Chapter 14: Darkness and a Final Warning
Exodus 10:21-11:10
Q1 - Satan is often associated with darkness and God with light. Do you think the total darkness in Egypt may have symbolized the absence of God, particularly since there was light where the Hebrews lived? Find scriptures in the Bible that talk about darkness. Find scriptures that talk about light. Compare and contrast the darkness with the light.
A1 - With the first eight plagues, God showed His power in ways that affected the Egyptians bodies, their food supply, and their animals which provided transportation and helped them work. With the plague of darkness, He showed His power over light, over the world itself. By bringing total and complete darkness upon the land, God caused great fear among the people and immobilized them. He clearly showed His superiority over the father of all the Egyptian gods, Ra, the sun god whom they believed created the universe.
The Hebrews had light where they lived in the land of Goshen. Their God was with them. The Egyptians did not have God, the one true God, and their land was filled with darkness. God brings the true light upon the world, exposing evil and guiding the lives of His followers.
Soon, God would use light and darkness to guide His people through the wilderness. The pillar of cloud, which guided them by day, became a pillar of fire by night. He would also place that pillar of cloud between the Egyptians and the Israelites as they escaped so that the Egyptians remained in darkness and could not come near the Israelites (see Exodus 14:19–20).
Numerous scriptures contrast the light with darkness. In Acts 26:17–18 (NIV) while Paul was speaking before King Agrippa, he explained that the Lord had called him to witness to others about Jesus. The Lord told him, “‘I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
Colossians 1:13–14 (NIV) states, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
1 John 1:5 (NIV) states, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
These are only a few scriptures concerning light and darkness. Pull up https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Darkness to find other meaningful scriptures on the topic.
Q2 - With each plague, God showed His superiority over various Egyptian gods. Moses and the Israelites were raised in the Egyptian culture and knew about these gods. How do you think witnessing the plagues impacted the Israelites and Moses in particular? Exodus 11:3 states Moses was held in high regard by Pharaoh’s officials and the people. How would the plagues have bolstered their opinion of Moses?
A2 - The plagues showed God’s great might, not only to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but also to the Israelites and Moses. Having witnessed over and over His power over all other gods, the Israelites had to have been strengthened in their faith in God. They would need every bit of that strength for their exodus out of Egypt and their journey on to the Promised Land.
As for Moses, he had very reluctantly accepted God’s call to be the leader of the Israelites. It must have felt amazing and awe inspiring for him and Aaron to be able to perform all these miracles, one after the other, as God commanded. It must have also increased Moses’s faith and trust in God, something he, too, would need every bit of as he led the Israelites for the next forty years.
Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people were on the receiving end of all the plagues. Certainly they understood the one God of the Israelites had bested their gods. Their bodies had been afflicted and their land destroyed. Everything Moses said came true. It’s no wonder they held him in high regard after all they had witnessed. He and Aaron were the spokespersons for this all-powerful God.
Q3 - Why do you think Moses was so angry when he left Pharaoh’s presence?
A3 - The circumstances reached a boiling point when Moses told Pharaoh of the final plague which was to come, the death of the firstborn. Instead of Pharaoh seeking to spare his nation and even his own household from this plague, he commanded Moses to leave and threatened him with death.
Pharaoh knew that every other plague had happened just as Moses foretold, yet his pride kept him from changing his mind and allowing the Israelites to leave. Perhaps Moses was so angry because he was being expelled from Pharaoh’s presence and threatened with death, or because Pharaoh inexplicably chose death for all the firstborn of Egypt. Moses may have also had a temper that he struggled at times to keep in check. Examples of his temper showing itself include his killing of the Egyptian for mistreating his fellow Israelite and throwing the tablets of stone down which contained the Ten Commandments and shattering them to pieces.