Category Archives: Light and Dark

The Lamp of the Body

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The Lamp of the Body is a phrase found in Matthew 6:22-23 and Luke 11:33-36. This thought has lit several studies, I will list some of them below. I prefer to think of this entry as another layer in the study of these verses and eyes. I will follow Matthew’s Gospel as the primary source for this intriguing thought about the Kingdom.

Jesus used the two thoughts that make up Luke’s version in the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5:15 and 6:22-23. There are many great verses in the Old Testament about light and lamps, today I like Proverbs 4:18; my path is like following the sun. Verse 19 is about those is darkness and stumbling. c is a possible source of Jesus’ teaching on the Mount; sin is the lamp of the wicked because of haughty eyes and a proud heart (I used the NASB). Do a Bible search with “light and hid”, it looked good. Mark 4:21-25 repeats the light and hiding part, but ends with hearing and what kind of measure you use.

Tree of Knowledge

I will use this idea again, and not be sorry about it. In our verses, we have eyes, lamps, and light associated with good/healthy and evil, negative, and unsound. What we see can depend on how we are looking at something and in what type of light. Things and people may/can/do have a good and bad side to them.

  • Grapes – a great food source and wine can gladden the heart or you can get drunk. People who chose to be a Nazarite for a season could not partake of either of grape‘s attributes.
  • Yeast – Jesus used it as a symbol of how the Kingdom would grow. It is forbidden during Passover and the Feast of Unleaved Bread, in part, because it was associated with an Egyptian deity and beer-making (a wage earned as slaves). Many love to proclaim yeast is always a symbol of sin.
  • The Bronze Serpent – Jesus compares Himself to this implement of healing during Moses’ time. One of Pharoah’s symbols was the cobra.
  • King Saul – He was changed when he believed and followed the signs from Samuel. He turned to the dark side when he sought his own glory and a tidy profit because he feared his men, by saving forbidden items. He worked hard trying to kill David because of a song.
  • Peter – You have to love him and his steady growth throughout his time with Jesus. Matthew 16: 17 Jesus to Simon you are blessed. 16:22 Jesus to Simon, “Get behind Me, Satan”. Peter had his highs and his lows.
  • The Number Thirteen – In the Bible, I found many positive things associated with thirteen. There are Christians who make it a symbol of bad, it really depends on how you want to look at something. I won’t even discuss the world’s view of the number.

If I may, think of Hebrews 11, the “Hall of Faith”, as I have heard it labeled. The writer of Hebrews sees these men and women as examples of faith, and they are. It is very easy when you read through their stories in Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel to pick out their failures and faults. Light or darkness; it may be time to study grace. The Father loves righteousness and He is the one who defines it.

The Greek

I enjoy looking at the Greek and Hebrew words and thoughts, the Lord has used to this clear up and shed new light on many things. (God bless translators.) For the most part, Luke shares Matthew’s quote from the Sermon, many of the Greek words are the same. Some of these Greek words have more than one meaning. I found that when I compared the texts from the same Bible, they may read differently even though they are the same in the Greek text. You can use the links, do text analysis, and/or look up words in a concordance, whatever makes you happy and you are comfortable with.

Evil πονηρός | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Filled with darkness σκοτεινός | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com 

Matthew uses two different words for darkness (yes they are related). The last two “darkness” words are skotos. σκότος | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Good ἁπλοῦς | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Filled with light φωτεινός | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

It is good to see what other verses use the same root words to convey the message. Mounce lists the verses on those pages. I found some of these words are used only in our two primary texts.

My New Layer

I have played with the thought of beams of light coming from our lamps/eyes out into the world, like lasers in some comic book characters. Now I would like to say our lamps are shining inward and spotting the things in us that need correcting and more attention on our part. Light shining on an object is what allows us to see the object. If an idea is unhealthy/evil that is what and how we will see it. You need to look up these words!

The Tree of Life in Revelations is for healing the nations. We are the product of eating the Tree of Knowledge. Yes, we need knowledge and wisdom, but those without healing from mercy and grace can still produce an unhealthy person.

Luke

What an amazing person. A Gentile doctor who traveled the Mediterranean with Paul as he spread the Gospel. Yes, there are legends and folklore surrounding this man, but we really do not have many facts. In this same breath, I want to thank God for Theophilus. He shared (apparently) the two works with others that Luke wrote for him.

I think this teaching in Luke 11 is a great example of Luke’s collecting and recording the stories he heard from eyewitnesses. (That is a huge thought in itself.) He combines several thoughts to get verses 33 + 34 and then adds some very insightful words for 35 + 36. Had Luke borrowed 35 + 36 from Paul, Peter, or John? Perhaps he got it from Mary (either one). Given his profession and level of training, it may be his insight from the years of travels, trials, and teachings he experienced that produced 35+36.

