In the fall of 1962, I sat with my family around the radio as President John Kennedy addressed the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
At school, we performed nuclear war drills that comically (today) involved hiding under our desks and covering our heads.
Although I had no idea about the effectiveness of these measures, I vividly recall the nervousness and anxiety I felt as a child about the possibility of war with Russia.
Joel’s message didn’t come from the head of a nation; rather, it came from God as a loud and clear “Now hear this, people.”
The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel:
Hear this, O elders;
give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?
Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children another generation. (Joel 1.1-3)
The question in Joel’s day, and the question in 2023, is: Are we listening for the voice of God in world events?
Destruction and Complacency
God’s message was one of coming destruction. Unfortunately, it was met with complacency that was an attempt to anesthetize individuals against a terrifying future.
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.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep,
and wail, all you wine drinkers,
over the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
For a nation has invaded my land,
powerful and innumerable;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness. (Joel 1.4-6)
Sandra Knop, while serving as a missionary in Mali, shared with me her experience of witnessing a locust swarm. She described it as a cloud approaching the horizon, which turned out to be a massive swarm of locusts.
After they passed, they left the entire area completely barren.
Israel faced not a swarm of locusts, but an invading army that devastated their nation completely. Interestingly, in response to this terrible event, God’s people indulged in pleasure-seeking activities.
It is like they were living by the motto, “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
As we view the complex troubles of a world in chaos, the question we need to ask ourselves is: Are we engaging in pleasure-seeking activities or mindless entertainment instead of discerning what God is up to and joining Him in His activity?
The First Step
I am a nightly news watcher. Before heading to bed, I end my evening in a time of prayer and sometimes ask God, “How do you feel about what you see going on?”
I try to think how God feels, and the first step in this is to join in a lament like Joel recommends.
Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth
for the husband of her youth. (Joel 1.8)
Two responses stand in stark opposition to each other. One looks at the troubled world and wonders, “What’s on TV tonight?”
The other confronts the same world and asks, “God, how do you feel about these events? How can I feel with you and participate in your plan for the world?”
The question remains: which response will we choose?
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I begin a study of the prophet Joel today. It is on the Bob Spradling YouTube channel.
Real Voices 