat. They mentioned too that they would lay the eggs in the ground and the next spring, hatch and start the vicious cycle all over again. It was insidious. The only thing that could break that cycle, if I recall correctly, was frost.
In more present times we can see that these locusts and their eggs could represent any number of things that can creep slowly but surely or swoop in and 'attack' a person's life such as addictions of various kinds or habits of uncontrolled anger or stealthy, compulsive lying. These can fester and then surface in volcanic-like eruption. Things that may have been suppressed for years suddenly wrecking greater havoc.
Look at chapter 1 and verses 2-4 of Joel. The elders and all who lived in the land were supposed to "tell it" to "their children"; their children to their children and the those children to their children; four generations would know of the locust disaster.
Why should they be telling the next generations of the locusts? Should we tell our generations about our personal anger, lying, porn addictions, etc and what the effects to our life and relationships have been? How could this help?
The "drunkards" and "drinkers of wine" of verses 5-10 are told to wake up and go into deep mourning, grieving, weeping and wailing" because of the devastation of the land. The "farmers" and "vine growers" are asked to "despair, wail and grieve" as well; understandable seeing as their groups and livelihood came to abrupt end. Yet, God means business and wants to arrest these people in their tracks...take all this seriously! Stop. Sit up. Take notice. Why would this happen? Be moved by it. Moved to tears and deep mourning.
There is need to be totally, sincerely, deeply sorry and saddened about the locusts and the damage they'd inflicted when left unchallenged. Locusts come swiftly, or with the eggs waiting to hatch, are not easily done away with. When we view these 'locusts' as symbolic of the negative things in our lives, let us seek our Heavenly Father, God's, intervention.Take the example of anger. With God's help a person can dig up and discover the 'locusts' that have been eating away at them causing the anger to spill out and affect them and others; played out in either physical or emotional abuse enacted to family members or towards other road users, or as root causes to diseases such as high blood pressure or heart attacks or combinations of all. When anger has been left to fester, it can come crashing out so suddenly, swiftly and headlong. One definitely needs to seek God and His help!
We can thank God our Heavenly Father for those brothers and sisters-in-Christ He puts along our path giving their prayer support, lending a listening ear, directions to professional counselors, and the guidance and direction of these servants of Christ. There should be no shame in that. One needs to find the 'frost' to be rid of the 'eggs' breaking the cycles of anger and erosion in one's life, aiming instead towards maturity in Christ, and healing in ourselves and our relationship with God and man.
Joel 1:13-14 introduces another group called upon to take note, that is the spiritual leaders, "the priests", "who minister before the altar". This group is called upon not only to make noise (mourning and wailing) but to show their mourning, and I suppose repentance, by donning sackcloth; to spend the night in it. They are to lead the way and call the elders to "fast" and "to a sacred assembly." To call all who live in the land.
There is to be group fasting; everyone to be thoroughly sorry and to cry out to the Lord. The priests of Israel were to lead the way, as mediators and examples for God. All are called: the "elders", "all who live in the land", the "children", the "drunkards", "farmers", and the "priests"; no one exempt from taking heed and beseeching the Lord.
What would happen if all did this among the assemblies of God's people today?
If locusts of anger, slander, etc are allowed to go on unchecked, further caustic effects to ones' life will ensue. The life of the individual, the family, the spiritual family, friends and other relationships will continue to break down.
Note that the groups in Joel 1 are called individually, then collectively, to cry out to the Lord in His house and with fasting. So dig for your root causes of anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, brawling, malice (Ephesians 4:31); addictions, etc; seek our Father's forgiveness through Jesus, for the Lord's mercy and help. Put on the armor of God and do spiritual warfare battle (Ephesians 6:10-18). Knuckle down, get serious; do so individually and then as an assembly of God's people wherever you may be.
There is another "locust" checklist in 2 Corinthians 5:11: sexual immorality, idolatry, greediness, drunkenness, swindling. Do any of these characterize you? Examine yourself, repent, confess and gain the Lord's forgiveness and purification (1 John 1:9). As is known, new habits take about 30-40 days to put down new roots. Again, we have the Lord on our side and when we rely on Him we will be helped.
Victims of sexual, emotional and spiritual abuses...let's face it, these happen and that terribly even among God's people; take them one at a time, recall the incidents no matter how painful they may be, find a counselor if need be, there's no shame it that; release to the Lord with the anger and unforgiveness that will probably accompany such remembrances.
What are you angry about? Has someone attempted to totally control every aspect or facet of your life: spiritually? emotionally? Have they tried to do the Holy Spirit's convicting work in your heart where they've felt you haven't lived up to his or her standard? A spirit of legalism undertaking to gain control? Does someone belittle you especially in public and you become the brunt of jokes?
Identify the 'locusts' eating you and others up, prayerfully repent, renounce, mourn, wail, weep, do what it takes to be free; bring them all to our loving Heavenly Father who loves and cares about you so much. You will realize that God is so nice. He is a perfect Father.
Come full swing now. Why were the elders, priests, etc to tell their children and children's children about the locusts? God doesn't want to leave anyone out. All need to be warned, concerned, to call upon the Lord, to receive His forgiveness and blessings and to experience His great love for them.
Should you tell others about your anger, etc? We each have our failings and we each have our testimony to God's love and intervention in our lives. He helped, healed and comforted us. No doubt, use discretion and God's wisdom in what and how you tell your story, but do so to encourage others as opportunity comes, to warn and strengthen others who may also be in bondage and fear, etc. The Lord came to set the captive free, to heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18). We His children need to be able to help others of His people to give comfort as we ourselves have been comforted by Him (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
Above all else, rely on Him...
Oh dear Father, God, we need Your help in sorting out and dealing with those things in our life that have been repressed for so long and that now surface in uncontrolled anger, addictions and so forth (name your 'locust'). Help us not to allow these things to be taken out on others, like our loved ones or others whom we may see as 'getting in our way'.
Father, help us to speak truth and wholesome talk; help us not to belittle anyone.
Father, thank-You for hearing our requests and giving us more understanding from those you put into our path to help us. Compel us to follow through in dealing with the 'locusts' in our life. Give us the deep, grieving and mourning and sense of your love, and care and compassion and feelings towards how life has been and help us to choose to do right from now on.
Thank-You for all Your wondrous and mighty acts You perform on our behalf and shower upon us.
In Jesus Name we ask...
~ERC - originally written in Feb 1995 but blogged in, in 2017~
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