Psalm 78:46

Psalm 78:46

Grasshoppers and locusts

The next plague mentioned here in the Psalm is a confrontation with Seth, the Egyptian God of Storms and Disorder. Locusts and grasshoppers were sent from the sky to attack the crops of the Egyptians. But still Pharaoh would not listen to the message of the Lord, he still relied on the gods and goddesses of Egypt. The eighth plague issued by the Lord had an even greater purpose than all the others, it was to be so influential that future generations of Hebrews would tell even "their  sons and son's sons" the mighty things of the Lord, thus teaching them about the power of the "strong hand of God" over all the other Egyptian deities. Exodus 10:1-2. Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh with the same request, "Let my people go so that they may serve me” and they pronounced the judgment of locusts, if not heeded. 

This is the second wave of destruction to follow the hail, and whatever crops were left intact after that display, were now completely consumed by the swarms of locusts that were unleashed from the sky. This wonder definitely affected the Egyptians’ life source. By hitting them in their food supply, the Lord displayed the possibility of imminent death if a change of heart did not occur. Yet still, Pharaoh would not listen. 

It is interesting to read here, in the Psalm, that Lord “gave” the Egyptians’ crops and produce to the locusts. He has the power to take away what we have and pass it to another life form. This flies in the face of the arrogance of men who think that they control everything and that all created life is under their control. Paul summed this scenario up so well in Romans 1:22-23. “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” What a picture of the Egyptians, and the Greeks, and the Romans, and modern man!

 

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