The Light of the World

If I haven't mentioned it already, I'm reading through the book of Job. The book is interesting because you have to be careful about how you quote it. For example, while Job's antagonists' speeches are in the Bible, it doesn't mean that what they are saying (in the context in which they are saying it) is biblical. John Piper does a nice job discussing that here.

In view of this, I appreciate how Job uses the metaphors of light and darkness in chapter 24 to provide insights into sin and righteousness. Specifically, I was reading verses 13-17:

“There are those who rebel against the light,

    who are not acquainted with its ways,

    and do not stay in its paths.

The murderer rises before it is light,

    that he may kill the poor and needy,

    and in the night he is like a thief.

The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,

    saying, ‘No eye will see me’;

    and he veils his face.

In the dark they dig through houses;

    by day they shut themselves up;

    they do not know the light.

For deep darkness is morning to all of them;

    for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness."

In this passage, Job reflects the sins of the 10 commandments: You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal. He describes these sins as walking in darkness, against the light of God's righteousness. The ESV Study Bible provides this insight:

These verses are linked together by a play on the senses of the word "light" and its related vocabulary. Job begins by describing those who rebel against the light as those who oppose wisdom and righteousness - not knowing its ways or walking in its path (v.13). Job then describes how the manner of life is revealed in the light of day and the dark of night: the murderer gets up before it is light to pursue injustice and continues to prowl around at night (v.14); the adulterer assumes that in the twilight his actions will go unseen (v.15); thus they each bring ruinous effects on other households at night, while seeking to guard themselves during the day (v. 16). Job implies that their reversal of the typical times of sleep and labor (deep darkness has become morning) is itself a manifestation of the fact that they do not know the light and instead have chosen foolishly to become friends with the terrors of deep darkness (vv. 16-17).

As I read this passage and the commentary, it occurred to me that I started this blog over two years ago with this imagery in mind. There is something about darkness - about late night hours "after midnight" - that tempts us to sin. In the darkness we find cover - or we think we do - to do things we would not likely do in the light of day. That temptation can be tempered by seeking God before midnight, before the darkness lures us into sin, so that we do not "rebel against the light" but instead find comfort and solace in the Light of the World.