Hi friends,
Today’s post is one that speaks about the promise of God’s
restoration for all that we have lost. It can be very frustrating to see the
harvest that we have worked for (by sowing generously at the right time) be
destroyed completely overnight by the locusts. In spite of our hard work, we
are deprived of the fruit. Deu 28:38 “You shall carry much seed to the
field but gather little in, for the locusts shall consume it.”
I’ve always wondered how
the destruction of the crops was so total and complete. Then I noticed that there
was mention of the 4 different types of locusts. The assault almost seems
coordinated. In Joel 1:4 “What the chewing locust left, the swarming
locust has eaten; what the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.”
We see four types of locusts listed there. Let us study each
one progressively.
1)
The Chewing Locust- also known as the Cutting
Locust refers to the Caterpillar Stage in the development of a Locust. In this phase,
they chew up everything in sight, though they may not eat everything they chew.
Also their bodies are vibrant green in color and they repel insects of their kind
hence they live solitary lives.
2 )
The Swarming Locust -refers to the Migratory Locust.
These are the locusts that attacked Egypt in the plagues of locusts in Exodus
10:4. In this phase, the insect undergoes some chemical changes in their brain as
a result of which their body color changes from green to striking yellow and
black markings. They are no longer repelled from each other, rather they come
together to form a group called swarm and attack every edible thing in sight. This
phase is known as the Gregarious Phase.
3) The Crawling Locust- is also known as the Cankerworm.This is the locust that frustrates us. It just lingers
around and persistently gnaws and licks everything green in its path. It is
assigned to bother us by not moving.
4) The Consuming Locust- They are also known as
Strippers. They strip vegetation. They set out to remove the bark from the tree
before it becomes fully mature. They are assigned to look for any life and
cause it to look dead. They consume everything as an act of cleaning up.
Thus we can see how what one type of locust left, the other
type of locust attacked, till finally everything was totally destroyed.
God at different points in history brought swarms of locusts
upon his disobedient people as a means of disciplining them. In Joel 2:25, God
takes responsibility for the insect army which he sent among them as a
punishment for sin and breaking the covenant. In the very next verse however He
promises restoration for His people adding that His people would never be put
to shame again. In vs 19, He sent grain and new wine and oil. In vs 22, that
pastures are restored as are the fruit and fig trees and grapevines.in vs 23,
God sends the former and latter rain as a sign of His faithfulness to His
people. Now wheat fills the threshing floors (bumper crop) and vats of new wine
and oil overflow (vs 24) now conditions have been restored to better than
before, with peace, ample food and the resulting joy and gladness.
In the same way, those of us who have sowed faithfully for
many years only to find the harvest plundered again and again, can stand on
this promise of Restoration. That this time the Lord will restore to us
everything that the enemy has stolen from us and that we- His people shall
never be put to shame again. (Joel 2:26,27)
Luv n prayers,
Sparky laurie