Shadow of the Locust
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Why the Name 'Shadow of the Locust'?


.............A large and mighty army comes, such as never was  

Of old nor ever will be in ages to come.

3) Before them fire devours, behind them a flame

Blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of

Eden, behind them a desert waste-nothing escapes them.

4) They have the appearance of horses;  

They gallop along like cavalry.

5) With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the

Mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble,

Like a mighty army drawn for battle.

6) At the sight of them nations are in anguish;

Every face turns pale.

7) They charge like warriors; they scale walls like

Soldiers.  They all march in line,  

Not swerving from their course.

8)They do not jostle each other; each marches straight

Ahead. They plunge through defenses  

Without breaking ranks.

9) They rush upon the city; they run along the wall.  

They climb into houses; like thieves they

Enter through the windows.

10) Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles,

The sun and moon are darkened, and the stars  

No longer shine.

11) The Lord thunders at the head of his army; His forces

Are beyond number, and mighty are those  

Who obey his command...?  

Joel 2:2-11

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The thing that struck me the most about these passages of scripture was the vivid, detailed way in which the author, Joel, described this mighty army, which in reality, consisted of soldiers that were just simple insects.  That’s right, just a bunch of a bugs!

We know very little of the prophet Joel, apart from his   fathers’ name  (Joel 1:1).  We can see that Joel was obviously familiar with themes that occur in Isaiah, Amos, And Ezekiel-particularly “The day of the Lord” (the day when God will finally judge the world and His own people).

Even in  our  own  century-Jerusalem  has  been  stripped  of  all  vegetation  by  plagues  of  locust  similar  to  the  one  in  these  verses written nearly  800  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ (the exact  time  and  date of Joel  can  only  be  estimated). The swarm of several million insects is carried into Palestine by the desert wind from Arabia. The locust grows rapidly from larva to winged adult  (Joel 1:4), and at every stage its appetite is insatiable. This swarm is worse than an invading army because when it moves on there is no green or growing thing left  (Joel 1:6-12). There is nothing to offer God  (Joel 1:9,13). If any wheat or grain is left, it’s all that the city has to ward off starvation. Dead or dying insects taint even the water supply by falling into the wells and streams.

For Joel, the locust swarm is an object lesson, a warning of the terror of God’s approaching day of judgment (Joel 1:15). The locust-army becomes a picture of the invading army of God on this day. The  ‘scorched earth’ in their wake (Joel 2:3); their inexorable, totally unstoppable onward march  (Joel 2:4-9).  This is what God’s judgment will be like. Who can bear it (Joel 2:11)?  But no one needs to endure God’s wrath.  He is still calling people to repent (Joel 2:12).  Joel calls the whole nation to turn to God and plead for mercy (Joel 2:13-17).  And in response, God promises to restore everything (Joel 2:19).

These verses  (Joel 2:3-11) ignited the whole creative ideology behind the name ‘Shadow of the Locust’. Imagine sitting at your favorite corner cafe’ happy and content with your choices to ignore God in your life. As your drinking your mocha and reviewing your favorite section of the daily newspaper, you barely hear a faint buzzing in the distance. As you look around, you notice people looking to the sky in bewilderment. All of a sudden, the sun’s light is totally blocked out. The buzzing becomes unbearably loud as if hundreds of helicopters are approaching. You stand up quickly, spilling your drink, shocked.  You shade your eyes with your hand as you stare into the atmosphere. Gasping, you see millions and millions of locust swarming towards the spot you now stand on.  The Lord himself is  ‘thundering at the head’ of this army. Where do you go? What do you do? Well, you either stay in  self contentment and get left behind in desolation and emptiness. Or you repent, becoming a redeemed and mighty man or woman of this passing army..........




Before you decide, Let’s look at some of the ideas behind the  ‘Shadow of the Locust’ name:  

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---Ranks Remaining Unbroken:

               ...They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. -Joel 2:8






We, as human beings, are nothing. We are very weak on the larger scale of things. Our bodies, like the locust, can be very easily crushed. But, also like the locust, when we team (or swarm) together we become very powerful. When we unite for a common cause our efforts are multiplied and our weaknesses decrease. Remember that when Joel speaks of these  ‘charging warriors’ that  ‘break through defenses’, he’s speaking about a bug that only grows to nearly 2 inches long.

The key word is: army. The key thought is: the united effect of an army. There is no such thing as a one-man army.  In fact, Webster’s Dictionary defines the word as: (noun; plural) a large body of people organized for warfare.

