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The most recent Bible study I wrote was on Jesus’ 7 I AM statements in the book of John. A few of those statements align with some of the Characteristics of God that we’ve discovered. The one I was most intrigued with was the connection between Jesus’ statement of “I AM the Light of the World” and the characteristic of God is Light.
When I started thinking about the theme of light in the Bible, I realized that light is mentioned from the first chapter in the Bible to the last.
Genesis 1:3: And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Revelation 22:5: There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
The theme of light is so prevalent in the Bible that it’s going to take us 11 lessons to understand this characteristic of God.
Part 1: God Created Light
Part 2: God’s Presence is Light
Part 3: God’s Glory is Light on Earth
Part 4: God Controls the Light (Presence of Light)
Part 5: God Controls the Light (Absence of Light)
Part 6: God Turns Darkness to Light
Part 7: God Guides With His Light
Part 8: Light Can Be Used to Worship God
Part 9: Jesus is the Light
Part 10: God Shines His Light on Us
Part 11: God Shines His Light Through Us
Creation of Light in Genesis
In our study of light, we are going to start where the Bible starts: God created light. God creates light over two days: Days 1 and 4.
On Day 1, God created the light itself and separated it from darkness. This theme of light vs. darkness will be prevalent in our study.
Genesis 1:1-5: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
On Day 4, God created the sources of light that we recognize on earth today: the sun, moon, and stars.
Genesis 1:14-19: 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
God knew that it was important for his creation to have light. We see the usefulness of light for plant growth, which in turn provides food for us and the animals. We see the usefulness of light for our circadian rhythms, telling us when to be awake and active and when to rest. Without light, our emotional moods are affected, as seen in people with seasonal affective disorder. God knew that light was essential for life, and he created exactly the light sources and light rhythms that we need to survive and thrive.
When God created the sun, moon, and stars to give light, he also gave us a system of time—days and years. This system of days and years is so consistent that we can use them to mark sacred times, such as holidays (or festivals, as in the Bible), birthdays, and other special occasions.
God Recognized as the Creator of Light
God’s creation of light isn’t only mentioned in Genesis 1. Other people throughout the Bible credited the creation of light to God.
Job:
Job 26:10: He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
David:
Psalm 19:4: Yet their [the heavens] voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
Asaph:
Psalm 74:16: The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
Unknown (probably David?):
Psalm 104:19-23: 19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening.
Psalm 136:7-9: 7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
Isaiah:
Isaiah 40:26: Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 45:7: I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
Not only did God create the light, he set each light with intention. Psalm 104:19 says, “The sun knows when to go down,” and later in verse 22 it says, “The sun rises.” God established the sun and moon. He set them about in their motion to govern the day and the night as he intended. He made them to establish days and nights, seasons, and years.
Conclusion
Because God created light, he is in complete control of the light. He can form light or take away light. He can even make the sun stand still. He created it, and he controls it. But before we get into that, over the next couple weeks we want to talk about the most fundamental of all the themes of light in the Bible: God’s presence in itself is light.
Premium Resources
Each individual characteristic of God study will come with two resources: a word search just for fun (including an answer key), and a list of verses for if you want to investigate that individual characteristic of God more completely.
You can access these resources by clicking here: God Is Light Resources
Or you can download them here:
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