Where’s the Light?
Exodus 10:21-29
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus.
- As we go through each passage, we’re asking the question, “What does this passage teach me about honoring God?”
- Last week, we looked at the eighth plague, the plague of locusts, and focused on the consuming power of sin.
- We saw that sin starts with pride, sin wants control, sin is destructive, and sin is deceptive.
- Today we’re going to look at the ninth plague, the plague of darkness, and I want to focus on the darkness of sin and what it does to a person.
- When I was in Iraq, there were a few times when I had to be on one of the planes at night, usually a C17 or a C130.
- These planes are enormous, and obviously make a pretty big target.
- So, when we flew at night, all the lights were turned off, except for some green lights so we could at least see a little bit.
- Then, once the plane was ready to land, the lights went from a pale green to an apocalypse red.
- All aircraft had to blackout like that at night, so they’d be harder to spot from the ground.
- But I’ll never forget what it was like, flying in that darkness, knowing we were in the air over a war zone…
- It was almost as if the darkness was a haunting reminder of the war raging on the ground beneath us.
- Physical darkness has a way of bringing a person’s mind to more somber thoughts.
- Here in Exodus 10, that’s sort of what happens with the Egyptians, as God pours out His ninth plague on them, the plague of darkness.
I.) The darkness was overwhelming- Vs 21-23
- When I lived in Machias, I was in a huge 2 story apartment, all by myself.
- It was attached to a big house that was in the front part, but the house was unoccupied and for sale, and the house next door was also unoccupied.
- So, I was all by myself, but I liked the privacy and the quietness, so it was a perfect fit for me.
- However, sometimes at night, my imagination would get the best of me.
- It’d be nice and dark and quiet, but then I’d think I heard something coming from the other side of the house.
- It was dark, and I was all by myself, so I’d lay there in fear for a few moments, listening to see if I’d hear it again.
- Sometimes, I’d think I heard voices, so once again, I’d be alert, but also be laying there in fear.
- Then there were the times I watched horror movies I shouldn’t have watched, and of course that never made things any better.
- So, there were a lot of nights when I’d leave the hallway light on, or the lights downstairs, and sometimes I’d even sleep with the lights on in my bedroom.
- I was more comfortable and felt safer in the light instead of the darkness because the darkness was overwhelming.
- With the ninth plague, the Egyptians were also overwhelmed, especially since they weren’t expecting this plague because God didn’t warn them this time.
- Some people might think that’s not fair, but just look at what Pharaoh did in the previous verse…he wouldn’t let the children of Israel go.
- So, he broke his word once again…
- Besides, as we’ve already seen with other plagues, Pharaoh didn’t take advantage of the advance warnings by repenting…
- Instead, it was almost like a “Take your best shot, I dare you” kind of attitude from Pharaoh.
- Notice in vs 21 that God tells Moses the darkness He sends on the land will be felt.
- There are different theories as to what this darkness was…
- Some people think it was a severe sandstorm that blotted out the sun…
- Personally, I’ve been in sandstorms before, and the outside looked more like a dark orange color, like Mars, rather than pitch black darkness or night, so I don’t think it was a sandstorm.
- Others think it was a solar eclipse…that’s possible, but I don’t think so because with solar eclipses, you can still see some light…
- Others think it was a really thick fog or vapor, but again, I don’t think so because that would be more of a grey color.
- I believe it was a supernatural darkness, specifically sent by God in judgment for Pharaoh and Egypt’s spiritual darkness…
- Remember, when God created the world, we’re told that “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep…”
- So, before God said, “Let there be light”, the world was order-less, it was chaotic, it was void, it was empty, and it was dark, there was no light.
- It’s almost as if God temporarily removed the light He created, which was a blessing created for all the world’s benefit (godly and ungodly), but He only removed it in Egypt.
- Something else that makes me think this was supernatural is that vs 21 tells us this darkness was felt and vs 22 tells us it was a very thick darkness.
- Physical darkness isn’t something you normally can feel, but this supernatural darkness was felt by the Egyptians.
- Whether that means it felt cold and brought chills to them, or if it was a sandstorm, they could feel the grains of sand against their bodies, or something else, I’m not sure.
- Whatever it was, the Egyptians could feel it.
- However, I believe it could also be felt as a spiritual darkness…
- You know, those times when God’s presence is not felt, because He has removed Himself from a situation…
- For example, when King Saul disobeyed God, we’re told in 1 Samuel that the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.
