The Book of Joel

On Monday, my class had the opportunity to read a loud the Book of Joel. It was actually quite fun and interesting to hear the different voices read the parts they chose. When I decided to read I did the section on the Deliverance Promised. When I was done reading I realized that, that was the exact passage in which I wrote about in the beginning of class when Professor Corrigan asked us to write about something that struck us the most while reading the Book of Joel. I liked how the book started off with locusts, starvation and drought but then God was faithful to provide again for His people the things that were taken away, and that is why this passage stuck out to me.

For the tree has borne its fruit,

The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.

So rejoice, O sons of Zion,

And be glad in the LORD your God;

For He has given you the early rain for your vindication

And He has poured down for you the rain,

The early and latter rain as before.

The threshing floors will be full of grain,

And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.

"Then I will make up to you for the years

That the swarming locust has eaten.

Professor Corrigan also asked us in class if this was weird or different by trying to read scripture as literature and it struck me that when we read scripture, we should look at it as we look at literature a lot more often. For when you analyze literature, you look at it from all different angles, such as the words used, theme, plot, climax, sentence structure, and much more. These exact techniques we use to analyze literature should also be used to analyze scripture, so that we may look past what we read and be able to tap into the structure of what we read. Now, I am not saying that we should not look to the words when we read scripture, but what I am suggesting is that we search a little more in depth to why the author chooses to write certain ways or why the author chooses certain words to describe people, places, and emotions expressed in the Bible. When we do this with literature, I feel that we are able to connect more with the stories we read, so why not do the same thing with the Bible? Something I do when I am in devotions is choose a passage to read simply read through it without stopping. Then I reread the same passage but this time I circle or underline phrases or words that stick out to me or words that I do not understand. I then meditate on that particular section that I focused in on. I usually like to try and connect it to something within my personal life so I can relate more profoundly to the passage of scripture. I love doing this, and God tends to reveal new things to me every time I do it. Therefore, truly meditating on literature, whether it be scripture or simply a fictional book, can be an important/ vital step in our reading.