Interpretation 1: To Joel
Joel gets a little more personal here. He indicates that his field did not escape God’s punishment either (he refers to my land,
my vine,
and my fig tree
). Apparently, Joel was involved in agriculture. God recruits prophets from all walks of life. Joel stands next to his people in the misery that God brings upon his people. By mentioning something personal Joel also seeks contact with his fellow people. Together we have ended up in this misery, also my property has gone, so what now?
Interpretation 2: To God
This does not refer to the prophet’s land ("my land" in the sense of my fatherland
). It indicates the Lord himself, the actual owner of Canaan. So the Lord is introduced here as speaking to his people, and his lament over something that happened in his land makes the description of the disaster all the more moving.1
6 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.