13/02/11

Locusts

Amos 7:1 - Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers [locust] in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.


The locust has multiple meanings in scriptures. Before I get to scriptures let me give a brief description to you about the creature.

The locust is an insect that is feared throughout history. It is a cousin of the timid grasshopper looking alike in its solitary stage. When the numbers of them increase it causes them to rub their hind legs frequently and this simulates behavioral change in them taking a gregarious stage. This is not only an inside change it also causes an outside change; this insect changes its color and looks a complete different insect. They group together hoping as nymphs and flying as adults, moving like an army consuming all greenery especially young plants eating equivalent to its weight each day traveling in the night according to the wind. Half a square km call hold up to 30-40 million and swarms can be of even a 1000 square kms thus having billions of locusts. They lay eggs deep in the soil which can remain dormant over long periods and sustain great levels of heat. The moment the climate becomes suitable they hatch and come out. Some breeds of locusts grow even to a length of 6inches.

In the book of Moses it has been shown as a curse of God to destroy the harvest of this world. They were plaques sent by God to punish man when man sinned greatly against God.

In the book of Joel and Amos they symbolize unbeliever population which is overgrowing and over consuming so much that it starts to harm creation and people of God. God maintains a control ratio between His people and worldly people who are created like grass not having the seed of faith in them to bear Fruit. In today's message the vision shown to Prophet Amos uses this symbolization. The Lord is saying enough to the number of unbelievers overflowing, He is going to do something in this matter and soon we will see more believers than ever before.

In spiritual sense locust symbolizes hurts. When the number of hurts increases it causes the person to frequently think on it and thus changes the behavior of the person not only from inside but also externally. That person groups along with other people also nurturing hurts like him or herself and together daily start to harm other people spreading eggs of hurts in them. This hurting causing generations and generations to start behaving like animals killing people even at the cost of their own destruction.

The only ways to destroy these swarms of locusts is to spray insecticide on them or on the vegetation they consume. Spraying of insecticide in spiritual sense symbolizes using authority. Jesus gave us authority not only to cast demons but also over weaknesses. A person matured in faith and having authority can rebuke hurts and heal people from inside. It sounds very simple but the problem is there are very, very few Men or Women of God who have grown to the stage of authority most are struggling between stages of faith and the borders touching authority.

An easier and simple option which every child of God can do and has proved very effective so much so that it has made a particular breed of locust (Rocky Mountain locust) extinct is sustained cultivation. Sustained cultivation in spiritual term means continual spiritual productivity. One needs to be continual fruitful in spirit, this causes all old wounds to be destroyed even without much knowledge. Forget about doing wrong things even not doing any good in spiritual sense may cause small hurts to one day pop up from nowhere and to suddenly take a gregarious nature.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, we thank You for You are a merciful God. You love your people and do not let your anger to overflow and destroy them completely. Lord, your people have been suffering since ages and the burden on them has been growing. Today we look up to You and we know You in your mercy have already started to answer our plead. We thank You that You are sending among us people who are taught by You and who hold authority in your Name...

This we declare in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scripture ]
Exodus 10:13-15
13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

Joel 1:3-4
3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
4 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.

Joel 2:23-26
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

Deuteronomy 28:42
42 All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess.

Luke 9:1-2
1 And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases [weaknesses].
2 And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.


The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others.
(All rights are with God)