Verse 5
"Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth."
Joel viewed the locust plague as a manifestation of God's displeasure due to the sins of his people; and, quite appropriately, he directed his first great admonition, "Awake," to a prominent class of sinners always present in any wicked society, the drunkards. Naturally, the destruction of all vegetation, including the vineyards, would have interrupted and cut off the supply of intoxicants. Notably, Joel did not address this class as unfortunates overcome by some innocent disease. Ah no. The Biblical view of drinking intoxicants and wallowing in drunkenness relates such conditions to wickedness, and not to disease. Our own current society has repudiated this view; but it is nevertheless correct. As Shakespeare put it:
O thou invisible spirit of wine,
If thou hast no name to be known by, let
Us call thee devil.[16]
Thomas' comment on this whole verse is pertinent:
Awake, you are sleeping on the bosom of a volcanic hill about to burst and engulf you. And weep, because of the blessings you have abused, the injuries you have inflicted upon your own natures, and upon others; weep because of the sins you have committed against yourself, society, and God. Howl, all ye drinkers of wine... If you were aware of your true situation, you would howl indeed, howl out your soul in confession and prayer![17]
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