THE PASSAGE THROUGH THE NIGHT
(by brother Tarran Dookie)
WHENCE CAME DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT?
Gen 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. The earth God originally created was filled with His very light. As a consequence of the rebellion of Lucifer (see Ezek 28:11-15; Isa 14:12-15) the earth was judged and the earth was submerged under water and darkness was upon the face of the deep. God Himself created this darkness and subjected the earth that was cursed with Lucifer's sin to this darkness.
God is light and light is inherent in God. Darkness is extrinsic to God. The nature of God is opposite to darkness. He created darkness to distinguish between His goodness and the evil that emerged from the fall of Lucifer. The mantle of darkness has been placed upon Satan and his kingdom is one of darkness. When someone is born again that person is delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Christ, which is light. Believers are children of the day and not of the night.
THE NIGHT OF THE PASSOVER
Gen 15:12-14 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Exod 12:34-36,42 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians... It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
Abraham saw the children of Israel in bondage. Great darkness fell upon him as God gave him this vision. Darkness and the night speak of bondage. God delivered the children of Israel from the darkness that is Egypt. When Pharaoh saw that all the firstborn of Egypt had been struck he sent for Moses and Aaron by night and it was during the night that Israel left Egypt. It was on that same night that they spoiled the Egyptians and came out with great substance.
Satan is the prince of darkness and the believer's warfare is with the rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph 6:12). We shall spoil the Egyptians in their own territory. We are the children of the day and of the light but our enemy operates in the darkness of the night (1Thess 5:5; Matt 13:24-25). The struggle is in the night and God is looking for those who are prepared to make the passage through the night.
BY NIGHT WE STAND
Gen 28:10-12 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
Gen 32:22-26 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Jacob slept on a pillow of stones but that night he dreamt and saw the ladder of God. On his way back to Canaan he wrestled all night with the angel of God and did not let go until he was blessed. God would have us endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Jacob had passed through many trials but more still awaited him. This wrestling with the angel was ordered by God as it taught him to persevere until he prevailed.
Ps 134:1-3 Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
The Lord Jesus ministered during the day but He spent some nights in prayer and many times he rose a great while before daylight and prayed. God wants His servants to stand by night in His house and bless Him. When we do this He will bless us out of Zion. Are you standing by night equipped with the whole armour of God? We have to be always sober and watchful. The battle is not for the faint-hearted but for those who are willing to take up the cross and deny themselves.
TESTING BY NIGHT
Judg 6:36-38 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
Num 17:5-8 And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.
Sometimes we prove God and sometimes God tests us. Notice that either way the testing is by night. Have you proved God? Have you ever been confronted with a problem or circumstance and you pleaded with God? God is willing that we prove Him and grow in confidence and reliance upon Him. It is for that very purpose He gives us trials and dilemmas. Let us prove Him by night and in the morning we shall see the greatness of the Lord.
God will test every man's work in the crucible of the night. May we not be found wanting but may we come through the night with our rods bearing fruit. The passage through the night is a process. Firstly there are buds, then the blossoms and finally the almonds. Let us be patient and humble as we wait upon the Lord for He shall bless us.
WEEPING FOR A NIGHT
Ps 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
The joy of the Lord is our strength. However, those who have never wept would never know the fullness of joy. Joy awaits those who weep during the night. The prince of this world, the ruler of the kingdom of darkness, has enveloped this world with a veil. The time we live in is the period of the night and the place we occupy is shrouded in darkness. We must weep, for the world cannot see in the midst of this darkness which can be felt. Many believers are also asleep and in a state of lethargy. But those who are walking with the Lord are the lights of this world. Those in the darkness of Egypt saw the lights in Goshen. May we be a witness for the Lord. Our joy shall come in the morning.
CONQUEROR OF THE NIGHT
John 12:24-25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Matt 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The Lord Jesus is the corn of wheat that died and rose again and has borne much fruit. He is bringing many sons unto glory. He went into the heart of the earth. He spent three days and three nights in the darkness. But death and the grave could not hold Him and today we serve a risen Saviour. We also must die to self that we may bring forth fruit abundantly.
John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Mary came to the sepulchre when it was yet dark but already the stone was taken away and the Lord had risen. His resurrection did not occur at sunrise but even before Mary came. The Lord Jesus rose while it was yet dark for He is the conqueror of the night. Let us emulate the Lord Jesus and hate our life in this world that we may be conquerors of the night.
NO NIGHT THERE
Rev 21:23-25 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Our God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1John1:5). The darkness mentioned in Gen 1:2 was not good in His sight and He said, 'Let there be light: and there was light'. But notice that the darkness was not altogether dispelled. The sun is always shining but there is always darkness somewhere in the earth. It may be morning here but night somewhere else and at other times it would be the opposite. God called the light Day and the darkness Night.
However, God is desirous of dispelling the darkness altogether. The earth is going through darkness now. As long as the sun is shining this earth has some light. But the new earth has no need of the sun for the Lamb is the light thereof. In that eternal day there is no more night.
We as believers must now pass through the darkness of the night. But that day will dawn and the day star shall arise in our hearts (2Pet 1:19). As we look unto that day let us be watchful. 'For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ' (2Cor.4:6).
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