I’m working on a paper. It’s in sections, from all OT genres revealing the Missio Dei (mission of God) woven thru scripture. I’ve been studying light, and just getting started – but I love the concept of light!
My first ‘section’ in on the creation account, here’s what I have so far. My intent is to work through the OT, shedding light on, well, light! The nature of light reveals God’s nature as knowable, and thus grounds us in meaningful relationship.
Section 1: Pentateuch (Gen-Deut)
Passage: Gen. 1-5
In the creation story, we find God working with a formless cosmos in utter darkness. Ancient Greek poet Ovid writes,
“Before the seas, and this terrestrial ball, And heaven’s high canopy that covers all, One was the face of Nature; if a face: Rather a rude and indigested mass: A lifeless lump, unfashion’d and unframed, Of jarring seeds, and justly Chaos named.”
Within the chaos of darkness and disorder light appears illuminating the stage in which divine creation will be revealed. The Creator, the master builder, is a God of distinction. He separates, orders and builds with intention. From the onset, we see God revealing His nature. God has nothing to hide, for all that is good is worthy to behold. Light is the “Grand medium by which all His other works are discovered, examined, and understood, so far as they can be known.’ (Clark). This intentional illumination reveals something very specific concerning the nature of God and His resulting mission. He wants to be seen, understood, and therefor known insofar as we’ve been made in His image to comprehend. Knowing requires requires a certain dispelling of darkness, of ignorance through incoming divine illumination. “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light” (Psalm 36:9).