God’s Light
The Fourth of July is still fresh in my mind. The wonderful food, the fellowship and the fireworks with all the beautiful lights brings to my mind how God has blessed us with so many wonderful gifts, but most of all, I am reminded of the light of his presence.
The ninth plague sent to secure the freedom of the Jews from Egypt must have been frightening. It was an affliction of total darkness. The darkness was so thick that it could be felt.
For three days, the Egyptians were held hostage by the darkness. They neither saw each other nor left their homes.
In comparison, the Israelites living in the town of Goshen had light. There was light in the entire town of Goshen. The children of God living within the confines of other towns away from Goshen had light in their homes.
There was a veil between the Israelites and the Egyptians. It was like driving in a thunderstorm and just a few miles down the road, if you keep driving, the sun is shining and there is light.
While we see the physical manifestation of the oppressive darkness and the light that never went out in the town of Goshen, there is a deep spiritual lesson.
Psalm 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
And Job 18:5-6: “Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.”
1. First and foremost, the light represented the presence of God. Ezekiel 43:2: “And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and His voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.”
2. The darkness represents the work of iniquity (injustice, sinfulness, unrighteousness, immorality, and wickedness). After much wickedness, the wicked sit in darkness. To continue to practice wickedness is a dangerous undertaking. At some point, what is practiced with the eyes wide open may become a blindness of the mind. That lie which the mind could once recognize as a lie is now seen as a “truth” or a justified means of achieving a goal. Continued practice of evil becomes a chronic affliction of blindness of the heart (Ephesians 4). Just as the Egyptians were in darkness, spiritual darkness is separation from God. It is an oppressive darkness. It is a fearsome darkness when the love of God is not present.
3. An entire town enjoyed the presence of God’s light. In Genesis 45:9-10, you can read where Pharaoh, the Pharaoh of Joseph’s time, gave the Israelites a place of their own (Two different Pharaohs and two different dispositions. The title does not mean that the person holding the office will bring honor to the office. They will bring who they are to the position. Watch the fruit!). The light in the town of Goshen and the lights in the houses of the Israelites point to the favor on a child of light (Who is that? A Child of God). The home of the just is blessed. Proverbs 3:33: “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.” Though the child of light is in a dark world, they walk in the light while others wander around looking for an escape from the darkness, but do not necessarily chose God.
As a child of the light, one lives his or her life with the expectation of sowing in this life and reaping not only in this life, but in the life to come.
4. The light of the Israelites and the darkness of the Egyptians illustrate that God’s power has no limits and though he many times allows the sun to shine on the just as well as the unjust, it is by his great mercies that He does so. He sees all and knows all.
There are consequences to a community when it does not heed the Word of God and there are blessings for a community that unites to walk in righteousness, and the same is true for individuals.
St. James AME Church is at 360 Dorothy St., Charleston, and worship is on the first and third Sundays at 11 a.m.
