“How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.”
My Notes
What Does Joel 1:18 Mean?
"How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate." Joel extends the suffering of the locust plague to the animal kingdom. The beasts groan. The cattle are perplexed. The sheep are desolate. Creation itself suffers because of the catastrophe.
The word "perplexed" (navoku) means confused, bewildered — the cattle don't understand what's happening. They go to the pasture and find nothing. Their instinct says eat here, and there's nothing to eat. The confusion of animals who can't comprehend the disaster adds a layer of pathos beyond human suffering.
The groaning of beasts echoes Romans 8:22: "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together." The suffering of animals in response to human sin is a recurring biblical theme — creation bears the consequences of humanity's relationship with God.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What innocent thing in your world is suffering consequences it didn't cause?
- 2.How does the groaning of creation challenge a human-centered view of sin's consequences?
- 3.Have you witnessed the confusion of someone or something that couldn't understand why they were suffering?
- 4.What does the animals' perplexity teach about the scope of human sin's impact?
Devotional
The animals are confused. The cattle go to the pasture and find nothing. The sheep stand in desolate fields. The beasts groan — and they don't even understand why.
Joel includes the animals because the suffering isn't limited to people. When the locusts destroy the crops, the cattle starve. When the pastures fail, the sheep die. Creation suffers because of what's happened, and the animals bear the consequences of a disaster they didn't cause and can't comprehend.
The perplexed cattle are one of Scripture's most heartbreaking images. They know something is wrong. They go where food should be and find nothing. Their instincts are correct — this is where the pasture was. But the pasture is gone. The animals are bewildered by a catastrophe that exceeds their understanding.
Paul will later describe all of creation groaning and travailing in pain. Joel sees the same thing centuries earlier: the beasts groan. Creation itself participates in the suffering that human sin produces. The environmental consequences of spiritual failure aren't limited to human experience — they radiate outward to every living thing.
What is groaning in your world because of consequences it didn't cause? What innocent thing is perplexed by damage it had no part in producing? The creation around you — the relationships, the community, the environment — bears the weight of human choices, and sometimes the groaning of the innocent is the loudest sound in the room.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
How do the beasts groan?.... For want of fodder, all green grass and herbs being eaten up by the locusts; or devoured,…
How do the beasts groan! - There is something very pitiable in the cry of the brute creation, even because they are…
We have observed abundance of tears shed for the destruction of the fruits of the earth by the locusts; now here we have…
The distress of the cattle through lack of pasture (cf. Jer 14:5-6).
are perplexed wandering hither and thither in quest…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture