...God is in the locusts...

The Eighth Plague: Locusts

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his officials, in order that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them—so that you may know that I am the Lord.’

3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country. 5 They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They shall devour the last remnant left you after the hail, and they shall devour every tree of yours that grows in the field. 6 They shall fill your houses, and the houses of all your officials and of all the Egyptians—something that neither your parents nor your grandparents have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.”’ Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7 Pharaoh’s officials said to him, ‘How long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God; do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?’ 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, ‘Go, worship the Lord your God! But which ones are to go?’ 9 Moses said, ‘We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, because we have the Lord’s festival to celebrate.’ 10 He said to them, ‘The Lord indeed will be with you, if ever I let your little ones go with you! Plainly you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 No, never! Your men may go and worship the Lord, for that is what you are asking.’ 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, so that the locusts may come upon it and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.’ 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; when morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came upon all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever shall be again. 15 They covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was black; and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left; nothing green was left, no tree, no plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt. 16 Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Do forgive my sin just this once, and pray to the Lord your God that at the least he remove this deadly thing from me.’ 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 19 The Lord 

changed the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go” Exodus 10:1-20.

If there is one thing we can say about the plagues, it is this: God is very intent on all of creation coming to know that He is the Lord. The stories about the plagues are among the strongest examples of the sovereignty of God. He is the Lord, and He alone is King, and no one else but the Lord sits on the throne of all creation. Therefore, it is essential that each of us lives our lives worshiping, loving, obeying, and following the Lord. 

Therefore, Exodus 10:2 is one of the most important verses in the bible: 

“I have made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them—so that you may know that I am the Lord.”

I think each of us must come to terms with what this truth, this fact, means in each of our lives. Every time God spoke to Moses, Moses was clear that it was the Lord speaking to Him! Throughout these chapters we read these words: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh’” Exodus 10:1. Moses knew it was the Lord speaking to Him. No angel, no prophet! It was completely the Lord!

1. Moses spoke with God face-to-face at the burning bush and on Mount Sinai, hearing His voice directly (Exodus 3, 19, 24, 33, 34).

2. Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord asking, "Whom shall I send?" and simultaneously saw the Lord seated on a high throne (Isaiah 6:8).

3. Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and fellowshipped in His direct presence (Genesis 3:8).

4. Samuel heard the voice calling him as a boy in Shiloh and experienced the Lord coming and standing before him (1 Samuel 3).

5. Paul (Saul) Heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus and saw a blinding light, radically meeting the Lord face-to-face (Acts 9:3-9).

I believe we all meet God throughout our lives — face-to-face! We just often don’t realize it is, in fact, the Lord we are meeting. So today in your prayer, take time and think deeply about the Sovereign Lord, who is God, Jesus Christ who died on Good Friday for us all and who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.