Joel 1:4
What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The prophet doesn't just describe a plague of locusts; he lists four distinct types that sequentially devour everything. This isn't just about insects, but a potent image of successive judgments, where each wave of destruction is worse than the last, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
The prophet Joel begins by calling the elders and inhabitants of the land to attention, asking if they have ever witnessed such devastation. He then vividly describes a catastrophic plague of locusts, detailing how each successive swarm completely devoured what the previous one had left behind. This relentless destruction has brought the land to the brink of famine, a situation Joel emphasizes as unprecedented in their lifetime or their fathers'.
Imagine a plague so complete that after one wave of destruction, another immediately sweeps in to finish the job. Joel paints a stark picture of relentless devastation.
Joel 1:4 describes a horrifying scene where different stages or types of locusts systematically destroy everything. It's not just one event, but a chain reaction of ruin.
The Stages of Destruction
This isn't just about insects; it's a powerful metaphor for escalating judgment. Each stage is worse than the last, leaving absolutely nothing behind. It highlights God's comprehensive power to judge when His people turn away.
These aren't just random bugs! Joel uses these locusts to speak a profound message about obedience, sin, and the consequences that follow.
While Joel's description is rooted in a very real, physical plague of locusts – a devastating event for an agrarian society – it’s also packed with deeper meaning.
A Prophetic Metaphor
Understand the original words
arbeh · Hebrew Noun
A locust or insect species often used in Scripture as a symbol of divine judgment or a devastating plague sent to bring a nation to repentance.
The prophet Joel uses the devastating image of successive waves of locusts consuming everything in their path to describe the complete ruin of the land. This vivid metaphor likely resonated deeply with an audience who had witnessed or heard of the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and the land by foreign powers, particularly the Babylonians.
Late 8th Century BC - 7th Century BC
Assyrian and Babylonian Empires Rise
The Assyrian Empire, and later the Babylonian Empire, exerted significant political and military pressure on Judah, leading to periods of vassalage, tribute, and occasional invasions.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon begins deporting Jewish leaders and skilled workers to Babylon, marking the start of the Babylonian exile and a period of profound national crisis for Judah.
586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, ending the Davidic kingdom and scattering much of the remaining population into exile. This event represents the pinnacle of judgment and desolation for Judah.
539 BC
Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylon
Cyrus of Persia defeats Babylon, paving the way for the return of exiled peoples, including the Jews, to their homelands.
This passage describes a similar devastation, calling for nations to prepare for destruction by locusts, directly linking them to a divine judgment.
Nahum 3:15-16This passage uses the imagery of locusts to depict the destructive power of an invading army, showing how this natural disaster can symbolize larger military conquests.
Ezekiel 4:1-2This passage describes a siege of Jerusalem symbolized by a brick with an engraved city, which is a different but related use of symbolic prophecy to communicate divine judgment and its consequences.
Revelation 9:1-11This passage in the New Testament describes a plague of locusts released from the abyss, highlighting the ongoing symbolic use of locusts to represent destructive forces and divine judgment throughout Scripture.
Deuteronomy 28:38This passage from the Law explicitly lists locusts as one of the curses for disobedience, directly connecting this natural disaster to God's judgment on His people.
jfbJoel 1:4: "That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten."
- This verse states the subject on which he afterwards expands. Four species or stages of locusts, rather than four different insects, are meant (compare Le 11:22). Literally, (1) the gnawing locust; (2) the swarming locust; (3) the licking locust; (4) the consuming locust; forming a climax to t…
calvinJoel 1:1-4: "The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel."
Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Audite hoc senes, et auscultate omnes incolae terrae, an fuerit hoc diebus vestris, et si diebus patrum vestrorum.
Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
Super hoc filiis vestris narrate, et filii vestri…
The prophet doesn't just describe a plague of locusts; he lists four distinct types that sequentially devour everything. This isn't just about insects, but a potent image of successive judgments, where each wave of destruction is worse than the last, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
The prophet Joel begins by calling the elders and inhabitants of the land to attention, asking if they have ever witnessed such devastation. He then vividly describes a catastrophic plague of locusts, detailing how each successive swarm completely devoured what the previous one had left behind. This relentless destruction has brought the land to the brink of famine, a situation Joel emphasizes as unprecedented in their lifetime or their fathers'.
The prophet Joel begins by calling the elders and inhabitants of the land to attention, asking if they have ever witnessed such devastation. He then vividly describes a catastrophic plague of locusts, detailing how each successive swarm completely devoured what the previous one had left behind. This relentless destruction has brought the land to the brink of famine, a situation Joel emphasizes as unprecedented in their lifetime or their fathers'.
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Joel's vivid imagery serves as a wake-up call, urging the people to recognize God's hand in their suffering and to repent before the destruction becomes absolute.
516 BC
Rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple
The Second Temple in Jerusalem is completed, symbolizing a partial restoration of worship and national identity after the exile, though under foreign rule.
"What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten." — The prophet doesn't just describe a plague of locusts; he lists four distinct types that sequentially devour everything. This isn't just about insects, but a potent image of successive judgments, whe…
