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.

Joel 1:5-6

The term “Bread and Circus” refers to something that serves as a distraction from what is really important. According to Pascal Tréguer, a French linguist, the phrase originated from a Roman poet named Juvenal was critical of his own people who abandoned their own duties as citizens and settled for bread and circus games as a distraction.

In the verses above, Joel is attempting to wake up the leaders and the people of Israel to the actual state of judgment from God through the invasion of another nation. And how should they respond to the emergency?

Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the LORD your God,
and cry out to the LORD.

Joel 1:14

As Christians, we should always be vigilant regarding the days in which we live and respond accordingly. Remember these words from Christ –

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming

Matthew 24:42