seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 10:12 And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts 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.(b) Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
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.(b) Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
b. Exodus 10:19 Or the Sea of Reeds
I love it when the easy English site knows the questions I have before I do!
The locusts came from the desert. A wind from the east blew them over Egypt. And a wind from the west blew them away again (verse 19). God created the wind and he controls it. So he used these winds to do what he desired. He wanted to teach Pharaoh a lesson. Pharaoh was opposing the LORD who rules the wind and the sea (Psalm 107:29).
The Egyptians worshipped a false god called Senehem. They thought that false god could protect them from damage. That false god should protect them from insects and animals that were a nuisance. The plague of locusts showed that the LORD’s power was greater than Senehem’s power. Neither Pharaoh nor any Egyptian false god could overcome the LORD.
Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to forgive him. He wanted the LORD to take the locusts away from Egypt. But his attitude had not changed.
The ‘Red Sea’ is ‘Yam Suph’ in the Hebrew language. It means the ‘Reed Sea’. Reeds are tall plants that grow in water. But perhaps the ‘Red’ Sea got its name from very tiny red plants. Those plants sometimes grow in the sea.
The Egyptians worshipped a false god called Senehem. They thought that false god could protect them from damage. That false god should protect them from insects and animals that were a nuisance. The plague of locusts showed that the LORD’s power was greater than Senehem’s power. Neither Pharaoh nor any Egyptian false god could overcome the LORD.
Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to forgive him. He wanted the LORD to take the locusts away from Egypt. But his attitude had not changed.
The ‘Red Sea’ is ‘Yam Suph’ in the Hebrew language. It means the ‘Reed Sea’. Reeds are tall plants that grow in water. But perhaps the ‘Red’ Sea got its name from very tiny red plants. Those plants sometimes grow in the sea.
I guess the bible-commentaries.com site shows just how nasty the plague of locusts really was. It's hard to imagine! I read one commentary that said the locust attacks have left dead locusts six to eight inches deep everywhere.
It is difficult to express the effect produced on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled on all sides and to a great height by an innumerable quantity of these insects, whose flight was slow and uniform, and whose noise resembled that of rain; the sky was darkened, and the light of the sun considerably weakened. In a moment the terraces of the houses, the streets, and all the fields were covered by these insects.
The apostle John comes closest to the fear this phenomenon must produce in his description of the army of Apollyon in Revelation. When the lid of the Abyss is taken off, the atmosphere is polluted by a dense smoke which brings these demonic creatures out of the pit to cover the earth. There is a demon in every plague and the fear of darkness accompanies it.
Pharaoh experiences something of this fear for the master he serves. When the enormity of the plague dawns upon him, he panics and calls for Moses and Aaron. He even utters words which sound like a confession of sin. Vs. 16 says: "Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.' " The sin against Moses and Aaron was, obviously, their being chased away from Pharaoh's presence the day before. Pharaoh's words express the tragic truth that one can say the right words, "I have sinned," and yet not repent. The human heart is so deeply ensnared by sin and darkness that it cannot turn around without the help of the Holy Spirit.
When the hail storm hit the country, there was still hope that famine could be averted. But after the locusts turned Egypt into a moonscape, it was obvious that there would be no wheat harvest and nothing else to eat for months to come. Now Pharaoh had the choice of keeping his slaves or letting his people die with famine; in his hardness of heart, he went beyond all reason and logic and decided to keep the slaves. Demons will send man on a course of self-destruction.
The apostle John comes closest to the fear this phenomenon must produce in his description of the army of Apollyon in Revelation. When the lid of the Abyss is taken off, the atmosphere is polluted by a dense smoke which brings these demonic creatures out of the pit to cover the earth. There is a demon in every plague and the fear of darkness accompanies it.
Pharaoh experiences something of this fear for the master he serves. When the enormity of the plague dawns upon him, he panics and calls for Moses and Aaron. He even utters words which sound like a confession of sin. Vs. 16 says: "Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.' " The sin against Moses and Aaron was, obviously, their being chased away from Pharaoh's presence the day before. Pharaoh's words express the tragic truth that one can say the right words, "I have sinned," and yet not repent. The human heart is so deeply ensnared by sin and darkness that it cannot turn around without the help of the Holy Spirit.
When the hail storm hit the country, there was still hope that famine could be averted. But after the locusts turned Egypt into a moonscape, it was obvious that there would be no wheat harvest and nothing else to eat for months to come. Now Pharaoh had the choice of keeping his slaves or letting his people die with famine; in his hardness of heart, he went beyond all reason and logic and decided to keep the slaves. Demons will send man on a course of self-destruction.
