The Story of God: Deep Darkness

When I became a Christ follower in 1981, one of the first things I did was to set my golf clubsaside for a year.  I didn’t play golf for a whole year.  Why?  Because playing golf was an idol in my life.Whenever I teed it up, it was like golf was my thing.  Golf was where I got my sense of value. I got my identity from my ability.  Sure Jesus was now my Savior, but whenever I teed it up, it was if I left Jesus in the parking lot.  And the old me, the sinful, prideful, competitive me would emerge. Oh sure, I would be nice enough to you on the surface, but underneath, everything in me said: “I’m going to annihilate you.”  So early on the Holy Spirit made it clear to me that this wasn’t right, that Jesus wanted all of me, even the golfer part of me.  So I gladly laid down my clubs for as long as it would take, until golf was no longer an idol in my life.

I gave God that area of my life then.  And I’ve found that I need to give him that area again and again and again – every time the pride in me wants to reign in me.  You see, I want Jesus to be Lord of all of me, not just part of me.  I don’t want to hold back anything from Jesus. And I hope that’s what you want too. Because that’s what He wants. God doesn’t want just part of you.  God wants all of you.  And there is no clearer picture of this then what we find in one of Pharaoh’s last encounters with Moses in Exodus 10:21-29. So if your brought your Bible today, let me encourage you to open them to Exodus 10, where out of Pharaoh’s response to the ninth plague – the Plague of Deep Darkness, we are going to see that God will settle for nothing less than all of us.

So if you’ve found Exodus 10:21, that’s where we’ll begin.  With this ninth plague of Deep Darkness…  A Darkness That Can Be Felt   Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretchedout his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.  No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. Exodus 10:21-23

Once again, God was making a point to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.  God wanted all Egypt to feel the weight of darkness.  How oppressive was this darkness? It was so dark you could not see someone standing right in front of you… in the middle of the day.  And it was a darkness that lasted for three very long days.  Now I don’t know about you, but for me, to find myself in total darkness in the middle of the day would be terrifying. It would be like being caught in the middle of a horror show.  It would freak me out. It would be like the world had ended.

And for the Egyptians, the world had ended.  This darkness held a special terror for them because they worshiped the sun.  They worshiped Horus, the god of the sunrise… but there was no sunrise.  They worshiped Aten, the god of the midday sun, but there was no midday sun.  They worshiped Atum, the god of the sunset… but there was no sunset.  And above all these gods, they worshiped Amon-Re, their supreme deity who they believed was the creator of all things. And they worshiped Pharaoh, who was regarded as the Son of Re, the personal incarnation of their creator God, Amon-Re.

So this deep darkness not only blinded them, but it shattered any faith they had left in their gods.  For every morning the rising of the sun in the east reaffirmed the life-giving power of Amon-Re.  Sunset represented death and the underworld, but the rise of Amon-Re offered the hope of resurrection.  So for the Egyptians, it was a matter of faith that the eternally rising sun could never be destroyed.  So this was a stunning blow –  for when your god is the sun, and the sun gets blotted out, the only conclusion you can arrive at is this:  Amon-Re is dead, and we are all now in the realm of the dead with him. All they are left with is panic, fear, dread, dismay and despair; a darkeness that can be felt.

This is a stunning judgment on Egypt and especially Pharaoh.  For now every Egyptian knew their gods had been defeated and Pharaoh had been humiliated. For this deep darkness meant that even Pharaoh had failed them.

Not only that, but now this darkness was God’s judgment on Pharaoh.  God gives Pharaoh what Pharaoh has sown. For in the Bible darkness signifies error, ignorance, sin, rebellion and death – everything opposed to God.  This was Pharaoh.  The Bible describes the state of Pharaoh’s heart by describing sinners, saying: They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Ephesians 4:18  The Bible also says that “the way of the wicked is deep darkness.” Proverbs 4:19  This was Pharaoh.

And so steeped in darkness Pharaoh makes One Final Offer: 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.” Exodus 10:24  This is Pharaoh’s final offer:  This time everyone can go, men, women and children. Just what you asked for!  Only leave your flocks and herds behind.  Can you believe the audacity of Pharaoh?  God has ruined Egypt.  God has totally defeated every Egyptian god. And God has proven Pharaoh to be a fraud.  Yet Pharaoh still thinks he can dictate the terms of worship to Moses.  He’s still holding onto a thread of control over Moses. Why?  If he can get Moses to go, but leave the animals behind, they will have to come back eventually, because they would soon run out of food.

