Exodus 10:1-20
The Eighth Plague: Locusts (Joel 1:2–4)
1 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”
3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. Who are the ones that are going?”
9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
10 Then he said to them, “The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. 11 Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
The eighth plague of judgment involved a swarm of locusts, devouring cousins of common grasshoppers reminiscent of those to come at the final judgment (Revelation 9:3-4) on the earth. Moses was told to approach Pharaoh and witness the further hardening of his heart against God and His people that the prophet could later tell the story to his descendants of the mighty signs and works of power that he witnessed the Almighty accomplish in Egypt. This was so that they would know the LORD, just as we read the accounts of God’s Son work miracles to set His people free from sin’s penalty of God’s justice wrath and from an everlasting death of torment prepared for the devil and his fallen angels (Matthew 25:41, Jude 1:6) for their unrepentant disobedience. Therefore, Moses and Aaron approached the king with God’s ultimatum to let His people go free to worship Him and pointed out that the Pharaoh was refusing to humble himself before God in the process. How foolish our pride is to resist the omnipresent and omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the universe! The example of the king of Egypt enslaving God’s people is a warning not just for the Pharaoh to be witnessed by Moses’s posterity, but also to the world not to touch His anointed ones (Psalm 105:15) of whom all who are in Christ are. The warning of God through Moses and Aaron was to let the people go to worship or face the consequences of an impending catastrophe of devouring locusts swarming over the country and devouring what little was left to eat as a consequence of disbelief and disobedience. The people of Egypt had suffered so much for this man’s hardened heart that Pharaoh’s servants even were emboldened to ask why not let the people of God go to worship since this impending disaster might end them completely. Pharaoh listened and brought the messengers of the LORD back before him and asked who would go from Israel to worship. Moses told him everyone had to go and Pharaoh denied and the offer and snidely told him that would be the day he would let loose of them all at once. The result was seen the next morning as the rod of God was lifted and the innumerable swarms of devouring locusts covered the land as never seen before or again. The king brought the messengers back and confessed he had sinned (but was not sincere enough to honor the confession with continued action according to his promise) and asked for the plague to be taken away. The locusts were blown into the Red Sea by the breath of God but the LORD had a purpose in hardening the king’s heart further to deliver His people and bring glory to His name yet. This is why God allows sinful rulers to commit atrocities and seemingly allow unnecessary suffering that His glory may be seen in His deliverance of immediate and eternal salvation. The consuming locusts of judgment strip man’s pride bare to either have people glorify God (Revelation 11:13, 16:9) or suffer the consequences of disobedience in disbelief of the gospel of salvation from such deserved destruction in the end. May all who read this account take heed and give God the glory and find deliverance from the consuming locusts and gain hope in His Son whose miracles proved His divine authority to judge us all and turn from sin to Him for eternal deliverance from the same instead of hardening their hearts against Him! This is a warning and hope for us all in the judgment to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment