Joel
Locusts and Repentance
In the Book of Joel, Joel son of Pethuel, a prophet in the old testament, talks about a swarm of locusts and the devastation they caused. The insects themselves, are not really the focus of Joel’s writings, but the lesson they bring to the people. The Locusts are compared as God’s Army, they never waver, there is no hiding and cause great destruction. Joel calls upon the people of Judah to rend their hearts and not their garments. True repentance is the key and great rewards come to the those who do so.
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”
Joel 2:28
As I have written before, it is super easy to say I am sorry to some one who you may have harmed, willingly or unwillingly. Some people say sorry a lot. There are folks who say sorry, but continue the same behavior. They wonder why these things happen to them all the time forcing them to apologize. Maybe it is because there is no true repentance. When you repent and you are sincere, then the actions or thoughts you had or did that caused the bad thing tends to disappear.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips.
Joel 1:5
When I am separated from God, is when I have the locusts of life upon me. They devour all the things in my path. I start to feel like I got this, that I can use my own power and will to manipulate, improve or change a situation, it means that I am choosing to pull away from God. Although it is not always conscious decision, the Lord will send plagues to remind me to repent and return to His will for me.
“What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.”
Joel 1:4
The actual plagues may not be insects, but manifest in angst, anxiety, unhappiness, feeling sick, worldly problems and other such “bugs”. Rending my clothes, telling others about all my problems because of them, they, that thing or situation, results in more of the bugs until my fertile fields are destroyed. Not until I get over my bad self and start to repent sincerely do I see a return of the riches in my spiritual self and quite honestly my physical being. Repentance is realizing that the somethings happen because of me, not to me.
re·pent·ance /rəˈpentns/ noun
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
the action of repenting; sincere regret or remorse.
“each person who turns to God in genuine repentance and faith will be saved”
