Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Joel Chapter 1
Metaphysically Interpreting Joel 1:1-12
1:1The word of Jehovah that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
1:2Hear this, ye old men,
and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land.
Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
1:3Tell ye your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children another generation.1:4That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten;
and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten;
and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.1:5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep;
and wail, all ye drinkers of wine,
because of the sweet wine;
for it is cut off from your mouth.
1:6For a nation is come up upon my land,
strong, and without number;
his teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
1:7He hath laid my vine waste,
and barked my fig-tree:
he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away;
the branches thereof are made white.1:8Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
for the husband of her youth.
1:9The meal-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah;
the priests, Jehovah's ministers, mourn.
1:10The field is laid waste,
the land mourneth;
for the grain is destroyed,
the new wine is dried up,
the oil languisheth.1:11Be confounded, O ye husbandmen,
wail, O ye vinedressers,
for the wheat and for the barley;
for the harvest of the field is perished.
1:12The vine is withered,
and the fig-tree languisheth;
the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree,
even all the trees of the field are withered:
for joy is withered away
from the sons of men.
August 20, 1939: Joel 1:5-7
What reveals the transient nature of the satisfaction that man finds in indulgence in intoxicants? The statement that the sweet wine “is cut off from your mouth” shows that whatever pleasure may be found in intoxicants is temporary. When throughout the habit of intemperance many has destroyed his physical health and his nervous stability, he comes to the end of all pleasure in intoxicants.
To what is the destruction of the inner man as a result of chronic alcoholism comparable? A swarm of locusts devouring all in their path readily suggests the deterioration of character in the chronic alcoholic.
From the view point of Truth what is the meaning of the name Belshazzar? Belshazzar (prince of Bel) means mere sense judgment or instinct.
To what extent is man his brother’s keeper in matters pertaining to abstinence or indulgence? Every one has a responsibility to others in this regard. Each one is morally bound so to conduct himself as an individual that his practice faithfully expresses his highest ideal as a citizen, a neighbor, and a brother.
To what do the gold and silver verses that Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem refer? They refer to the various avenues of expression in the body. The mere creature of instinct sensualizes these avenues instead of recognizing them as consecrated to the Lord or higher self.
Transcribed by Tracie Louise on 11-22-2013
