1-19-24

Joel was an Old Testament prophet and like most prophets, the people didn’t really want to hear about it. They didn’t want to hear that God thought they were doing sinful things and would punish them. So, the day came when God released the locust to devastate their crops. I have imagined that the locust would swarm the fields and eat every morsel. There would be no grain left for people to reclaim. That also means that their livestock would have no food. Unfortunately, that’s not all that happened. The large insects came in and ate not only the crop but the seed in the ground and the seed that would be for NEXT year’s harvest. Instead of being able to harvest food for this year and seeds for next year, they ate it all. Joel comes in to tell them if they just repent and come back to God, that HE will restore the years (s) the locust took away.

I have felt this very restoration at least once in my life. The first few yrs. of our marriage my husband was not saved and it was a tumultuous time. I even found myself thinking that I wasted all those years being married to someone who didn’t appreciate me. BUT long story short, when he came to the Lord, God truly did restore the years the locust took. He gave us more than I asked for and abundantly blessed our marriage.

Joel 2: 19 The Lord replied[a] to them: “I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,

enough to satisfy you fully;

never again will I make you

an object of scorn to the nations.

20 “I will drive the northern horde far from you,

pushing it into a parched and barren land;

its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea

and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.

And its stench will go up;

its smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things!

21 Do not be afraid, land of Judah;