The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2 ESV)
Darkness and Light
Supposedly, the worst beginning to any novel was the phrase, “It was a dark and stormy night…” I do not really know why those words make a poor literary beginning. I suppose that is why I am not a best-selling novelist.
I think it is a pretty good beginning.
The people that Isaiah describes are not merely in darkness. They are in darkness because they do not know where to look to find light. In the verses around this famous text, those people look for escape from the storms of life in all the wrong places. They try religions, they try mysticism, they try what we would call the occult.
But Isaiah says, “Should not a people inquire of their God???”
Whether because of too much guilt, too much insecurity, too much self-focus, or too little knowledge, they did not look for understanding, answers, and hope from the One True Living God.
And so that darkness remained.
But there is a great light. A way to get through the darkness and storms. It is not merely looking to God, it is looking to God through Jesus Christ.
He provides understanding of the storm. He provides shelter from the storm. He provides the path out of the storm. He provides raincoats, umbrellas, footgear, and flashlights.
But insert the word “alone” in those sentences. It is Jesus alone who is the answer to the storms of life.
The light that Isaiah holds up is not simply a better knowledge, understanding, or clarity. It is Jesus Himself.
Every person who has ever lived, lives now, and will live is in darkness.
We can not escape the darkness. But Jesus IS the escape.