Psalm 104:20

Psalm 104:20

Light and darkness

Genesis 1:3-5 tell us that God said, “Let there be light.” He went on to separate the light from the darkness. He called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” In Isaiah 45:7 we read, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.” Let us all be aware that darkness is not just an absence of light, it is a deliberate consequence of the actions of an intelligent Being who recognises the need for dark and light to exist together and to complement each other. Without the one the other would not be recognisable. We need light to dispel darkness, but we also need darkness to show us the importance of light. Imagine a world that was always dark or always light. All the creative processes depend on both states interacting together and creating a balance that allows life and growth and sustenance that is beneficial to all living things. God even chose to make creatures that inhabit the night like owls and bats and “the beasts of the forest.”

What is so deeply significant is that just as the birds give us an insight into the spiritual world of angels and heavenly creatures (see verse 12), so natural light and darkness give us clues as to the nature and activity of the forces that rule in the realms of spiritual light and dark. Jesus did not say that He was light of the world for nothing. He brought spiritual light so that we might no longer live in darkness. Peter shows us that he got it when he wrote, “He has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9. Notice that the “beasts of the forest” that prowl at night are predatory (just like the spirits of darkness) and most, if not all, are unclean animals so far as human digestion is concerned! There are huge lessons to learn from all of this, far more than can be explained in a daily verse commentary! Just thank the Lord that He has looked at you and me and proclaimed, “Let there be light!” Hallelujah! 

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