Week 15 Is Your Light On or Off?
“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.”
Madelieine L’Engle
Passage
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
21 They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward.
22 Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.
Isaiah 8:18-22 (NASB)
"Bright Ideas - Day 263 of Project 365" by purplemattfish is marked with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Background
Quote- Madeleine L'Engle (/ˈlɛŋɡəl/; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science. Her writing honors included being named an Associate Dame of Justice in the Venerable Order of Saint John; the USM Medallion from The University of Southern Mississippi; the Smith College Medal "for service to community or college which exemplifies the purposes of liberal arts education"; the Sophia Award for distinction in her field; the Regina Medal; the ALAN Award for outstanding contribution to adolescent literature, presented by the National Council of Teachers of English; and the Kerlan Award.
Passage- The book of Isaiah is Narrative History, Prophetic Oracle, and even a Parable (chapter 5). The prophet Isaiah wrote it at approximately 700 B.C. Isaiah is the first book in the section called Major Prophets. They are called Major Prophets because of the large amount of material they wrote not because their message was more important than any other prophet’s was.
Isaiah contains some of the most incredible prophecies of any book. It contains foreknowledge, in incredible details about the Messiah, and the future reign of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the book of Isaiah was to call God’s nation, the nation of Judah, back to faithfulness and to declare the coming Messiah “Immanuel”. God calls and commissions His prophet to declare to Judah and Israel condemnation, conviction, and ultimately great hope.
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
Does “knowing darkness” mean walking in it, allowing it to exist, or condoning it? No. We can know what darkness is without having to have been covered by it. It is being wise and learning wisdom when we listen to the experiences of someone else who has gone through a thing, evaluate it in relation to our own lives, and choose to avoid the bad things while embracing the good. We can learn about darkness without embracing it.
Ask: Does evil exist in the world?
Point: The light switch is either on or off. There is either light or darkness.
Ask: Is there a third option?
Point: Yes, the shadows.
Ask: What does scripture think about being in the shadows?
Point: First Reading (Luke 1:76-79 (NASB)
Ask: What is the shadow of death mentioned by Luke?
Point: The Law as contained in scripture.
Ask: What is the Law in a physical sense?
Point: The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible are known as the Law known to the Jews as the Torah.
Ask: What is the Law in a spiritual sense?
Point: Second Reading (Romans 8:1-4 (NASB)
Ask: If faith in Christ Jesus releases me from the condemnation of the Law and death to eternal life do I still need to pay any attention at all to Old Testament Law in the Bible?
Point: Yes.
Third Reading (Matthew 5:14-20 (NASB)
Ask: How does this relate to knowing whether or not your “light switch” is “on or off?”
Point: Re-read verse sixteen from the Third Reading
Closing Statement
What is “your light?” Your light is your life. It is your actions in that life. It is your heart-position, your motivation for why you do things in your life. That heart-position is the fuel from which the lamp of your life burns. Why do you do things? Why do you get up in the morning? Why do you order your day the way you do? How do you order your day? These are all questions you should answer with diligent reflection on the motivation behind doing the things you do. The fuel used in a fire can be determined by the color of the flame. Here is a link if you would like to know more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-certain-elements-c/
The flame produced is the visible portion of the chemical reaction between the elements used as fuel when they rearrange themselves in a process called combustion. Here is a link if you would like to know more about combustion:
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/explainer-how-and-why-fires-burn
What’s the point? The point is what you use to fuel the fire of your light is seen by the people who see your light. Before you flip the switch each day, you should consider what kind of light you are shedding to the people who see you, which is determined by the fuel you are using to ignite that flame.
Questions for the Week
Question 1: Why do you do things?
Question 2: Why do you get up in the morning?
Question 3: Why do you order your day the way you do?
Question 4: How do you order your day?
Scripture
First Reading
76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace."
Luke 1:76-79 (NASB)
Malachi 3:1
Second Reading
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4 (NASB)
Third Reading
14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:14-20 (NASB)
Definitions
Pentateuch
[ pen-tuh-took, -tyook ] noun
the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Torah
or To·ra
[ toh-ruh, tawr-uh; Sephardic Hebrew toh-rah; Ashkenazic Hebrew toh-ruh, toi-ruh ] noun (sometimes lowercase)
the Pentateuch, being the first of the three Jewish divisions of the Old Testament.Compare Tanach.
a parchment scroll on which the Pentateuch is written, used in synagogue services.
the entire body of Jewish religious literature, law, and teaching as contained chiefly in the Old Testament and the Talmud.
law or instruction.
ignite
[ ig-nahyt ]verb (used with object), ig·nit·ed, ig·nit·ing.
to set on fire; kindle.
Chemistry. to heat intensely; roast.
verb (used without object), ig·nit·ed, ig·nit·ing.
to take fire; begin to burn.
combustion
[ kuhm-buhs-chuhn ] noun
the act or process of burning.
Chemistry.
1. rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and, usually, light.
2. chemical combination attended by production of heat and light.
3. slow oxidation not accompanied by high temperature and light.
violent excitement; tumult.