Exodus 10:21-29 - The Ninth Mighty Sign - Let There be Darkness

The Word Read

Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from Exodus 10:28-29:

Exodus 10:28–29 ESV

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.”

Behold, brothers and sisters, this is the Word of the Lord. Please be seated.

Exordium 

Beloved in Christ,

I've flown at night a few times in my life. I enjoy flying at night because the plane is quieter, people are sleeping, and there is a noticeable calmness. You look out the window, and there is blackness. Occasionally, the position lights will blink, or the lights of a city come into view. However, as you look at the window, you see pure darkness. I enjoy the lack of sensory stimulation in those moments—peace, quiet, and darkness. The darkness in the ninth plague is not peaceful. The darkness is terrifying, troubling, chaotic, and utterly disruptive. 

The time has arrived for Yahweh to go to war against Ra, the great Egyptian sun God. In Egyptian mythology, Ra created life on earth. He was depicted with a human body and an eagle’s head and was largely considered the most important god. Pharaoh, his servants, and all of Egypt will learn that Ra’s supposed rulership means nothing compared to the incomparable Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews.

The sermon title is “The Ninth Mighty Sign—Let there be darkness.” My hypothesis for these verses is terrifying spiritual darkness can only be cured by a great light and an ultimate sacrifice. 

Exodus 10:21-23 - Experiential Darkness and Light

Exodus 10:21–23 ESV

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.

As with the third and sixth plagues, Pharaoh was not warned. The ninth plague intensifies Yahweh’s war on the Egyptians for oppressing His people. Egypt was a force to be reckoned with during this time. It was the greatest and most powerful nation on earth. However, in the mighty strong hand of Yahweh, Egypt is brought to ruins. 

One of our kids has to write a short story as an assignment this year. As we talked about her story, Kristin told her that she would need to consider bringing the reader along in the story. We often spend a lot of time thinking about something, but we don’t always connect the dots when we communicate it to others. At this point, Kristin said, “Your dad has to do this every week as he prepares a sermon.” I said, “Yes, and you learn to do this better with time.” I told her about the passage of Scripture I was studying for today, and as I was going to say to her what first came to my mind, she gave me three different ideas that came to her mind. I told her those also came to my mind, but the first passage of Scripture that jumped out at me was Genesis 1, the creation of the heavens and the earth.

I explained to her how Yahweh was de-creating Egypt through the mighty signs. We walked through the days of creation:

Day 1 - God created a separation between light and darkness

Day 2 - God created sea and sky

Day 3 - God created a fertile earth

Day 4 - God created lights to govern the day and the night

Day 5 - God created fish and birds to fill the seas and the sky

Day 6 - God created land animals and humanity to fill the fertile earth

Thus far in the plagues, we have seen destruction come to humans, land animals, fish, and the sky. Presumably, birds were killed during the hail, and all the vegetation was ruined in the seventh and eighth plagues. In the ninth plague, Yahweh declares, “Let there be darkness,” de-creating the land from Day 1 of creation. Egypt has been utterly de-created by this point, revealing He is the true Creator God. Simultaneously, God is creating a people unto Himself and preparing the land they will journey to after their liberation. This is what God is doing for us right now, as well. We pilgrim through this earth, which is currently held under bondage (Romans 8:22-23), and Christ leads us to a place He is preparing for us (John 14:2-3). He loves us, and He longs to bring us home.

In verse 22, Moses stretches out his hand towards heaven, as commanded by Yahweh, and darkness fills the land of Egypt for three days. This darkness is a darkness that was felt. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and found it pitch black? You were startled by something, and now you look around in utter darkness? What’s even worse is when this happens, and there are no lights on outside, and it is a New Moon, just total darkness. You grope around for a bit, looking for something familiar to give you a reference point. The word “to be felt” carries the sense of groping about. The darkness, for those three days, was experiential. 

The Egyptians groped about for those three days, which undoubtedly produced chaos and confusion. This was not natural darkness created by a sandstorm or an eclipse but supernatural darkness. There were no stars seen which would have been able to guide them. It is possible that they had lanterns fueled by oil, but those would not have lasted long. Most people were stuck in their homes. Darkness enveloped the nation for three days. 

