Locusts

 

Early in January of 1947, my parents wrote of the natural disaster that hit our area—an invasion of locusts.

Mother wrote, Right now we are experiencing one of the 10 plagues that the Egyptians experienced – the plague of grasshoppers.

Though the letters referred to them consistently as grasshoppers, I was curious to know if there was a difference between grasshoppers and locusts. I learned that though they are the same species, locusts change their appearance and behavior. Under certain conditions shy green grasshoppers turn brown, become gregarious, and swarm aggressively, whereas grasshoppers remain solitary.[1]

In the Bible both are listed as edible, along with crickets. “The only winged insects you may eat are locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets. All other winged insects that crawl are too disgusting for you to eat.” (Lev. 11:20-23 CEV)

The first mention of locusts is in  the description of the eighth plague inflicted on Pharaoh and his people. “They dropped from the sky and overran the land of Egypt from one end to the other. Countless numbers of them swarmed in the air and crawled over the ground. Never had there been nor would there ever be again such a swarm of locusts in Egypt. The locusts blanketed the whole land until the ground was smothered in darkness. They devoured every plant growing in the fields and stripped every tree of its fruit, everything the hail had not destroyed. Not one green leaf was left on any tree, not one plant was left growing in the field anywhere in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 10:14-15 (VOICE)

My mother went on to compare our experience with that of the Egyptians: I don’t suppose it is as bad but to us, it seems terrible. . . In Santa Eufemia, dry goods stores, tailor shops, etc. had to close up as the grasshoppers were eating the materials. The outside walls of the houses are covered so solidly with them that it looks from a distance like they were covered with ivy.

Day and night men are burning them by the thousands with flame throwers or torches. In places there isn’t a green thing left. One morning we woke up and found one part of our patio just covered with them. In order to prevent them from eating up all our grass, the palm leaves, flowers, etc. we went to one of the believer’s homes and he came and burned them up right away. They were still young yet and within 15 days (the time it takes for them to grow big enough to fly) they probably would have eaten every green thing in our patio. (1.04.47)

Dad’s description followed a couple of days later, along with the promise of photos to come: Now the grasshopper plague. It has come to La Carlota. I took a picture of it yesterday and hope to take some more so that you folks will believe what we say. Thankfully those few faded photos survived these many decades to illustrate the words that follow.

They cover trees, ground, houses and all so that there is standing room only. There is a river just at the edge of our pueblo, but that did not bother them at all. They came right across the river. They march just like an army and keep coming without end. The fight against them is certainly a good example of what a war must be like. If you want to win a war all you must do is have plenty of men so that no matter how many are killed they still keep marching on.

I was reminded of the inspired utterances of Agur in Proverbs 30. He praises locusts, among the four small but very wise things on earth, for their warlike cooperation and unrelenting onslaught “locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks.” (Prov. 30:27 NIV)

Later I discovered an article Dad wrote for the denominational magazine where he described this “pestilence,” interestingly and poetically ascribing the creatures evil motives.

   Marching, marching, marching—the multitudinous armies marched upon their enemies desirous of nothing but destruction. Although they were destroyed by fire, crushed and trapped in deep holes by the millions, they marched on with never-decreasing force and ruin.

   It was interesting to watch the newspaper reports of the devastating hordes of grasshoppers in flight from Brazil, going ever southward until they reached the tip of the continent. As the millions flew in, we were amazed at their numbers and their quick departure. Seven weeks revealed that, although they hadn’t eaten much, they had done something far worse—laid millions of eggs.

   We first noted the highways covered with a sort of black pebble-like thing. Later they became larger changed color to green, and filled the trees and green plants. Soon they invaded the towns—marching, eating, destroying, day and night. As we drove down the main street of one of our towns, this very unusual sight met our eyes: streets, sidewalks and buildings covered with grasshoppers; people standing at the door with tree branches in hand making the last hopeless effort against the enemy. They had destroyed all the shade trees, fruit trees, and vegetables. The people were determined to keep them at least from entering the houses. The plague of Egypt needs no explanation to young or old in this country.

   As we viewed the plague in surrounding towns, we wondered if they would be able to do anything to stop their entrance into La Carlota. We were happy when we saw their success with the use of sheet metal barriers around the town. Our optimism led us to believe that when these little grasshoppers grew wings they would fly away and we would be saved. To our disappointment they just flew into the town. One could stop the hoppers with tin barriers, fire throwers, and pits, but nothing could be done against the fliers. They left the land of summer worse than any winter landscape, because they not only ate the leaves of the trees but much of the bark.

