Joel

Chapter 1:8-14 (ESV) - Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
    for the bridegroom of her youth.
The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
    from the house of the LORD.
The priests mourn,
    the ministers of the LORD.
The fields are destroyed,
    the ground mourns,
because the grain is destroyed,
    the wine dries up,
    the oil languishes.

Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
    wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
    because the harvest of the field has perished.
The vine dries up;
    the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
    all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up
    from the children of man.

Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
    wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, pass the night in sackcloth,
    O ministers of my God!
Because grain offering and drink offering
    are withheld from the house of your God.

Consecrate a fast;
    call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
    and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the LORD your God,
    and cry out to the LORD.

Question to consider: When is it appropriate for us to experience shame?

Sackcloth was generally made of camel or goat hair, and was used for an expression of deep mourning. Personally, I believe the use of sackcloth and ash was a tradition in remembrance of Adam who was molded from dust and received the animal skins to cover his nakedness before God after his rebellion.

In this oracle, Joel was shocked at the judgment that had been brought upon Judah and the apparent apathy that the elders and inhabitants showed toward it. The destruction of the fields and vineyards meant that the grain and drink offering (bread and wine) were cut off from the house of the LORD (the temple). If this would not stir their hearts to repentance, maybe it would wake up the drunkards when they realized there was no more wine?

In an oracle given to Ezekiel (chapter 16), the LORD described Israel as His bride whom He had rescued from infancy, raised up in beauty, and poured out His love and favor. In return, she whored after the gods of the nations and spurned His love. Joel desperately called for the young bride, Jerusalem, to lament over her idolatry and humble herself before God.

In scripture, adultery and idolatry are in parallel with one another. Our covenantal relationships with God and with our spouse are based on fidelity, and to allow the high places of Baal and Asherah poles to enter into the holy city was akin to allowing an outsider into the marriage bed.

Shame is not categorically evil. Sometimes it is necessary to bring people to their senses. The grain and drink offerings were a key part of the entire sacrificial system. Without them, the priests could not make atonement for the people. Joel was deeply grieved by this and called on the priests to share in this lament that they may gather all of the people and plead with them to turn back to the LORD.

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, help us to see ourselves in the mirror of Your Law. May we experience a necessary level of shame for our sin and a desire to walk closely with You. We ask that You keep us from both pride and despair so that we may find rest in the finished work of Christ. Amen.