For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls:
Destroy the vines and fig trees of the carnal heart, and mirth ceases. But those who enjoyed God when full can enjoy all in God when emptied. They sit upon the heap of ruined creature comforts and rejoice in Him as the God of their salvation. Running in His commandments, we outrun our troubles.
AI summary
I heard the report of coming judgment, and my belly trembled, my lips cried out, rottenness forced itself into my bones. I tremble under myself at what approaches: famine consumes all, no figs, no grapes, no olives, no grain, the flocks gone, the stalls bare. Tribulation falls upon the nation and those who attack it.
AI summary
Commenting on Habakkuk 3:16-17
The fig tree bears no fruit, the vines yield no grapes for wine, the olives fail after all their toil, the fields produce nothing, the flocks vanish, the stalls stand empty. These are not mere privations but a public calamity: famine comes upon man and beast alike, and all creature comforts collapse.
AI summary