Its teeth are the teeth of a lion...

"Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness."

This image is referring to the nation that has invaded God's land. It is interesting giving a nation the attributes of teeth and fangs. It makes me think of first the lion, how it is such a strong animal that can be beautiful but also can dominate other animals easily. Israel is going to be overtaken as if it were the lions' prey. The people of this invading army may be seen as different teeth of these lions. Each one, brought together, is going to chomp at God's land and His people.

"All the trees of the field dry up / Indeed, rejoicing dries up."

This is part of the result of the overtaking. Without rejoicing, there is no life. Everything is dried out, cracked, colorless, barren, desolate, unwelcoming. It makes me picture a vast land with once beautiful trees, flowers, and bushes now fading and dying, one by one. It's a place I don't want to be, a place I want to avoid. I hate to think that that's how life could become if I gave up on finding things to rejoice in.

"Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like war horses, so they run."

These two lines stood out to me the first time I read this text. Horses are beautiful to me, incredibly strong yet so graceful and gentle. These people (who are looking forward to luscious land and back at desolation) are ready to go. They hear the trumpet, and they have the strength of horses. As horses in battle, they have purpose, a goal, motivation, and maybe a wound or two. They follow each other and stick together.

"But the LORD is a refuge for His people / And a stronghold to the sons of Israel."

I don't think I could ever describe another human being as a refuge, and I think that's why I love these lines so much. God is a refuge. He is a safe place. In Him I can rest. I can run to Him when I'm in trouble. He's always going to be there because He is a stronghold--unmoving, unchanging, unwavering. It's beautiful and amazing.

The whole book of Joel is, in a way, an image drawn in four chapters of scriptural poetry. I think much of it may be literal in that there were historical times of drought and famine and then times of abundance, rain, and harvests. But these images of dryness and then fullness are also an image to what the Lord did then and also does now. When we are not listening to Him, when we do our own things without seeking His will, or when we turn away from Him, our lives--the land--become so dry. We are not joyful, we are always in want of something, and we endure terrible things. But when we allow Him to be the Lord of our lives, we experience deliverance. We find it easy to rejoice in His love, we are blessed for clinging to Him, we know His words of truth and His promises, and we ultimately are saved.