Exodus 10:12-20
Locusts without Number
Read the passage
12Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may swarm over it and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has left behind.”
13So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.
14The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be.
15They covered the face of all the land until it was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left behind. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
17Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
18So Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the LORD.
19And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
20But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
The LORD tells Moses to stretch out his hand over Egypt so that locusts may come upon the land and eat every plant left after the hail. Moses stretches out his staff, and the LORD brings an east wind over the land all that day and night.
When morning comes, the east wind has brought the locusts. They cover the face of the whole land until the land is darkened, eat every plant and fruit left by the hail, and leave nothing green in Egypt.
Pharaoh quickly calls for Moses and Aaron. He says that he has sinned against the LORD and against them and asks Moses to forgive his sin and pray that death may be removed. Moses goes out and prays, and the LORD changes the wind to a very strong west wind that carries the locusts into the Red Sea.
Not one locust remains in all the territory of Egypt. But the LORD hardens Pharaoh's heart, and he does not let the people go.
The disaster is environmental as well as personal. The crops and food supply are destroyed, so the cost of Pharaoh's resistance reaches families who did not make the decision. His confession appears when the crisis peaks, but relief does not produce lasting surrender.
Questions
1 What do the locusts consume after the hail?
AnswerThey consume the plants and fruit the hail left behind. Nothing green remains on any tree or plant in Egypt.
2 Who confesses sin, and who asks Moses to pray for removal?
AnswerPharaoh confesses that he has sinned against the LORD and against Moses, then asks Moses to seek forgiveness and pray that the plague be removed. Moses prays, and the LORD removes the locusts by a west wind.
3 How does Pharaoh's repeated confession differ from repentance?
AnswerPharaoh admits his sin and asks for the plague to end, but he still refuses to release Israel after it is removed. Verse 20 says the LORD hardens his heart. His words acknowledge guilt, but they are not followed by the obedience repentance requires.
4 How can our household recognize and change a pattern of apology without change?
AnswerThe household can identify an apology that needs follow-through and choose one repair that continues after the uncomfortable moment has passed.
What This Means for Us
Pharaoh wants prayer to remove the plague, and Moses prays, but the king does not change his policy. Relief and repentance are not the same. A family can ask whether it wants transformation or only the discomfort of consequences to end.
The locusts also expose how decisions made by one ruler can burden an entire population. Our choices about money, work, consumption, and power affect people beyond the room where we make them.
This account should not make us treat environmental disaster as a simple verdict on particular victims. It calls us to serious responsibility for the systems and decisions that damage neighbors and the created world.
Ask, “What harm continues after our apology?” Take responsibility for one repair and keep it.
Prayer
God of mercy and judgment, make our repentance durable. Give us compassion for communities harmed by powerful decisions, wisdom to care for creation, and courage to change after the immediate crisis has passed. Amen.
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