- Another example is in the book of Ezekiel, Chapter 10, where Ezekiel sees the presence of the Lord leaving the Temple, leaving Israel, because of their wickedness.
- After that, it all went downhill and the Israelites were taken captive.
- So the absence of God’s presence is never a good thing.
- It’s like the emptiness you felt inside before you turned to Christ…there was an emptiness because there was a hole inside, a deep void that can only be filled by God.
- Without God, a person can feel the hopelessness and despair, and they know something’s missing…
- That would explain why this was the ninth plague, more severe than the other eight…
- With all the other plagues, God was making His presence known as He sent each plague.
- With this plague, God was showing them what it was like to be completely lost and without Him.
- Don’t mistake what I’m saying, though…
- God is omnipresent, so there is nowhere in the world or the universe where His presence is not there…
- However, the absence of His presence that I’m referring to is when He removes all sense or feeling of His presence.
- It’s not a good thing.
- In vs 23, we’re told they couldn’t see one another, and everyone stayed put for three days.
- So not only could they feel this thick darkness, but the darkness also brought loneliness because no one could talk to family or friends…
- Imagine being all alone in the dark, with no one to see or talk to…
- The darkness might start playing tricks on you, thinking you see something that isn’t actually there, or hearing things, wondering what they are…
- It would be horrible and I don’t know anyone who would want to stay alone in the dark for extended periods of time.
- The Egyptians, however, didn’t have a choice…this was God’s judgment.
- One of the sources that gives a deeper account of this plague is the Book of Wisdom, which is an apocryphal book, so it’s not in Scripture because it wasn’t inspired and written by God, like the 66 books of the Bible…
- So, while we can’t rely on it for doctrine, reproof, correction, or instruction in righteousness from God, we can get some historical information from it.
- It gives a fearful description of the plague of darkness, and some of the things the Egyptians thought they were seeing and hearing…
- They were “…being horribly astonished and troubled with strange apparitions…noises as of waters falling down sounded about them; and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances. No power of the fire could give them light…for being much terrified, they thought the things which they saw to be worse than the sight they saw not. For though no terrible thing did scare them, yet being scared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents, they died for fear…they were all bound with one chain of darkness. Whether it were a whistling wind, or a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of tripping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains, these things made them to swoon for fear.”
- As you can see, this darkness was overwhelming.
- The Israelites, however, remained in light and were not affected by the plague of darkness, once again showing God’s power over His world, and His protection of His people.
- What about us today?
- Is darkness overwhelming?
- Sometimes, it seems like it is.
- We live in a fallen world that is full of sin.
- Galatians 5:19-21 lists some of the sins that our world is full of.
- “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
- That’s just a small list.
- One pastor put together a list of all the sins mentioned in the New Testament, and that list was made up of 124 sins.
- Of course there are more sins than that, but the point I’m trying to make is that there are a whole lot of sins in our world.
- Sin is darkness, and the further our world falls away from God, the darker it will seem to get, and it’s only going to get worse until Christ comes back.
- One of the biggest sins of our nation right now is abortion, and if you want to get my blood boiling, let’s have a talk about that…
- Who would have ever thought murder would be legal?
- Then we’ve got the culture forcing us to accept LGBQT or whatever other letters there are in that, and if we don’t, we’re labeled as hateful bigots.
- Adultery and divorce rates only keep going up.
- And the list goes on and on…
- The darkness of sin can seem to be so overwhelming!
- Yet Jesus tells us in John 8:12, ““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- 2 Samuel 22:29 says, “"For You are my lamp, O LORD; And the LORD illumines my darkness.”
- As Christians, there might be darkness all around us, but Jesus has won the victory over sin and darkness, so if you and I cling to Christ, and continue to grow in our relationship with Him, the darkness will have no power over us.
- But we’re told in 1 John 1, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth…”
- So we should be walking in the light, not the darkness, and shining that light for those who are lost in darkness.
- I’m reminded of the kid’s song “This little light of mine..”
- We were singing it at Baptist Youth Camp with Aaron and Leah…
- “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Not gonna let Satan blow it out, Not gonna hide it under a bushel, Gonna shine our light all over the world!”
- So, Christian, I would ask you the question this morning…are you overwhelmed by the darkness, or are you walking in Christ’s light?
