Book of Joel Chapter 1 Vs. 4

An Invasion of Locusts

That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. Joel 1:4

That which the... The 1st section of the prophecy of Joel (Joel 1:4-14, fulfilled). Next, Joel 1:15.

Twenty-two Predictions—Fulfilled:

1. The palmerworm will eat your crops (Joel 1:4).

2. Locusts will eat what the palmerworm leaves.

3. Cankerworms will eat what the locusts leave.

4. Caterpillars will eat what the cankerworms leave.

5. The new wine will be cut off (Joel 1:5).

6. A nation will come up upon My land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are as the teeth of a lion, and his jaws like those of a great lion (Joel 1:6).

7. He will lay waste My vine (Joel 1:7).

8. He will mark My tree.

9. He will make them clean bare.

10. He will cast it away.

11. The branches will be made white.

12. The meat and drink offerings will be cut off from the temple (Joel 1:9, 1:13).

13. Priests will mourn (Joel 1:9).

14. The fields will be wasted (Joel 1:10).

15. The land will mourn.

16. The corn is wasted.

17. The new wine is dried up.

18. The oil languishes.

19. The wheat and barley will perish (Joe_1:12).

20. The vine will be dried up.

21. The fig tree will languish.

22. The pomegranate, palm, apple, and other trees of the field will wither.

the palmerworm--Four Stages of the Locust

1. Palmerworm... Hebrew: gazam, the gnawer. This is the worm stage—just from the egg and without wings.

2. Locust... Hebrew: ’arbeh, the swarmer. It is still in the first skin. The word is used of little ones without legs or wings.

3. Cankerworm... Hebrew: yeleq, the devourer. The third stage when it casts off its first skin and develops little wings so it can leap a little, but not fly.

4. Caterpillar... Hebrew: chaciyl, the consumer. The locust fully matured, with long wings and legs, and able to devour all before it.

hath the locust eaten... These 4 words express the completeness of the destroying agencies. The Hebrew reads: "Gnawer’s remnant, Swarmer eats; Swarmer’s remnant, Devourer eats; Devourer’s remnant, Consumer eats." Thus, 12 Hebrew words condense the whole thought, which is the complete and immediate destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Joel 1:4-14)—a foretaste of the latter-day destruction of Israel in the day of the Lord (Joel 1:15-3:21).

The 4 kinds of locusts refer to their species or their stages of development (2:25), where the writer mentions them in different order. The total destruction caused by their voracious appetites demands repentance (Deut. 28:38; Isa. 33:4; Amos 7:1).

This verse describes the devastation of the locust plague. Moses prophesied that God would use locusts to punish His people if they were disobedient (Deut. 28:38, 42). The language may express the four stages in the development of a single type of insect.

The palmerworm (Hebrew gazam, to gnaw), is the stage at which the locust is first hatched and is characterized by its gnawing activity.

The locust (Hebrew arben, to be many), is the most common name for the locust, and is the second stage, in which the locust gets its wings and flies.

The cankerworm (Hebrew yeleg, to lick off), is the stage in which it does its destructive work.

The caterpillar (Hebrew chasil, to devour or to consume), is the final stage, in which the locust reaches its full growth and devours everything in its path.

This speaks of a famine of tremendous magnitude. This is speaking of locusts that devour the entire crop. The palmerworm, cankerworm, and caterpillar are all types of locusts.

The event in view was a massive invasion by locusts which completely destroyed the land’s vegetation. Four terms are used for locusts here (locust swarm, gāzām; great locusts, ’arbeh; young locusts, yeleq; and other locusts, ḥāsı̂l). Some have proposed that the four terms correspond to the locust’s phases of development from the pupa to full-grown stages (e.g., Thompson, “Joel’s Locusts in the Light of the Near Eastern Parallels,” pp. 52-5). However, several problems attend this position (see Wolff, Joel and Amos, pp. 27-8). More likely, the terms are synonymous, used for variety’s sake and to emphasize the successive waves of locusts in the invasion.

