By
Fran Lee Strickland
“As the people stood in the distance, Moses entered into the deep darkness where God was.” Exodus 20:21 (TLB)
My last post was entitled ‘Light Trumps Darkness’ and discussed how “all the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle” and how Jesus’ light dispels the darkness. In light of that, pardon the pun, it may seem contradictory this week for me to talk about going into the darkness instead of moving toward the light.
In the verse above Moses enters into a darkness that is deep. I interpret this to mean that it is not a short period of time nor is it just a minor tough spot in his journey of life. I believe it is another turning point in his destiny to fulfill God’s will not only for his own life, but the life of many others. You would think he had already traversed his initiation into his destiny by gathering the courage to go before Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, to ask for the release of his people, the Israelites. If that were not enough, after the Israelites were released by the ruler of Egypt, Moses then led them to a place where his faith was again tested. Did he really believe God would or could provide a way for them to safely navigate the Red Sea to safety? I imagine Moses was sweating bullets as he stood at the edge of that water with a panicked, unorganized, emotionally and physically worn down, hoard of people.
And if that wasn’t enough, once in the desert with these now rebellious, grumbly people, he is appointed to climb Mt Sinai to seek the will of God. Again.
If God is light, then why does
Moses go into the darkness to find him?
