God allowed His chosen people to be temporarily held up in Egypt, but when it came time to claim the land in which their fathers had lived as nomads—the promised land—what stood in their way was a stubborn ruler who passed himself off as a demigod. Over the course of several weeks God uses Moses to demonstrate His control as Creator, but each time Pharaoh only gives in temporarily, merely because of his discomfort.

The ninth plague is that of darkness which lasts for three days. It was so thick it could be felt; the Egyptians could not even get up and had to remain where they were, unable to even detect a glimmer of one another (v. 23). During this time there was no difference between day and night. What made all these plagues such a strange phenomenon is they did not affect the land of Goshen where the Israelites were (cf. 8:22; 9:4; 9:26). God was trying to reach Pharaoh and He wanted him to know who He is (7:5), so He made a distinction between the Egyptians and His people. During this time of darkness, “all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (10:23).

God is the source of light and truth. He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good (Mt. 5:45), and this is His grace reaching out to all. Yet if we fail to recognize that God came in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ “to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (Lk. 1:79), then we will most certainly be condemned to darkness for eternity (cf. Mt. 8:12, 2 Pet. 2:17). Hope is found only in Christ who said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (Jn. 12:46).