II.) The darkness got Pharaoh’s attention - Vs 24-26
- When I was in Elementary school, I was full of energy, and usually in the afternoon, me and the other kids sometimes started to get rowdy.
- Obviously, that was fine if we were out at recess and could let all our energy out…
- But then there were the days when we had to stay inside for recess because of rain or snow outside.
- So, we’d be inside, getting restless, and sometimes, when the teacher was giving a lesson, we’d start to act up…
- Passing notes, throwing paper airplanes at one another when the teacher was turned toward the chalkboard, chatting and laughing in the back…things like that…
- Well of course, we were supposed to be paying attention, so once we’d gone over the line and the teacher wanted to reel us back in, she’d go to the light switch and turn the lights off.
- We always knew that if the lights went off, we were in trouble.
- So before she turned the lights back on, she’d give us a talking to, and then, we’d agree to settle down.
- So the darkness always got our attention!
- Here in Exodus, with the ninth plague, the darkness got Pharaoh’s attention!
- Notice though, that it wasn’t until the third day that Pharaoh called for Moses.
- Once again, this is showing us how stubborn Pharaoh is...
- When it’s completely dark, you lose all sense of time…so 3 days might not seem like much, but for Pharaoh and the Egyptians, 3 days felt like a lot longer!
- Yet Pharaoh didn’t call for Moses until the third day.
- His heart was hard, and he still wanted to be the one in control.
- One of the other reasons he waited may have been because he was waiting for his gods to do something about the darkness.
- Ra was the sun god and was responsible for providing sunlight, warmth, and productivity.
- The interesting thing about Ra, though, is that Pharaoh was his representative.
- So, thinking back to Pharaoh’s pride, for three days, he must have been trying to reverse the darkness, praying to Ra, realizing how bad this would make him look and how powerless he would appear to his people and the Israelites.
- With that in mind, we now see Pharaoh summoning Moses, but instead of repenting, he once again attempts to retain some control of the situation.
- He says, “You, and all your people, including women and children, can go to serve the Lord, but leave your flocks and herds behind.”
- Pharaoh was being unreasonable here.
- Think about it…
- How could the Israelites offer sacrifices in worship to the Lord if they didn’t have any animals with them?
- On top of that, how could the Israelites feed all their people without milk and meat from their animals?
- Some commentators think Pharaoh was going to steal all their flocks and herds while they were away, since most of Egypt’s were wiped out.
- Others think he might have been sending them out, expecting that they would die of starvation, or God would punish them for not bringing animals for sacrifice.
- Still others believe Pharaoh thought if he kept their flocks and herds, they’d have no choice but to come back to Egypt and continue to live in slavery.
- I’m not sure, but one thing is for sure…Pharaoh was trying to have the last word, and he wanted this to be on his terms!
- Yet Moses knows better, and he says, “Not one hoof shall be left behind.”
- Moses could say this with confidence because he knew what God was capable of.
- He also knew that there was still one plague to go, and if Pharaoh refused to repent and do things on God’s terms, that next plague would be happening very soon.
- Moses was a faithful servant, and we can really see his growth through this…
- His confidence has become stronger, and his trust in the Lord has as well.
- What about today?
- Are there times when the darkness of sin gets people’s attention, but they don’t take the next step and turn to Christ in repentance?
- The answer is yes.
- Turn with me to Romans 1:18-32…
- As you can see, there are a lot of people who recognize that our world is full of the darkness of sin, and that there is a God…
- Yet they refuse to repent, and instead, they suppress the Truth!
- There have been several times that I’ve invited folks to church, and they’ve told me, “I can’t go to church. The walls would fall in or the roof would collapse…”
- That’s just an excuse on their part, but you get my point.
- God has their attention, because they know they’re a sinner, yet in their flesh, they won’t repent and give their lives to Jesus…
- They don’t want Him to make a change in their lives, they want to continue in their sin.
- One example would be in the Old Testament when King Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel.
- Balaam tried several times, but God wouldn’t let him curse Israel…instead, He caused Balaam to bless Israel.
- At one point, God even opened up the donkey’s mouth to speak to Balaam, telling him there was an angel about to kill him.
- Yet Balaam refused to listen to God and leave Israel alone.
- We’re told in Rev 2:14, “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.”
- We’re also told in 2 Peter 2:15, in reference to false prophets, “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness…”
- Clearly, Balaam knew what was right, and he knew who God was…yet after God stopped him, he went back to Balak and told him how to get the Children of Israel cursed…by tempting them with worldly pleasures to turn against God!
