The Devastating Darkness
Opening Prayer
“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love…” (Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, 1182–1226).
Read EXODUS 10:21–29
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”
25 But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 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.”
29 “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else” (C. S. Lewis, 1898–1963). The light of God warms and thrills, but is also exposes.
Think Further
Have you ever visited one of those wonderful limestone caverns with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites? Then the guide switches off the lights and it is pitch black. It is only for a minute but it is very frightening. “Darkness that can be felt” (21) is a good description; in that kind of dark you lose all sense of direction and even of reality. To be in the dark like that for three days would be torture indeed. Egypt was in the dark in more ways than one. That the Israelites “had light” (23) is not only a sign to them and the Egyptians that God cared for his own oppressed people but is also symbolic of the fact that knowledge of God is necessary to really live in the light. Thinking in this context of Jesus as “the light of the world” (John 8:12) can be very helpful.
Even after all that happened, Pharaoh is not willing to give up control, still seeing himself as in charge. He insists that he must and will set the terms of any Israelite departure. In Egypt, as in several Ancient Near Eastern cultures, kings were often seen not only as representing the gods but as gods themselves. Pharaoh appears to have bought into the myth. The God of Israel may indeed be powerful, but this is Pharaoh’s own territory and he will not concede it! Hanging on to his own power was more important than any harm that might come to his people. If there was to be any hope for him and his people, as well as for Israel, there needed to be recognition of God as the present and active One who is sovereign over the whole world. That recognition had not come and Pharaoh himself closed the door on any further negotiations.
Apply
How do you understand Jesus as the light of the world: as a searchlight to expose, a flashlight to show the way, a lamp to warm? Which one appeals to you the most? Why?
Closing prayer
Lord, I want to live in the light. I know I need to understand and accept Your identity and Your power and stop trying to stay in control. Help me!
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