Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2
Chapter 1
Mourning and Supplication
Gird yourselves, O priests, and weep; mourn, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! For the house of your God lacks grain and drink offerings.Proclaim a fast, call an assembly. Summon the elders, and all who live in the land, into the house of your God, and cry out to the Lord:
“What a dreadful day —the day of the Lord, that draws near, and comes as a ruin, from the Almighty!”
Hasn’t the food been taken away from us before our very eyes, and joy and gladness, too, from the house of our God?
The seed beneath the soil is shriveled; the granaries are ruined; the barns are fallen down, because the harvest has dried up.
How the cattle groan! The herds wander and moan because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep suffer.
To you, Lord, I call out. A fire has consumed the open pasture; flames have burned the trees.
Even wild animals cry out to you, because the streams have dried up and the pastures have been consumed by fire.
Commentaries
Mourning and Supplication.
The priests are called to lead a period of repentance. The locust plague that destroys everything in its path signals the terrible “day of the Lord.” With the shortage of shortage, the celebrations and joy in the Lord’s temple also come to an end (16). The prophet shows solidarity with the people suffering from the devastating plague that strikes like fire (19-20).