July 30
Today’s Bible Reading:
Isaiah 60-62; John 1
Journal Entry on a passage from today’s reading:
Topic: Hope
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 60:1-2; John 1:1-5
1 "Arise,
shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the
earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and
his glory appears over you. (Isa 60:1-2 NIV)
1 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the
beginning. 3 Through him
all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that
life was the light of men. 5
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
(John 1:1-5 NIV)
OBSERVATION:
Both our Old Testament and New Testament readings for today
speak of light and darkness. Isaiah speaks prophetically of the coming of Jesus
(“your light has come” v. 2) and in
the verses following it is a clear foreseeing of the visit of the Gentile
kings—the wise men—of the Christmas story bringing gifts of gold and incense,
and worshipping the Lord Jesus (v. 6). In John we see the fulfillment of the
coming of the eternal Son of God who became flesh and lived among us (v. 14)
and brought light and life to men (v. 4).
The contrast of light and darkness in both Isaiah and John
has deeply significant meaning. Isaiah contrasts the brightly shining light,
that brings to pass the glory of the Lord, with the darkness that covers the
face of the earth, and deep darkness the people. The Hebrew word translated as “darkness” (that covers the earth) is choshek meaning misery, destruction,
death, and the ignorance that fails to recognize it. The word for the “thick darkness” (that covers the
people) is araphel—often describing
the deep clouds in which the presence of the Lord dwells as when Moses
approached the mountain and the thick darkness where God was (Ex 20:19).
APPLICATION:
What could all of this mean to us? As our world is covered more and more by the
clouds of violence, corruption, and ignorance; what afflicts the nations of the
world will also attempt to destroy the people.
But, even within that terrible darkness, Isaiah sees light—a glimmer of
God’s glory that begins to shine out of the darkness. Along with the darkness
that crushes and destroys (choshek), look
for the glory of the Lord within the“araphel”—the
light shining out of the thick cloudy darkness.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for being the Light of the World and the
Light that dispels the darkness in my own life. For any reading this journal
entry who are living in the oppression and confusion of darkness, may the
brightness of Jesus begin to shine bringing revelation and clarity to them I
pray. Through Christ. Amen. -AP
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