Joel 1 - Summary

The prophet Joel calls upon elders and all inhabitants to witness an unprecedented agricultural catastrophe as four successive stages of locusts - palmer-worm, locust, cankerworm, and caterpillar - devour everything, leaving fields wasted and joy withered from the sons of men. The devastation extends from grain to wine to oil, stripping vines and fig trees bare, cutting off both the drunkards' pleasure and the temple's grain and drink offerings. Joel summons priests to gird themselves in sackcloth, to sanctify a fast and solemn assembly, crying out to the LORD as the Day of the LORD approaches with destruction from the Almighty.