Let There be Light
Let There be Light
Exodus 10:21
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.”
I once heard an unbelieving Jewish scholar give a naturalistic explanation for the miraculous plagues of Exodus. As an agnostic, he disbelieved in the miraculous, but as a Jew, he believed in the historicity of the Pentateuch, so he was stuck in a quandary. But sadly, he ended up making the same mistake as Pharaoh’s mad men, assuming that as long as he could find a possible natural cause to an event, the event wouldn’t be divine. But to miss the miracle in the natural, and the spiritual in the physical, is to miss the deeper meaning of life. Because nature is as much a kaleidoscope of spiritual realities as it is a conglomerate of physical ones.
Think of it, friend: didn’t our Lord use childbirth to teach Nicodemus the spiritual mystery of conversion? Didn’t He use thirst for water as a means of showing a Samaritan woman her need for forgiveness? Didn’t He point to a bundle of fish as a means of opening Peter and Andrew’s eyes to their high commission of evangelism? See, all physical nature is a creation of Spirit God, so all physical facts of nature are incomplete without the spiritual truths they represent. That’s why we shouldn’t miss the symbolism of these Exodus plagues, because while they represent real, physical punishments, they also serve as signs for deeper spiritual consequences.
In light of that, I can’t think of any better way to describe the cataclysmic downward spiral of a life that rejects God than a darkness to be felt. That’s the story of the fall right there. Of the devil, of a nation, of a man. It starts with a little pride, a little choice of the will to disobey God, and it leads to plague after plague, rebellion after rebellion, decay after decay, until all that’s left is total darkness.
But remember, friend: Jesus stretched out His hands toward heaven, on a cross, that there may be light over your life, and in your heart, a light to be felt! So warm your spirit by the fire of His countenance today, and let it drown away the dark.