Page 36 - The Minor Prophets - Student textbook

Study Section 6: The Book of Joel

6.1 Connect

Have you ever seen a swarm of locusts descend on a field of vegetation? Literally, in hours
they can strip and consume the leaves of trees and bushes or crops where almost nothing is
left but twigs and stubble. They are actually a short-horned grasshoppers (picture below)
that on occasion gather together to swarm a location. Normally they do not harm humans
and they don’t carry diseases that can spread to humans. The greatest harm they do is to
eat up everything in their path. If they swarm a farm, they can strip the vegetation where
there is basically nothing left of a crop.

In Joel, the prophet uses the concept of devastation by a vast horde of locusts and an illustration of the
vast judgment that God would bring in the future against Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Living in
defiance against God can be costly as God promises to judge sin. Let’s see how Joel tries to warn the
people of Judah to repent or suffer judgment.

6.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to describe the purpose of the writing of Joel.

2. The student should be able to state the audience to whom the book was written.

3. The student should be able to answer the key questions presented in the lesson.

6.3 The Book of Joel

From https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Joel.html

Author: The Book of Joel states that its author was the Prophet
Joel (Joel 1:1).

Date of Writing: The Book of Joel was likely written between
835 and 800 B.C.

Purpose of Writing: Judah, the setting for the book, is devastated by a vast horde of locusts. This
invasion of locusts destroys everything—the fields of grain, the vineyards, the gardens and the trees.
Joel symbolically describes the locusts as a marching human army and views all of this as divine
judgment coming against the nation for her sins. The book is highlighted by two major events. One is
the invasion of locusts and the other the outpouring of the Spirit. The initial fulfillment of this is quoted
by Peter in Acts 2 as having taken place at Pentecost.

Key Verses:

Joel 1:4, "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."

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