Exodus 10:21-23 - Homiletics

The children of darkness have darkness, and the children of light have light as their portion.

From the beginning of the creation God "divided the light from the darkness" ( Genesis 1:4 ); and ever since the two have been antagonistic the one to the other. Angels as well as men are divided into two classes—bright and glorious spirits that dwell in the light of God's presence, and are called" angels of light" ( 2 Corinthians 11:14 ); and gloomy spirits of evil, whom God has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for final judgment ( Jude 1:6 ). So Scripture speaks of man as divided into those who are "of the night and of darkness," and those who are "children of light and of the day in ( 1 Thessalonians 5:5 ).

I. THE CHILDREN OF DARKNESS , THOSE WHO LOVE DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT , HAVE DARKNESS ASSIGNED TO THEM .

1 . Spiritual darkness. "Because they do not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gives them over to a reprobate mind" ( Romans 1:28 ). Their "foolish heart is darkened" ( Romans 1:21 ). They grow continually more blind and more ignorant, more incapable of seeing and understanding the things of the Spirit, since these are "spiritually discerned." Their senses not being "exercised by reason of use to discern both good and evil," they lose the power of discernment, and "put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." "The light that is within them"— i.e; the conscience—having "become darkness, how great is that darkness"!

2 . Mental darkness. They "grope as the blind in darkness" ( Deuteronomy 28:29 ). They have no clue to the real nature of the universe of which they are a part, or of the world in which they live. They are mentally sightless, unable to perceive the force of arguments and evidences which would convince any one whose mental vision God had not judicially blinded. They sometimes in these days call themselves "Agnostics," implying thereby that they know nothing, see nothing, have no convictions. Not unfrequently they allow them- selves to be imposed upon by the most gross illusions, giving that faith to the ravings of Spiritualists which they refuse to the Word of God. Or they accept as certain truth the unverified speculations and hypotheses of so-called scientific men, and consider Revelation to be overruled and set aside by the guesses of a few physiologists.

3 . Ultimately, as it would seem, they receive as their portion, physical darknes. "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into cuter darkness" ( Matthew 25:30 ). "The children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness" ( Matthew 8:12 ). "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jud Revelation 1:13 ).

II. THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT , THOSE WHO LOVE LIGHT , HAVE LIGHT FOR THEIR PORTION . "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Christ gives his followers,

1 . Spiritual light. "The commandment is a lamp, the law is light" ( Proverbs 6:23 ). "By doing the will of God, men come to know of the doctrine, whether it is of God' ( John 7:17 ). Their spiritual discernment is continually increased. Whatever the amount of spiritual darkness around them—in the midst of the clouds of Deism, Pantheism, Agnosticism, scientific materialism, and Atheism, they "have light in their dwellings." Theirs is the true enlightenment. The Lord their God enlightens their darkness ( Psalms 18:28 ); opens the eyes of their understanding ( Ephesians 1:18 ); fills them with knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding ( Colossians 1:9 ).

2 . Mental light. The true Christian "has a right judgment in all things." God gives to those who are his "the spirit of a sound mind" ( 2 Timothy 1:7 ). Not, that Christians are always clever—they may be slow, dull, devoid of all quickness or mental brightness. But they will be soberminded, not easily misled; they will see through sophisms, even if they cannot expose them; they will not be imposed upon by charlatans or soi-disant "philosophers." They will "try the spirits" that seek to lead them astray, and not very often be deceived by them.

3 . A final reward of heavenly , ineffable , soul-satisfying light. After the resurrection of the dead, "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" ( Daniel 12:3 ). They shall dwell where there is light, and" no darkness at all." "The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light" of that city which shall have "no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of God will lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" ( Revelation 21:23 , Revelation 21:24 ). "There shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever" ( Revelation 22:5 ).