April 11, 2003

"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:16-18

We see in Genesis 1:3 that God divided the light from the darkness.  We see that God gave darkness a name rather than getting rid of it altogether (see "Why Did He Name the Darkness, July 2000).  And now we see here in these verses that God made a great light, even though a lesser light, to rule over the night.

We see 3 things that these two "great lights" do:

1. They rule over the day and night.
2. They give light upon the earth.
3. They divide the light from the darkness.

The sun rules over the day and the moon over the night but both the sun and the moon are to give light upon the earth and they both are to divide the light from the darkness.  This is not an example of God ruling over the day and the devil ruling over the night.  The devil doesn’t give any light.  He is full of darkness!

The example we see from this is that God didn’t leave the night totally black.  He provided a light in the night.  He didn’t do it for the purpose of providing a means for people to continue to walk in darkness or walk in sin.  He did it to divide the day from the night.  He did it to give light upon the earth.  He did it so people could see the reflection of the greater light.  So they could see a way to come out of the darkness and into the true light.

The light of the moon-the light that shines in the darkness- is a reflection of the light of the sun.  The light that shines in the night should lead people to the light that shines in the day.  God’s purpose is not for people to use that light to continue walking around in their sin.  He wants them to see the reflection of the greater light and seek that.  The night-light is lesser only because it’s a reflection of the true light.  Man in a sinful condition cannot handle the direct light and glory of God, but needs a mediator.

What we see from this is that God, by His mercy and grace, doesn’t totally forsake us when we sin.  He has provided a way for us to come out of sin and into the light.  He sent Jesus Christ as a light into the world, to reach those in sin and to reflect the glory of the Father.

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."  John 8:12

God ordained from the foundations of the earth, that He would not forsake mankind but would provide a way for us to walk in His light!

"Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever."  Jeremiah 31:35-36

He’s saying that if the moon or the stars cease to do what He’s established them to do then His people would cease to be set apart for Him.

God gave us a light, even in our darkness, to be a reflection of the source of light—a mediator that would enable those who believe in Him to walk in the daylight and fellowship with Him.  Thank God for His mercy and grace in the person of Jesus Christ! Let us follow His example and reflect His light to the darkness of the world!