The day of the Lord is at hand

The day of the Lord is at hand

Everyone saw the locusts. Joel saw more: judgment from God.

Many times God used natural disasters to bring judgment: He sent the flood in the time of Noah (Gen. 6), the plagues in Egypt (Ex. 7-10), and the mighty wind that caused a storm during which Jonah was thrown into the sea (Jon. 1:4).

Yes, God uses natural disasters as judgment. No, not every natural disaster is a direct judgment on the very area where it strikes. If a flood, hurricane, plague, or other disaster strikes one particular area, we are wise to remember that we live in a world that is affected-at every level-by sin. God is not necessarily demonstrating His displeasure with every disaster; sin is everywhere, and we all pay the price for it.

But the locust plague in Joel was a different story; though it was a terrible and fierce attack, it was not God's judgment. But it was a warning. And Joel, through "the word of the

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Joel 1:15

LORD" (1:1), realized it. As bad as the locusts were, they were nothing compared to the real judgment that would surely come if Judah didn't repent: complete and utter destruction and captivity at the hands of their enemies.

The locusts were just a taste. They were a reminder of God's power and the destruction of sin. They were the living, breathing proof of Joel's message to the people of Judah: repent.

MORE INSIGHT

The day of the Lord is not an isolated phenomenon or a single event in human history.

Periods in Israel's early history and later history and the coming of Jesus and His Second Coming are all called "the day of the Lord" in Scripture. The day of the Lord can also refer to future hope, prosperity, and blessing (Is.

4:2-6; Hos. 2:18-23; Mic. 4:6-8).

next: Joel 2:18-32