Book of Joel Chapter 1 Vs. 10

Book of Joel Chapter 1 Vs. 10

An Invasion of Locusts



The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Joel 1:10


The field is ... By the locust, that eats up all green things, the grass and herbs, the fruit and leaves of trees.

the land mourneth... Being destitute, nothing growing upon it, and so looked dismally, and of a horrid aspect; or the inhabitants of it, for want of provision.

for the corn... By the locusts, and so by the Assyrian or Chaldean army, before it came to perfection.

the new wine... In the grape, through the drought after mentioned: or, "is ashamed"; not answering the expectations of men, who saw it in the cluster, promising much, but failed.

the oil languisheth... Or "sickens"; the olive trees withered; the olives fell off, as the Targum, and so the oil failed. The corn, wine, and oil, are particularly mentioned, not only as being the chief support of human life, as Kimchi observes, and so the loss of them must be matter of lamentation to the people in general.

But because of these the meat and drink offerings were, and therefore the priests in particular had reason to mourn.

The offering stopped, because of the failure of the crops. We will study in the book of Isaiah that much of the devastation was from natural causes.

Isa. 24:3 "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word."



The destruction of the crops (grain, grapes, and olive oil, Joel 1:10; cf. Hos. 2:22) had left the priests who served in the house of the Lord without the essentials for the daily grain offerings (minḥâh), which included flour and oil (cf. Num. 28:5), and drink offerings (nesek), which included wine (cf. Exo. 29:40; Num. 28:7).