I view the Gospel of Luke as his reteaching and reinforcing the Good News he shared with Theophilus. I like his version because he joined stories together in units to boost our thinking about the topics. He adds details and information that may not be in the other Gospels but maintains an “orderly account” in this piece for the Master. (Thank you, Holy Spirit, for getting his work into our Bible.)

These are other posts I have done that might help you.

My hope for this post is that you will find the common thoughts in Luke 11:33-36 and Matthew 6:22-23 to grow in your travels with Jesus.

Abraham – Genesis 15

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Genesis 15 represents “two days” in the life of Abram (who became Abraham). I believe, the journey for “the father of the faithful” should be viewed in context. This story sits between a great moment in Abram’s life and one that may have seemed good but had many sorrows come from it. Abram was blessed by Melchizedek, got a promise and a covenant with God, and then had Sarah help God out. Genesis 15 holds much prophetic material in it, but today, I want to focus on the firepot and torch.    

Making a Covenant

Genesis 15:9 – 21 describes the “cutting” of the covenant, it lists the animals and who walked between them and the conditions that were to be observed. In the devotional book Destined to Reign, Joseph Prince has the thought on 1/10 and 2/24 that the covenant was between the Father and the Son with Abram and his descendants benefiting from this covenant. In the passage, Abram does not walk through the pieces of the animals, but a smoking firepot and a burning torch (vs 17) make the trip. It is these two things that represent the Father and the Son.

Smoking Firepot and a Burning Torch

I do see the Trinity in this scene and not just the Father and the Son. If I may, the Holy Spirit is carrying the firepot and the torch; just like the Poles of the Ark allowed the Mercy Seat and the Chest/Ark to be carried among men.

The cloud/smoke-producing fire or cooking pot represents the Father. Why I link these two together comes from the New Testament and the times that the Father spoke to or about Jesus from a cloud: Matthew 17 (the Transfiguration), and at Jesus’ baptism.

Jesus is the burning torch that is the Light of the World, even in our darkest night. “The Glory” is used in some passages instead of a flame or fire. Another thing is lightening; at this point some of these associations are thin. Ah, such is the life of metaphors, at times we may be forcing things to meet our paradigms.

The cloud and light metaphor is seen again when Israel passes through the Red Sea. Take a few moments and compare the similarities of Genesis 15 and Exodus 14. Most of the references to clouds and fire relate to the pillar that led Israel for forty years as they passed through the wilderness. They also appear when God is on Mount Sinai giving Moses and Israel the Law or terms of the first covenant.

Genesis 15:17 Hebrew Text Analysis (biblehub.com)

Here are some verses.

  • Exodus 13:21, 14:20, 19:9 and 16-18, 20:18, 40:38
  • Numbers 9:15
  • Deuteronomy 1:33, 4:11, 5:22
  • Psalm 78:14, 105:39, 18:8/2 Samuel 22:9
  • Psalm 91:1 I feel is special because Moses is commending those who choose to dwell under the Cloud.
  • 1 Kings 8:11 The dedication of the Temple.
  • Isaiah 4:5, 30:27
  • Joel 2:30 and Acts 2:19 This resembles the conditions on Mount Sinai.
  • Matthew 17:5 – a bright cloud

Why Two Days?

Please note that in Genesis 1 a day was identified as the evening and the morning. Hebrews started the 24 hours as the sunset. Several ideas come from this: we start from rest and things start in the dark and go to light.

Genesis 15:5 has Abram outside counting stars. He gathered, cut three large animals, and arranged them for the ceremony. Verse 17 has the sun setting and darkness covering the land as the smoking pot and burning torch appear.

The First Direction

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The first cardinal direction mentioned in the Bible is East. Genesis 2:8 has God in the east planting a garden, so He must have come from the west.  I know this is a simple thought, but directions come in pairs – west and east, and north and south.  This simple thought is also important – where is the east?  You can face the east, something can come from the east, go to the east, or be of the east.  

Many important things in the Bible face east – the Temple (especially the one in Ezekiel), the Tabernacle, and I believe the throne of God.  The etymology of the word east deals with where the light comes from and how we orient our position on earth.  Like many other things in the Bible “modern man” picks and chooses why something is important by current standards.  My example here is the direction north – we choose that to be the top of the map or the best/positive direction to go, and it gets the biggest letter on the compass.  A study of “east” in the Bible will include many things, with each bring a different significance to the table for discussion. Several examples are:

  • In Exodus, the children of Israel went east from Egypt to the Promised Land, and the east wind blew in locust, and the east wind parted the Red Sea. The locust became a plague while at the Red Sea the wind provided deliverance. 
  •  In Israel, east winds are a problem, they come in from the desert and dry the land out.
  • The camp around the Tabernacle was laid out with an east/west axis as its prominent feature.  The position of a tribe around the Ark showed birthrights and importance.  I started a study of that in the post – Marching Order.
  • The Christmas star and the Magi also bring east into the discussion.  The star “was in” or “it rose in” the east which joins it to Jesus in many ways.  The Magi came from the east to worship the newborn King.
  • Scripture shows several west to east movements – God to the Garden, Israel leaving Egypt going to the Promised Land, and Jesus, as a young boy, returning to Nazareth. 

