Moses message 7
Exodus 10: 21 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their places of habitation.
We are on now to the next message around the 10 plagues od Egypt. We have been considering the plagues as illustrations of how God uses suffering. God uses suffering to draw the lost to Himself. He uses it to discipline and prune the saved. And what we have been learning that we should look at our suffering as a tool in the hand of God to “make all things work together for good.” I was reading a bit about Fanny Crosby this week.
You are all familiar with the song "Blessed Assurance,"
Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine, oh what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.
It is one of the most beloved hymns of all time. But do you know the story behind the woman who wrote it?
Fanny J. Crosby was blind from six weeks old. A visiting doctor treated an eye infection with a mustard poultice—an outdated and harmful remedy—which scarred her eyes for life. The tragic mistake meant she would never see the faces of her parents, the sunrise, or the pages of a book. Most would see this as a tragic limitation, but when Fanny reached adulthood she expressed that it was a gift. She once said:
In response to a preacher's remark about the pity of her blindness, Fanny Crosby replied:
"Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind? Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior."
This statement reflects her deep spiritual conviction and the way she embraced her condition as part of God's providence. She believed that her blindness was a blessing that allowed her to focus more fully on her faith and her hymn writing. She once said:
"It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."
Despite her blindness, Fanny wrote over 8,000 hymns, touching millions of lives. Her suffering didn’t disqualify her from being used by God—it prepared her. Her dependence on Christ grew deep roots, and her soul poured out songs that have strengthened the church for over a century.
And that is the truth about suffering that I hope we have all been learning through these weeks looking at the 10 plagues against Egypt.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
So, when you find yourself in pain or limitation, remember: God doesn’t waste suffering. He often does His best work in our darkest seasons. Well, we are going to continue today with the 9th and 10th plague. But before we do so, let’s pray.
Prayer
So today we pick up with the 9th plage against Egypt: darkness. This is the second to last plague. Let’s read about it again in Exodus 10.
9. Darkness:
Exodus 10:21 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their places of habitation.
We have been looking at each of the plagues as examples of suffering. But not just suffering. They are suffering that God caused and that He caused to accomplish His purposes. So, with each of the plagues we have looked for the purpose behind the plague. Sometimes the purpose was obvious, because it was stated explicitly in the text. But sometimes a specific purpose is not mentioned. That is the circumstance of this plague of darkness. It doesn’t give us a specific reason why God chose this plague at this time.
But before I get to a purpose behind this plague let me describe what it was. So, what was the plague of darkness? Well, here are the characteristics of the darkness. It came unannounced. It was a strike against their gods. It was deep darkness. It could be felt. It may have caused pain and terror. It did not affect the Israelites.
It came unannounced.
First off, take note that this plague came without warning. You remember that God had just caused swarms of locusts to devour the land of Egypt. When the locusts came, Pharaoh panicked, called for Moses and Aaron, and promised to let the children of Israel go. So, Moses prayed, and God caused a very strong west wind to blow, that drove the locusts into the Red Sea, where they drowned. And note that we are not told how long the locusts were on the land. It may not have been very long. So, all the remaining crops may not have been consumed.
But we are told that once again, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he broke his promise to let the children of Israel go. So, then God quickly brings the plague of darkness.
It was a strike against their gods.
And God, in bringing this darkness, was confronting another of their false Gods. “Ra, the sun-god, was among the principal objects of their worship, especially in the Delta, where Heliopolis and Pithoni were cities dedicated to him. Darkness was a creation of Set—the Evil Principle, the destroyer of Osiris—and of Apophis, the Great Serpent, the impeder of souls in the lower world. It would have seemed to the Egyptians that Ra was dead, that Set had triumphed over his brother, that Apophis had encircled the world with his dark folds, and plunged it in eternal night.”
It was deep darkness.
“They saw not one another,” we are told, “for three days” (Exodus 10:23). And we should also notice “That it was a total darkness. We have reason to think, not only that the lights of heaven were clouded, but that all their fires and candles were put out by the damps or clammy vapours which were the cause of this darkness, for it is said, they saw not one another.
