Joel 1:14,Joel 1:15

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joel 1:14

Joel 1:14. Sanctify ye a fast, &c. In order to avert God’s wrath and deprecate his judgments. Gather the elders, &c., into the house of the Lord The house where God hath placed his name, and where he hath promised to hear the prayers which are addressed to him by his people, when they are afflicted with judgments of this kind: see 1 Kings 8:37. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joel 1:1-20

1:1-2:11 THE GREAT LOCUST PLAGUEEffects of the plague (1:1-20)So devastating is the current locust plague, that even the oldest people cannot remember anything like it. The whole countryside has been stripped bare. Joel tells the people to pass the story of the plague on to their children and grandchildren, so that it will not be forgotten (1:1-4). Those who have greedily lived for their own pleasure are punished. They will no longer get drunk with wine, because the locusts have destroyed the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Joel 1:14

a solemn assembly = a day of restraint. Hebrew. 'azarah. Occurs only here, in Joel 2:15 ; 2 Kings 10:20 ; and Isaiah 1:13 . Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 23:36 . Numbers 29:35 .Deuteronomy 16:8; Deuteronomy 16:8 ) where the feminine form 'azereth is used ( App-92 ). It is found also in 2 Chronicles 7:9 , Nehemiah 8:18 . gather the elders. There being no mention of a king in this book is held by some as pointing to the time of Athaliah's usurpation. But see notes on p. 1224, and App-77... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Joel 1:14

14. Sanctify . . . a fast—Appoint a solemn fast. solemn assembly—literally, a "day of restraint" or cessation from work, so that all might give themselves to supplication (Joel 2:15; Joel 2:16; 1 Samuel 7:5; 1 Samuel 7:6; 2 Chronicles 20:3-13). elders—The contrast to "children" (Joel 2:16) requires age to be intended, though probably elders in office are included. Being the people's leaders in guilt, they ought to be their leaders also in repentance. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joel 1:2-20

II. A PAST DAY OF THE LORD: A LOCUST INVASION 1:2-20The rest of chapter 1 describes the effects of a severe locust plague that had recently destroyed the agriculture of the land. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joel 1:14

C. A call to repent 1:14Joel called on the priests not only to mourn (Joel 1:13) but also to assemble all the people at the temple for a solemn fast. Such fasts indicated national repentance in Israel’s history (cf. 1 Samuel 7:6; Nehemiah 9:1-2; Jeremiah 36:9; Jonah 3:5). Here, as usual, fasting combined with praying to the Lord. The people would pray to Him for mercy and for renewed blessing and would demonstrate their sincerity and urgency by going without food while they prayed. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:1-20

The Coming of the Locusts a Harbinger of the Day of the LordAfter the title (Joel 1:1), the prophet announces an unheard of and long to be remembered ruin, wrought by locusts (Joel 1:2-4), and summons the users of wine to bewail the destruction of vineyards (Joel 1:5-7). He calls for lamentation, like that of a widowed bride, over the loss of sacrificial offerings, and wasted fields and orchards (Joel 1:8-12). He commands the priests to lament and to appoint a fast and a meeting for prayer... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Joel 1:14

(14) A solemn assembly.—The Hebrew word strictly means a festival day, on which the people gathered themselves together, being relieved from work. Here they are summoned for a fast. The word may also be translated, as in the margin, “a day of restraint,” its root signifying to shut, to hold back. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Joel 1:1-20

The Message of the Book of Joel Joel 1:1 The book of Joel, as we have it, consists of two parts. I. A violent plague of locusts had visited the land, and from this destruction the Prophet saw nothing to save the people but repentance. In his call to repentance we notice four suggestions. a. He discovers to the people the condition of affairs. He challenges them to say whether, in the memory of anyone living, a crisis of such importance had arisen. b. He bids them wait for the desolation that... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Joel 1:2-20

THE LOCUSTS AND THE DAY OF THE LORDJoel 1:2-20; Joel 2:1-17JOEL, as we have seen, found the motive of his prophecy in a recent plague of locusts, the appearance of which and the havoc they worked are described by him in full detail. Writing not only as a poet but as a seer, who reads in the locusts signs of the great Day of the Lord, Joel has necessarily put into his picture several features which carry the imagination beyond the limits of experience. And yet, if we ourselves had lived through... read more

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joel 1:14

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joel 1:1-20

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Joel 1:14

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Joel 1:14

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joel 1:2-20

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Joel 1:14

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:1-20

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Joel 1:14

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Joel 1:1-20

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Joel 1:2-20

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