3 action steps in a Crisis

 Read Joel 1.

This is not merely a prophet's message.  It is "the word of the LORD" (v.1).

The target audience was the southern kingdom of Judah.  What was happening and about to take place had never been experienced in the nation's history. 

A devastating locust attack on all the agriculture is described in four waves.  Each wave of infestation destroyed the land to a new low.  Apparently, the locust plague was accompanied by a severe drought (v.20).  The condition of the land was so bad that there was not enough to offer the LORD for the grain and drink offerings at the Temple.  This is a thinly disguised comparison to what the Babylonians would do in their multi-phased invasion of Judah.  Everything will be stripped away; everything will be lost.  The people are compared to drunkards (v.5).  The innumerable Babylonians are compared to attacking lions (v.6).

In brokenness, the nation is urged to go into a state of mourning.  They are told to put on sackcloth and lament (v.13).  But those were only outward signs of grief.  God wanted more from them.  His desire was for them to acknowledge that they brought this on themselves due to their sin and to express sorrow from their hearts.  In verse 14, He issued the following instructions to seek Him.

1. Consecrate a fast.
Fasting indicates there is a priority greater than food.  Most often, a truly grief-stricken person loses their appetite.  This is a time when the spirit needs more attention than the body.  The sense of physical hunger serves as the trigger for a superseding hunger for God.

2. Call a solemn assembly.
Since this was a national dilemma, all the people were called to gather together.  The New Testament reminds us that we are not to neglect meeting together (Hebrews 10:25).  We need one another for regular encouragement, instruction, and worship.  How much more when we are faced with overwhelming circumstances!

3. Cry out to the LORD.
The purpose of the gathering was specifically for prayer.  The Hebrew word for "cry" in this verse means "to shriek" as someone would loudly do when in severe pain or terrorized.  Together, as a nation, they were to shriek to the LORD, confessing their sin, and pleading for mercy.

"The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17)