Fighting Darkness with Light!

I'm quite the fanboy when it comes to old school comic books. The dashing hero with the costume and cape; fighting injustice and righting wrongs. But, one thing I found out was that the hero was only as heroic and dazzling as the bad guy was dark and sinister...

Isaiah 60:2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the Earth, And deep darkness the people; No sooner had Isaiah announced the arrival of brilliant new light, the Prophet warned of a great, deep darkness covering the Earth. Now, considering he had just pronounced the judgment of God down on the Nations and to Israel itself, I'm sure those hearing the prophesies couldn't imagine things getting any bleaker. But this is precisely what Isaiah was announcing. I mean, how could they have seen the conquering of Judah, the leading away to captivity, the hardships of rebuilding only to be overcome by another conqueror, Rome? Darkness may have been an understatement. The era surrounding the birth of Christ was indeed a dark time for Israel. Not just to be besieged or at war or, even, taken into captivity, but to be occupied by the most unrighteous of peoples, the ROMANS. But I'm sure it was near impossible for the people who first heard these prophesies to fully understand the level of darkness that was coming. It is much like us trying to comprehend the level of disaster that will come with the end times. But this darkness was an all too familiar theme in the Bible. It was into Darkness that God's light broke through in the very beginning of creation (Genesis 1). It was Darkness that was the ninth plague announced by Moses to Egypt (Exodus 10). The prophets all talked about darkness coming. Amos said of the dreaded day of the Lord: Amos 5:20 New King James Version (NKJV) 20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? But Isaiah spoke of a deep darkness; something much deeper and more tragic than the political goings on around the nation of Israel. If you read Isaiah carefully, you will see that God's issue is with the darkness found in people's hearts. Chapter five of Isaiah, speaks of his Beloved (Israel) planting the choice seeds but growing wild grapes instead! Isaiah 5:7

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. And... 20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! God was pronouncing judgment through Isaiah to a people who had the world tilted on it's head. Who celebrated evil deeds and looked with indignation at those who followed the righteousness path. And, all the while they did this, they claimed to be his people (because they were) and continued to follow the sacrifices. In fact, Isaiah opened up with his petition against Israel in chapter one. Isaiah1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; This summed up God's position and justification for what he was about to do. And this gives us some insight to what things were like in the times of Jesus ministry. For, instead of learning from the judgment of God, Israel had apparently lapsed into the same old ways. Maybe this is why Jesus used Isaiah as scripture for his opening text for his Earthly ministry. Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” This darkness that had set upon the people by their own actions was due a break though. For it was the gospel of Matthew that quoted Isaiah (this very opening scripture) as an answer to a prophecy. Matthew 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”

The crowning joy of this pronouncement of great darkness is that it was prophesied to be broken! Sometimes, it just pays to keep reading...actually, when it comes to the WORD, it ALWAYS pays to keep reading! Isaiah 60:2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The lesson here is that, if we find ourselves in darkness, the first thing we need to understand is that it is most always caused by someone's sin. It may not be yours. It may be because of someone else. If it is ours, then, we need to understand that and correct it. If it is someone else (a parent, a spouse, a friend, a child, a leader be it either local or national), then we need to pray for them and take the steps God prescribes. This anticipates us actually coming to him for the solution. The second lesson learned is that no matter the deepness of the darkness, God is always there at the right time with his unconquerable light! …...Sometimes the vile villain and courageous hero resides in the same person... Let the Lord ARISE over you and in you...let HIS GLORY be seen UPON you and THROUGH YOU...