Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Isaiah 30:1-3
“In a vision Isaiah sees the Lord Himself rising over Zion like the sun and filling the whole city with His glory, so that it becomes a magnet drawing all nations towards it. Although it is focused on Zion, the vision of this magnificent chapter is world-wide in its scope. It begins with thick darkness covering the whole earth, as at the beginning of creation itself. But here it is spiritual darkness, the darkness of moral evil and spiritual blindness…But then, as in Genesis, the scene is transformed as light pierces the darkness and a whole new world begins to emerge.”
Barry G. Webb in The Message of Isaiah (Bible Speaks Today; Downers Grove: IVP, 1996) 231.
Jenni and I woke up at 2:50am MT to catch our flight back to Colorado. Looking outside our hotel “darkness” shrouds the city, but the text adds that “thick darkness” covers the people. Think about it. The reason things are so awful in this world is because people are lost in the blackness of sin.
There is nothing more generous than light that pierces the thick darkness and spiritual blindness that people experience and shows them the way. Who will see it? Isaiah adds that the Lord will arise and nations, that is, the peoples of the world and their leaders will come to your light.
Sitting in our nation’s capital this morning and reading this gives us comfort. The light of the world, the Christ of Christmas, can light the way and draw people from darkness (in Webb’s words) like a magnet. Do it Lord! That’s our proverbial grown up Christmas wish today!