“Moses reached out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. People couldn’t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the people of Isra’el had light in their homes.”-Exodus 10:22-23
We’ve now come to the 9th stroke against Egypt and since it is the 3rd plague in a set of three, it comes unannounced.
What happened was that Egypt was engulfed in a terrifying darkness.
This plague represents a perfect opportunity to hammer home one of the most important governing God principles of them all.
And it is that God elects, divides, and separates his people AWAY from those people and things that are NOT His.
While Egypt had been plunged into darkness, Israel had light in their homes.
This is a perfect reflection of what God did in the Genesis creation account when He divided the light away from the darkness.
Note also we’re told that the Egyptians would “feel” the darkness and the Israelites would “feel” the light.
How can one actually feel darkness or light?
Recall at the Creation account in Genesis, there were two different lights.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
-Genesis 1:3
and
God said,
“Let there be lights in the dome of the sky
to divide the day from the night;
let them be for signs, seasons,
days and years;
-Genesis 1:14
The Hebrew word for light in Genesis 1:3 is OWR and the Hebrew word for light in Genesis 1:14 is MAOROT.
OWR refers to God’s “enlightenment” and embodies positive spiritual qualities such as life, goodness, and joy.
MAOROT on the other hand refers to objects that emit visual light waves such as the sun or stars.
The word used here in Exodus 10 for light is the exact same word that God used in Genesis 1:3.
For example, if you turn on a lamp stand, you get MAOROT or physical light.
However, if you receive a Word from the Lord, you get OWR or spiritual light.
So the Israelites were basking in God’s spiritual light (which was also visual by the way).
Now the exact same pattern applies to the darkness that the Egyptians received.
Again, the exact same Hebrew word used to describe the opposite of OWR or “God’s enlightenment” is used.
That word is CHOSEK.
And just as OWR embodies positive spiritual qualities, CHOSEK embodies the qualities of spiritual depravity or depression.
If you’ve ever committed a great sin and just felt so terrible afterwards, I would say that you were experiencing CHOSEK.
Or somebody suffering from a dark, deep and suicidal depression is experiencing the darkness brought about by CHOSEK.
This is the kind of fear the Egyptians were plunged into.
It wasn’t just that they couldn’t physically see each other or make out their surroundings, they were completely overwhelmed by this dark atmosphere of impending doom from which there was no escape.
When God wants to hurt somebody, boy He can do it in the most terrifying of ways.
So Israel’s condition was enlightenment while Egypt’s condition was darkness.
While Egypt was wallowing in terror, Israel was celebrating.
This 9th plague of Exodus reminds me of what it’s like being a believer in this present world.
Notice that CHOSEK (darkness) and OWR (light) existed side-by-side.
As believers, although we are covered by God’s light, we inhabit the same space and breathe the same air as the rest of the world who is in darkness.
One final point.
Notice that it was ONLY Israel that received light.
IT IS NO DIFFERENT TODAY!
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, if you are a non-Hebrew by birth, you must be joined to Israel’s covenants via faith in Yeshua.
When you do that, that which benefits Israel will also now benefit you.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
When Jesus spoke again to the people,
he said, “I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.”
-John 8:12
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
-Matthew 4:15-16
Yeshua answered,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
-Matthew 15:24
Leave a Reply