Joel the
prophet declared, “the day of the LORD is at hand”, and
his promise was that “destruction from the Almighty shall come”.
He also asked the people of Judah to consider how “the meat”
was “cut off” before their “eyes”, and “joy
and gladness from the house of” their “God”. In
chapter one and verse seventeen, Joel shares about the “Seed”,
the “garners”, the “barns” and the “corn”
where we read:
The seed
is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate,
the barns
are broken down; for the corn is withered.
The
verse begins, “The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners
are laid desolate,...” Joel began with the words, “The
seed” or “grain of seed or kernel” “is rotten” which
means “shriveled and wasted away” “under the clods” or
“shovel or something thrown off the spade”, “the garners”
which refers to “treasures, storehouses, treasure house and
treasury” “are laid desolate” which means “appalled,
stunned, stupefied, deflowered and deserted”. As Joel surveyed the
land of Judah, he noticed how even the “seed” or beginning
of the plants was “shriveled up and wasted away”. He also shared
how the “storehouses” which were normally filled with grains were
“empty and deserted”.
The
verse continues, “...the barns are broken down; for the
corn is withered.” Joel added, “the barns” which
means “granary in the sense of depositing” “are broken down”
or “torn down, overthrown, beaten down, broken, thrown down,
plucked down, ruined and utterly destroyed”; “for the corn”
which means “wheat, cereal and grain” “is withered” or
“made dry and without moisture”. Joel continued to share how the
“barns” or “granaries” were “torn down and
overthrown”, and the “grains” were “dried up and without
moisture”.
When
we think about these words, we can almost sense the devastation Joel
felt as he shared them with the people. All the normal prosperities
were destroyed, and where there used to be abundance, there was only
lack. Sometimes we face “ruin” and “impairment” in our lives,
and perhaps we look around and discover our “prosperity” is gone,
and we may even wonder if God even sees us in our conditions. It is
in these times we can identify with the people of Judah, and realize
that God Almighty sent Jesus Christ to save us no matter how horrible
our conditions may be.
Next
time Joel shares about the “beasts, cattle, and sheep”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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