The March Of The Young Locust/Grasshopperss (Joel 2:4-11).
Joel then describes the onward ‘march' of the young locusts in their mass movement made up of sheer numbers, advancing like a huge ‘army' covering many miles of territory, a living converging mass, and he does so in picturesque terms. He likens them in appearance to horses, a likeness related to the head of the locusts and often noted by observers, and likens the noise that they made as they moved forward to the rumbling of chariot wheels, and the crackling the fires that burned up stubble (in this case before its time), seeing them as moving forward ‘in battle array' as a strong people, whom nothing could turn back. Meanwhile people turn pale at their advance, and are filled with anguish, while the locusts themselves move inevitably forward as irresistible as mighty men, climbing up walls rather than going round them (or breaking them down), with each marching forward on his way. There is no breaking of ranks and no jostling as they pour forward in their huge numbers like a rolling mass, and they burst through every ‘weapon' set up to prevent their advance, whether it be fire, or flails, or feet, or whatever. Nothing holds them back.
Though multitudes die, the remainder just carry on over them. They leap up walls, climb up into houses and scurry through windows, while the earth and the heavens (in other words the whole creation) tremble before them because they are YHWH's messengers. Meanwhile as a result of the swarms of flying locusts the sun is darkened and the moon's shining is blotted out, while visibility of the stars is lost. And the question then is ‘Who leads this people who have no king?' And the answer is, ‘It is YHWH Himself, Who has brought them as a judgment on His people, because it is the latest great and terrible day of YHWH'.
Analysis of Joel 2:4-11.
a The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, and as horsemen, so do they run, like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire which devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array (Joel 2:4-5).
b At their presence the peoples are in anguish, all faces have become pale (Joel 2:6).
c They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war, and they march every one on his ways, and they do not break their ranks (Joel 2:7).
d Nor does one jostle another, they march every one in his path, and they burst through the weapons, and do not break off (Joel 2:8).
c They leap on the city, they run on the wall, they climb up into the houses, they enter in at the windows like a thief (Joel 2:9).
b The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining (Joel 2:10).
a And YHWH utters his voice before his army, for his camp is very great, for he is strong who executes his word, for the day of YHWH is great and very terrible, and who can abide it? (Joel 2:11).
In ‘a' the advancing ‘army' is described in all its terribleness, a strong ‘people' set in battle array and in the parallel we learn that it is YHWH's army, and that He too is terrible and strong. In ‘b' the people are in anguish and all faces become pale, and in the parallel earth and heaven tremble, and the lights of heaven become dark. In ‘c' we have a detailed description of their forward movement, and in the parallel we have the same. Centrally in ‘d' their invincibility is emphasised.
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses,
And as horsemen, so do they run.
Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap,
Like the noise of a flame of fire which devours the stubble,
As a strong people set in battle array.
It is made clear here that they are not horses and chariots, any more than they are like flames of fire, but merely in one way or another give the impression of the same. Note the reference to ‘leaping', and compare Joel 2:9 which was typical of the movement of a small locust (grasshopper).
Locusts are compared with horses elsewhere. In Jeremiah 51:27 the horses are to come up ‘like rough locusts', while in Job 39:19-20 they are seen as ‘leaping like a locust', and certainly the heads of locusts do remind us of tiny armoured horses, which is why the Italian word for locust means "little horse," and the German word means "hay horse", confirming that they share the same impression Thus the description of the locusts here as ‘having the appearance of horses' and as ‘leaping on the tops of the mountains' is in accord with general opinion. The reference to chariot noise and the crackling of fires burning up the stubble is reminiscent of the clicking noise that grasshoppers make with their legs, while the description of them as a ‘strong people' has in mind the inexorable way in which they progress, with nothing holding them back.
At their presence the peoples are in anguish,
All faces have become pale.
Joel was striving here to get over the impression of the awfulness of the judgment that God was bringing on His people, and it is a feature of the movements of small locusts in vast, heaving masses that they bring anguish and even fear to men, as they see the awesome nature of their advance, consider the consequences of that advance, and after struggling to deal with the menace, find the situation hopeless. Dr Thomson saw the sight as so fearsome that he admitted that he could not get it out of his thoughts and his dreams for some time afterwards, and he was a man used to strange and awesome sights.
‘All faces have become pale.' The fear of what was coming could be seen on the faces of the watchers. This could be rendered ‘they gather blackness'. Compare the darkening of sun and moon in Joel 2:10. The reference to ‘peoples' may suggest that other nations around were also affected.
