Joel 1:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Hence, the question arises, ‘What shall we store up for ourselves?’ He asserts that not only have cultivated fruits perished, but also the wild herbs, declaring that the very ‘flocks of sheep’ have been utterly destroyed by the failure of the harvest, robbed of their usual and distinctive vitality. This imagery aligns perfectly with the actions of the Jews who mistreated Christ.

In a profound way, the lament of the oxen symbolizes the groaning of creation, which yearns and waits for the revealing of the children of God, for the apostle Paul explains that "the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly" (Rom. 8:20). The prophet's mention of a dire famine, which caused farmers and vine growers to weep and resulted in the death of livestock, suggests an even graver famine to come before the arrival of our Lord. This famine afflicted all humanity due to the scarcity of heavenly nourishment but was ultimately relieved through the proclamation of the Gospel.

When sustenance has vanished, and joy has been taken from the house of the Lord, the cattle began to decay in their waste, or spiritually, to jump at their mangers and kick against their Maker, that the words might come to pass: ‘These, if they are not filled, will grovel’ (Psalm 58:16). For those whose god is their appetite (Phil. 3:19) and who proclaim, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’ (Isa. 22:13) are decaying in their filth. The promises of future prosperity lie in ruins, and the storehouses of everlasting bounty are devastated, as the ovens and barns are prepared in vain without wheat and wine. And when everything has withered, they will express their grievances in lamentation, asking, What shall we provide for ourselves? The subsequent words, as rendered in the Septuagint about the herds of oxen lamenting their lack of pasture, lead us to interpret this not regarding literal cattle but referring to those who, due to their innocence, are likened to oxen and sheep. Of their pastures, the Savior declares, ‘He shall go in and out, and he shall find’ (John 10:9). All this, however, is metaphorically described through the imagery of caterpillars, locusts, worms, and rye, indicating that following the devastation and destruction of the harvest, famine and pestilence reigned supreme everywhere.