An important feature of the east/west axis is the light.  Starting with Genesis 2 we see the metaphor of west (darkness) and going to the east (light).  (No, there is not a problem with the west and it is not a negative “area”.  The little cloud that Elijah’s servant saw would have come from the west – it ended the drought.  In Israel most rain showers come from west or northwest.)  God started in the west heading to the light to plant the Garden.  The two trees in the center of that Garden can carry a dark/light context.  Knowledge of good and evil led to darkness while the tree of life would have led to the light.  Like the study of numbers, the study of directions can add much to your Bible reading, but be sure you are looking EAST.  

James 1:17 

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 This study of James 1:17 is because of the word shadow in the last part of the verse. 

James 1:17 (KJV) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (Please read 16-18 to get the most from the passage.) 

The word for a shadow in this verse is aposkiasma (Strong’s 644 G). It is used only once in the Bible, here in James. James actually used three words in this part of the verse that is used only once-parallage (variableness) and trope (turning) are the other two. It is fitting that these rare words (for the Bible) are being used to describe the Father of lights. Parallage is number 3883 and trope is number 5157 in the Greek side of the Strong’s. 

Skia is the word that is normally used for a shadow in the New Testament, it is number 4639 G. It is easy to see that Skia is the core of aposkiasma so I choose to study the parts of this word instead of just the Strong’s “usage definition”. Apo, the prefix, means away or apart, and skiasma indicates a split or separation. Yes, our word schism comes from this Greek word. A shadow can be thought of as a place that separates light and dark. If the solid object (the Father) turns the shape of the shadow changes. My God does not change. 

Give us your own translation. Use the definitions in the post and see how you would describe the “Pater ho phos” (the Father of lights). Rewrite James 1:17 😊  

Mounce Reverse Interlinear New Testament was used in studying for this post.

Shadow-Protection 

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Shadow is a metaphor for protection in many verses of the Bible. As I have mused on these verses, it is God who is doing the protecting and His people are what is being protected. Shadow and shade are not the only ideas we need to look at for the area of protecting someone. We will add the words pillar and cloud to expand the study. 

Pillar of Cloud and Clouds 

Okay, I will touch on these as two different things, but the cloud will not just produce shade but protect you from the glory of God. Wait a minute, shadows are produced by solid objects, and clouds are not solid! This is true, the blocking ability of clouds is in the billions of waterdrops that scatter the light rays from being able to get through them in a straight line. The darker the appearance of the cloud is due to how dense the droplets are in it. “Silver-linings” are from this light-scattering property. 

Many references to clouds are part of a story where the glory of God is involved. From Exodus 13 through Deuteronomy 31 “a cloud” and the “pillar of cloud” are usually the same thing if they are talking about God interacting with people. In Samuel, just a cloud is covering things or hiding the glory. The “pillar” that led the Children is not mentioned past Deuteronomy except in Nehemiah 9 when he is used it to show the faithfulness of God. Did the pillar of cloud go past the Jordan? Isaiah 4:5-6 does describe what my paradigm of the pillar of cloud did for those forty years. In Psalm 99:7, a function of the pillar is told of how and when Moses spoke with God.  

What did the cloud by day and the fire by night look like? I recently saw a drawing where the “pillar” was a narrow thing that only stood over the Tent that housed the Ark. Many of the references in Exodus may lend weight to this idea. I always had the idea that the “cloud” provided shade for the camp during the day and light and warmth at night. I had hoped that Balaam (Numbers 23) or Rahab (Joshua 2) said something about the pillar and cloud, but they did not, so for now I will hold on to both of those ideas. 

Shadow Of 

In the NIV “shadow of” followed by “His wings, His hand, and the Almighty” is found in seven verses. His hand is found in Isaiah 49:2 and 51:16. God’s hand was protecting Isaiah as part of him doing his ministry. I believe the other five have a connection to the Exodus. 

The “shadow of His wings” puzzled me. I just never thought of the Father as having or needing wings. More metaphors, possibly? In studying the Ark, the Mercy Seat or lid to the box offered a better picture. The two angels that are part of the lid were made to spread their wings over the Mercy Seat, which was sprinkled with blood and where God talked to Moses from. Being in the shadow of those wings would put you at the mercy of God. The shadow would be greater if the wings spread out horizontally and not vertically (Exodus 25:17-22). A Google search of the Mercy Seat shows the artist making the wings in both directions. I like that picture of being in the shadow protected while resting on His mercy. 

I believe Moses wrote Psalm 91 as a singing lesson to teach the Children in the wilderness. Verse one is the first visual as they lived under the cloud of the Almighty. The rest of that psalm could be connected with many of the things that happened as Israel left Egypt. 

Study work-connect the verses of Psalm 91 to events in the Exodus.