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BE ASHAMED, YOU FARMERS

Text: Joel 1
3 October 2021

JOEL’S PROPHECY

Joel was a prophet sent by the LORD to speak to the children of Israel. He brought a grim word to the people where the land had suffered a great disaster. A plague of locust had devastated the whole land.

4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;

What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;

And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.     Joel 1:4

 A SPECIAL WORD TO THE FARMERS

This word was given to those who were farmers.

11 Be ashamed, you farmers,

Wail, you vinedressers,

For the wheat and the barley;

Because the harvest of the field has perished.

12 The vine has dried up,

And the fig tree has withered;

The pomegranate tree,

The palm tree also,

And the apple tree—

All the trees of the field are withered;

Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.     Joel 1:11-12

  1. The farmers and the vinedressers

a) They were addressed

b) How would they respond to this horrendous plight?

  1. The state of the land

a) The harvest of the field had perished

b) The vine has dried up

c) The fig tree has withered

d) Other trees had also failed

i) The pomegranate tree

ii) The palm tree

iii) The apple tree

e) All the trees of the field are withered 

f) Joy had also withered away from the sons of men!

WAS THERE A SOLUTION?

Joel called upon the nation to fast and pray.

13 Gird yourselves and lament, you priests;

Wail, you who minister before the altar;

Come, lie all night in sackcloth,

You who minister to my God;

For the grain offering and the drink offering

Are withheld from the house of your God.

14 Consecrate a fast,

Call a sacred assembly;

Gather the elders

And all the inhabitants of the land

Into the house of the Lord your God,

And cry out to the Lord.     Joel 1:13-14

  1. Where there is no fruit

One must cry out to the LORD!

  1. Everyone must seek the LORD

The call was to everyone to seek the Lord in earnest and humble prayer!

May we seek the Lord’s grace and mercy to be fruitful in life and ministry!