Chapter I.
"Verse 16: Immediately after declaring that the day of the Lord was upon them, Joel cries: "Is not the meat cut of before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God"
It is serious when joy and gladness are departed from anything. But
when these are gone from the house of God, the worst has come; the Bible no longer breathes hope, and the days of Amos 8: 11-14 are fulfilled, when people wander from sea to sea seeking the word of God.
Verse 17: The hope of the future is gone. The seed is not simply unfruitful, but it is rotten, and the barns are not repaired, because it is manifestly useless to do so. "The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered."
Verses 18-20: Here is brought to view the effect of the fourth plague. A comment on these verses, found in "The Great Controversy," page 628, reads as follows: "In the plague that follows, power is given to the sun to scorch men with fire.' . . . The prophets thus describe the condition of the earth at this fearful time. . . . ' How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. . . . The rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.'
How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 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."B.G.Wilkinson/1928
"Verse 16: Immediately after declaring that the day of the Lord was upon them, Joel cries: "Is not the meat cut of before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God"
It is serious when joy and gladness are departed from anything. But
Verse 17: The hope of the future is gone. The seed is not simply unfruitful, but it is rotten, and the barns are not repaired, because it is manifestly useless to do so. "The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered."
Verses 18-20: Here is brought to view the effect of the fourth plague. A comment on these verses, found in "The Great Controversy," page 628, reads as follows: "In the plague that follows, power is given to the sun to scorch men with fire.' . . . The prophets thus describe the condition of the earth at this fearful time. . . . ' How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. . . . The rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.'
How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 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."B.G.Wilkinson/1928