Exodus 10:12-23
All that had been left untouched is now destroyed by the locusts. A terrible scourge! "I have sinned" Pharaoh repeats in obviously bad faith, with the sole object of being freed from the locusts. But a man cannot mock God. He has allowed the moment of forgiveness to slip by (Jeremiah 46:17) and the LORD hardens his heart afresh. Then comes the darkness, three whole days of thick darkness! It was a sign of striking significance for the Egyptians. The sun, source of light, of heat, of life, which they worshipped as a god (Ra), is seen to be powerless before the Creator of the universe. But in all the houses of the children of Israel there was light. "That whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness" declares the Lord Jesus (John 12:46). And again, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12). In the midst of a world filled with the dark shadows of sin, the believer can still realise the presence of the light: Christ making His abode with him (John 14:23). It follows that for him everything is plain: the state of the world, its future, the condition of his own heart. He knows where he can safely tread. What he does can be seen by all (Luke 11:36).