I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. – Joel 2:25
A February 2024 article in the Smithsonian Magazine warned of the potential for giant locust swarms to increasingly cover more areas due to erratic weather that brings periods of rain and drought. Between 2019 and 2022, the cycles of rainfall and drought created conditions for the desert locusts to breed and grow. The worst outbreaks were in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, India, and the Arabian Peninsula. A swarm of locusts has the destructive ability to flatten a field of grain in under an hour. They arrive suddenly and depart just as quickly, riding the winds as they crisscross swaths of land, ravenously consuming whatever they find in their path. Etymologists claim a swarm of one square kilometer can consume as much food as would be eaten by 35,000 people in a single day.
The people at the time of the prophet Joel had experienced the devastation of locust swarms. Joel used the image of a locust plague to warn of God’s coming judgment, which would come in the form of a horde of foreign invaders. Missionary and former professor at Fuller Theological Seminary Dean Gilliland writes, “The same God who commissioned the locusts to come, now that His people have repented, will reimburse with a full payment all of the costs involved.” The history of the people of God recorded in the Old Testament is one of sorrow and loss, followed by restoration and renewal. Professor Duane Garrett says, “God does not allow the years of suffering to go unanswered.” The key for God to act was the repentance of the people.
Charles H. Spurgeon says, “Time once past is lost forever. … We cannot have back our time. But in a strange and wonderful way, God can give back to us the vested blessings, the unique fruits of years where we mourned. … Everything is possible for the one who believes (Mark 9:23).” Perhaps you have lost time in self-indulgence, sinful motives, personal ambition, or immoral living. Repent and seek God’s forgiveness, allowing the words of Joel to ring true for you. Place your confidence in the One who gives you hope for a full and fruitful life. Praise Him as you pray for a time of national repentance.
Today’s Verse: Joel 2:25
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Joel 2:12-13, 18-27
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
19 The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.
20 “I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard into the eastern sea,
and his rear guard into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.
21 “Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.
24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
