Read with Me
Exodus 10:12-20 (HCSB)
The LORD then said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left.” So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there never will be again. They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you. Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to Yahweh your God, so that He will take this death away from me.” Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the LORD. Then the LORD changed the wind to a strong west wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go.
Listen with Me
As in most of the previous plagues, God graciously gave Pharaoh an opportunity to repent, to release the Israelites unconditionally, before He brought the next plague. But as in those previous instances, Pharaoh refused to comply with God’s demands. Instead, he rejected both God’s message and His messengers. So, now the devastation would come.
The raising of Moses’ staff did not bring an immediate manifestation of locusts. Instead, it brought a strong east wind that blew the rest of that day and all through the night. When the sun rose the next morning, the locusts were already there, completely covering the ground and eating every growing plant. This included not only the tender shoots of wheat and spelt that had come up since the hailstorm (Exodus 9:31-32), but also every leaf and every piece of fruit on every tree, leaving no source of food remaining throughout the land.
As soon as Pharaoh saw the locusts in the morning and heard reports that verified that they were destroying everything throughout the land, he panicked. Without those crops, without the trees, starvation was not only a possibility, it was a certainty. So, he summoned Moses and Aaron, and in some of the most conciliatory language in the whole Bible, he tried to convince them that he knew he was wrong, and that he was thoroughly repentant.
With that assurance, which both Moses and God knew was false, Moses prayed for relief. Immediately, a strong west wind blew, driving the locusts into the Red Sea, where they died. Their purpose had been fulfilled. Their disappearance would not bring the crops back; they had already been destroyed completely. And it would not restore the trees. Without leaves the trees were likely to die as well. But the absence of the locusts calmed the fears of the people temporarily.
As expected, Pharaoh did not release the Israelites. He had gone too far in his resistance and rebellion, so God would not allow him to repent. But with the next two plagues, the Israelites would not only be released, but would be driven from the land, and God would be proved sovereign, even over one of the most powerful men in the world.
Pray with Me
Father, it is sad to see the lengths You had to go to in order to free the Israelites from their bondage. It is even sadder when we realize that it could all have been avoided if Pharaoh and his people had simply been willing to acknowledge You as the one true God. Then they would not only have been saved, they could have been blessed, protected, and prospered as they had been in the days of Joseph. But people, especially those in power, have a hard time humbling themselves, even before You. Save us, Lord, from our own pride and rebellion, so that we can live under Your blessing instead of under Your judgment. Amen.