I have been completely intoxicated one time and throw-up in the corner of my buddies room in between the bed and the wall. Totally missed the trash can and didn\’t even know it till Monday in school when he told me how pissed his mother was. The morning after wasn\’t bad at all and really didn\’t live up to the rumors that I had heard about throbbing head aches and not remembering what happened. Truth is I remember most of what happen and it has led me to believe that I was just really drunk not completely trashed like the people of Israel in the book of Joel.
I got to the book of Joel last night but then didn\’t really have time to fit it into last nights blog. So I decided that I would sit down and really study-study the book/first chapter to see what this book was really about. Now when I mean study, I mean that I opened up a commentary and word explanation text to learn more about the passages and their context. It was kinda weird how I picked Joel. I was in this random state of mind and I said to myself, \”I wonder what my name means?\” Then I searched it and found that it meant \”God Willing\”. So then I was like, \”I wonder if that lines up with the book of Joel in the bible.\”
After reading the first chapter and looking at what other people interpret about the book, I have come to the conclusion that this book is and account of what must have been the biggest hangover in the history of alcohol. I haven\’t seen the movie \”Hangover\” but from what co-workers describe and from what I have seen in previews it kinda sums up what I think that Israel might have been going through, but times Israels by 100.
I really love the way that the Bible is written and have never really noticed till I started reading it for myself. Most of the time it is funny to me because it never really says what it really means but like a wife beats around the bush with some sarcastic remark or an obvious statement. They really want you to pick up your underwear off the floor but will that say that? Not a chance, its, \”are those your underwear?\” Thats kinda like most of the writers in the bible and specifically Joel in the next passage. To me its a sarcastic obvious question, almost like an, \”I told you so,\” moment.
Joel 1:2
Hear this, O elders, and listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days or the days of your father?
Now to me this is a rhetorical question that he is asking. He know and so does Israel that they have never seen such calamity like this before. Just to give you a little perspective of how bad this was here is a description of the account.
Joel 1:4-7, 17-19
4What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten;
And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten;
And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.
5Awake, drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
On account of the sweet wine
That is cut off from your mouth.
6For a nation has invaded my land,
Mighty and without number;
Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the fangs of a lioness.
7It has made my vine a waste
And my fig tree splinters.
It has stripped them bare and cast them away;
Their branches have become white.
The storehouses are desolate,
The barns are torn down,
For the grain is dried up.
18How the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle wander aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep suffer.
19To You, O LORD, I cry;
For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
They had nothing. No food. nothing and not only do they have nothing but neither do their cattle. Because of their wickedness the livestock that they have are also completely cut off. V.18 \”The herds of cattle wander aimlessly because there is no pasture for them.\” This is not only bad for the cattle but it hurts Israel just as much because they rely on the cattle for food as well. They are screwed. Everything is destroyed and they are left to depend on only God now. They have no one and nothing else.
Now the hangover part. I kinda got ahead of myself a little and side tracked but hopefully this will tie in what I am thinking. At the start of the first chapter Joel says this…
Joel 1:5,11,13
5Awake, drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
On account of the sweet wine
That is cut off from your mouth.
Now I don\’t necessarily think that drunkenness was there sin of choice but it was the reason/ start of the problem. I really think they just got super hammered and just did what ever the felt like it. They gratified their fleshly desires and gave in to every sinful indulgence and depended on themselves for what they needed while putting God out of site. As the scene unfolds, I can just imagine the prophet Joel walking up into the land and seeing people scattered all over passed out on the ground from their wickedness and destruction all around them. Joel goes to the highest point he can find and shouts, \”wake up you fricken idiots! what the hell have you done? Look what you have caused with your stupidity!\” Then my favorite part, \”have you seen anything like this or heard of anything worse than this? you really screwed the pooch this time dumb-asses!\”
The application part is next. It is not the only application but it is the application that I have chosen to take out today. Right after he asked his rhetorical question he hits them with a command to boast for God. He first says look at what my God just did to you and see how powerful he is when you don\’t follow him? Now go tell everyone you know about his awesome power. Go tell everyone that the only one you should depend on is God. Make sure everyone knows about what God has done here.
I see this is a re-occurring theme in the Bible. Woman at the well, and anytime Jesus healed someone. We are to boast about our God. Especially this time of year. What better time to tell people about what Jesus did on the cross for us? I suck at it. I am a chicken when it comes to just bringing p conversation about God. I want boldness. I want courage. Courage to tell people about my powerful God who can do anything. Help me to be that light in a dark place. There are many around me that need to experience that freedom that Jesus paid for and I don\’t want to have to go through a terrible hangover to understand and gain the boldness. Make me a bold exclaimer of your power.
Nos & Rehtaf, Dnabsuh 
That's awesome! I am lovin your stuff in Acts right now! It's so good stuff!
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Hey man, great OT stuff. I'm learning alot about these books reading your posts.
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Haha that's awesome! I had no clue about the book either so it was allot of fun learning too
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Honestly, I had no clue what the book of Joel was about, so this was some good stuff for me to read
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