What if only one locust was sent to  ‘swarm’ through the city?  That locust would’ve, most likely, gone unnoticed, maybe even ending up swatted and crushed by some farmer’s hand.

So the locust’ power does not come in their physical size or even in their destructive appetite, but in their unity (and more importantly, in who united them).

Oneness is mandatory for the effectiveness of any army.  And Joel is, by far, not the only place in scripture that teaches us of unity and it’s importance.

                                              Unity in Christ:

Rom.12: 5,"So in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all others.

 Gal. 3:28,"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.




                                           Exhortations to Unity  

Ph. 1:27,"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel.

2 Cor. 13:11,"Finally, brothers, good-bye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Also: 1 Cor. 1:10, Eph.4:3, 1 Pet. 1:8, Matt.18:19 and many more.



Our Saviour even prayed for unity within the church when he said,” My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me? I have given them the glory that you have given me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”-John 17:20-23

So togetherness, amongst the believers of Christ, cannot be expressed enough. Unity is not only a necessity, it also pleases God. And when the locust, of Joel chapter 2, ‘plunge through’ worldly defenses, they are exemplifying this important   message of unity.



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---Focused Like Locust:

        ...they  all  march  in  line  not  swerving  from  their  course. -Joel 2:7





A  very  critical  lesson  can  be  obtained  from verse  7. The  locust  did  not  swerve  from  their  course which  means  that  they  stayed  focused. Obviously, a  focused  person  is  a  person  who  puts  forth  his  or  her  best  effort  while  performing  a  task  and  does  not  lose  sight  of  the  task.

And  our  task, as  believers,  is  of  the  highest  order. Jesus  gave  us  the  great  commission  by  saying,"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  good  news  to  every  creature."-Mark 16:15 .  By  this, the  Lord  commands  us  to  set  up  His  kingdom  among  men  by  preaching  the  Gospel (good  news).  This  is  why  God  calls  us  to  evangelize. Our  goal  is  not  to  convert  souls, seeing  as  how  we  do  not  have  the  power  or  authority  to  do  so. That's  God's  part. Our  part  in  evangelism  is  to  simply  glorify  God  by  obeying  His  command, and  to  deliver  the  message  as  truthfully  possible (not  deviating  from  the  word  of  God). With  this  in  mind, being  focused  is  very  important. When  we  lose  focus, we  fail  to  accomplish  the  goal. Our,  attention  as  believers, is  attacked  constantly  by  the  deceptions  of  the  world's  thought  system, the  devil, and  our  own  tendency  to  be  sinful  creatures. This  is  why  being  alert  and  focused  is  necessary  for  us  to  obtain  the  upper  hand  in  our  faith. Even  scripture  says,"So  then, let  us  not  be  like  others, who  are  asleep, but  let  us  be  alert [focused ] and  self  controlled"(1 Thess.5:6). Also  1Peter 5:8  says,"Be  self  controlled  and  alert [focused ]. Your  enemy, the  devil, prowls  around  like  a  roaring  lion  looking  for  someone  to  devour." 

                                     SO, BE  FOCUSED  LIKE  LOCUST! 


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---Anguished Sinners:

       ...At  the  sight  of  them  nations  are  in  anguish.  every  face  turns  pale. -Joel 2:6

  




As  said  before, Joel  wrote  to  us  of  a  great  plague  of  locust  that  struck  Judah. During  this  destructive  onslaught, the  prophet  then  calls  for  the  people  of  the  land  to  repent  of  their  iniquities,"'Even  now',  declares  the  Lord,' return  to  me  with  all  your  heart.'"-Joel 2:12.

Now  realize  that  we  are  not  to  seek  putting  anyone  in  anguish, but  as  witnesses  to  the  message  of  the  cross  and  it's  redemption, we  are  coming  against  the  unsaved. Our  messages are  totally  different. We  preach  subservience  to  Christ  while  they  preach  subservience  to  self  gratification. Our  foundational  beliefs  clash. And  as  we  walk  with Jesus, in  our  faith, we  bring  anguish  to  the  those  who  do  not  share  the  same  belief  as  us.  It's  through  this  anguish  that  they  might  come  to  terms  with  their  need  for  salvation  and  repent, and  therefore  receiving  the  joy  that  all  Gods'  people  possess.

The  locust (as  do  we, the  disciples  of  Christ)  brought  with  them, the  conviction  of  the  Holy-Spirit, and  thus  anguished  the  enemies  of  God. Those  who  lived  life  according  to  their  own  ways  had  to  stop  in  their  tracks  and  face  the  reality  of  the  decision  being  brought  to  their  attention:Repent  or  be  lost. This  was  a  crucial  and  severely  anguishing  time  for  those  who  did  not  live  under  God's  authority(and  if  you   are  under  God's  authority  now, then  you  can  relate  to  the  anguish  that  these  people  were  feeling. We've  all  been  at  that  cross  section  in  life). There  was  a  battle  going  on, in  spiritual  realms, that  was  emotionally  draining  and  this  brought  forth  the  distressing  anguish. But  if  you  were  on  the  'locust'  side  of  the  fence, then  you  would  not  be  feeling  this  same  suffering, for  you  would  be  working  for  the  'Prince  of  peace' (Isa.9:6).   

The  locust  did  not  seek  to  bring  torment  to  anyone, but  through  their  odediance  to  the  will  of  God, the  message  they  brought  with  them  agonized  those  living  wickedly. At  the  same  time, hopefully  without  sounding  harsh (to  the  'tormented'  team) , it's  probably  safe  to  realize  that  when  you  are  working  for  a  team  and  the  other  side  is  in  anguish, then  you  must  be  on  the  right  track.


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---Do Not Jostle:

       ...They  do  not  jostle  each other. Each  marches  straight  ahead...  -Joel 2:8





Why  is  it  that  there  is  so  much  division  in  the  body  of  Christ? The  apostle  Paul  wrote,"I  appeal  to  you, brother's, in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, that  all  of  you  agree  with  one  another  so  that  there  may  be  no  divisions  among  you  and  that  you  may  be  perfectly  united  in  mind  and  thought."-1Cor. 1:10.

It  seems  as  if  we  did  not  heed  this  message. We  have  our  Baptist, our  Southern Baptist, our  Pentecostals, our  Episcopalians, our  7th  day  Adventist and  many, many  more. In  fact, the  book,"Life  in  the  Father's  house" by  Wayne A. Mack  estimates  the  number  of  denominations  throughout  the  world  at  a  staggering  20,800. 

If  Joels'  locust  were  human  it  would  seem  as  if  they  would  not  have  let  personal  opinions  get  in  the  way  of  fulfilling  their  goal. And  the  goal (as  stated  before)  for  us, is  to  glorify  God.  Once  again, the  Apostle  Paul  wrote  to  us  concerning  this  situation. Romans  14:14-17,   says (concerning  things  that  are  clean  or  unclean),"As  one  who  is  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  I  am  fully  convinced  that  no  food  is  unclean  in  itself. But  if  anyone  regards  something  as  unclean, then  for  him  it  is  unclean. If  your  brother  is  distressed  because  of  what  you  eat, you  are  no  longer  acting  in  love. Do  not  by  your  eating  destroy  your  brother  for  whom  Christ  died. Do   not  allow  what  you  consider  good  to  be  spoken of as  evil. For  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  a  matter  of  eating  or  drinking, but  of  righteousness, peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy-Spirit, because  anyone  who  serves  Christ  in  this  way  is  pleasing  to  God  and  approved  by  men.Let  us  therefore  make  every  effort  to  do  what  leads  to  peace  and  mutual  edification."

Paul  was  basically  saying  to  not  'jostle'  each other  with  idle  arguments. Now  it's  a  given,  because  of  our  variety  of  backgrounds  and  sources  of  knowledge, that we  may  have  theological  and/or  moral  disagreements. But  if  we  use  the  same  mind,  that  we  are  disagreeing  with,  to  fervently  study  scripture, then  we  might  come  up  with  Gods'  answers  to  these  debates(instead  of  our  own).    

What's  the  answer  to  solve this  problem  of  having  a  lack  of  oneness  between  believers.  It  would  seem  that  if  God  could  get  a  bunch  of  insects  together  to  do  his  will. Then  why  not, if  we  would  submit  to  the  unifying  power  of  the  Holy-Spirit, a  bunch  of  us  human  believers.---Hmmmmm!


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---Insect Thievery:

       ...They  rush  upon  the  city. They  run  along  the  wall. They  climb  into  houses; like  thieves  they enter  through  the  windows. -Joel 2:9







To  be  a  thief, you  have  to  gain  access.  And  to  gain  access,  you  have  to  be  sly. Jesus  said,"I  am  sending  you  out  like  sheep  amongst  wolves. Therefore  be  as  wise  as  snakes  and  as  innocent  as  doves."-Matt. 10:16.

