1.23.26 – Swarms of Locusts

Happy preparation day from chilly-willy Michigan! The plague of hail and fire has come and gone (Ex. 9:18–26). Pharaoh's repentant heart has repented from his repentance (2 Cor. 7:10; Ex. 9:34–35). Life in Egypt has pretty much been destroyed. The GDP has been devastated!

In this week's Torah portion, Bo ("come") (Ex. 10ff), we start with the plague of locusts to finish what the hail and fire started. The locust swarms are in devastatingly grand numbers. They group together in the millions upon millions, so that even the eye of the earth cannot see the light of day (Ex. 10:15). These locusts know no boundaries. They destroy everything in sight with no regard for property (Ex. 10:15).

They only consume without ever contributing anything back. Locusts attack, and in their frenzy they make a lot of noise and attack in numbers. They are loud, intimidating, and lead a life of destroying what others have planted—yet they do not live very long. Their fate is sealed until the next storm arrives. They are born innocent grasshoppers that prefer living a solitary life while keeping to themselves, but that all goes away the moment they decide to join the swarm, by which they give up their individual thinking and take on a "herd" mentality (Prov. 30:27). Finally, they become cannibals, ultimately turning on themselves and each other—eating their own when there is nothing left to destroy.

In the Bible and on farmlands around the world, swarms of locusts are considered a plague of perilous proportions. They appear when things go wrong. They are often the symptoms of a desperate society that has gone awry.

Are the locusts locusts? Like the wild beasts in Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:32) that attacked Paul, could they be people? Could they be both? Only hindsight, which is 20/20, will tell. Whatever the case may be, do not be part of the devouring swarm. Be a contributing member of society, not one who just devours during your short existence. And if, by chance, your world has been devastated by the locusts, the prophet Joel reminds us and promises that God will restore what the locusts have consumed (Joel 2:25; Deut. 30:3).

For those of you who have a few extra minutes today, check out Revelation 9:1–6 and Joel 1 to stimulate your mind to deeper levels of intimacy with the Most High!

Shalom!
Alan

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