Locusts

Locusts
Words of Faith 10-11-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 10:1-20
[1] Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them [2] that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD."
[3] So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. [4] If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. [5] They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. [6] They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians--something neither your fathers nor your forefathers have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.'" Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
[7] Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"
[8] Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the LORD your God," he said. "But just who will be going?"
[9] Moses answered, "We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD."
[10] Pharaoh said, "The LORD be with you--if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. [11] No! Have only the men go; and worship the LORD, since that's what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. [12] And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."
[13] So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; [14] they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. [15] They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail--everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
[16] Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. [17] Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me." [18] Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. [19] And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. [20] But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

Things were ramping up. The situation was getting more and more serious. If Pharaoh refused to humble himself before God, then God would bring a terrible locust infestation.
Flying by the millions, locusts can completely devastate miles of crops, eating leaves and even tree bark. Much of a city's or a nation's food supply from crops can be wiped out entirely in minutes or hours.
This extensive economic disaster caused Pharaoh's officials to realize that retaining their slaves was not worth the price. Egypt, they said, is ruined. So Pharaoh succumbed to Moses' general petition and said Go.
We have heard this before. Though Moses never said he would return the people, Pharaoh sensed they would be gone permanently if they took all their family members, flocks, and herds. This, he said, was evil. So he introduced another compromise: Have only the men go. Moses and Aaron, unwilling to settle for this compromise, were expelled from the court.
Bad will now go to worse. As a result of Pharaoh's stubbornness, God told Moses to stretch out his hand so that locusts would come. He extended his staff, and an east wind blew all day. Some say "east wind" can mean "fierce wind" because such winds typically blow across Egypt from the south. We get the picture.
The devastation was beyond imagination; their numbers were so massive that the ground was black. All of Egypt was affected, deprived of her natural beauty, with tragic economic, social, and theological consequences.
This was an attack once again on the gods of Egypt. Nut, the Egyptian sky goddess, could not control these locusts, and Osiris, god of crop fertility, could not prevent the destruction of the crops.
Pharaoh again repented of his sin and pleaded for relief, but his actions later revealed an insincere heart. In response to Moses' petition, God relented of this judgment, but Pharaoh again reneged on his promise. Again.
We should recognize that locusts can come in many forms. The insects that attack crops are horrible. But we can also encounter an economic locust swarm that eats everything in sight. There are also relational locust attacks where sinful gossip sweeps across the landscape.
Whatever the case, we need to recognize that the safe place is among God's people under the Lord's protection. He is the only one who can give us a covering from the devastating forces of the world around us.

Father God, I want to be in Goshen. I need to be in your protection. Cover me with Your love and allow me Your mercy. In the powerful Name of Jesus.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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