‘They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war,
And they march every one on his ways,
and they do not break their ranks.
Nor does one jostle another,
They march every one in his path,
And they burst through the weapons,
And do not break off.'
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The scurrying huge mass of leaping grasshoppers are here likened to the eager advance of mighty men into battle, as like men of war they ascend the walls and continue marching on in their ways. The mass never breaks up as they move inexorably forward, every one on its path, and they surmount any obstacle put in their way by mass suicide, with the dead grasshoppers providing a bridge for the living. They ‘burst through the weapons and do not break off (or alternatively ‘fall').
An alternative translation to ‘weapons' is ‘water-courses'. This may suggest that even water does not prevent their advance, or that they used water tunnels as a means of access to the city (e.g. the tunnel of Siloam).
If we use our imaginations we can see the people of Jerusalem looking over its walls at the massive phalanx of young locust/grasshoppers advancing on the city, leaping and prancing like a great host of tiny horsemen, and making the noise of many chariots. The young locusts did not, of course, have the city as their goal. They were just advancing in a straight line and the city happened to be in their way (it was YHWH Who was directing their advance - Joel 2:11). But there was no stopping them and no obstacle hindered them. They did not turn aside for anything, nor did they hesitate, they just climbed over whatever lay before them, city walls, houses, palaces, and the lot. This is now eloquently described.
‘They leap on the city,
They run on the wall,
They climb up into the houses,
They enter in at the windows like a thief.'
Once in the city they move everywhere in search of food. They leap on the city, they run up the wall, they climb up into the houses and they enter into windows ‘like a thief', a description hardly applicable to soldiers. But it is a typical picture of insects getting everywhere with no means of preventing them. Dr Thomson describes similar behaviour in his town, ‘when the head of the mighty column came in contact with the palace of the Emeer --- they did not take the trouble to wheel round the corners but climbed the wall like men of war and marched over the top of it; so when they reached the house of Dr Van Dyck, in spite of all his efforts to prevent it, a living stream rolled right over his roof'. Compare also the words of Moses of the plague of locusts in his day, ‘they will cover the face of the earth that one shall not be able to see the earth, --- and your houses will be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians' (Exodus 10:5-6).
‘The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon are darkened,
And the stars withdraw their shining.'
The reason that the earth quakes before them and the heavens tremble is because they are instruments of YHWH's judgment (compare how in Haggai 2:21 God speaks to His people in terms of shaking the heavens and the earth through the activities of Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest. Whenever God works in His mighty power the heavens and the earth are seen as trembling). The whole of creation is watching in anticipation at what YHWH is doing. And it may well be that there was a huge storm, or even an earthquake, or both, but it is not really required by the wording.
And the consequence will be that the sun, moon and stars will cease to shine. This last idea may well have come to Joel from the way in which light had been blocked out by the huge swarms of flying locusts, something which would be repeated when these young locusts being described grew their wings and flew. Such an effect on the heavens would make a great impression on the people. The same descriptions were used of human invasions when the smoke from burning fields and cities blotted out the sun (e.g. Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 13:13). It is how men speak when they face their greatest catastrophes. But it is not limited to ‘the end times'. It may well be that it was Joel's description that was taken up and expanded on by the other prophets.
‘And YHWH utters his voice before his army,
For his camp is very great,
For he is strong who executes his word,
For the day of YHWH is great and very terrible,
And who can abide it?'
And the reason why the heavens and the earth would shake was because YHWH was marching before His army (compare Psalms 148:8 for the idea of YHWH commanding creation to do His will) and uttering His cries of judgment (or commands to His army of young locusts/grasshoppers), while His followers were ‘very great', for they were beyond human counting, and in carrying out His word they were invulnerable, as they pierced into every part of life. Their strength lay in their numbers. As men saw the locust/grasshoppers covering the whole ground and getting into their homes, with their voracious appetites consuming everything that was remotely edible, they would indeed see in it ‘the great and terrible day of YHWH', as He expressed His judgment against them for their wrongdoing. It must have been a time of great horror (it would have appeared as though locusts would be arriving for ever). And like all ‘days of YHWH' it would be almost beyond bearing. Furthermore it would be a reminder to them of the great and terrible Day of YHWH yet to come.
‘His camp is very great.' We can compare here how we might say, ‘the whole camp went out to meet him'. The camp here indicates an ‘army', and such an army had never been seen before in such huge numbers..