...darkness and light...

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand towards heaven so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.’ 22 So Moses stretched out his hand towards heaven, and there was dense darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 People could not see one another, and for three days they could not move from where they were; but all the Israelites had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses, and said, ‘Go, worship the Lord. Only your flocks and your herds shall remain behind. Even your children may go with you.’ 25 But Moses said, ‘You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt-offerings to sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must choose some of them for the worship of the Lord our God, and we will not know what to use to worship the Lord until we arrive there.’ 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, ‘Get away from me! Take care that you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.’ 29 Moses said, ‘Just as you say! I will never see your face again’” Exodus 10:21-29.

When I lived in Africa for years, there was no electricity, so there were no lights at night. Whenever there was an emergency and I had to travel at night, I was always apprehensive. It was so dark, that I could literally see nothing except the light from the headlights of my truck.  When I returned to America I quickly saw how easily we travel at night with the help of various forms of electric lighting. When I lived in Africa I was virtually immobilized by the darkness of nighttime unless the night was cloudless and the moon relatively full. I stayed away from the Serengeti at night because I knew the animals could see quite well at night especially because they traveled on well-defined, well-remembered paths. Straying from those paths in darkness was dangerous. When Moses was alive the people closed up their villages and cities at night, barred their courtyard gates, and locked their house doors. People were easy prey for those who used the nighttime as cover for evil. They understood that the darkness represented chaos, a kind of enemy of the safe and the good. This plague of confinement in darkness was considered a grave punishment from God. This is why death became associated with darkness. Long before the three days of this plague were up, people would have understood the consequences: “If this keeps up, there will be no food because plants need sunlight to live; all animals will die because the food chain requires plants, and herding animals will not venture out to graze. Deep, total darkness of the sort God imposed on the Egyptians (v. 21) would also cause sensory deprivation, leading to disorientation and psychological distress. More than that, people experiencing light-deprivation would be severely depressed by the third day. A sense of doom would pervade all minds.

Try now, dear friends, to imagine what our sin does to us spiritually. Sin shuts down our willingness and ability to pray and to follow Christ. This is why sin is darkness and God is seen as the Light!!

Consider these biblical texts depicting the darkness of sin and the light who is Christ:

The Darkness of Sin

• John 3:19 – People loved darkness rather than light because their actions were evil.

• Ephesians 4:18 – Sinners have darkened understandings and are separated from the life of God because of their hard hearts.

• 1 John 1:6 – Claiming fellowship with God while walking in darkness means lying and not living the truth.

• 2 Corinthians 4:4 – The god of this age (Satan) blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel.

• Isaiah 5:20 – Warning to those who call evil good and good evil, turning darkness into light.

Christ as the Light

• John 8:12 – Jesus declared, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

• John 1:5 – The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

• 1 John 1:5 – God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

• 1 Peter 2:9 – God called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

• Luke 1:78–79 – The rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Take time today in prayer and consider the differences you experience when choosing sin or choosing Christ. The differences are, as we say, “night and day!” Pray that you will follow Christ, who is the Light of the World (see John 8:12 above) and your own light!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.