Joe 1:6 | KingComments | STEP | Among the four smallest animals on earth, but are exceedingly wise ( ), there is also the locust: “The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks” ( ). Locusts are ‘a nation’ that, although they have no king, nevertheless go with wisdom. This wisdom comes from God; He governs this people. Locusts are powerful because they are countless. Moreover, they form a unity; there is no breach to be made in their ranks. They continue to form a closed front. This is a nice application for the church now. If we leave aside the devastating effect, as does the above verse quoted from Proverbs 30:27, we see in these animals a wonderful characteristic of how God wants the church to function. It has no visible guidance either, but depends in everything on the invisible, but no less real guidance of the Holy Spirit. If every member of the church places himself under the guidance of the Spirit, both in daily life and in the meetings, this will be expressed in the unified action of the believers. The enemy will not succeed to cause division. It testifies of wisdom if the children of God submit to that invisible guidance. The Spirit of God makes clear through the Word of God how He wants to lead each member individually and all members together. If every member reads God’s Word, it will also become clear what his or her function is in the whole and how that function can be exercised to serve the whole. The locusts of which Joel speaks are called “a nation”. This makes it clear that in these locusts an example can be seen of a nation on a war path. The mighty weapons at their disposal are their teeth, which are compared with the teeth of lion and the fangs of lioness (cf. ). The king of the animals grabs his prey and tears it with his teeth without letting go. The same destructive work do locusts with their teeth. They eat everything without leaving something. If these creatures can do such an evil, how much more will it be done by the hostile people, whose actions are described in detail in the next chapter ( ). This destructive power is released on what God calls “My land”. That is why the chastening that God must bring over His land also affects Himself. We’ll see this in , where it is said that no more sacrifices are brought to Him. This makes it clear that God does not send judgment from His high and exalted position without being involved in it Himself ( ). The land is entrusted to Israel to manage it for Him and to give Him the fruit of it. They are allowed to enjoy all the good of it. But if they consider the land to be their own, and plunder it, God must remind them by discipline of what He said: “For the land is Mine; for you are [but] aliens and sojourners with Me” ( ).

‏ Joel 1:6

Locusts Invasion

Among the four smallest animals on earth, but are exceedingly wise (Pro 30:24), there is also the locust: “The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks” (Pro 30:27). Locusts are ‘a nation’ that, although they have no king, nevertheless go with wisdom. This wisdom comes from God; He governs this people. Locusts are powerful because they are countless. Moreover, they form a unity; there is no breach to be made in their ranks. They continue to form a closed front.

This is a nice application for the church now. If we leave aside the devastating effect, as does the above verse quoted from Proverbs 30:27, we see in these animals a wonderful characteristic of how God wants the church to function. It has no visible guidance either, but depends in everything on the invisible, but no less real guidance of the Holy Spirit. If every member of the church places himself under the guidance of the Spirit, both in daily life and in the meetings, this will be expressed in the unified action of the believers. The enemy will not succeed to cause division.

It testifies of wisdom if the children of God submit to that invisible guidance. The Spirit of God makes clear through the Word of God how He wants to lead each member individually and all members together. If every member reads God’s Word, it will also become clear what his or her function is in the whole and how that function can be exercised to serve the whole.

The locusts of which Joel speaks are called “a nation”. This makes it clear that in these locusts an example can be seen of a nation on a war path. The mighty weapons at their disposal are their teeth, which are compared with the teeth of lion and the fangs of lioness (cf. Rev 9:8). The king of the animals grabs his prey and tears it with his teeth without letting go. The same destructive work do locusts with their teeth. They eat everything without leaving something. If these creatures can do such an evil, how much more will it be done by the hostile people, whose actions are described in detail in the next chapter (Joel 2:1-11).

This destructive power is released on what God calls “My land”. That is why the chastening that God must bring over His land also affects Himself. We’ll see this in Joel 1:9, where it is said that no more sacrifices are brought to Him. This makes it clear that God does not send judgment from His high and exalted position without being involved in it Himself (Lam 3:33).

The land is entrusted to Israel to manage it for Him and to give Him the fruit of it. They are allowed to enjoy all the good of it. But if they consider the land to be their own, and plunder it, God must remind them by discipline of what He said: “For the land is Mine; for you are [but] aliens and sojourners with Me” (Lev 25:23b).