Page 49 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

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THE ADVANCING AKMV 5

stones, and they clung to the clothing and legs and arms. Joel says, “Before
their face the people shall be much pained.” One could not avoid steppinj
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on them while walking. Every stone, bush, wall and object was so thickly
covered that in some spots the structure underneath was not visible.
The native ]>eoplc were greatly interested and delighted. Here was an
uncommon sight and besides, food sent from Allah, for to the Arab, the
locust is a mealy delicacy, Men, women and children worked with gunny*
sacks and nets, gathering the insects with great cuse. .Such an evidence
of the kindness of Allah was to be taken advantage of. However, it it
not exactly true to say that all were delighted, because those who had seen
such a thing before knew what was to follow. There was with them an
understanding and feeling of regret. The locust is a 'bit of a slave to
circumstances and his flight is subject to the wind. These “guests" were
with us for three or four hours, then disappeared into the desert. They
returned in smaller groups off and on for several days, but only for very
short periods. They were very 'beautiful, flying high with their wingi
glistening in the sun.
If we could have stopped here with this we would have been happy
for it was both fascinating and instructive and no damage had been done.
But six to seven weeks later revealed what the more cautious knew froca
experience, that following the visit of the parents comes the unwelcome
cal! of the less desirable children. The female locusts had laid their egp
in the sand of the desert and, under the Arabian sun, there came forth the
creeping, crawling, greedy young. Truly, as John says in Revelation and
Joel in his prophecy, they ’were like a marching army devouring as they
went. The small ones could not fly so they just hopped and crawled or
walked. Some traveled miles over the desert hopping and walking all the
way, stopping only to eat the dried-up plants of the desert. It is interesting
to mention here one of the characteristics of the locusts, a cannibalistic
tendency. They eat the weaker members of their number and those that

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