Those who are not saved experience this type of darkness spiritually. This was us before salvation. We groped about, searching for the truth like our forefather Adam after his rebellion. We blindly walked in the terrifying darkness. 

We were like the men of Athens Paul addressed in Acts 17:22-27:

Acts 17:22–27 ESV

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

Paul tells these men that they should seek God and perhaps feel their toward Him and Him because He has revealed Himself. They should grope around in darkness until they find the God of creation. The Creator is hard to find because He can be seen in His creation! The narrative in Athen ends with some believing and joining Paul. These people were no longer entombed in spiritual darkness. 

How did this happen? It wasn’t because they found the correct reference point in their darkness and felt their way out of spiritual darkness. “Look at me; I’ve done it, Paul. I’ve found the way out of my darkness.” No, in their total darkness, Christ came bursting into the room. He eradicated the darkness as they beheld His glory. John 8:12 became an actual reality for them and it becomes one for us. Jesus says in this verse, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

In that darkness and sinful rebellion, Christ burst into our lives, declaring, “I am the light of the world. Follow me and walk in the light of life, not darkness.” Yet, some of you sit in spiritual darkness, groping about for truth in atheism, agnosticism, moralism, or cultural American Christianity. There is no saving power in those false religions. Your end will be the same as the man without a wedding garment in the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-13. The king instructs his servant to bind the unworthy man and cast him into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. However, there is hope. Jesus was crucified on the cross for your sins. He was put into the tomb for three days of darkness. Yet, that glorious Sunday came. On that Resurrection Sunday, His heart began to beat again. Blood began to flow through his veins. He breathed oxygen into His lungs, His eyes opened up, He moved his legs and sat up, and then He walked out of the dark tomb in glorious victory. King Jesus is alive, and He calls you, dear sinner, to live in the life of light through repentance of sin because He is the King of Light.

To you, brother and sister, Christ is your light. We live in the land of Goshen, where darkness does not reign. He lights up your path, saving you from utter darkness. What is our response to this? What is our reaction to the great Savior saving us out of the pitch blackness of sin? It’s Colossians 1:12-14:

Colossians 1:12–14 ESV

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Kingdom of Light is the Kingdom of the Son which flows, which redemption and forgiveness of sins! We give thanks to the Father for transferring us out from the domain of darkness. This also means we walk in holiness, in the paths of righteousness, and in a God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-led, Bible-saturated life, following Him all our days. We walk the path of light, ever aware of the ditches of sin all around us. 

Christ is our Light who has saved us from eternal darkness.

Exodus 10:24-29 - Sacrifices and Offerings

Exodus 10:24–29 ESV

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.”

After three days, light returns to the land of Egypt, and Moses is summoned by Pharaoh. Pharaoh commands Moses to leave with their families to worship Yahweh, but the flocks and herds must remain in the land of Goshen. Once again, Pharaoh attempts to hold the livestock hostage so the people of Israel will return. 

Moses no longer negotiates with Pharaoh. Every member of the flocks and herds must come with us. Nothing will be left behind. Why? The people of Israel must make sacrifices and burnt offerings to worship Yahweh. They do not know what will be required of them regarding their sacrifices and offerings. 

Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh refused to let them leave Egypt. Pharaoh became furious and told Moses to go and never return. If he did, death would be inevitable. Moses complied with Pharaoh’s request and stated that Pharaoh would never see him again. 

Moses and Pharaoh’s interactions intensified throughout the plagues. Initially, Moses was not seen as a threat. Moses came to Pharaoh and asked him to free the people of Israel. Pharaoh’s response was to bring greater oppression. Moses is now seen, and rightfully so, as a great burden to Pharaoh. 

What do we notice about Pharaoh’s response? He still thinks he is in control. He tells Moses that the people may leave but cannot take their livestock. From a negotiating perspective, this is a great play. The people will not leave behind their food and financial resources. They’ll go out, worship, and certainly return. Pharaoh will not lose his workforce. 

Pharaoh is keeping the people of Israel from their true destiny - worshipping Yahweh. Over and over again, God sends Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go so that they may serve/worship me.” Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Israelites denies them the ability to worship the Creator of the universe. Yet, this is not just the destiny of the people of Israel. Worshipping the Lord is the destiny of those in the New Covenant. Furthermore, it is also why every single person has been created. Everyone is created and designed to worship God regardless of their covenantal status.