The threefold reference to the leftovers of one wave of locusts being devoured by the next emphasizes the thorough nature of the destruction. (For records of eyewitness accounts of locust plagues, see Driver, The Books of Joel and Amos, pp. 40, 89-93; George Adam Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets, 2:391-5, and John D. Whiting, “Jerusalem’s Locust Plague,” National Geographic Magazine 28. December 1915, pp. 511-50.)

Book of 1 John Chapter 1 Vs. 4

 The Word of Life

1 John 1:4 “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

And these things.

The whole Epistle.

Write we unto you (γράφομεν ὑμῖν)

The best texts read ἡμεῖς we, instead of ὑμῖν to you. Both the verb and the pronoun are emphatic. The writer speaks with conscious authority, and his message is to be announced ἀπαγγέλλομεν, 1Jhn. 1:3 but written. We write is emphasized by the absence of the personal object, to you.

joy may be... This expression is used four times by John (John 15:11; 16:24; 1Jhn. 1:4; 2Jhn. 1:12) and only once elsewhere (Acts 2:28). A main goal for this epistle is to create joy in the readers. The proclamation of the reality of the gospel (verses 1-2), produces a fellowship in eternal life (verse 3), and in turn, fellowship in eternal life produces joy (verse 4).

Your joy (ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν)

The best texts read ἡμῶν, our, though either reading gives a good sense.

To realize the relationship, we can have with the Father and the Lord Jesus does bring joy unspeakable. Christians have hope of the resurrection that the world does not have.

Our fellowship with the Father and Jesus does not have to wait until we are in heaven with them. When we allow Jesus to dwell within us, we can have constant fellowship. This brings peace in the midst of the stormy world.

Full (πεπληρωμένη)

More correctly, fulfilled. Frequent in John. See John 3:29; 7:8; 8:38; 15:11; 2Jhn. 1:12; Rev. 6:11. The peace of reconciliation, the blessed consciousness of sonship, the happy growth in holiness, the bright prospect of future completion and glory, - all these are but simple details of that which, in all its length and breadth is embraced by one word, Eternal Life, the real possession of which is the immediate source of our joy. We have joy, Christ's joy, because we are blessed, because we have life itself in Christ (Düsterdieck, cit. by Alford). And Augustine: For there is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for thine own sake, whose joy Thou thyself art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee; this is it and there is no other Confessions, x., 22. Alford is right in remarking that this verse gives an epistolary character to what follows, but it can hardly be said with him that it fills the place of the χαίρειν greeting, lit., rejoice, so common in the opening of Epistles.

The major purpose of 1 John (is stated in 5:13), but another purpose is stated here. For the recipients, and no doubt John as well, to enjoy and share in the deep sense of satisfaction and purpose that knowing Christ and walking with Him brings.

Again, John rounded off the prologue with a delicate personal touch. If this letter would succeed in fulfilling its aim for the readership, the writer himself and his fellow apostles would reap spiritual joy. We write this to make our joy complete. This statement is similar to one the same author made in 3Jhn. 1:4: I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. The apostles so shared the heart of Christ for His people that their own joy was bound up in the spiritual well-being of those to whom they ministered. If the readers retained their true fellowship with God and with His apostles, no one would be any happier than John himself.

Book of Joel Chapter 1 Vs. 3

 An Invasion of Locusts

Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. Joel 1:3

Tell ye your... Fifty Commands in Joel

1. Hear this, you old men (Joel 1:2).

2. Give ear, all you inhabitants.

3. Tell your children (Joel 1:3).

4. Let your children tell their children.

5. Awake, you drunkards (Joel 1:5).

6. Weep and howl, you drinkers of wine.

7. Lament like a virgin in sackcloth for the husband of her youth (Joel 1:8).

8. Be ashamed, you husbandmen (Joel 1:11).

9. Howl, you vinedressers

10. Gird yourselves and lament, you priests (Joel 1:12).

11. Howl, you ministers of the altar.

12. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of God (Joel 1:13).