It could be felt.
And it is described as a thick darkness that could be felt. We can imagine that the Egyptians were just reeling from the devastation of the locusts, when suddenly the sky goes black. What caused the sky to go black? Was it a sandstorm, clouds, fog, or something else? Some have associated it with the Khamsin, or “Wind of the Desert,” which comes annually and blows up clouds of fine sand. With a severe Khamsin, you do have an obscuring of the sun, and it is a darkness that can be felt. But I think darkness had to be more than what they would see as a natural phenomenon. Others describe it as a shutting out of the sun’s rays by dense fog or cloud of extraordinary character. That could also be felt. It was an intense darkness because, as one commentator tells us...
2d, That it was darkness which might be felt; felt in its causes by their finger-ends, so thick were the fogs; felt in its effects, (some think,) by their eyes, which were pricked with pain, and made the more sore by their rubbing them.
It may have caused pain and terror.
Great pain may have been associated with this plague. In the end times the book of Revelation describes a plague of darkness on the kingdom of the antichrist.
Revelation 16:10 Legacy Standard Bible 10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
The darkness was one which “might be felt” (Exodus 10:21). Such a preternatural continuance of absolutely impenetrable “blackness of darkness” would cause to any man a feeling of intense alarm and horror.”
“The tradition of the Jews is, that in this darkness they were terrified by the apparition of evil spirits, or rather by dreadful sounds and murmurs which they made;
Psalm 78 describes the plagues in order, and when it gets to the 9th plague of darkness, this is what it says.
Psalm 78:49, “He poured upon them the fierceness of his anger, by sending evil angels among them;”
“The plague continued three days; six nights in one; so long they were imprisoned by those chains of darkness.”
It did not affect the Israelites. The Israelites had light in their dwellings.
So, what was the purpose behind this suffering?
This plague didn’t kill, and it did cause great fear. Other plagues touched the physical body; this one touched their minds. And in that I think it was suffering sent to change their minds. It can be a long journey for some people to get to truth and salvation. Suffering may convince them that the things they have relied on are shifting sand. Suffering may convince them that they need to take a different course of action. But changing the outside of a person is far different than changing the inside; his thoughts, his will, his humble submission to God.
Job 36:15 (NIV) “But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.”
2 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV) “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
So, I think the purpose of the plague of darkness was to reach into the hearts of the Egyptians and bring them to repentance. Remember that the next plague would be the death of the firstborn, accompanied by instructions of how to escape that plague. If they would only respond in faith to God’s Word and put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, they could escape death.
I think the darkness was to prepare them for the message of salvation that was to come in the tenth plague. With the tenth plague, salvation and protection would come to those who responded in faith.
It is as though God is showing them the deep darkness of their lives, so they could be called out of the darkness, and into the light. When I first reread this passage about the plague of darkness, I couldn’t help but think of the words Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in John chapter 3 about how the righteous and unrighteous respond to light.
John 3:19-21 Legacy Standard Bible
19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.”
They needed to come to the Light. But they wouldn’t until they fully experienced the dark. Someone has said,
“Some people change their ways when they see the light, others only when they feel the heat.”
Source Unknown.
What about you? Have you come into the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ? And if you have, do you sometimes still dabble in darkness?
Well, that is the 9th plague. Next, we are going to spend a little more time on the tenth plague. It is a very meaningful plague. It is the plague that initiated the Passover feast, celebrating the salvation of the Jewish people from bondage. It is a feast they still celebrate today. It was in that feast that Jesus proclaimed Himself the Passover lamb, bringing salvation to the world. So, this 10th plague is as doctrinally foundational as it comes. We will just get started today on this plague. We will look at the description of it, the preparation for it, and the meaning of this plague.
The description of the 10th plague can be found in Exodus 11 and 12.
