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Psalm 119:5-6 - Are you walking in darkness? - Day 177

Good morning fellow readers,

One of the reasons I picked this verse is that it is the one that God used in a good friend's conversion.  So let's look at this verse and hear what God is saying.

Some observations:

Why does someone need a light or lamp?  Because they are in the dark.  The psalmist doesn't have to say he was in the dark.  God breathed these words to speak to people who know they are in the dark and need a light to find the way.  

Why would some one in the dark not want a light or lamp?  While a light helps us see where we are going, it also allows other people to see where we are.  So if somebody doesn't want to be seen, a light would be a bad thing.   This is not always a bad thing of course.  Think about ships at sea during war or London during the blitz in WWII.  The darker the night, the more noticeable a light is.  But sneaking around in the dark is usually associated with criminal or immoral activities.  Did you know that police hang out around bars at closing time waiting for somebody to drive by without their headlights on?  It turns out that forgetting to turn on headlights is a common problem for people who have a little too much to drink. 

What is different between then and now in regards to need for a light in darkness?  Our artificial light inside and outside makes a lamp or light almost unnecessary in most places.  But a power outage makes you aware how dark it really is.  Another difference is how easy it is for us to have a battery powered flashlight compared to a oil lamp.

So this verse is really a parable - a physical example with a spiritual application.  Carrying a copy of the law does not make the physical darkness go away but it makes the spiritual darkness go away.  Each of these experiential questions have spiritual counterparts.  I encourage you to take some time and work these out for yourself.


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