John Calvin Commentary Joel 1:19-20

"O Jehovah, to thee do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness." — Joel 1:19-20 (ASV)

When the Prophet saw that he succeeded less than he expected, leaving the people, he speaks of what he would do himself: I will cry to thee, Jehovah. He had previously instructed others to cry, so why does he not now urge the same thing?

It is because he saw that the Jews were so deaf and listless as to disregard all his exhortations. He therefore says, “I will cry to thee, Jehovah; for they are touched neither by shame nor by fear. Since they disregard their own safety, and since they consider my exhortations as nothing, I will leave them and will cry to You.”

This means: “I see, Lord, that all these calamities proceed from Your hand. I will not howl as profane men do, but I will ascribe them to You, for I perceive You to be acting as a judge in all the evils which we suffer.”

Having then previously declared that the Jews were more sluggish than brute animals, and having reproached them for feeling less acutely than oxen and sheep, the Prophet now says that though they all remained obstinate, he would yet do what a pious man and a worshipper of God ought to do: I will cry to thee—Why? Because the fire has consumed the pastures, or the dwellings, of the wilderness.

He here again gives a grave record of God’s judgments. Though the heat may burn up whole regions, yet we know that pasturelands do not soon wither, especially on mountains; and he speaks here of such cool pastures. We know that however great the fertility of mountains may be, coolness prevails there, and that in the greatest drought, the mountainous regions are always green.

But the Prophet tells us here of an unusual thing: that the dwellings of the wilderness were burnt up. Some render נאות naut as pastures; others, as dwellings. But as to the meaning, we may read either, for the Prophet refers here to cool and humid regions, which never lack moisture in the greatest heat.

Some render the word as “the beautiful or fair spots of the wilderness,” but improperly. He doubtless means pastures, dwellings, or folds. The fire then has consumed the dwellings, or pastures of the wilderness. This was not usual; it did not happen according to the ordinary course of nature. It therefore follows that it was a miracle.

This is the reason why the Prophet says that it was now time to cry to God, for it did not appear to be accidental that the heat had burnt up regions which were moist and well watered. The flame, he says, hath burnt up all the trees of the field.

He afterwards adds, The beasts of the field will also cry (for the verb is in the plural number); the beasts then will cry. The Prophet expresses here more clearly what he had said before: that though the brute animals were lacking reason, they yet felt God’s judgment, so that they compelled men by their example to feel ashamed, for they cried to God. The beasts then of the field cry. He ascribes crying to them, as it is elsewhere ascribed to the young ravens.

The young ravens, properly speaking, do not indeed call on God; and yet the Psalmist says so, because by raising up their bills, they confess that there is no supply for their need unless God supports them. So also, the Prophet here mentions the beasts as crying to God.

It is indeed a figure of speech called personification, for this could not be properly said of beasts. But when the beasts made a noise under the pressure of famine, was it not such a calling on God as their nature admitted? As much then as the nature of brute animals allows, they may be said to seek their food from the Lord when they send forth lamentable cries and noises, and show that they are oppressed with famine and need.

When, therefore, the Prophet attributes crying to beasts, he at the same time reproaches the Jews with their stupidity, that they did not call on God. “What do you mean?” he says. “See the brute animals; they show you what ought to be done. It is at least a teaching that should have an effect on you.

If I and the other prophets have lost all our labor, if God has in vain acted as a teacher among you, let the very oxen at least be your teachers; to whom it is indeed a shame to be disciples, but it is a greater shame not to attend to what they teach you, for the oxen by their example lead you to God.”

We now perceive how much vehemence there is in the Prophet’s words when he says, Even the beasts of the field will cry to God; for the streams of waters have dried up, and the fire has consumed the dwellings, or the pastures of the wilderness. He again teaches what I have recently stated: that sterility proceeded from the evident judgment of God, and that it ought to have struck dread into people, for it was a sort of miracle.

When, therefore, the courses of waters dried up on the mountains, how could it be deemed natural? אפיקים aphikim means courses of waters or valleys through which the waters run. The Prophet here refers, no doubt, to those regions which, through the abundance of water, always retain their fertility.

When, therefore, the very valleys were burnt up, they surely ought to acknowledge that something wonderful had happened. On this account, he ascribes crying to herds and brute animals, and not just any sort of crying, but that by which they called on God.

What remains we will defer until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You see us to be surrounded with the infirmity of our flesh, and so held by, and, as it were, overwhelmed with, earthly cares, that we can hardly raise up our hearts and minds to You—O grant, that being awakened by Your word and daily warnings, we may at length feel our evils, and that we may not only learn by the stripes You inflict on us, but also of our own accord summon ourselves to judgment, examine our hearts, and thus come to Your presence, being our own judges, so that we may anticipate Your displeasure, and thus obtain that mercy which You have promised to all who, turning only to You, deprecate Your wrath, and also hope for Your favor, through the name of one Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.