Exodus 11: 4 So Moses said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the servant-girl who is behind the millstones; and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. 7 But for any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even [b]bark, whether against man or beast, that you may know how Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 Then all these your servants will come down to me and bow themselves [c]before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who [d]follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
Exodus 12: 29 Now it happened at midnight that Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the [aa]dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. 30 Then Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead.
This is a description of what happened on that Passover night.
It was just after midnight when the silence of Egypt shattered. The air, heavy with tension from nine previous plagues, had fallen eerily still. Then, in a moment that defied comprehension, an unseen hand swept across the land. God Himself, not through insects or weather or disease, but personally and purposefully, passed through Egypt. As He moved, the firstborn in every Egyptian household—rich and poor, noble and servant—fell lifeless. From Pharaoh’s palace to the lowliest prison cell, no home was untouched. Even the livestock suffered. It was a divine strike at the heart of the nation’s pride, power, and future.
The wailing began softly and then rose into a collective scream of horror. Scripture says, “There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead” (Exodus 12:30). It was not the cry of one mother, but of thousands. Fathers clutching lifeless sons, mothers screaming in agony, officials weeping in disbelief. As Charles Spurgeon once reflected, “It was not the cry of one home, but of a whole people… rising as a flood of sorrow toward heaven.” This was not random cruelty—it was the righteous judgment of a holy God who had given Pharaoh chance after chance to repent.
Yet in stark contrast, the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelled, remained silent. Not even a dog barked. While Egypt mourned, Israel was at peace. What made the difference? Not nationality, nor morality—but blood. The Israelites had painted their doorposts with the blood of a spotless lamb, just as God had commanded. And when the Lord saw the blood, He passed over those homes. As John MacArthur points out, this judgment was not indiscriminate—it was deliberate, just, and avoidable through obedience and faith.
That night, judgment fell on every household in Egypt. In every home, either a child died or a lamb had died. The message was unmistakable: only through the shedding of innocent blood could judgment be averted. Centuries later, another Lamb would die, once for all. But on that night in Egypt, God proved that His Word is sure, His justice is holy, and His mercy is available—but only through the blood.
That is the description of the plague.
Now let’s take a look at the preparation and meaning of the 10th plague.
Exodus 12: Now Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [a]Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a [b]lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a [c]lamb for [d]each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a [e]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the [f]number of persons in them; according to [g]what each man should eat, you are to [h]apportion the lamb. 5 Your [i]lamb shall be a male, without blemish, a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 [j]And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall slaughter it [k]at twilight. 7 Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [l]of the houses in which they eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread [m]and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10 And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Passover of Yahweh. 12 And I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am Yahweh. 13 And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague among you [n]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as [o]a perpetual statute.
This passage continues for 14 more verses. But we will start here.
This plague was different from the previous 9. This plague would have a meaning that was to be passed on to generations to follow and was to be filled up in the death of Jesus on the cross. This plague is overflowing with meaning, and thus, we can say that the suffering that God caused that night had an abundance of purpose and meaning. Before we get into the exegesis of this passage, let me share with you just a few passages from Scripture about the meaning of the Passover. Of course, we have verses in Exodus 12, where we are now, that tell us what it means.
Exodus 12:12–13 “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night... and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you.”
God’s judgment passed over the homes marked by the lamb’s blood—symbolizing salvation through substitution.
Exodus 12:26–27 “And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover…’”
The Passover was meant to provoke questions and provide a teaching moment about God's saving power.
Later Moses said this
Deuteronomy 16:1–3 “You shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God… You shall eat no leavened bread with it… that you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”
The feast reminded Israel of their redemption and God's power to save.
And in the New Testament... the Passover’s meaning was fulfilled in Christ.
John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Jesus is identified as the ultimate Passover Lamb, pointing to His sacrificial death.
Luke 22:15–20 “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer… This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Jesus redefines the Passover meal, revealing that His death is the true deliverance from sin.
1 Corinthians 5:7 “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Paul makes it explicit: Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover lamb, securing salvation through His blood.
1 Peter 1:18–19 “You were ransomed… not with perishable things… but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Peter draws a direct line between the lamb in Exodus and the sinless Lamb of God.
