Book of Joel Chapter 1 Vs. 5

 An Invasion of Locusts

Verses 5-12: Total destruction affected all social and economic levels. Affected were the drunkards who delighted in the abundance of the vine (verses 5-7), the priests who utilized the produce in the offerings (verses 8-10), and the farmers who planted, cultivated, and reaped the harvest (verses 11-12).

As building toward a crescendo, the prophet noted in the first stanza that the luxuries of life were withdrawn. In the second, the elements needed to worship were interrupted. In the third, the essentials for living were snatched away.

To lose the enjoyment of wine was one thing; to no longer be able to outwardly worship God was another; but to have nothing to eat was the sentence of death!

Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. Joel 1:5

Awake, ye drunkards... The drunkards were to awaken to the realization that their wine would be no more. They were to weep bitterly and to wail. The severity of the devastation called for public, communal mourning.

קוּץ

qûts

koots

A primitive root (rather identical with H6972 through the idea of abruptness in starting up from sleep (compare H3364)); to awake (literally or figuratively): - arise, (be) (a-) wake, watch.

שִׁכֹּר שִׁכּוֹר

shikkôr shikkôr

shik-kore', shik-kore'

From H7937, intoxicated, as a state or a habit: - drunk (-ard, -en, -en man).

the new wine... The term can denote either freshly squeezed grape juice or newly fermented wine (Isa. 49:26).

עָסִיס

‛âsı̂ys

aw-sees'

From H6072; must or fresh grape juice (as just trodden out): - juice, new (sweet) wine.

This Scripture is one that stands out as a warning against drinking. The following Scripture explains a little more fully the consequences of heavy drinking.

Pro. 23:21 "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags."

is cut off... There will be no new wine, because the locusts have eaten the raw material that the wine is made from. There is a spiritual meaning, as well. New wine, sometimes, symbolizes the Holy Spirit. In the spiritual sense, this could mean that drunkards cannot receive the Holy Spirit.

כָּרַת

kârath

kaw-rath'

A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces): - be chewed, be con- [feder-] ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ([covenant]), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want. 

A call to mourn

Utilizing the form of a call to mourning, the prophet elaborated on the horrifying details and effects of the locust plague. This section contains four units (Joel 1:5-7, 1:8-10, 1:11-12, 1:13), each of which includes a call proper (Joel 1:5, 1:8, 1:11, 1:13) followed by the reasons for sorrow (Joel 1:5-7, 1:9-10, 1:11-12, 1:13). The personified land (or city?) as well as some of the groups most severely affected by the plague (drunkards, farmers, priests) were addressed.

Drunkards Should Mourn

Drunkards were told to weep and wail because no wine would be available due to the destruction of the vineyards (Joel 1:5; cf. Joel 1:7, 1:10, 1:12).