John the Baptist’s diet of locusts and wild honey may not be one we would choose, but it sustained him. The locusts are especially interesting because, unlike most flying insects, they were classified as clean animals. According to Old Testament dietary laws, any flying insects that have jointed legs for jumping, such as locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers, were clean and could be eaten (Lev. 11:21–22). Other flying insects creep upon the earth when not airborne and were therefore considered unclean (Lev. 11:20)—even though some, like butterflies, might be graceful and attractive.
What can we learn from the locusts? For one thing, their nature as jumping insects shows they are not really creatures of the earth. Some insects fly for a while but then walk along the ground. Likewise, the people of this world may have lofty ideals, yet they “dwell on the earth” (Rev. 17:8) and reject the God of heaven. By contrast, locusts spend as much time as they can in the air. As believers, our connection to this earth should also be very slight. We have to live in the world, but our spiritual instinct ought to be a heavenly one.
The insatiable appetite of locusts is another well-known characteristic. God frequently used swarms of locusts and their resulting devastation as a tool of judgment. But from the positive side, every believer should have the same limitless appetite for the Word of God. Wherever we find a green tendril of truth, let us devour it!
And third, the Scriptures commend locusts because they “have no king, yet they all advance in ranks” (Prov. 30:27). Our Lord, too, is unseen. Can we keep rank as well as the locusts? By the Spirit of God, we each have a role to play and a gift to exercise. May we do so with energy and faithfulness.
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