EXODUS 10
14 The locusts came up over 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 will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned 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 did not let the people of Israel go. – Exodus 10:14-20
EXODUS 10 PHARAOH PLEADS TO REMOVE THE LOCUSTS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When a dense swarm of locusts occupied the land of Egypt
The land was darkened by their presence; not a green thing remained
Pharaoh pleaded Moses to ask God to forgive him for he had sinned
And the Lord brought a strong wind to drive the locusts out into the Red Sea.
According to the Israeli Times, locust swarms can decimate crops and cause famines. In the past. There was a study indicating the significant implications for “countless people, animals, and plants all over the globe” still threatened by locust outbreaks, In the past three years, swathes of Africa, Indian and Pakistan have been hard-hit by locust swarms.
A swarm has “the capacity to consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people,” the group says.
This threat from the swarms of locusts has made Pharaoh admit his sin against the Lord. Notice in verse 16, that he admitted sinning against Moses’ God. It doesn’t mean that he repented of what he did wrong, but that he has displeased someone else’s God. He asks Moses to ask forgiveness to his God, but not truly acknowledging the One true God.
REFLECTION
- What is true repentance and how is it different from just recognizing one’s sin?
