Exodus 10:1 – Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.”
Chances are you’ve made your share of nighttime kitchen raids. You know you won’t sleep again until you answer the call of that leftover lasagna in the fridge! Not wanting to wake your sleeping family, you slide out of bed and feel your way through the darkness, trying not to bump furniture or stub toes. Fortunately, it’s your house and you know the way, and within a few minutes that welcoming light pops on as you open the fridge.
Today’s Scripture reading talks about darkness as well but examines a blackness darker than you’ve ever experienced in your kitchen. Eight times Moses stood before Pharaoh on God’s behalf. Eight different plagues tested Pharaoh’s resolve, yet his heart only grew harder. Then God brought a ninth plague upon the land when he instructed Moses to stretch out his hand and spread darkness over Egypt. This darkness was more than a mere lack of light. It was a “darkness that [could] be felt”.
For three days Egypt suffered through darkness because of Pharaoh’s pride. Pharaoh could have stopped it at any time by simply calling out to God. But there was another kind of darkness in Pharaoh’s heart—spiritual darkness. Again this passage talks about Pharaoh’s hardened heart, evidence of the blackness of his spirit and his opposition to God’s plan for the Hebrews.
Have you ever experienced this kind of darkness? This blackness doesn’t merely blind your eyes; it seeps into the core of your soul. It’s a darkness of the heart, brought on by sin and disobedience, by ignoring God’s truths, by continuing in stubbornness and rebellion. No other darkness is as black as that of the heart.
If you’ve experienced the consequences of this kind of darkness in your own life, you can act to stop it at any time. In the midst of your rebellion God is waiting for you to reach out to him, to surrender, to put away selfish pride and ask him to light your path. If you’ve experienced this kind of darkness in others who are close to you, you can help them out of it. God wants to show people the way to the light. All you need to do is ask.