13. Sanctify a fast (Joel 1:14).

14. Call a solemn assembly.

15. Gather the elders and all inhabitants to the house of the Lord.

16. Cry unto the Lord.

17. Blow you the trumpet in Zion (Joel 2:1).

18. Sound an alarm in My holy mountain.

19. Let the inhabitants of the land tremble.

20. Turn you to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning (Joel 2:12).

21. Rend your heart, and not your garments (Joel 2:13).

22. Turn unto the Lord your God.

23. Blow the trumpet in Zion (Joel 2:15).

24. Sanctify a fast.

25. Call a solemn assembly.

26. Gather the people (Joel 2:16).

27. Sanctify the congregation.

28. Assemble the elders.

29. Gather the children and babies.

30. Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

31. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar (Joel 2:17).

32. Let them say, Spare Your people, O Lord, and give not Your inheritance to reproach.

33. Fear not, O land (Joel 2:21).

34. Be glad and rejoice.

35. Be not afraid, you beasts of the field (Joel 2:22).

36. Be glad, you children of Zion (Joel 2:23).

37. Rejoice in the Lord your God.

38. Proclaim this among the Gentiles.

39. Prepare war (Joel 3:9).

40. Wake up the mighty men.

41. Let all the men of war draw near.

42. Let them come up.

43. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears (Joel 3:10).

44. Let the weak say, I am strong.

45. Assemble yourselves and come, all you heathen (Joel 3:11).

46. Gather yourselves together round about.

47. Cause your mighty ones to come.

48. Let the heathen be wakened and come to the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:12).

49. Put you in the sickle (Joel 3:13).

50. Come, get you down.

סָפַר

sâphar

saw-far'

A primitive root; properly to score with a mark as a tally or record, that is, (by implication) to inscribe, and also to enumerate; intensively to recount, that is, celebrate: - commune, (ac-) count, declare, number, + penknife, reckon, scribe, shew forth, speak, talk, tell (out), writer.

בֵּן

bên

bane

From H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like H1, H251, etc.): - + afflicted, age, [Ahoh-] [Ammon-] [Hachmon-] [Lev-]ite, [anoint-]ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, [Assyr-] [Babylon-] [Egypt-] [Grec-]ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant[-est], whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

Another generation the pedagogical importance of reciting the Lord’s mighty acts to subsequent generations is heavily underscored by the 3-fold injunction (Exo. 10:1-6; Deut. 4:9; 6:6-7; 11:19; 32:7; Psm. 78:5-7; 145:4-7; Pro. 4:1).

Many Scriptures in the Bible have a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment, and that is the case here. Whatever the message is, it is not an old story being told again, but is something they have never experienced before.

עַל

‛al

al

Properly the same as H5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural, often with prefix, or as conjugation with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications: - above, according to (-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-) on, over, than, through (-out), to, touching, X with.

Again, The elders were civil leaders who played a prominent part in the governmental and judicial systems (cf. 1Sam. 30:26-31; 2Sam. 19:11-15; 2Kgs. 23:1; Pro. 31:23; Jer. 26:17; Lam. 5:12, 5:14).

אַחֵר

'achêr

akh-air'

From H309, properly hinder; generally next, other, etc.: - (an-) other (man), following, next, strange.

דֹּר דּוֹר

dôr dôr

dore, dore

From H1752, properly a revolution of time, that is, an age or generation; also, a dwelling: - age, X evermore, generation, [n-]ever, posterity.

The rhetorical question in Joel 1:2 anticipates an emphatic negative response. Nothing in the experience of Joel’s generation or that of their ancestors was able to match the magnitude of this recent locust plague. The unique event would be spoken of throughout coming generations (your children… their children, and the next generation).

