In the book of Exodus God sent Moses to set his people free. All the plagues that God sent were in defiance of the gods of Egypt.  Someday I will go through each one and explain in detail. Right now, I want to focus on the next to last plague. The plague of darkness.

Exodus 10:20-29   (20) But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. 21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.   22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:  23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.  24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. 25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.  26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither. 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. 29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.

God caused the enemy to be in darkness so that one didn’t see or know what the other was doing. The darkness was so thick that they didn’t even leave their homes. By creating darkness over them Our God was saying your sun god, Ra, has no power.

Meanwhile, in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelled had plenty of light. This was a sign to them too.  They had been raised in bondage, they knew as much or more about the gods of Egypt as they did their own God. He was preparing them to learn about Him and His power.

I often wondered why God hardened Pharoah’s heart.  It was so that God could prove to the Israelites who He was and to set up the enemy for their destruction. God will only allow people to go so far with their evil before he puts a stop to it. Egypt had enslaved God’s people, killed their children and worked them until they died, building monuments to the greatness of Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt. God allowed it to go on for a season. Then he stepped in and made a way for his people to be free.

If Pharoah would have let them go after the first or second plague the story would have been different. The people would not have seen their enemy destroyed before their eyes. Also, the Children of Israel left Egypt with great wealth.  If Pharoah had let them go after a plague or two they would not have left with the wealth. When they first entered Egypt they had great wealth, but they were slowly taxed out of it all until they were plunged into slavery.  God hardened Pharoah’s heart in order to restore to his people what the enemy had stolen from them.

When the final plague hit and Pharoah’s son died, his anger burned hot, and he decided to chase down and destroy the Israelites.  That final plague was retribution for all the children that Pharoah had murdered of the Israelites. This was the point of the story that God completely set free, his people. There was no one left to pursue them after God closed the Red Sea on the Egyptian Army.

Things in this life will often look dark, but we need to remember that Jesus is the light.  As his children, we are the light to shine in the darkness of this world.  The enemy will make things seem really dark and scary. God will not allow us to suffer in darkness.  He is there even when it looks bad. Every plague that hit Egypt never touched God’s people.

It is up to us to let our light shine and help pull the lost out of the darkness of this world.  We can trust God to take care of us even in the darkest of times.  Read the Bible, not once did He ever let down, leave or forsake His people.  

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

• BLOG