Joel Chapter
One
(http://spiritualbiblestudies.com)
(Verse Twenty)
“The beasts
of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters
are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the
wilderness.”
CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER ONE
Beasts of the Field
Let
us recall what we read concerning these beasts in verse 18 of our study of Joel
chapter one:
“How
do the beasts groan! the herds
of cattle are perplexed, because
they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.”
The beasts that groan appear nearly without question to encompass the
peoples of the world. Scripture seems to
use the word beasts in
representing two types of people on the earth:
the unregenerate or unsaved and yet it may also symbolize “confessing”
Christians of the world. Christ’s
earthly and literal church consists of both true believers (wheat) and
non-believers (chaff). We must
understand that within scripture wherein a particular word, let us use the word
beast for example, conveys the meaning of wild animals and yet if only
one verse in all of scripture indicates that “beasts” is symbolic for peoples
of the world, then we must out of necessity keep that in mind with regard to
all other verses that we find the word beasts.
God many times uses more than one layer of interpretation.
Micah
5:8 - And the remnant of Jacob shall be
among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts
of the forest, as a young lion
among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through,
both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
True believers, i.e. the true spiritual Israel of God (remnant) are
portrayed in scripture AS a
lion among the beasts of the forest and AS
a young lion among the flocks of sheep. Here
we see that God equates His true children to animals, in this case the children
of God are symbolized as lions and Christ of course is spoken in scripture as
the LION of the tribe of Juda, Revelation 5:5.
We must also realize that Satan and his kingdom are also depicted
throughout scripture as lions.
God likens Himself many times in scripture as an
animal in order to teach with earthly metaphors.
Hosea
5:14 - For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion
to the house of
Hosea
11:10 - They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the
children shall tremble from the west.
Hosea
13:7 - Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard
by the way will I observe them:
Hosea
13:8 - I will meet them as a bear
that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and
there will I devour them like a lion:
the wild beast shall tear them.
Joel 1:20 - The beasts of the field cry
also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured [same word as eat; # 398] the
pastures of the wilderness.
When we read that
the fire has devoured the
pastures we know that it is the same language or has the same meaning as if we
would read “the locusts have eaten, devoured, and consumed the green
trees.” It also means likewise, in that
the waters, rivers, and fountains of the earth have been made bitter. All of this implies that Christ’s Words - the
Words of Faith - have been eaten away; i.e. altered, twisted, distorted,
tainted, misrepresented, misused and so on.
The Word of God has been SILENCED
or spiritually KILLED. A
statement such as this should never be made without adding the beautiful fact
that Christ’s Words can NEVER be altered in the hearts of His Elect; it is only
in the earth and within the darkened hearts of unregenerate man that true
Gospel will not penetrate after God has sealed His elect.
The Rivers of
Waters are Dried Up (Joel 1:20)
How did Satan make
this world into a wilderness? By
deceiving man into believing the lies of the serpent. This world has been a spiritual wilderness
ever since the fall of Adam and Eve. At
the first coming of Christ, the parch ground of this wilderness was finally
given moisture by the going forth of the WATERS
of the Gospel. Consider the following
verses:
Isaiah 35:7 - And the parched ground shall become a pool,
and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation
of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass
with reeds and rushes.
[God
speaks in beautiful parables filled with metaphors or allegories. The parched ground or thirsty land without
question is depicted as earth’s masses of humanity before God’s saving Gospel
is rained down upon the earth. Once
Christ opened the gates of heaven His good news of eternal salvation penetrated
many hearts that created His Bride and true Church. God’s elect was then symbolized as grass with reeds and rushes. Their hearts were fertile ground for God’s
Word to grow and multiply. It is this green grass that Satan has
always been after and his ministers (portrayed as locusts) will have their last
attack at silencing Christ’s words as they metaphorically eat up the grass of
the earth (the lush vegetation) at the end of time.]
Isaiah 43:20 - The beast of the field shall
honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert, … TO GIVE DRINK TO MY PEOPLE, MY
[Can
we get any clearer than this?]
Isaiah
51:3
- For the LORD shall comfort
[“Joy and gladness shall be found therein,
thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”
Where does the world, this spiritual wilderness, find true joy and
gladness; this thanksgiving and the voice of melody? It is found ONLY within the people whom God’s
truth of living waters has rained down upon.
Before God’s Word went forth into this world, the spiritual condition of
the earth was indeed a parched ground, a thirsty land, a wilderness and a desert.
]
Isaiah
32:1-2
-
1 - Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,
and princes shall rule in
judgment.
2 - And a man
shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as
rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
[This wonderful verse describes the
characteristics of a true child of God.
The King that reigns in righteousness is of course Christ Himself. The princes that shall rule with Him in judgment
would be the believers (1 Corinthians 6:2).
A believer shall be a hiding place from the wind. As Christians, our life is hidden in
Christ, and nothing can spiritually touch us and deceive us away from
Christ. We know that Christ alone is our
hiding place from Satan’s world and a covert or shelter from any tempest. The Christian life is a spiritual renewal; as
rivers of water in this spiritually dry world. The true believer is as the shadow of a great
rock in a weary or thirsty land. We are
to be the shadow of Christ; we live clothed in His righteousness (Isaiah
61:10). We are the shadow of this great
rock, and Christ is this great rock - THE ROCK OF AGES. Christ was the rock in Numbers 20:8, from
which the children of
Speaking
of the sojourning of the Old Testament congregation of God (the children of
Israel), Scripture plainly tells us that they were following the same God as
the New Testament spiritual Jew follows…that is Christ. Consider the following passages:
1
Corinthians 10:1-4 -
1 - Moreover,
brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were
under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 - And were all
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 - And did
all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 - And did
all drink the same spiritual drink:
for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock
was Christ.
To
fall victim to the biblical scorpion necessitates one receiving the STING of death. This sting is the result of our inherited
sinful nature, 1 Corinthians 15:53. The
only way in which to escape the eternal sting of these scorpions is by being
covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. We must put on Christ Himself and live in
Him. This corruption must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality, 1 Corinthians
15:53. Only after we have put on this
incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality…then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where
is thy victory? (I Corinthians 15:54-55)
Sadly
we must concede that the great majority of humanity who has ever lived will
never experience the joy of having been robed in Christ’s righteousness. “Because straight in the gate, and narrow is
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it,” (Matthew
7:14). On the other hand, God’s call for
salvation is to all people. “And the
spirit and the bride say, Come. And let
him that heareth say, Come. And let him
that is athirst come. And whosoever
will, let him take the water
of life freely,” (Revelation 22:7).
As
we conclude our study of Joel chapter one, we have seen that the entire text is
dealing ultimately with the coming Day of the Lord and the world’s silencing of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we begin
to look into Joel chapter two we will find further commentary describing the characteristics
of the Day of the Lord.
End
of Joel Chapter One Study