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Last week, we saw that God controls light. But did you know that he also controls darkness? Just as God can give light, he can also take it away. This is seen most frequently with the wicked. God withdraws his presence from the wicked, leaving them in darkness. Let’s look at God’s use of darkness in the Bible.
God Controls the Darkness
We’ve seen in past lessons that God strategically uses light and darkness when interacting with the Israelites. First, God used darkness as a plague on Egypt.
Exodus 10:21-23: 21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
Interestingly, darkness covered all of Egypt, yet the Israelites still had light. If that doesn’t tell you that God controls light and darkness, I don’t know what does!
Once God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, he set himself up as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. But did you know that the pillar was different on one side than the other? Whereas the cloud brought light to the side of the Israelites, it brought darkness to the other side. This kept Israel away from their enemies.
Exodus 14:19-20: 19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
We see this same idea of brightness on one side and darkness on the other in a passage that has always been confusing to me until this study.
2 Samuel 22:7-13: 7 “In my distress I called to the Lord;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
8 The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
When I’ve read this passage in the past, I was so confused by the dark clouds under God’s feet and the darkness as a canopy around him. But when you think of this in the same terms as the pillar of cloud that was bright on one side and dark on the other, it makes sense. The darkness is away from God—it provides a barrier between God and his enemies. All the enemies can see is darkness, but when you look at God himself, you see the brightness of his presence. He uses the darkness strategically to protect himself and his people from the enemy.
We see this darkness even more dramatically at Jesus’ crucifixion. At the time of Jesus’ death, the entire sky went dark.
Luke 23:44-45: 44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Once again, God used darkness as a barrier to separate his light from the darkness and evil going on in the world. God turned away when Jesus bore the weight of our sin on the cross. He withdrew his light. That brings us to our next point: darkness occurs when God withdraws his presence.
Darkness Symbolizes the Absence of God
The theme of light vs. darkness and good vs. evil is prevalent throughout the Bible. Evil or wickedness is often equated with darkness, just as God is equated with light. In particular, when evil or wickedness abound, God cuts off their light and drives them into darkness.
Job 18:5-6: 5 “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out;
the flame of his fire stops burning.
6 The light in his tent becomes dark;
the lamp beside him goes out.
Job 38:15: The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
Proverbs 4:19: But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
Proverbs 24:19-20: 19 Do not fret because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
Lamentations 3:1-3: 3 I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
1 John 2:11: But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
Darkness is when people tend to act on their wickedness and sin. They hate the light and take cover in darkness to hide what they do.
Job 24:13-17: 13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills the poor and needy,
and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.”
John 3:19-20: 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
The message is clear: if you love the darkness, or if you persist in doing evil, God’s light does not dwell in you. This is a warning for all of us.
Darkness Signals the Day of the Lord
Why is the darkness a warning for us? Because the Bible tells us that the Day of the Lord is coming. And for those who are still in darkness, it won’t be a good day.
This is the part of this study that surprised me the most, but I found it consistently in multiple books from multiple authors in both the Old and New Testament. I always imagine the Day of the Lord arriving in great light. God’s glory will shine brightly, and all the world will see and recognize him. But did you know that the Day of the Lord is actually marked by darkness?
Joel 2:10-11: 10 Before them the earth shakes,
the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
Amos 5:18-20: 18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
Acts 2:17-21: 17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
The description of this darkness aligns with the sixth seal opened in heaven.
Revelation 6:12-13: 12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
But in those days of darkness, we see a shift from darkness to light.
Mark 13:24-26: 24 “But in those days, following that distress,
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
Luke 17:22-24: 22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.
Zechariah 14:6-7: 6 On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. 7 It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.
Although the beginning of the Day of the Lord is marked with darkness, it will end with glorious light when Jesus returns.
Conclusion
When Jesus returns, what side do you want to be on? Do you want to be on the side of darkness, refusing to let go of your sin? Or do you want to be on the side of light, with God’s power and glory on full display? If you are walking in darkness, I invite you into the light.
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