📖 Biblical Definition
The locust is a migratory swarming insect that God deploys throughout Scripture as an instrument of national judgment. The eighth plague of Egypt was a locust swarm so dense it darkened the land (Exodus 10:1-20). Joel’s prophecy makes locust devastation the lens through which the great Day of the LORD is foreseen — and through which restoration is promised: "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten" (Joel 2:25). John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey in the wilderness (Matthew 3:4) — a permitted food under Leviticus 11:22. The fifth trumpet of Revelation releases demonic locusts upon the earth (Revelation 9:1-11). Where the LORD speaks, locusts come or go on His word.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
LO'CUST, n.
expand to see more
1. An insect of the genus Gryllus, belonging to the order of Hemipters. These animals are formed for leaping, having the hind-legs long and strong. Locusts sometimes migrate in immense numbers, covering the ground and devouring every green thing. In Asia and Africa they have been a terrible scourge.
📖 Key Scripture
Exodus 10:14 — "The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt... very grievous were they."
Joel 2:25 — "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten."
Matthew 3:4 — "His meat was locusts and wild honey."
Revelation 9:3 — "There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern man dismisses locusts as ancient metaphor — until the swarm returns to his own field.
expand to see more
The secular reader chuckles at Joel as poetic exaggeration — yet the same species of locust still blackens skies over East Africa today, and satellite imagery confirms swarms larger than cities. Scripture named this weapon three thousand years ago. It is not superstition; it is meteorology under the sovereignty of God.
But the deeper corruption is editing Joel 2:25 into a motivational meme while ignoring Joel 2:12: “Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.” God restores the locust-years only to the nation that repents. The promise without the condition is a lie. The locust itself is mercy — a warning shot from a patient God.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew ʾarbeh (H697); Greek akris (G200).
expand to see more
H697 — arbeh — swarming locust; Exodus plague word
H1501 — gazam — palmerworm locust; Joel 1:4 stage
G200 — akris — locust; John the Baptist's wilderness food
Usage
"God sends the locust before He sends the exile — mercy always precedes judgment."
"Joel 2:25 is not automatic; the restoration follows repentance, not entitlement."
"The locust eats years in a single week; only God can give those years back."