Unbelief, Sorcerers, Magicians, Darkness before Deliverance
Unbelief
From Chapter 6, we read God promises deliverance; however, the people do not believe Moses’s words. In verse 9 we read it was because of increasing discouragement and the cruel bondage the people suffered under.
Through the thousands of years the Lord has performed miracles, many are tempted to remain in unbelief. In Mark 16:14 Jesus rebuked the people for their lack of faith and refusing to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. Occasionally we may also have a portion of unbelief regarding the Lord’s power in our life. Lord, help my unbelief! We are blessed to have Pastor Brian’s message regarding unbelief to encourage us to keep believing. The message "I Believe! Lord, Help My Unbelief," dated May 18, 2025, can be found on the SoGF website.
As we read through the next few chapters regarding all the miracles God performed, sometimes we are tempted to think, “yes, I have heard all about these miracles many times… How does it apply to my life in this modern age we live in?”
Sorcerers and Magicians
The spiritual powers of darkness behind the sorcerers and magicians were controlled by Satan. Today we are still subject to the influence of these powers sometimes knowingly, sometimes unaware. This started with Eve being beguiled by the serpent who caused her to wonder and doubt regarding God’s original command. Satan asked Eve, "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the Garden?’" This misquote about what God said to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17 is one of the early beginnings of "fake news." The father of lies is still active and seeks to plant doubt and mistrust regarding almost every subject God mentions in His word.
Did you know if you are a man, you can turn into a woman? Or if you are tired of being a woman, why not become a man? If you received this information... by typing into one of the AI (artificial intelligence) models available online… please thoroughly read Genesis Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 several times.
Okay, back to Exodus, we read about the magicians and sorcerers being able to copy the first three miracles done by Moses. Perhaps being able to duplicate these first three miracles (staff to snake, water to blood, and deluge of frogs) was a surprise to Moses, but there is no mention of the reaction of Moses to the work of the sorcerers.
However, by the time we reach Chapter 9, the magicians were not even able to stand up because of all the boils that were on them. Our enemy does have power to expose us to temptations, but God limits the power such that, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Darkness
Have you ever had a chance to visit a large underground cave? Usually there is a minimum amount of lighting installed on the dark cave path to allow for navigating the cave without hitting your head on the ceiling or tripping over some rock formation. It is an exciting experience the first time the "lights out" part of the tour is taking place. This is when the cave guide gives a warning, as all of the lights will soon be turned off to experience true darkness. It’s fun to experience lights out, as you are among other people laughing and experiencing literally not being able to see your hand in front of your face or anything at all. We all had fun with the experience because we knew the lights would come back the moment the light switch would be flipped on.
Now imagine the terror and horror of experiencing this type of darkness in the middle of the day and lasting for several days. This is what happened during the plague of darkness as described in the following verses.
Exodus 10:21-23: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”
How amazing that even darkness can be used by God as a tool to bring His name glory! This story about the Egyptians in darkness makes me think of the Apostle John reminding us to walk in the light. 1 John 1:5-7 says, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
Thank you for reading through until the end of this reflection. It has been a joy reflecting on these chapters. Have a blessed and meaningful day!
John Hendrickson
