Joel 2:3

“A fire devoureth before them, and behind them aflame burneth, etc.] This is not to be understood of the heat of the sun, or of the great drought that went before and continued after the locusts; but of them themselves, which were like a consuming fire; wherever they came, they devoured all green grass, herbs, and leaves of trees, as fire does stubble; they sucked out the juice and moisture of everything they came at, and what they left behind shrivelled up and withered away, as if it had been scorched with a flame of fire: and so the Assyrians and Chaldeans, they were an emblem of, destroyed all they met with, by fire and sword; cut up the corn and herbage for forage; and what they could not…”

“before . . . behind--that is, on every side (Ch1 19:10). fire . . . flame--destruction . . . desolation (Isa 10:17). as . . . Eden . . . wilderness--conversely (Isa 51:3; Eze 36:35).”

“A fire devoureth before them ... - Travelers, of different nations and characters, and in different lands, some unacquainted with the Bible words, have agreed to describe under this image the ravages of locusts. : “They scorch many things with their touch.” : “Whatever of herb or leaf they gnaw, is, as it were, scorched by fire.” : “Wherever they come, the ground seems burned, as it were with fire.” : “Wherever they pass, they burn and spoil everything, and that irremediably.” : “I have myself observed that the places where they had browsed were as scorched, as if the fire had passed there.” : “They covered a square mile so completely, that it appeared, at a little distance, to have been…”

“A fire - The Chaldeans, as a fire shall utterly consume all things. Behind them - What is left behind is as burnt with a flame. As Eden - Fruitful and pleasant. Joel 2:6”

“2:3 The destruction wrought by the invading army would be like a raging wildfire. Before the attack, the land looked like the Garden of Eden, but afterwards, it would be nothing but desolation (a reversal of Isa 51:3 and Ezek 36:35).”

“fire: Joe 1:19, Joe 1:20; Psa 50:3; Amo 7:4 the land: Gen 2:8, Gen 13:10; Isa 51:3; Eze 31:8, Eze 31:9 and behind: Joe 1:4-7; Exo 10:5, Exo 10:15; Jer 5:17; Zac 7:14 Joel 2:4”