We have been living in our house for the past four and a half years. All the pelmets above the windows were those old metal ones and the curtain rails were the ancient type. We decided to remove them and replace them with more modern ones. There was no rush, as all the windows throughout the house have Venetian blinds. We bought new rails and over time most of the rooms were fitted with curtains, except our bedroom. If you know anything about venetian blinds, you know they have a few slots in each ‘blind’ for the cord to pass through. Light of any nature seeps through these slots. Then, irrespective whether the blind is closed upwards or downwards, light tends to enter as the day breaks. For all these years we had this hassle … light penetrating into the room from early in the morning. Well, yesterday was the day … the double rail plus the wooden décor have been positioned against the wall for years crying out to be erected. Out with two ladders, a 2 meter straight edge, a 1 meter spirit level and a pencil … then with granny Jenny up on the one ladder we marked where the holes needed to be, drilled them, washed down the wall, removed the old screws and plugs, filled these holes up and soon the rail was up with curtains and net curtain hanging nicely. Now it’s almost night all the time when the blinds and curtains are closed. What a difference to our sleep. Not even the full moon in all its glory can gate crash. Recently, I have spoken about having either light or darkness in the soul in the context of salvation. Today, I want to use this concepts in two different ways …
Firstly, “Light is needed in the soul”. Professor Danie Goosen writes, “… because man is by nature a religious being (homo religiosus), spiritual emptiness is not tolerated. It is always filled with other religious forces.” Because we are religious beings does not always mean the light we need in the soul is light! We could replace this light with darkness and believe or feel it is “light”! Before we put up the curtain rails and curtaining, the light that crept through into the room stole some of the darkness, but generally the room was still dark. Enough light to see when walking without falling, but sufficient darkness to sleep. In a believer’s soul, it is possible to have more darkness than light … or at times, limited light. Why would this be? Well, I would suggest that the disciplines of the spiritual graces given to us are neglected. I have a battery operated drilling machine. It came with a torch that uses the same battery. After about 20 years, the battery can’t carry a full charge. The result is that the torch’s light is only semi-bright. Your spiritual battery requires a full charge day by day to light up the soul. We have used the Psalmist’s words so often and become so familiar with it that we don’t get the impact:
Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Yes, we know this refers to the importance of the Bible in our life … but have we ever pondered on the rest of the stanza?
Ps 119:106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.
107 I have suffered much; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word.
108 Accept, O LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws.
109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law.
110 The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts.
111 Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
What is the use of the Bible being a lamp to light the way without an honest commitment to daily, applicatory usage? Look from verse 106 and see: oath … to follow; preserve … according to Your Word; teach me; not forget; not strayed; my heritage; joy of my heart; set on keeping. The penetration of spiritual light is only possible with an open Bible. Is yours open?
Secondly, the complete and full revelation from God (the Holy Bible) is possible because of an event that precedes the New Testament section of the Bible. You ought to be well acquainted with the how the Tabernacle and then the Temple were setup. Between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was a curtain. The curtain of the temple was a magnificent piece of linen fabric, richly embroidered with red, blue, and purple thread. It was just over nine meters long and high and about nine centimeters thick. Its function was to separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, also known as the Holy of Holies. The Most Holy Place was strictly off-limits for the priests. The room behind the curtain was the most sacred space in the world. There was placed God’s throne, the ark of the covenant. On its top was a tray of gold, the ‘mercy seat’. The top of the wooden ark needed a metal cover to protect it, because the High Priest sprinkled it with the sacrificial blood of the covenant to make atonement for the people of God. He was the only person who ever went inside the Holy of Holies to meet with God, and he went behind the curtain just once in a year for less than an hour, on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, and he never went inside this Most Holy Place without bringing with him the blood of the lamb.
Mt 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
The symbolism in the passage above is that now we don’t need a human high priest, for we may go directly into God’s presence for grace, mercy, favour and love. That torn curtain is our doorway into eternal light. God gave us His Word as His direction for us to know how to enter through the curtain into His presence! Did you see the significance of Jesus’ death? He broke the partition down, granting access … and access means eternal light for He who is the light of the world grants us separation from darkness into His light because in Him there is no darkness.
Praise You, O Lord, for Your mercy in making a way that we might escape darkness and access Your light through the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Help me not only to go through the curtain but use the Bible daily to fill my soul with Your glorious Light. Amen.