There is darkness and there is darkness. But for Christians, Jesus is our light and we need not fear the darkness.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is February 27, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called As Dark as Dark Can Be. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Our readings for today are Exodus 10, Luke 13, and Job 28.
Please open your Bibles to Exodus 10.
The first time I experienced true darkness was camping along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. A friend and I hiked all day and set our camp in the evening. It often feels like it gets dark early when you are under a heavy tree canopy and not long after dinner, it was really dark. But we had a campfire, so we could see well enough. Since we were out in the woods, something woke me up in the middle of the night. I crawled out of the tent into an overcast, starless night. The campfire had burned out and it was as dark as dark could be. I was afraid to venture outside the camp because I wasn’t sure I would be able to come back. Darkness is disorienting and disturbing. You can’t tell where you are and you feel vulnerable because you can’t see what else might be nearby.
But have you ever been in true darkness? Maybe explored a cave and turned off a flashlight? Or there is a bathroom in your basement and you wanted to see what real darkness looks like. That darkness that I experienced on my camping trip or the darkness in your basement is still not as deep as the darkness we are going to read about in our Scripture for Students today.
Please follow along as I read Exodus 10:21–29,
21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.
24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.”
25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.”
27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.”
29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
We’ve reached the ninth plague that God sent against Egypt. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the plagues have gotten successively unpleasant, from water turned to blood to frogs, then gnats, then flies, then dead livestock, then boils, then hail, then locusts, and now darkness. And as we’ve read through the stories of each of these plagues, I’m sure you’ve noticed that each of the stories has something in common: each story ends with an assessment of Pharaoh’s heart. Let’s take a closer look at the plague of darkness.
There are small details of this story that are very important (and that is almost always true when we interpret the Bible). FIrst, did you notice in verse 21 that God tells Moses to stretch out his hand to bring on the darkness. And in verse 22, Moses stretches out his hand and the darkness comes upon the land. I don’t think that anyone watching this happen in real time would think that Moses rather than God was capable of bringing about this plague. But I think people watching would recognize what we know as readers: that God is choosing to work through Moses to accomplish his purposes. It gives Moses credibility before God’s people and before Pharaoh.
A second key detail to notice here is to notice how dark it was. It wasn’t just that the sun went dark and there wasn’t any electricity. In verse 21, God describes the darkness: “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” This is deep darkness, something more than just the absence of light. It is a darkness so deep and so intense, that it can be felt. It is tangible, discernible with more than just the eyes. It is so dark that it says in verse 23 that the Egyptians did not see one another or get out of bed for three days. But amazingly, the darkness was only over the land of the Egyptians. In Goshen, where the Israelites lived, everything was normal. Try to imagine what it would have been like to live in Goshen but near the land that the Egyptians inhabited. What would it have been like to cross from the light into the darkness?
At my church, we’ve just begun preaching through the book of Genesis and we recently learned that the very first thing that God created on day one, Genesis 1:3–5, was light. And he created rhythms to the light and darkness that we call day and night. So when God withdraws the light from Egypt, it is a partial uncreation. It’s as if God is showing the Egyptians that he has the power to unmake the entire world.
This darkness was more than just unpleasant, it was a profound theological statement. The Egyptians worshiped many gods, but chief among them was Ra, the sun god. To the Egyptians, Ra was the creator of the world and ruled over all the other gods and everything else on earth. With this deep darkness, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, proves that he is greater than any other so-called “god.” Yahweh, the true God, is able to take away the power of Ra the sun god and prove that Yahweh alone deserves to be worshiped. This is why the darkness lasted for three days. The Egyptians knew about eclipses, but this was no eclipse. Eclipses do not last three days and they do not produce such a profound darkness, which can actually be felt.
You would think that all this would be persuasive to Pharaoh, but God isn’t done working on Pharaoh yet. It says in verse 27 that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart yet again and in verse 28 and 29, Pharaoh sends Moses away, telling him: “I never want to see your face again.” Moses says, “Have it your way,” which is an ominous foreshadowing of the last plague that we’ll read about in chapters 11 and 12.
When I read about the darkness that God sent upon the Egyptians, I’m reminded of another story of darkness that is even more important to the big story of the Bible. When Judas betrayed Jesus, Jesus said in Luke 22:53, “When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” And then as Jesus was crucified, it says in Luke 23:44-45, “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour while the sun’s light failed.”
As there was darkness for three days over Egypt, there was darkness for three hours over the land when Jesus died. It is a reminder of the judgment of God against sin: how serious must God’s judgment be, that the light of the sun fails when God’s judgment is unleashed. But at the crucifixion, it didn’t stay dark! In fact, Jesus reassured his disciples with the knowledge that he loves the light and came to bring light to all his followers! In John 8:12, it says, “ Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” And in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
If you are a Christian, the story of the ninth plague is a reminder of the darkness that sin brings and the darkness of God’s judgment. But if we have Jesus as our savior, we have the true light and we need not fear the darkness. And it means that we can walk in the light, free to acknowledge and confess our sins, knowing that God is quick to forgive because of Jesus. 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!