Yet all the Israelites had light in the places they lived.

— Exodus 10:23

Have you ever encountered a darkness that can be felt? I recall hiking in the woods when dark storm clouds suddenly billowed overhead. The wind whipped around in all directions, and the temperature dropped quickly, followed by blasts of thunder and lightning. In that moment, I knew I wasn’t in control.

Our Bible reading today tells part of the story of God’s confrontation with Pharaoh through Moses. Pharaoh had repeatedly resisted letting God’s people go free from slavery, and God had responded with increasingly intense plagues, all of which challenged Pharaoh’s authority and control. This time, God brought a “darkness that [could] be felt” over the whole land of Egypt. Unlike the darkness of a passing storm, this darkness stayed for three days! It’s as if God was saying to Pharoah: “Stop resisting me. You are not in charge. I can even remove the creational boundaries between light and dark, night and day!” But Pharaoh would not listen.

While confronting Pharaoh, God reassured Israel by giving them light and hope in the midst of the unnatural darkness, and in this God was saying, “You are mine, and Pharaoh cannot separate you from me.” In Advent, we lean into this same hope-filled assurance: in Christ, God will move heaven and earth, night and day, to set us free from all that enslaves us.

God, thank you for the hope you give us in Jesus Christ. Help us to believe in your power to free us from all that can enslave us. Amen.