The Fig Tree – 23

This post is Day 23 in a series of studies about “The Fig Tree”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about each verse and how you will be acting on each thought. Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to receive the notifications of new studies, you can do that today (the form is at the bottom of the page).


The Fig Tree – Day 23

Joel 1:11-13

Be sad, you farmers! Cry loudly, you grape growers! Mourn for the wheat and the barley. The harvest is destroyed in the field. The grapevines are dried up. The fig trees are withered. The pomegranate, palm, and apricot trees, as well as all the trees in the orchards, have died. Yes, the joy of these people has died too. Put on your sackcloth and mourn, you priests. Cry loudly, you servants of the altar. Spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God. Grain offerings and wine offerings are withheld from your God’s temple.

The Thought

The three short chapters of Joel’s prophecy make interesting reading. Joel wrote them at a time when swarms of locusts were attacking the vegetation all over the country.

Even today in many parts of our 21st century world, an attack on nature of this kind would mean starvation for many in poorer countries. For the people living 4 or 5 centuries before Christ it meant death to many, and for the priests who owned very little land and relied on the gifts and sacrifices for food, it was very serious. If nobody brought sacrifices, there was very little to eat for the priests.

Joel believed that this was a sign from The Lord for everyone to take their faith seriously once more. For them to turn back to the God of their fathers, because He who is known as The Faithful One promises that when they do that, then things will change.

Action

What is your reaction to disaster? Do international problems, (war, disease, plague, floods, storms) make you turn to God, or do you blame Him for these things?

Pray that you will have the right reactions to international tragedies, and that in times of crisis your faith will stay strong.

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