Book of 1 John Chapter 1 Vs. 3

An apostolic eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry 

1 John 1:3 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

The regular course of the sentence, broken by 1Jhn. 1:2, is now resumed, by the repetition of that which we have seen and heard. Only the order is reversed: seen and heard instead of heard and seen (1Jhn. 1:1), and the two elements of experience, sight and hearing, are thrown together without the repeated relative that which. In 1Jhn. 1:1, the climax advanced from the lower evidence of hearing to that of sight. Here, in recapitulating, the process is reversed, and the higher class of evidence is put first.

John seeks to establish, or perhaps to broaden, the fellowship between himself and his readers. Fellowship here means a close association or relationship. In Christian terms this means mutual acceptance of and submission to the verities of Christian faith. It means sharing in personal knowledge of and heartfelt obedience to God through Jesus Christ.

Unto you also (καὶ ὑμῖν)

The also is variously explained. According to some, referring to a special circle of Christian readers beyond those addressed at the conclusion of the Gospel. Others, again, as referring to those who had not seen and heard as contrasted with eyewitnesses. Thus Augustine on John 20:26 sqq. He Thomas touched the man and confessed the God. And the Lord, consoling us who, now that He is seated in heaven, cannot handle Him with the hand, but touch Him by faith, says, because thou hast seen thou hast believed; blessed are they who have not seen and believe. It is we that are described; we that are pointed out. May there therefore come to pass in us that blessedness which the Lord predicted should be the Life itself has been manifested in the flesh, so that the thing which can be seen with the heart alone might be seen with the eyes also, that it might heal our hearts.

fellowship with us... Four persons with whom to have fellowship:

1. God the Father (Isa. 57:15; John 14:23; 17:21-23; 1Cor. 6:13; 1Jhn. 1:3-7)

2. God the Son (Mat. 18:20; John 14:23; 15:1-8; 1Cor. 1:9; 10:16; 1Jhn. 1:3-7)

3. God the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1Cor. 3:16; 2Cor. 13:14; Phlp. 2:1)

4. The Christian (Acts 1:14; 2:1, 2:42-47; Eph. 5:19; Phlp. 2:1-2; 1Jhn. 1:3-7)

Fellowship (κοινωνίαν)

This word introduces us to one of the main thoughts of the Epistle. The true life in man, which comes through the acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God, consists in fellowship with God and with man. On the word, see on Acts 2:42; see on Luke 5:10. The verb κοινωνέω to come into fellowship, to be made a partner, to be partaker of, occurs 1Pet. 4:13; 2Jhn. 1:11; Heb. 2:14, etc. The expression here, ἔχειν κοινωνίαν is stronger, since it expresses the enjoyment or realization of fellowship, as compared with the mere fact of fellowship. See on John 16:22.