   This terrible pest first ate all green things of every sort. They completely destroyed the corn harvest in much of the country. If they got into the homes, they ate curtains and clothes, and even furniture. With nothing else within their reach, they ate one another. In the Young People’s Camp the grasshoppers ate holes in trousers, bathing suits, hymn books, and ladies’ housecoats.

   Not only were they destructive by their eating, but they caused great changes in train schedules. The myriads of grasshoppers crushed on the tracks left so much oil that they were left stranded in the country without sand, and many times with insufficient fuel. Some trains reached their destinations six and twelve hours late. Crushed grasshoppers also caused accidents on the highways. A large truck with trailer jack-knifed, and was destroyed as it slipped on the grasshoppers.[5]

That year, 1947, John E. Parker, an expert from the United State Department of Agriculture, was invited by the Argentine government to study the locust problem and offer solutions. In September he submitted his report “Comments and suggestions on locust control in Argentina.” He visited the provinces with the greatest infestations, consulted with those engaged in locust control and studied the measures employed. He began his report with the point he wanted to emphasize. “Coming to your country in the midst of one of your worst locust outbreaks, I was greatly surprised to find that no serious attempt had been made to prevent it by destroying the insects while they were concentrated in their winter quarters.” His recommendations therefore focused more on aggressive preventive measures than the methods used to combat the plague, although these were listed and compared for their availability, cost, and effectiveness.

I wondered, had there been further destructive locust invasions such as we had witnessed, or were they avoided. I found some answers in the January 26, 2016 New York Times article “Argentina Scrambles to Fight the Biggest Plague of Locusts in 60 Years.” The government’s agricultural inspection agency and provincial authorities had intensified their efforts to exterminate the insects in their earlier stages in the dry forests of northern Argentina but it was not enough. Some areas are impenetrable and locust clouds uncontrollable, even more than four miles long and nearly two miles high. An emergency hotline was set up to report sightings and coordinate a response that would minimize the damage.

In neither of the mentioned scenarios, were the locusts described as “a gift from above, not a plague” as Frank Hopkins refers to the swarm that hit him in 1890 during the 3000-mile race across the desert as depicted in the 2004 film “Hidalgo.” To him and his horse the locusts represented desperately needed nourishment.

My parents didn’t make a meal out of the abundance of locusts, despite Biblical approval. As a toddler, would I have ventured to play with the hopping, whizzing, flying insects or dared to pick one up and pop it in my mouth? It is most likely that I was not allowed outdoors as long as the locust invasion lasted. However, some of them probably made their way indoors. In the far recesses of my memory an image lingers of pock marks left on the furniture.

There was at least one Biblical character who understood the benefits of a diet of locusts and honey--John the Baptist, an early minimalist!

Then I asked myself, what “gifts from above” might I be missing, overlooking, avoiding?

This quandary led me to dig deeper into the many references to locusts in the Bible, more than thirty! This is what I learned. Locusts are:

·         Nutritious:  ". . . you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind (Lev. 11:22 ESV).”  The clear mention of these edible protein-rich insects led me to question whether they were a regular part of the diet of the Israelites.

·         Numerous: whenever the Scriptures seeks to convey the concept of countless masses, it refers to locusts: . . . they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted. . . . like locusts in abundance. . . (Judg. 6:5 ESV). . . they are more numerous than locusts; they are without number. (Jer. 46:23 ESV)

·         Obedient: they develop and behave as programmed by the Creator. Joel wrote about the stages they go through. “What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. (Joel 1:4 ESV, emphasis my own.)

 )     Beyond that, God is their Commander, he is in control. “He spoke and the locusts came. . .” (Ps. 105:34 ESV) “He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust.” (Ps. 78:46 ESV)

Ki    King Solomon in his prayer of dedication of the Temple, lists a variety of scenarios brought about because of the sins of the people, among them devastation caused by the locust. Then he pleads with God “whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways . . .” (1 Kings 8:38-39 ESV)
    God appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer,” and goes on to mention locusts among some of the judgments brought upon the people. Then in his mercy He extends hope. “When I . . . command the locust to devour the land. . . if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chron. 6:13-14 ESV) God’s grace goes even further when He promises, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.” (Joel 2:25 ESV)

        Perhaps I will not add locusts to my diet, but may I not miss the lessons that come through suffering, they are a gift from above.

---

[1] “When Grasshoppers Go Biblical: Seratonin Causes Locusts to Swarm,” Scientific American, Katherine Harmon, January 30, 2009.

[2] The Brethren Missionary Herald, March 29, 1947, p 288.