- That’s because the darkness of sin got Balaam’s attention, and instead of repenting and continuing to serve God as a prophet, he chose the pleasures of sin.
- Later, Balaam was judged by God when he was killed by the Israelites, the very ones he tried to curse.
- In the New Testament book of Acts, the Apostle Paul had been arrested but was able to share the Gospel with King Agrippa.
- In Acts 26:28, after Paul tells him about Jesus, Agrippa says, “Almost you persuade me to become a Christian.”
- You see, God had gotten the attention of Agrippa, bringing him to a point where he could see the darkness of sin, yet Agrippa stopped short and didn’t take the next step to turn to Christ in repentance.
- Brothers and sisters, you will likely run into people like Balaam or Agrippa, people who seem to be so close to repentance, yet so far away because of the darkness of sin…
- It will be discouraging to deal with, but don’t give up.
- Pray for them, love them, and keep pointing them to Christ.
III.) The darkness blinded Pharaoh’s mind- Vs 27-29
- After nine plagues, you’d think Pharaoh would be worn out and ready to repent and let God’s people go.
- Instead, he continues to be stubborn, and we’re told in vs 27 that the Lord hardened his heart, which was already hardened by himself, so he refused to let them go.
- You see, Pharaoh’s mind was blinded by Satan, and he actually thought he could gain control and win against God.
- That’s evident when instead of listening to Moses, he says, “Get away from me! Don’t come see me anymore, and if you do, I’ll kill you!”
- Maybe he thought nine plagues was it, and God had no more plagues to send.
- Maybe he thought he would discourage Moses and get him to give up.
- Maybe he thought he had been as reasonable as possible with his offer, and if Moses refused to take it, then that was his problem.
- Whatever was running through Pharaoh’s mind, we know one thing for sure…all of this was happening as part of God’s plan to free His people.
- Moses in response basically says, “Okay, have it your way.”
- He knew that the next time he stood in that palace, Pharaoh would be completely crushed, and would finally let the Israelites go.
- Yet Pharaoh, in the stubbornness of his heart and the blindness of his mind, still thought he could remain in control and keep the Israelites as slaves.
- Pharaoh was an unbeliever, and he was blinded by the darkness of sin.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that “…the god of this age has blinded [the minds of unbelievers], who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
- Pharaoh had one chance right after another to repent and let God’s people go, yet he refused.
- So far, we’ve seen through nine plagues that his blindness and stubbornness cost him and his country dearly…
- Next week, we’ll see the devastating final plague that finally breaks Pharaoh.
- What about today?
- Does the darkness of sin continue to blind the minds of unbelievers?
- The answer is yes.
- John 3:19-20 says, "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
- Did you happen to catch where that reference was found?
- In John chapter 3, only 3 verses after 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life!”
- Yes, He loves the world and came, but then, in vs 19 and 20, He tells us that men loved darkness rather than light, and they hate Light and won’t come to the Light because they don’t want their evil deeds exposed.”
- Jesus, the Light, came into the world, and continues to shine His Light today, through His Spirit in us, but sadly, so many people are blinded by the darkness of sin, and don’t want to come to the Light.
- Yet there’s always hope.
- Remember I mentioned King Agrippa in the last point?
- While witnessing to Agrippa, the Apostle Paul said something interesting in Acts 26:18.
- He says that he was sent to share the Gospel with the Jews and Gentiles and “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
- The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope.
- Yes, the darkness of sin has blinding power, and many are caught in that blindness…
- Yet the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to open the eyes of unbelievers, to turn them from darkness to light, from Satan’s power to God’s power, and to give them forgiveness of sins through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
- That’s something to be excited about, and I hope that when you tell unbelievers about Jesus, you’re excited about it.
- If you’re watching on the tv, and you’ve never given your life to Jesus, then you’re living in the darkness of sin, which is a lonely place, and a sad place.
- But you don’t have to stay there.
- Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, came, so that you don’t have to live in that darkness any longer.
- Turn to Him today, allow Him to shine and take away that darkness…
- Receive His gift of salvation, become part of His family, and I guarantee that when you take your last breath, you’ll be with Him for all of eternity.
- A relationship with Christ is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and hopefully, it’ll be the best thing that happens in your life, as well.
- Let’s pray.
