Tuesday December 13 – Jerusalem

A group of us were driving through the night to get to a staff retreat in Colorado. Five of us on staff had left late on a Sunday evening after a worship service. We drove overnight to get there in time on Monday morning to get some rest and get situated for the retreat. I drove the second shift, from about 11PM to 2AM.

Everyone else was asleep. I was on my own, fighting to stay awake. It was back in the days of paper maps, so I was basically trying to drive and navigate at the same time. To make things worse, it was a foggy night, and I could only see the yellow dotted lines in the middle of the road nearest my door in the headlights. So, for those three hours, I forced myself to just focus on what I could see directly in front of me and hoped nothing awful would come up. It was almost 2AM when I yielded my shift to someone else. I crawled into the back of the van and went to sleep.

When I woke up, we were in Colorado somewhere and it was daylight. The combination of being tired and the new daylight was disorienting. I had to take a few moments to get my whereabouts.

I wonder what sort of transition it was spiritually for God’s people when the Messiah brought His light into the world? So many never made that transition and continued to wander in darkness. Can you imagine always driving the overnight shift, spiritually speaking? It must be exhausting, frustrating, lonely and disheartening. You can only see a little bit at a time, and it is scary and intense. Thankfully, Jesus came and changed all of that for us!

Darkness in Jerusalem: The Messiah would be the Great Light

Isaiah 9:1-2 Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.

Choosing their own way over God’s way, trusting in themselves rather than in God found the Israelites plunged into darkness. They rejected God’s protective covering over them in their covenantal relationship. The people who had been guided by a pillar of fire and smoke were now completely confused. This was a total confusion of emotion, relationship, and spirituality. This confusion led to rebellion which led to Israel’s exposure to other kingdoms and nations, becoming the prey of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. This confusion has led them into a place of despairing, gloomy darkness.

But God promises that He will not leave them in this place of darkness.

In fact, in the areas in which the Assyrian conquests begin in the north, this is where God promises a light will dawn. Israel has done nothing to deserve this mercy and love and grace. They do not merit it and cannot earn it. And out of this disaster, God promises hope. God will bring final victory.

Clearly this passage promises the Messiah. We know that Jesus will come and be the Light of the world.

He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the road by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. Matthew 4:13-16

Father, thank you for the Light of the world, your Son Jesus, who came and ended our darkness. I pray more would step into the Light this Christmas season. Amen