In the United States, many pastors never speak of God’s discipline or God’s judgment. God expects pastors to care for people’s souls. We must do so in a Biblical way. Sin is rebellion against the King of the universe. It is disrespect for his person. Despite such disrespect, God still loves people. He does forgive them when they ask. Pastors must teach these truths.

Disastrous Events

I think I will always remember 2011 as a year of disasters.1 Early in the year, we saw videos of the earthquake and floods in Japan. It was sobering to see raging waters sweeping away homes, automobiles, and human beings. People entered eternity swiftly, in a matter of seconds. In April, we had a night of tornadoes in Alabama, where I live. Several towns were struck. More than 200 people died across our state. The size of the tornado that landed 100 miles west of my home was staggering. The very next month, a tornado of similar size hit Joplin, Missouri, where my sister lives. The path of destruction was wide, and many people died. These places all learned that nature is not always kind. It can be a source of death as well as a source of life.

How should we think about such events? Should we simply consider them a bit of bad luck? Should we think they punish bad people? Should we think God is not in control of such events? Should we just put such terrible events out of our minds? How can we think Biblically about what seem to be freakish acts of nature? I do not have all the answers to these questions.

I do not fully understand God’s ways. But I believe that studying Joel 1 will help us begin to find answers.

Here, Joel describes a terrible locust plague. In fact, he states that it is a plague for the ages. It is one that people who experience it will never forget. More than that, Joel writes, it is an opportunity to seek God and return to him. This chapter invites us to see natural disasters as times when our faith in God can grow. Joel uses a plague for the ages to build faith for the ages.

Joel 1 is a tightly connected message. We cannot separate its contents the way we can some other Biblical passages. However, a few clear themes emerge. This passage stresses the day of disaster, the day of the Lord, and the day of prayer.

The Day of Disaster (Joel 1:1–12)

In Joel 1:2, he declares that every elder and inhabitant of the land must listen. Joel is about to announce an unprecedented event. Clearly, this is an urgent message that affects the whole land. It is like the tornado sirens that warn Americans when a storm is approaching.

Verse 4 reveals the great danger. A locust plague would soon descend on the land. Joel lists four types of locusts that will eat away the nation’s food supply. Whatever one type of locust leaves, another type will devour. Verse 6 compares these locusts to an unstoppable, mighty army.

It may be hard for citizens of great cities to grasp what the text envisions. Imagine that you are in a rural place. Imagine all the crops and trees destroyed. Imagine livelihoods wiped out. Imagine economic disaster and panic, starvation, and desperation. Perhaps older people who have experienced war recall similar terrible images. Israel was an agricultural nation. It depended on its crops to survive. Joel’s message means that everything the people knew and loved was at risk.

This disaster will affect everyone.

Joel 1:1–12 demonstrates creation’s total dependence on God. Everything we have—every good gift—comes from God (James 1:17). We must make plans. We must plant crops and conduct business. It is right to use our knowledge and gifts to provide for our families. Yet we must realize how fragile life really is. We may act like we are independent and self-reliant. We may live in great nations and have fine allies. But God rules the universe. We must bow to his authority. We must recognize that we are but small children, helpless without our Father’s help. We must bow before him, and he will lift us up.

The Day of the Lord (Joel 1:15)

Joel 1:15 explains that the plague has not come by accident. God has sent it. Joel reveals that this plague is “the day of the Lord.” This is a familiar Biblical term we must study if we want to understand the prophetic books.

The day of the Lord is a concept that describes the different ways that God judges. The Biblical roots of this concept goes back to Moses. In Deuteronomy 27–28, Moses tells Israel the benefits of keeping their covenant commitments to God. He also explains the consequences of breaking their covenant promises.

Joel informs the people that God will discipline them when they sin. God promises to bring hardships on them to lead them to repent. If they refuse to repent, God promises worse problems, including crop failure and plague. If they still do not repent, Moses warns, God will drive them from the promised land. He will send them into exile. Clearly Moses taught that God loved his people enough to lead them to repentance (compare Deuteronomy 7:6–11). He also taught that God would not let sin go on forever. Thus, he taught that God is righteous and will therefore judge sin.

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