Topical Bible: The Locust: (Destruction of) of Destruction of God's Enemies

◄ The Locust: (Destruction of) of Destruction of God's Enemies ►

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The locust, a creature often associated with devastation and desolation, serves as a powerful symbol of divine judgment and the destruction of God's enemies in the biblical narrative. Throughout Scripture, locusts are depicted as instruments of God's wrath, used to execute judgment upon those who oppose His will and defy His commandments.

Biblical Instances of Locusts as Divine Judgment

One of the most prominent examples of locusts as agents of destruction is found in the Book of Exodus. The eighth plague that God sent upon Egypt was a swarm of locusts, which covered the land and consumed all the vegetation left after the previous plagues. This event is recorded in Exodus 10:12-15: "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt so that the locusts may swarm over the land and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has left.' So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD sent an east wind across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts. They invaded all the land of Egypt and settled 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. They covered all the ground until it was black, and they devoured all the plants in the land and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt."

This plague was a direct challenge to Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt, demonstrating the supremacy of the God of Israel and His power to bring low the mightiest of nations.

Prophetic Imagery and Future Judgment

The prophetic books of the Old Testament also employ the imagery of locusts to describe future judgments. In the Book of Joel, a locust invasion is depicted as a harbinger of the "Day of the LORD," a time of great calamity and divine retribution. Joel 1:4 describes the devastation: "What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten."

Joel calls the people to repentance, urging them to return to God with fasting and prayer, emphasizing that the locusts are a warning of greater judgment to come if they do not turn from their wicked ways.

Symbolism in Revelation

In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation uses the imagery of locusts to symbolize the torment and destruction that will befall the wicked in the end times. Revelation 9:3-4 describes a vision of locusts emerging from the smoke of the abyss: "And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads."

These apocalyptic locusts are not ordinary insects but are symbolic of demonic forces unleashed to torment those who have rejected God. Their destructive power serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of rebellion against the Creator.

Conclusion

Throughout the Bible, locusts are consistently portrayed as agents of divine judgment, used by God to bring about the destruction of His enemies and to call His people to repentance. Whether as literal plagues or symbolic representations of spiritual forces, the locust serves as a sobering reminder of God's sovereignty and the ultimate futility of opposing His will. As such, the imagery of locusts underscores the biblical theme of divine justice and the eventual triumph of God's righteousness over evil.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Nahum 3:15
There shall the fire devour you; the sword shall cut you off, it shall eat you up like the cankerworm: make yourself many as the cankerworm, make yourself many as the locusts.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Prophet Joel.
... be explained from the circumstance, that God's judgment upon ... at hand; it cometh as
a destruction from the ... according to him, the migratory locust, which visits ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the prophet joel.htm

The Second vision "On Earth"
... Arbah in Hebrew means a locust. ... Here (verse 2) it is for the destruction, as in
Lamentations 2 ... potencies which were coming forth from the Spirit of God to give ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the second vision on earth.htm

Psalm LXXIX.
... seem to have been foretold concerning the destruction of both ... even she hath put frog
for frogs, locust for locusts ... to understand that holy men of God have loved ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm lxxix.htm

One Lion Two Lions no Lion at All
... God help you to be weary of them ... will restore unto you the years which the locust
hath eaten ... the melting power of the gospel, hardening to your own destruction. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/one lion two lions no.htm

The Seven Trumpets.
... servants of God, and that these locust-warriors were ... vengeance on them that know
not God and obey ... who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/the seven trumpets.htm

Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ;
... all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth ... they dishonour
Christ, wound the conscience, and cause the enemies of God to speak ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/come and welcome to jesus.htm

On the Clause, and Shall Come in Glory to Judge the Quick and the ...
... the Lord Satan never dared to blaspheme God, as not ... of the world, not regarding the
destruction of Jerusalem ... as active as a grasshopper, or locust, shall grow ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/lecture xv on the clause.htm

Psalm LXXVIII.
... arise." [3542] Moreover, if that death by serpents, and that destruction by the ... 3611]
The locust is malice ... For, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" [3631 ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm lxxviii.htm

Book ii. Jerome Answers the Second, Third, and Fourth Propositions ...
... or a native of Pontus to eat a locust, and he ... But we praise every creature of God,
and yet prefer leanness ... and he is eager to his own destruction." And, [4814 ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/book ii jerome answers the.htm

Centenary Commemoration
... was shaded by a couple of huge locust trees, and ... This destruction impoverished and
depressed the people as a ... met in them on Sundays to worship God according to ...
/.../centenary commemoration 2.htm