THE EAST WIND AND THE WEST WIND

KEY TEXT: Exodus 10:13-19 (KJV) – “¹³ And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. ¹⁴ And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. ¹⁵ For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. ¹⁷ Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only. ¹⁸ And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. ¹⁹ And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.”

The east wind brought the locusts, while the west wind took away the locusts. The locusts were extremely grievous and caused great trouble in Egypt. They ate every herb of the land and every fruit of the trees, leaving no green thing in Egypt. They were many such as had never been seen.

Pharaoh, the Egyptian pagan king who was hard-hearted and rebellious to God, did not know what to do. The locusts proved him wrong, and he realized he was not self-dependent because he would drive the locusts away if he could depend on himself. He had to call Moses and Aaron (the servants of God) so that they could help in eliminating the locusts. There comes a time in the lives of many self-proclaimed atheists when they realize how helpless they are and are left with no option but to call on God.

The proud Pharaoh had to humble himself before Moses and Aaron so that they could help him to get rid of the locusts. This event brought him to repentance when he said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.”

After Pharaoh confessed and repented, God sent a mighty west wind that took away the locusts. It is imperative to note that when describing the west wind which drove out the locusts, an adjective is placed before it and that adjective is the word mighty. God does not give any description of the east wind.

In Genesis 1:1-5 God calls the light good but does not say anything about the darkness. The east wind might have seemed powerful because of bringing great disaster to the land. It was powerful in the sight of men but not in the sight of God since God is the Creator of the winds. Thus, He brought a stronger wind that took away the locusts completely. 

When the Israelites went to battle against the Philistines, they greatly feared the leader of the Philistine army, the giant Goliath. Therefore, they could not face him in battle. The philistines were unbelievers, while the Israelites were unbelievers wearing the skin of believers (as most Christians do). The Jews worshipped a God they did not believe in wholeheartedly because if they fully believed in Him, they would possess faith instead of fear. David was the only true believer, and he believed as small as he was, he would defeat Goliath because he depended not on his power but on the power of the almighty God. He had not participated in a war before but understood that God is above all experience.

1 Samuel 17:36 (KJV) – “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.”

Like the mighty west wind being more potent than the east wind, David understood that even though Goliath was a champion (having the experience of winning many battles) and was more massive than everybody in size, there was a force greater than him and that force is God.

Your poverty might have made you a laughing stock for years, but there is a force greater than it. Your barrenness or impotence may have made you an object of ridicule for decades, but there is a force greater than it. Your illness or disability may have caused you pain for a long time, but there is a force greater than it. Your addiction may have caused you to stumble for a lengthy time frame, but there is a force greater than it. You may be born into a family with no history of keeping the proper seventh-day Sabbath, but there is a force more significant than the forces of tradition. That force is Jesus.

Matthew 12:29 (KJV) – “Or how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first binds the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.”

To enter a strong man’s house and spoil his goods, one needs to be stronger than the strong man. Righteousness has more power than evil; that is why the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NKJV), “Love never fails.”

Christ is stronger than Satan. He is the only force that can defeat the Devil. Satan has imprisoned many people in sin (Isaiah 14:17). Christ’s work is to set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1).

Ezekiel 34:27 (NKJV) – “Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.”

In Ezekiel 34:27, we see the word shall. Shall is a word used to denote future tense. The opposite of the future is the past. Through Ezekiel, God speaks of what will happen in the future. He says, “The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase.” This verse means that the trees did not yield any fruit, and the earth did not yield any increase. He says, “They shall be safe in their land.” Meaning they were not safe in their land. In other words, evil shall not ruin forever, and a time will come when good shall prevail over evil.

Luke 1:36 (KJV) – “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” The phrase who was called barren represents the past condition of Elisabeth, the mother to John the Baptist. It means that she is able to do what she could not previously do. The question is, who has changed her condition? Luke 1:37 (KJV) – “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” It is God who took away her lousy state of barrenness and gave her a new state of fruitfulness.

Ezekiel 34:27 says, “They shall know that I am the Lord.” There are certain things that only God can do because He is the most potent force in the universe. God can undo what the Devil has done, but the Devil cannot undo what God has done because he does not have the power to do so.

