October 13, 2024
Reading: Exodus 10:21-29
Focus: Exodus 10:28-29 – Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.” “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”
Father God, Thank You for Your word. Open our eyes to the truth we find here. Help us to turn from the darkness to Your light. In Jesus Name. Amen.
The land of Egypt has been stripped bare. The locusts have eaten everything that had been left from the death of the livestock and the hail. But still Pharaoh would not let go of his gods and would not let the Israelites go. His pride in his personal deity and his belief in the gods of Egypt overruled what he had seen and heard. Again and again, God demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the Egyptian gods and goddesses. They had no power. God proved that He alone had control of creation, from the smallest insect to the life and death. Now God was going to prove that He was greater than the most worshipped god in Egypt, Ra.
Ra was the supreme god of gods in Egypt and was the most worshipped of all the gods. Ra is the Egyptian word for ‘sun’. He was also known as Amun-Ra. He was considered to be creator, ruler of the heavens, the Earth and the underworld. It was believed that Ra was the first pharaoh of Egypt and all pharaohs after were direct descendants of Ra, and therefore, they were divine.
The ninth plague occurred without warning. When Moses left Pharaoh for the last time, God instructed him to lift his hand to the sky. God said that there would be darkness over the land of Egypt, “. . . darkness that can be felt.” (Exodus 10:21b). Imagine, or maybe you can remember, sitting in your home at night, in the middle of a terrible storm and suddenly the power goes out. We live in a somewhat rural area where there is not a lot of light even when the power is on. So, when the lights go out, it gets really dark. You can almost feel a pop when the light disappears.
Now, picture this. You have lost everything. All your crops, your animals and maybe even a family member who did not take shelter when the hail came. Then suddenly all light disappears from your world. Even your lamps and candles go out. A darkness so dark you can feel it wrap around you. It slithers up your arms and swirls around your head. There is no adjustment of your eyes to help you see a little because there isn’t even starlight ir moonlight in the heavens. The darkness was so complete that they could not even see the person next to them. This is what hit Egypt. This is what the Egyptians experienced for three days. The Bible tells us that the Egyptians did not move from where they sat for all three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. Now, we are not told if their light was from the glory of God or from their lamps and candles. But they had light.
Jewish tradition says that in this darkness the Egyptians were terrified by sounds and apparitions and by the horrors of their own conscience as there was nothing they could see. All they could do was listen. Rustlings of insects, rodents or whatever crept around in the dark. The imagination is a powerful thing.
After three days, Pharaoh called to Moses and tried to bargain, again. He told Moses to go, take the women and children as well, to serve the God of Israel but to leave their flocks and herds behind. Moses told Pharaoh that they must be taken as well because they would be needed for their sacrifices to God. Moses said that not a single hoof would be left behind because they did not know what they would be required to sacrifice. Pharaoh threw him out of the palace again. This time Pharaoh said that if Moses returned that he would be killed. Moses replied that he would never see him again. What Pharaoh did not know is that he had set the stage for the worst suffering that the Egyptians would experience.
This plague of darkness carries an important message to us. Serving other gods, prioritizing things over God leads to spiritual darkness. God is Light. Just a single atom of the light of God breaks through the deepest darkness that could ever be. Let’s look at it this way. You are in a room with no windows, and the door seals completely with no light getting around the edges. There are no lights in the room. When the door is shut it is completely and totally dark. You can’t see your hand in front of your face. You have been given a single match and a surface on which to strike it. You are instructed to stay in the darkness until you can no longer stand it before you strike the match. You strike the match. Instantly that small flame illuminates the room. On the floor you see a candle and you light it. The darkness retreats even more.
This is what God does in us when we come to His light. We are in the complete darkness of sin. There comes a time when we can no longer stand the darkness. We go to God and He drives the darkness from our souls. His light and life fill us and our belief in Jesus Christ gives us eternal life. At the Judgement, those who refuse God will be thrown into the outer darkness, separated from God forever. Those who are saved will live forever in the Light for eternity. God will be our light. His glory will light our souls and fill our hearts.
Are you in the light?
This is the ninth plague but there is one more. The Bible tells us why God sent these plagues on Egypt.
- To answer Pharaoh’s question. “Who is the Lord?”
- To show the power of God through Moses.
- To give a testimony to the Israelites for future generations.
- To judge the false gods of Egypt – who were, more than likely, demons.
- To warn the nations – 400 years after this the Philistines remembered that the Lord God of Israel is the one who plagued Egypt.
- A testimony of the greatness of God to the Israelites.
Father God, Thank You for Your light. Thank You for Your patience with us. Help us to realize that You are in control of everything. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Food for Thought
- Do you believe that if you lose everything but still have Jesus, that you can start again? Why or why not?
- Have you ever felt that all the light has been sucked out of you? What did you do?
- What do you think the Israelites were thinking as they watched the plagues hit Egypt?
- What would you tell someone who is at rock bottom about God?
- Have you returned to any sin in your life after repenting? What did you do or what are you going to do?
