God’s Love Letter to You: Psalm 139:12 Psalm 139:12 “Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” When we were small, most of us were afraid of the dark at some point, am I right? We seem to always here things moving in the darkness but we could not see it and that scared us! How much has really changed since then? Are we not still afraid of the dark? Yes, we can handle the darkness and even become comfortable with the lights off but there is something deep down that does not like the darkness. Most of us do not like the unknown dangers which darkness brings. The same is true in every area of our lives. We do not like the darkness of depression, the darkness of losing a job, the darkness of financial hardship. The darkness is a scary place but it is not a place we have to live in. There will be nights, God created them, but we do not have to live in darkness. Let’s look at the words of King David. WORDS WITH FRIENDS “Darkness” (Châshêkâh;) Darkness. While this is in fact the same type of meaning as the darkness used in verse 11, I believe there is a reason David used a different word in v.12 than in v.11. “Dark” (Châshak;) to be dark, to grow dark, to be obscured, to be surrounded with darkness; to make dark, to spread darkness, to be hidden. This verb indicates a curse of judgement. Ecc. 12:3 describe impaired vision which is associated with old age. “Day” (Yôwm) some time, year, life (when in people), today. A poin in time and a sphere of time are both expressed by yôwm. It is the period of light which is not darkness. “Light” (Ôwrâh) deriving from the v.11 use of light (ôwr), this fem. noun means “light” in Psalm 139:12, “Prosperity” or “joy” in Esth 8:16. LIGHT IN DARKNESS When we look at this verse, it seems to have 2 parts but really one complete meaning. Darkness is nothing to God who is light. When we look at the word “dark”, we see it means to be surrounded by darkness. David seems to be saying even when darkness, or night, seems to completely surround us we we seem to be “hidden” from God. However, David is telling us darkness will never be able to separate us from God. Darkness can’t touch God. As darkness creeps into our hearts, David encourages us to understand darkness will never be able to hide us from God. Darkness will never cloud us from God’s sight. He is always watching us, watching out for us, and we will never be obscured from Him. God is light. Darkness is the absence of light. How could God be in darkness? I don’t know, but I do know God can be in the night. David says, “the night is as bright as day.” The “day” David uses here is the same word used for the actual period of time of the day. I LOVE the definition of this word can also mean, “the period of light which is not in darkness.” I see David communicating to us even in our darkest nights, it is bright as day to God! Have you ever worked or rested in a really dark room and then walked directly into the sunlight? Perhaps you were staying in a hotel with those darkening curtains which made your room completely dark. At some point in the morning as the curtains are ripped back, the light floods the room and you are completely blinded by the morning light. That description is what I see for this passage. I see myself in a dark room not being able to see a thing. It is morning out but there is a curtain in the way. There is such a contrast between the darkness and light. I may be in a room in complete darkness but when God comes into a situation, there is overwhelming light, even though I may not can see it from my situation. I can’t see the morning light with the curtains drawn but it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The “darkness” David uses in the second sentence in this verse, while has the same type of meaning as v.11, is in fact a different word. While I do not have some historical way to prove it, I personally believe David used a different word for a reason. V.11 seems to be talking about a darkness void of light, void of God and His presence. This darkness of v.12, at least to me, seems to be more of the actual feeling or state of being in the dark rather than being void of light. I hope this makes sense. I see David attempting to explain to us no matter what we see as darkness (the bad times in life) or the light (bright, good times in life) God is the same God in both. David’s theme of God being Loving in every situation is a theme to this passage and I see this verse playing into the same theme. We may feel we are completely surround by darkness but the truth is we are only in a period of “night.” God is in our period of nights. God created the day and night, Genesis 1. I believe David used that word for that very reason. David, even in his own personal darkness, is telling us that no matter if we see only darkness or see light all around, God sees it all. There is nothing that can hide us from the sight and Love of our Creator God. He is faithful to His Word. Wherever you are in your life and whether your in the brightness and light of your life right now or feeling darkness overwhelm you, remember that God sees through it all. Remember Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, not depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:06:19 +0000