The Light of God

I’ve been tracing themes through scripture as part of my devotional time – exploring how God masterfully weaves His great story together. Today, I’m looking at the Light of God.

Creation:

Genesis 1:2a NLT: The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.
Genesis 1:3 NLT: Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:4b NLT: Then he separated the light from the darkness.
Psalm 136:7 NLT: Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights— His faithful love endures forever.
Isaiah 40:26 NLT: Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.
2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT: For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

God created light! He is Light.

The Fall:

2 Corinthians 11:14b NLT: Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
1 John 1:5b NLT: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
Genesis 3:23a NLT: So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden

Adam and Eve no longer had the light of God or the fellowship of His presence.

Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy):

Exodus 3:2 NLT: There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.
Exodus 13:21 NLT: The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.
Numbers 6:25 NET The Lord make his face to shine upon you [enlighten you], and be gracious to you;

God continues to lead and guide His people by appearing to them as light from fire.

OT History (Judges–Esther):

1 Samuel 2:9 NIV: He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
2 Samuel 22:1–2, 29 NLT: David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior … O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness.

In Hannah’s prayer, she does not specify light but alludes to it since the wicked are silenced in darkness. David uses the metaphor of light in his prayer to illustrate the way God leads and guides him. He also draws the comparison – that without God, we walk in darkness.

OT Wisdom (Job–Song of Songs):

Psalm 19:8 NIV: The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Psalm 27:1 NIV: The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 36:9 NIV: For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Psalm 89:15 NIV: Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Several references in the wisdom literature of scripture remind us that God is our light!

OT Prophets (Isaiah–Malachi):

Isaiah 9:2 NLT: The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
Isaiah 60:19-20 NLT: “No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end.
Daniel 2:19b, 20, 22 NIV: Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
Micah 7:8-9 NIV: Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.
Malachi 4:2 NIV: But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.

The prophets foretell of a time when the “Sun” of righteousness will rise, when the Lord Himself will be our light. We know this is fulfilled when Jesus quotes the prophecy from Isaiah (Matthew 4:16) “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”

The Gospels:

Luke 2:28-32 NIV: Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
John 1:4-5 NIV: In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 8:12 NIV: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 12:46 NIV: I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Luke, Paul, Peter, and John all point us to the light of the Lord, reminding us that we live in the light!

Acts/Epistles:

2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT: For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:8 NIV: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
Colossians 1:12-14 NLT: He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 NIV: You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
1 Timothy 6:15-16 NIV: God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.
2 Timothy 1:9b -10 NIV: This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
1 Peter 2:9 NIV: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 John 1:5 NIV: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:7 NIV: 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.

Then in the final days, when the new heavens and earth arrive, the glory of God will be the light of the world!

Consummation:

Revelation 21:23 NIV: The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
Revelation 22:5 NIV: There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. Let us walk in harmony in that light!