But this time, Moses sees right through Pharaoh.  And will have none of it. And tells Pharaoh that  God Wants it All    But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind.  Exodus 10:25-26a

Moses understood that with God, it is all or nothing, so he insisted Pharaoh meet his demands.  Moses was not negotiating; he was giving orders. Literally, what he said to Pharaoh was, “You will allows us to offer sacrifices.” God wants it all. What God wants from Pharaoh is complete surrender, because God’s plan all along has been to bring Israel out of Egypt.  And He cannot do that as long as Pharaoh holds something back.  He cannot deliver Israel until Pharaoh lets go of everything, including every last animal: Not a hoof is to be left behind. God wants it all.  What He wants is for Pharaoh to give up his control. You see, Pharaoh was always holding something back!  And here, Pharaoh was refusing to give up his sovereignty, his control. So he did the only thing left in his power to do: If he could hold the livestock hostage, he could stay in control.

Once again, it is clear to see that Pharaoh was not willing to submit to God’s will, thus revealing his rebellious heart – his heart of darkness.  He just won’t give in.  He always finds something to hold back from God.  But did you know, as bad as he sounds, we can be just like Pharaoh?

We can hold back from God.We can be guilty of picking and choosing only parts of God’s will we want to obey.  We can be like the person who is willing to receive Christ just as long as they don’t have to be baptized.  Or they will get baptized just as long as they can still control the purse strings. Does this look familiar?(baptism picture of a man being baptized but holding his wallet out of the water)  Or they’ll give some of their finances just as long as they don’t have to get involved.  I could go on, but the point is this:  God wants all of us, not just part of us.  When Jesus died for you, he didn’t just provide forgiveness for you when you trusted in Him.  He changed everything about you.  His life was the ransom for your life: Do you not knowthat your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

His blood was the purchase price: For you know that it was notwith perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19

He set you free from the rule of sin: For we know that ourold self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6-7

Now He desires that we give our all to Him: Do not offer any part of yourselfto sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.  Romans 6:13

God wants all of you. Jesus died for you, so you might live for Him. That’s true worship. So let me ask you: Is there something you are holding back from God?  Is there a sin you’re treasuring, that you won’t let go?  Is there a resentment you’re harboring?  Is there a control issue that’s keeping your from trusting God? Is there an ungodly habit that you’re not giving to God?  Jesus rescued you from the dominion of darkness, but is there a part of you still walking in darkness?  God doesn’t want just part of you.  God wants all of you.  He wants you to escape the darkness.  He wants to set you free, just like He set Israel free.

And that’s where we want wrap up today as we look at the last few verses of this encounter, with Escaping the Darkness    Look now at verse 27,  But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 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.”  Exodus 10:27-28

“Just as you say,”Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.” Exodus 10:29

Pharaoh’s story serves as a warning to us.  Deep darkness had a firm grip on him. As we learned from Proverbs 4:19, “the ways of the wicked are deep darkness.”  So already steeped in deep darkness, God further hardens Pharaoh’s heart.  Why?  God still had one last wonder to perform on Egypt just as he had told Moses He would do clear back in Exodus 4:21-23, where He said to Moses:  “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’” 

There would be no way of escaping darkness for Pharaoh.  In this last encounter we see the fruit of Pharaoh’s darkness: In his rage against Moses, Pharaoh threatens him with death if he ever sets foot in the palace again.  And by sending him away, Pharaoh slams the door against any way of escape. Pharaoh’s destiny had already been sealed.  He would pay for his oppresivve evil against the children of God.  He would pay for the murders of the innocent children of God.  And he would pay for his stubborn and defiant resistance to God. But his destiny need not be your destiny.That is the grand theme of this story.  God heard the cries of His people and came down to rescue them.  He came to deliver them from darkness.  He was making a way of escape.  And what He did then, He still does today.  For today, Jesus is our escape from darkness: These are His words:“I am the light of theworld. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

That is why Jesus came, to deliver us from darkness: the darkness of our ignorance, the darkness of our sin, the darkness of our way in a world steeped in darkness. That is why he said, I have come intothe world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.  John 12:46  That’s why God gave His all for you when He gave you Jesus. So He could have all of you with Him in the light.  Will you give your all to Him?  Let’s pray.