The west wind did not come from the same direction as the east wind, but it was more potent than the east wind, even though the east wind caused a lot of trouble by bringing a swarm of locusts. East and west are in opposite directions. East and west can never meet. East and west can never mix. Light and darkness can never combine. Therefore, righteousness and evil are two opposite virtues that one can never combine. God did not bring a Northeast wind or a southeast wind to drive out the locusts; He brought a west wind to get rid of the locusts. One cannot fight evil with evil; they have to fight evil with good.

How did evil start? Evil started from the pride of Satan. Isaiah 14:13-14 (KJV) – “¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

While in heaven, the Devil wanted to exalt himself above God, and as a result, evil was initiated, which eventually covered the world. Jesus had to come with an opposite force to deal with the evil in the world, which is humility.

Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV) – “⁵ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: ⁷ But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸ And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus could not fight pride with pride; He had to fight pride with humility. Therefore God wants us to be humble like Him so that we can overcome evil. That is why He constantly urges us to humble ourselves.

“God’s work of refining and purifying must go on until His servants are so humbled, so dead to self, that, when called into active service, their eye will be single to His glory.”—Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4, Page 86, Ellen G. White.

Let’s look at a person who attempted to mix righteousness and evil:

“As inclination gained the ascendancy over reason, self-confidence increased, and he (Solomon) sought to carry out the Lord’s purpose in his own way. He reasoned that political and commercial alliances with the surrounding nations would bring these nations to a knowledge of the true God, and he entered into unholy alliance with nation after nation. Often these alliances were sealed by marriages with heathen princesses. The commands of Jehovah were set aside for the customs of surrounding peoples.” – Prophets and Kings, Page 53.3, Ellen G. White.

“Solomon flattered himself that his wisdom and the power of his example would lead his wives from idolatry to the worship of the true God, and also that the alliances thus formed would draw the nations round about into close touch with Israel. Vain hope! Solomon’s mistake in regarding himself as strong enough to resist the influence of heathen associates was fatal. And fatal, too, the deception that led him to hope that notwithstanding a disregard of God’s law on his part, others might be led to revere and obey its sacred precepts.” – Prophets and Kings, Page 54.1, Ellen G. White.

Solomon attempted to mix righteousness with evil, thinking that this combination would elevate truth, but it didn’t. This action contaminated him as an individual and the nation of Israel that he was leading.

Proverbs 14:34 (KJV) – “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” Righteousness exalts, but sin degrades and destroys.

John 10:10 (KJV) – “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

God brought winds from two opposite directions to carry out opposite functions. Nature exemplifies this clearly through its various operations, such as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Why doesn’t the sun rise in the east and set in the east? One reason is that one cannot perform two opposite functions in the same place.

Righteousness and unrighteousness cannot be resident in the same place and in the same person. The force that brings evil and the force that takes away evil are two distinctively different and opposite forces, the same way Satan is the opposite of God. Those two forces have no similarity whatsoever. The distance between them is as far as the east is from the west. They are parallel. They cannot combine at any given time. That is why Jesus was angry when He found people conducting business in the place of worship.

Exodus 10:19 (KJV) – “And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.”

Not one locust was left when the mighty west wind took away the locusts. When the blood of Jesus works on a person’s heart, and the person allows the spirit of God to reign in them, it acts as an opposite force to evil. This infinite power cleanses man from all unrighteousness in that no single sin will be left. There is a cure to all evil and misery, and that cure is Jesus.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for this message. Forgive me all the sins that I have committed in my thoughts, words and actions. Give me a deep hatred for sin and a deep love for righteousness. Replace the pride in my heart with humility, lust with love, and selfishness with selflessness. Let Your Holy Spirit work mightily inside me. Lord, I invite you in my heart. In Jesus name, Amen.

Activity

Read: Exodus 10:13–19
Reflect: What are the “locusts” (sins, struggles, fears) in your life that have been eating away your peace, joy, or purpose?

1. Take a small piece of paper.
2. Write down 3 things you want God to remove from your life (e.g., pride, anger, fear).
3. Say a short prayer, like:
   “Lord, send Your mighty west wind. Remove these from my life completely. I surrender them to You.”
4. Tear the paper into pieces and throw it away as a symbol of God taking them away.

Remember:

“And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts…” – Exodus 10:19
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” – Luke 1:37

Author: Mark Alex   

Email: gettruthgetlife@gmail.com 

Phone Number: +254710633247   

My LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-alex-0b87a9109/

PayPal: gettruthgetlife@gmail.com  

Revolut: revolut.me/markalex92