Exodus 10:12-20 comments: the locusts

Exodus 10:12 ¶  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. 13  And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14  And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 15  For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16  Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17  Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. 18  And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 19  And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. 20  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

Obviously, this is an utter catastrophe for Egypt and for this Pharaoh’s administration. The land of Egypt is devastated yet again with this plague. Again, Pharaoh makes a false confession of repentance to have this plague removed.

There is a plague of locusts at the end of human-centered history, but these are spiritual beings with extraordinary power unlike the creatures that infested Egypt here.

Revelation 9:1 ¶  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7  And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8  And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9  And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11  And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. 12  One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

We know from previous verses that Pharaoh has been prepared for this episode in history.

Exodus 9:16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

And that the Holy Spirit prompted Paul to mention this in reference to God’s control over human destiny under judgment showing God’s rights over humanity.

Romans 9:14 ¶  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24  Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Pharaoh, in his pride, denied God’s authority over him and that God was worthy of being heard as Pharaoh’s creator. By that refusal and by that denial Pharaoh was worthy of destruction. God will harden anyone’s heart who consistently refuses Him until there are no more possibilities for that person but death and Hell. At some point a person will hear the gospel of Christ and because they are and have been unwilling will then be unable to turn from sin and turn to God. Pharaoh’s statement at the beginning of the plagues is worthy of mention again. God has the advantage of foreknowledge to know that this or that person will never trust Him. He permits the offer of the salvation to be made, though, showing us that His mercy was extended but hardens the heart of the person who will never hear and obey.

Exodus 5:2  And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

Many people, particularly in Western societies so ingrained with the modernist idea that if they can’t see it that it can’t exist unless it’s a theoretical physics entity that explains something without God hold the very idea of God in contempt in much the same way. “Who is the LORD, that I should believe in Him and obey? I don’t know Him, neither will I believe.”

This is a hard concept to accept for many of us. We say that so-and-so has the opportunity to trust in Christ right up until his or her death and that may be true, or their rejection of God’s free offer of mercy and salvation may end in an inability to turn and repent.

Alluding to Isaiah 49:8, Paul wrote;

2Corinthians 6:2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

We never stop “witnessing” to someone while they are alive. We don’t know when they’ve gone too far. That is God’s business and salvation or loss is in His hands.