This is why Paul writes so bluntly in Romans 1:18-32 about God’s wrath being poured out on unbelievers. They know there is a Creator because they can see His eternal attributes, mainly His eternal power and divine nature, yet they’ve rebelled, refusing to worship this God. Instead of worshiping their Creator and Judge, they chose sin and rebellion. 

Pharaoh has become a barrier for the Israelites to worship, and sin is often a barrier for us to worship in Spirit and truth. Did we worship Christ with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our strength, and all of our mind this morning? Or did sin in some way keep us from genuinely worshipping Christ? Did the sins of envy, gluttony, anger, division, dissension, strife, jealousy, drunkeness, idolatry, sexual immorality, or impurity fill our minds this morning? Has sin taken a foothold in your heart, causing your worship to not be in Spirit and truth? Sin, like Pharaoh, keeps God’s people from worshipping Him as we were created. 

However, Christ does not call us to a binary life of worship. He does not call us to sometimes follow Him and other times surrender to our sinful, human desires. In Luke 9, Jesus comes to a Samaritan village, but they reject Him. James and John ask Jesus, “Should we call down fire to consume the village?” Jesus rebukes them and leads his disciples to another village. Along the journey, they encounter a man who desires to follow Jesus. We will pick up the story in Luke 9:57-62:

Luke 9:57–62 ESV

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Christ willingly gave His life so that we could have redemption. He willingly went to the cross, bearing the wrath of God on our behalf. As such, He can demand that people give their whole lives to Him. Count the cost of following me, He says to this man.

This is precisely what Moses asserts to Pharaoh in Exodus 10:26. We cannot leave their livestock behind because they do not know what the Lord will require in their sacrifices and burnt offerings. The first offering given in Leviticus is the burnt offering. Leviticus 1:5 states that the burnt offering shall be given to “make atonement.”

Yet, as we learn from Hebrews 10:4, those burnt offerings and sacrifices did not provide true forgiveness of sin. They were not the ultimate sacrifice that saved sinners from the bondage of their sin. The ultimate sacrifice needed was no animal but the person of Jesus.

Hebrews 9:11–14 ESV

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice for sins. We have been bought at an incredible price. He, and He alone, provides eternal redemption through His blood. Is this not the reason why we worship Christ so passionately? Is this not the reason we surrender our whole lives to Him? Is this not the story of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday? He is risen. He is risen indeed! And He’s paid the penalty for our sins. He provided the sacrifice we could never offer. He laid His life down, bringing many sons to glory. 

What happens to those who repent and give their lives to Christ? The same thing that happened to Moses at the close of this passage: persecution from the Pharaohs of this world. Pharaoh gave Moses a threat of death. Likewise, we should never be surprised when the world hates us. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12

Matthew 5:11–12 ESV

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Those who have Christ as the great Light and the ultimate sacrifice will experience hardship from His enemies. 

Christ, Our Great Light, and Our Ultimate Sacrifice

As we close, I desperately want you to know that Christ is the Light of the world, and His sacrifice provided atonement for your sin. In our darkness, we groped around looking for truth, like the Men of Athens, but could never find it. We felt around, looking for anything to grab onto, but the enemy had blinded our eyes, and our wills were given over to the power of sin. We were locked in a steel cage, sitting in total spiritual darkness, unable to save ourselves for our will, our mind, our desires, and our reason were all given over to sin. We could not accept the goodness of God’s grace by faith until our hearts had been regenerated. Christ is your Light!

Also, we needed our sins to be removed so that we would no longer be children of darkness but of the light. We were enemies of the Most High in wicked rebellion against Him. Yet, while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. He is our Mediator who provided the ultimate sacrifice so that God’s wrath would be appeased and our sin would be removed. What a glorious Savior our Jesus is. How vast is His love for us!

As we will sing in a few moments:

Here is love vast as the ocean,

Loving-kindness as the flood,

When the Prince of Life, our ransom,

Shed for us His precious blood.

Who His love will not remember?

Who can cease to sing His praise?

He can never be forgotten

Throughout heav’n’s eternal days.

The Son of Light is here. The King of the Great Sacrifice is near. Let us worship Him in Spirit and truth without hinderance of sin.