Joel, 1
2. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
2. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Chapter 1 of Joel's book begins with a description of a pest of grasshoppers who devastated the land of Judah, causing hunger and misery to the people. The prophet calls for the population to regret and repent of their sins, for the day of the Lord is near. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in Joel 1:
Amós 4:9: "He hurt you with east wind burns and rust; the grasshopper has multiplied over your gardens and vineyards, and over your figs and olive trees, the larva consumed everything; yet you have not converted to me, say the Lord." This verse talks about the pest of grasshoppers and other natural disasters that God sent as judgment about the people of Israel, but that they did not repent of their sins.
Isaiah 13:6: "To bear, for, for the day of the Lord is close; it comes from the Almighty as a giving." Just as Joel summons the people to regret and repent before the pest of locusts, Isaiah also talks about the day of the Lord, a day of judgment and brush that is near.
Amos 5:16: "Therefore, thus saith the Lord, God of hosts, the Lord: In all the streets there will be weeping, and in all the roads will say, Oh! Oh! knew how to mourn. " This verse also talks about lament and weeping before the day of the Lord and divine judgment.
Job 2:8: "Then Job, taking a shard to scrape him with him, sat in the middle of the gray." Just as the people of Judah tore their robes and mourned before the pest of locusts, Job, in his pain and suffering, also ripped his garments and sat on the ash.
Psalm 107:33-34: "He transforms rivers into deserts, and sources into dry land; the fruit earth into salted earth because of the wickedness of its residents." This psalm talks about how God can transform a fertile earth into an arid desert because of the wickedness of the people. This idea is similar to what Joel described about the grasshopper plague that devastated the land of Judah.
“Deus não opera prodígios onde não há fé.” São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina
