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In Aesop’s fable of two goats, they meet high on a mountain pass with a rushing river below. They are head to head and horn to horn, but neither will yield to the other. So they both fall into the river and are swept away by the roaring water below. The lesson?—sometimes it is better to yield than to perish from stubbornness. We see in Exodus how Pharaoh stubbornly refused to set free the ancient Israelites, so God had to teach him a few lessons: God turned all their water to blood, sent plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, boils, and hail. In Exodus chapter 10, we find God threatens a plague of locusts. But before sending it, God gives Pharaoh a chance to repent if he chose to do so. But after his meeting with Moses failed to soften his stubbornness, God tells Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm.” So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the Lord caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. The wind brought the locust and they ate up every plant in the field and all the fruit on the trees. Not a single leaf was left. This and other plagues on ancient Egypt remind us of God’s mighty power. Since we cannot prevent God’s purposes, wisdom tells us to seek and cooperate with His Kingdom plans.
