Listen and Respond | Joel
By Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
From Joel 1:1-12
1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? 3 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. 4 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.
5 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. 6 A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. 7 It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white.
8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth. 9 Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the Lord. 10 The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails.
11 Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed. 1:12 The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely, the people’s joy is withered away.
There is an important theme in the Book of Joel: “The Day of the Lord.” What does this phrase mean? We will learn more in the coming weeks from the three chapters in the Book of Joel.
In Joel 1:1-12, the prophet reminded us to hear and to listen. Israel’s culture is a culture of listening. When the Lord gave Israel His laws, He had instructed them, “You must listen”. But while listening had become an important cultural trait for Israel, it’s a pity that they did not listen to what was said; it was as if they did not hear it at all.
We must learn to listen well. There are two ways to listen:
1. Listen to history
Joel 1:3-4: “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. 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.”
These verses refer to a historic event. Locusts are a common problem in the Middle East, but in Joel 1:4, it says that what the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten and what the great locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten, what the young locusts have left, the other locusts have eaten. These were four kinds of locusts attacking in a row, making it a unique occurrence.
Therefore, in Joel 1:3, they are told to pass this matter on their children and their children’s children and on to the next generation. The prophet is telling us that what happened in history is not coincidental; it is the Lord God speaking to us.
Now that we are facing the COVID-19 pandemic, what is God telling us? We must listen carefully!
2. Listen with our eyes
In verses 5-7, the prophet wants Israel to open their eyes and listen. Since their ears seem unable to hear, he urges them to open your eyes to listen! Joel 1:6 “A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness.” Do you see these horrible situations? Through these situations, do you hear what God is saying?
To listen is to hear, but what use is it if one hears but does not respond? Starting from verse 8, the prophet asked the people to respond appropriately.
- Joel 1:8 “Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth.”
- Joel 1:9 “Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the Lord.”
- Joel 1:11 “Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed.”
- Joel 1:12 “Surely the people’s joy is withered away.” The prophet enjoined the people to repent, to grieve – to show their repentance.
May we humble ourselves before our Lord, seek His mercy together, and experience His mercy in our weariness.
Next post: The Day of the Lord
聽並回應 | 約珥書
張國強牧師
約珥書 1:1-12
1:1 耶和華的話臨到毗土珥的兒子約珥。2 老年人哪, 當聽我的話;國中的居民哪, 都要側耳而聽; 在你們的日子, 或你們列祖的日子, 曾有這樣的事麼。3 你們要將這事傳與子, 子傳與孫, 孫傳與後代。4 剪蟲剩下的, 蝗蟲來喫; 蝗蟲剩下的, 蝻子來喫, 蝻子剩下的, 螞蚱來喫。
5 酒醉的人哪, 要清醒哭泣, 好酒的人哪, 都要為甜酒哀號, 因為從你們的口中斷絕了。6 有一隊蝗蟲又強盛, 又無數, 侵犯我的地, 牠的牙齒如獅子的牙齒, 大牙如母獅的大牙。7 牠毀壞我的葡萄樹, 剝了我無花果樹的皮, 剝盡而丟棄, 使枝條露白。
8 我的民哪!你當哀號, 像處女腰束麻布, 為幼年的丈夫哀號。9 素祭和奠祭從耶和華的殿中斷絕, 事奉耶和華的祭司都悲哀。10 田荒涼, 地悲哀,因為五穀毀壞, 新酒乾竭, 油也缺乏。
11 農夫阿, 你們要慚愧, 修理葡萄園的阿, 你們要哀號, 因為大麥小麥與田間的莊稼都滅絕了。12 葡萄樹枯乾, 花果樹衰殘。石榴樹、棕樹、蘋果樹, 連田野一切的樹木也都枯乾, 眾人的喜樂盡都消滅。
約珥書裡面有一個很重要的主題: 耶和華的日子。耶和華的日子是一個怎樣的日子呢? 我們將會從這三章的經文中更了解。
在1:1-12先知提醒我們要聽, 要側耳而聽; 猶太人的文化是一個聽的文化, 當神將律法賜給猶太人, 神對他們說: 你們要聽。聽成為猶大人一個很重的文化; 但可惜他們聽卻沒有聽進心裡, 聽了好像沒有聽一樣, 我們要學習重新好好聽。這裡有二種聽的方法：
1. 從歷史來聽。
1:3 你們要將這事傳與子, 子傳與孫, 孫傳與後代。1:4 剪蟲剩下的, 蝗蟲來喫; 蝗蟲剩下的, 蝻子來喫, 蝻子剩下的, 螞蚱來喫。這是歷史性的事件, 蝗蟲是中東常見的問題, 但1:4 剪蟲剩下的, 蝗蟲來喫; 蝗蟲剩下的, 蝻子來喫, 蝻子剩下的, 螞蚱來喫, 一連有四種蝗蟲來攻擊卻是絕無僅有的事, 所以, 1:3 你們要將這事傳與子, 子傳與孫, 孫傳與後代。先知在告訴我們, 歷史中所發生的事, 不是偶然的, 神在向我們說話。我們現在面對新冠肺炎的疫症, 神在告訴我們什麼呢? 我們要用心來聆聽啊！
2. 從眼睛來聽。
第五到第七節, 先知要我們打開眼睛來聽, 既然耳朵聽見好像聽不見, 那麼打開眼睛來聽吧! 1:6 有一隊蝗蟲又強盛, 又無數, 侵犯我的地, 牠的牙齒如獅子的牙齒, 大牙如母獅的大牙; 這些可怕的情況看見嗎? 藉著這些情況又聽見神在說什麼呢?
聽是聽見, 但聽了如果沒有回應又什麼作用呢? 從第八節開始, 先知要求百姓有正當的回應:
- 1:8 當哀號, 當哀號。
- 1:9 事奉耶和華的祭司都悲哀。
- 1:11 農夫阿, 你們要慚愧, 修理葡萄園的阿, 你們要哀號。
- 1:12眾人的喜樂盡都消滅。先知要全國都有一個悔改的心, 要哀傷要哀號, 這是悔改的表現。
願我們謙卑在祂面前, 一同尋求祂的憐憫, 在這疲情中經歷祂的憐憫。