The  Lord  was  not  speaking  of  a  compromise (nor  am  I).  There  is  a  level  where  you  can  be  as  'wise'  as  the  snakes  in  this  world, and  still  remain  'innocent'  of  sinning  against  God.  It's  called; 'Using  your  creative  thought  process'.

It's  such  an  awesomely  wonderful  thing  God  gave  us  when  he  created  our  minds.  If  we  write  a  poem,  paint  a  picture,  or  just  simply  glue  together  a  special  card  for  someone,  we  get  a  small  glimpse  of  what  it's  like  to  create (the  difference  is  God  can  create  things  out  of  nothing  where  as  we  cannot).

When  Christ  tells  us  to  be  wise. He's  telling  us  to  use  the  brain  that  God  manufactured  within  our  craniums.  Be  creative!  Take  a  boring  thing  and  approach  it  from  an  interesting  angle. Learn  how  people  act  or  react  to  certain  situations. Develop  your  God-given  abilities (spiritual  and  physical)

We, as  believers,  are  not  a  bunch  of  yo-yo's. Just  look  around  and  see  how  creative  our  Father  God  is. He  made  everything  from  the  smallest  molecules  and  atoms, to  the  planets  and  universes  (not  to  mention  all  the  scientific  laws  that  fall  within  our  planets  and  universes)  His  crayola  box  has  colors  that  you  would  never  imagine  possible. He  assembled  creatures  that  swim,  that  walk  on  land,  that  'walk'  beneath  the  land,  that  fly,  that  climb.  He  even  made  fish  that  can  fly  and  birds  that  can  swim. I  mean,  the  Guy  even  came  up  with  the  duck-billed  platypus.  He's  a  creative  genius!!!!  

He's  the  all-knowing, all-creative  Father  God  whom  we  profess  to  have  full  faith  in. The  exciting  thing  is  that  he  gave  us  the  capability  to  create  also(of  course  on  a  much  smaller  scale) . He  instilled,  within  us, the  competence  to  learn  and  grow  with  knowledge. He  made  it  so  that  we  can  grasp  concepts  and  meditate  on  them. He  granted  us  the  capacity  to  creatively  work  our  way  through  the  obstacles  that  arise  against  us (whether  in  our  ministries  or  through  the  struggles  of  life  in  general).  And, even  better  than  all  of  that  put  together, He  gave  us  the  extraordinary  gift  of  being  able  to  communicate  with  his  Holy-Spirit  which  can  guide  us  into  the  truth  of  all  matters (It's  his  job!-,"  [Jesus  speaking ] 'But  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth, comes, He  will guide  you  into  all  truth. He  will  not  speak  on  his  own; He  will  speak  only  what  he  hears, and  he  will  tell  you  what  is  yet  to  come'"-Jn.16:13)  .

By  developing  and  using  the  abilities  that  God  has  granted  us, we  can  become  like  the  locust  that  are  able  to  gain  access  into  the   dwelling  places  of  the  iniquitous, as  if  we  were  thieves. But  instead  of  stealing  material  possessions,  we  could  rob  them  of  their  message  of  hopelessness  and  replace  it  with  'seeds  of  the  living  word  of  God', in  the  hopes  that  the  truth  may  be  revealed  to  them (Hey, thieves  don't  usually  steal  something  only  to  replace  it  with  something  better. But  we  are  a  different  breed  of  thieves).

           Locust  armed (with  the  armor  of  God) robbers.




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---A Thundering God:

       ...The  Lord  thunders  at  the  head  of  His  army. His  forces  are  beyond  number,  and  mighty are  those  who  obey  His  commands... -Joel 2:11





We've  drawn  some  clever  lessons  from  the  examples  of  Joels'  locust. We've  gone  over  things  that  we  can  take  from  Gods'  'insect  army'  and  discussed  how  we  can  apply  them  to  ourselves (Gods' human  army) .

        Unification
Being  Focused
  Sinner's  Becoming  Anguished  by  our  Message
    No  Idle  Arguing (jostling  each other)
      and Performing  'Locust  Robberies' (using God given  abilities)  

But  the  most  important  thing  to  be  learned  from  this  insect  army  is about who  their  commanding  officer  was.  Joel 2:8  tells  us  that  the  locust  plunged  through  defenses. And  how  did  these  small  creatures  do  this? Simply, because  they  were  sent  from  God  to  complete  His  will.  Who  can  stand  against  the  will  of  God!?  Who  can  thwart  the  plans  of  the  King  of  kings!?  No  one (Job 42:2).