Forty Kinds of People NOT to Have Fellowship With

1. The ungodly (Psm. 1:1-6)

2. Scorners (Psm. 1:1-6)

3. Workers of iniquity (Psm. 6:8)

4. Vain persons (Psm. 26:4)

5. Evil workers (Psm. 26:5)

6. Criminals (Prov. 1:10-15)

7. The foolish (Prov. 9:6; 14:17)

8. The angry man (Prov. 22:24)

9. An excommunicated church member (Mat. 18:17)

10. Those causing divisions (Rom. 16:17)

11. Backsliders (2Jhn. 1:9-11)

12. False teachers (1Tim. 6:3-5; 2Jhn. 1:10)

13. The disorderly (2Thes. 3:6)

14. The disobedient (2Thes. 3:14-15)

15. Unbelievers (2Cor. 6:14)

16. Infidels (2Cor. 6:15)

17. Fornicators (1Cor. 5:9)

18. Covetous people (1Cor. 5:10)

19. Extortioners (1Cor. 5:10)

20. Idolaters (1Cor. 5:10)

21. Railers (1Cor. 5:11)

22. Drunkards (1Cor. 5:11)

23. Lovers of themselves (2Tim. 3:2)

24. Boasters (2Tim. 3:2)

25. Proud people (2Tim. 3:2)

26. Blasphemers (2Tim. 3:2)

27. Those who are disobedient to parents (2Tim. 3:2)

28. Unthankful people (2Tim. 3:2)

29. Unholy people (2Tim. 3:2)

30. Those without natural affection (2Tim. 3:3)

31. Trucebreakers (2Tim. 3:3)

32. False accusers (2Tim. 3:3)

33. Incontinent (2Tim. 3:3)

34. Fierce people (2Tim. 3:3)

35. Despisers of those who are good (2Tim. 3:3)

36. Traitors (2Tim. 3:4)

37. Heady people (2Tim. 3:4)

38. High-minded people (2Tim. 3:4)

39. Those who love pleasure more than God (2Tim. 3:4)

40. Hypocrites—those who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (2Tim. 3:5)

The reason God made man in the first place, was for fellowship with him.

Our fellowship (ἡ κοινωνία ἡ ἡμετέρα)

More strictly, the fellowship, that which is ours, according to John's characteristic practice of defining and emphasizing a noun by an article and possessive pronoun. See on John 10:27. Ours a possessive instead of personal pronoun indicating fellowship as a distinguishing mark of Christians rather than as merely something enjoyed by them.

John 14:20 “At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”

John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

With the Father and with His Son (μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ)

Note the repeated preposition μετά with, distinguishing the two persons, and coordinating the fellowship with the Father, and the fellowship with the Son, thus implying the sameness of essence. The fellowship with both contemplates both as united in the Godhead. Plato says of one who lives in unrestrained desire and robbery, such an one is the friend neither of God nor man, for he is incapable of communion κοινωνεῖν ἀδύνατος, and he who is incapable of communion κοινωνία us also incapable of friendship Gorgias, 507. So, in the Symposium (188), and he defines divination as the art of communion κοινωνία between gods and men.

We read so much about man being made in the image of God. This is exactly what this Scripture is stating here. It is our spirit that becomes like the God Spirit. God is a Spirit. If we are to be like Him, it is in our spirit. To fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ, we would have to become spirit man, not flesh man.

Flesh fellowships with other flesh.

Fellowship does not mean social relations, but that his readers were to be partakers (or, partners), with John in possessing eternal life. John writes not only to affirm the physical reality of Jesus (verses 1-2), but also to produce salvation in the readers. That genuine Christians are never out of fellowship is clear, since this verse equates fellowship with salvation.

To fellowship with God, we must crucify our flesh and live in the spirit. John was just such a man. On the Isle of Patmos, when no one else was looking, he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. Let your Spirit rule over your flesh, and you will be like John.

Again, the objective John had in mind in writing about these significant realities was that you, the readers, may have fellowship with us, the apostles. Since he later, in 1Jhn. 2:12-14 made it perfectly clear that he regarded the readers as genuine Christians, his goal was obviously not their conversions. It is an interpretive mistake of considerable moment to treat the term fellowship as though it meant little more than to be a Christian. The readers were already saved, but they needed this letter if they were to enjoy real fellowship with the apostolic circle to which the author belonged. In the final analysis that apostolic fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

Probably the false teachers denied that the readers possessed eternal life (see 2:25; 5:13). If so, and if the readers would begin to doubt God’s guarantees on that point, their fellowship with the Father and the Son would be in jeopardy. This, of course, is not the same as saying that their salvation would be in jeopardy. As believers they could never lose the gift of life which God had given them (cf. John 4:14; 6:32, 6:37-40), but their fellowship depended on walking in the light (1Jhn. 1:7). The danger to the readers was that they might be allured into darkness by the siren song of the antichrists. How seductive their godless appeal was emerging in this letter. John’s aim, therefore, was to furnish his readership with a necessary reaffirmation of the basic truths of their faith so that their fellowship with God would be sustained.