Scripture
Joel 1:1-8 (ESV)
The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white. Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth.
AI Prompt
A dark and surreal close-up image of a locust with exaggerated fangs, set in a nightmarish and ominous environment. The locust, perched on a twisted grape vine, has oversized, menacing fangs, creating a sense of dread. The grape vine is contorted and dark, with leaves that appear almost sinister in their deep, shadowy green hues. The background is a chaotic mix of dark, swirling colors and abstract shapes, adding to the intense, nightmarish, and bizarre atmosphere, focusing on the locust's exaggerated and menacing appearance with fangs.
Process/Reflection
Whether Joel is describing an actual locust invasion or a conquering army from another nation, the tone of the passage is crystal clear: a nightmarish disaster has come upon the people. The invasion has caused an unprecedented amount of destruction and disruption--the picture is of a nation that has been stripped bare of every resource that it once depended upon and prided itself in. The nation's idolatry is being judged through this disaster that God has sent. With this image, I wanted to reinforce that nightmarish tone. The locust is frightening and otherworldly--the vine that it occupies will soon be destroyed by the locust's ravenous appetite.