The  worlds'  top  strategic  defenses (spiritual  and  physical)   are  like  wet  paper  against  the decree's  of  the  Almighty  Father  of  heaven  and  earth. That's  the  most  awesome  thing  about  belonging  to  Gods'  army (insect  or  human) .  We've  already  won!  The  battle  belongs  to  the  Lord (1 Sam. 17:47).   And  'the  Lord  thunders  at  the  head  of  His  army.

The  locust  were  strong. But  definitely  not  because  of  their  size, more  so  because  of  their  unity, and  even  more  so  because  of  who  united  them:  The Almighty-Gen.17:1,  Eternal-Dt.33:27,  Fortress-2 Sam.22:2, and Heavenly-Matt.6:26, Holy-Ps71:22, Judge-Gen18:25, and Living-Jos3:10, Most  High-Dt.32:8, Strength-Ex.15:2 and  Righteous Father  God  who  reigns  supreme  with  an  authority  that  cannot  be  shattered.

How  many  area's  of  your  life  can  you  say  that  you  let  God  'thunder  at  the  head  of'?  The  locust  were  'mighty'  because  they  obeyed  the  commands  of  the  Lord. For  us (and  our  ministering/evangelism)  to  be  mighty,  our  personal  walk  with  God  has  to  be  a  disciplined  and  obedient  one.  We  must  adhere  to  the  will  of  God  as  given  to  us  through  his  word (the  bible)  and  we  must  not  be  afraid  to  submit  to  the  promptings  of  God's  Holy-Spirit. A  friend  of  mine  once  gave  me  a  piece  of  paper, that  he  had  written  on,  saying,"              Do  not  seek  to  build  an  awesome  ministry. 

                    But  seek, rather, to  build  a  disciplined  lifestyle."

Realize  that  if  we  focus (like  locust)  we  will  be  able  to  discern  the  will  of  God. And  as  we  move  within  the  precepts  and  authority  of  Christ, we  too,  will  be  like  a  mighty  army  that  crushes  the  influences  of  the  devil  and  his  declaration  of  self  intoxicating  sin.


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Closing:

Matthew  Henry  wrote  this, in  his  commentary, about  the  2nd  chapter  of  Joel,"Thus  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  is  made  terrible  with  the  tokens  of  God's  wrath,  but  the  latter  end  of  it  made  comfortable  with  the  assurance  of  His  favor, and  it  is  in  the  way  of  repentance  that  this  blessed  change  is  made; so  that, though  it  is  only  the  last  paragraph  of  the  chapter  that  points  directly  at  gospel [good ] times,  yet  the  whole  may  be  improved  as  a  type  and  figure, representing  the  curses  of  God's  law  invading  men  for  their  sins, and  the  comforts  of  the  Gospel  flowing  into  them  upon  their  repentance."

It  is  because  of  this , and  all  these  things  discussed  in  the  sections  above,  that  the  name  'Shadow  of  the  Locust'  was  thought  up  and  given  to  a  group  of  God-fearing  people  called  into  Hip-Hops'  music  industry. The  "shadow" represents  the  shade  cast  upon  the  ground  when  God's oncoming  forces  swarm  towards  the  cities  of  the  unrighteous. The  "locust"  represents  the  soldiers  found  within  this  army.  Military  men and  women  willing  to  unify  their  efforts  while  focusing  their  attention  on  the  infallible  word  of  God. Warrior's  who  bring  anguish  to  God's  enemies. Regiments  of  upright families,tribes, and communities  that  do  not  jostle  each other  with  idle  arguments. Battalions  upon  battalions  of  armored   militia,  serving  and  obeying  the  commands  of  the  Lord. When  we  say  'Locust'  we  are  saying  'saint(s)'.

The  message?  It's   this: When  God's  army  comes  swarming  through  your  town,  and  the  Lord  almighty  is  calling  you  to  repent  and  turn  from  your    evil  ways.  You  can  either  deny  his  call  to  salvation  and  be  left  in  devastated  solitude. Or  you  can  enlist  yourself  in  to  the  sovereign  army  of  the  Most  High  Father  of  creation (where  you  get  a  pair  of  spiritual  antennas  to  communicate  with  the  chief  commander  himself).  


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