Exodus 10

And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
(Exo 10:21-23)

Darkness which can be felt… Just the thought of it gives me chills. I have only been in absolute darkness a couple of times, and it’s one of the weirdest things in the world. It was in a cave, deep in a cave, and we all turned out our lights… you literally couldn’t see your hand in front of your face… and you could FEEL it. It’s like the walls are closing in on you, it’s totally oppressive, and you feel really claustrophobic.

This is the darkness that set in over Egypt… for 72 hours! It’s disorienting, you can’t tell if you are sitting, lying, or standing… you don’t remember where you are or which way you are facing! Imagine what it must have been like for those who were out and about the city when the darkness fell… 72 hours of lying their helpless, it says that no one moved for 3 days!

I love the fact that this darkness didn’t touch the children of God… they had light in their houses! The bible tells us that Hell will be a place of “outer darkness”, probably a lot like what the Egyptians experienced… but in the new heaven and new earth, when we reside in the New Jerusalem; the Bible says it will NEVER be dark, for the LORD will be our light.

Today the world is groping about in spiritual darkness. So dark they can feel it, not knowing which way is up or down. But for us, we have the Light of the Lord… we never have to wander around, feeling, groping, unsure of where we are. The Lord is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path.