And I want you to try and keep something in mind as we go through the study of Exodus 12 and 13. I want you to think of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and specifically that last Passover meal that He shared with His disciples. He suffered on the cross for us, and at that meal He gave Passover its full meaning. So, as we look at the meaning that God gave the Passover when He originally instituted it, we are also remembering that these meanings apply to the Lord’s Passover before He went to the cross.
Sermon Point 1: A New Beginning Marked by God’s Timing
Text: Exodus 12:1–2 | Luke 22:14–20
Exodus 12:1-2 Now Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of [a]Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.
This chapter seems like such an odd pause in the narrative about the plagues against Egypt. It’s like in chapters 7 through 11 we get this contest between the will of God, and the will of Pharaoh. And one after the other, God hits the land with these dreadful plagues of death, disease and destruction. And then, He announces that the worst plague is coming. But He pauses in this chapter to give the children of Israel instructions about a new feast day that Israel is to institute to commemorate the deliverance that will come after this plague.
It must have been weird. They have just been told that in one night God will kill every firstborn in Egypt, if certain instructions aren’t followed. You will have to get a spotless lamb, bring it into your home for four days. Then you are to slaughter it and capture its blood. You are to take a hyssop stalk and use it to put that blood on the top and sides of your door. And if you don’t, on the night the destroying angel comes, every firstborn in your household will die.
Now, if it were me, that would elicit fear. And I would be saying, “Okay, let’s get on with these instructions to save my house from death. I’ve got preparations to make.” But then God goes on to say, “And by the way, I’m making this a perpetual feast day. I’m instituting a new feast. This is going to be your new new year’s celebration. This month, the month of Abib, is going to be the new first month of the year for you. What has been your first month, now will become your seventh month.” And then God goes into details about the length of the feast, what they are to eat, what they are not to eat, how they are to clean their houses, what they are to wear, how they are to stand, and what days of the month this is to happen in.
It’s strange considering their anticipating and fearing the tenth plague.
MacLaren's Expositions https://biblehub.com/commentaries/exodus/12-1.htm
“A strange feast indeed, held while the beat of the pinions of the destroying angel could almost be heard, devoured in hot haste by anxious men standing ready for a perilous journey, the end whereof none knew! The gladness would be strangely dashed with terror and foreboding. Truly, though they feasted on a sacrifice, they had bitter herbs with it, and, standing, swallowed their portions, expecting every moment to be summoned to the march.”
But there’s a reason why God is doing this here. And this is the first reason for us as well.
God is resetting Israel’s calendar to start, not arbitrarily but symbolically. Their year now will begin, not with the harvest, but with the month of their redemption. This marks a new identity and a new era for God’s people. And interestingly enough, they are to celebrate before the deliverance has come.
Oh, what a wonderful truth we find here! Because Jesus is our Passover lamb!
At the Last Supper, Jesus institutes the New Covenant (Luke 22:20).
Luke 22:14-20 14 And when the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Just as God gave Israel a new beginning through the Exodus, Jesus offers a new beginning through His blood:
At the Last Supper, Jesus was celebrating the Passover with His disciples. They were doing all the things prescribed by God as a part of that celebration. But then Jesus took that celebration, and gave His disciples its true meaning.
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20)
This bread is my body. You have eaten the Passover in the past as a commemoration of your deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Today I want you to eat it in commemoration of me, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
And this is going to be a reorienting of your life. This is going to be the new “First month” of the year for you. You will now count your life, not from your physical birthday, not from your marriage, not from the start of your adult career or identity. You will reckon the apex of your life, the high point, the beginning of your real life, as being the day that you put your faith in me, the Lamb of God.
In Christ, we are given a new spiritual calendar—our lives now revolve around His redemptive work.
Just as Israel’s story changed with the Passover, your story changes when you come to Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Galatians 2:20 (ESV) “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Romans 6:4 (ESV) “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Well, we are going to close with that today. Next week we continue looking at the last plague, the Passover, and its rich meaning.