HOPE OF ALL THE EARTH
Light Has Dawned
December 5, 2025
SCRIPTURE
ISAIAH 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
ISAIAH 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Our family has a number of Christmas Eve traditions. One of the most important is taking a family walk through the village. We wrap up warm and take the dog for a stroll around the community, enjoying the decorations and trying to decide which house has our favourite dis-play. There's something beautiful about how, on this dark, cold, wintry evening, we take time together to focus on the light and beauty that isn't snuffed out by the darkness but instead shines all the brighter.
In Isaiah 9, the prophet is preaching to people who will soon suffer defeat and be carried into exile, where they will languish for seventy years. When this prophecy finally comes to its fulfilment in Christ, Israel is in bondage in their own home, in their own land, suffering under Roman occupation. Yet in this very darkness, the light of God's promise shines with inextinguishable radiance. When there was no hope, when there was no help, when there was no way out and no way through, the Lord stepped in, as only he could—and he still does.
In our place of deepest darkness, when we're utterly at the end of ourselves, when all of our resources have run out and all of our hopes have run dry, the light of Christ still shines, and it can never and will never be overcome.
The exile in Babylon didn't extinguish his light; the disappointment of returning home to torn-down walls and a temple of rubble didn't extinguish his light; conquest by Rome didn't extinguish his light; not even all the power of sin and death could snuff out this divine light that shines all the brighter the darker things get.
In some way, we still await the final and ultimate fulfilment of this promise given through Isaiah because we still live in a world that can be deeply and painfully dark. But we wait in sure and certain hope that one day, the light of Christ will fill and flood and saturate every inch and corner of creation, and darkness will be driven out and driven away for the very last time, never to return again.
This season of Advent isn't just about waiting and preparing to celebrate the first coming of our Lord; it is also intended to turn our hearts and minds to the second and final coming, when all those walking in darkness will see a great light as the sun of righteousness rises with healing in its rays.
So take heart! This darkness will not endure. Our redemption draws near. As Paul tells us, "the night is nearly over; the day is almost here" (Romans 13:12).
In Isaiah 9, the prophet is preaching to people who will soon suffer defeat and be carried into exile, where they will languish for seventy years. When this prophecy finally comes to its fulfilment in Christ, Israel is in bondage in their own home, in their own land, suffering under Roman occupation. Yet in this very darkness, the light of God's promise shines with inextinguishable radiance. When there was no hope, when there was no help, when there was no way out and no way through, the Lord stepped in, as only he could—and he still does.
In our place of deepest darkness, when we're utterly at the end of ourselves, when all of our resources have run out and all of our hopes have run dry, the light of Christ still shines, and it can never and will never be overcome.
The exile in Babylon didn't extinguish his light; the disappointment of returning home to torn-down walls and a temple of rubble didn't extinguish his light; conquest by Rome didn't extinguish his light; not even all the power of sin and death could snuff out this divine light that shines all the brighter the darker things get.
In some way, we still await the final and ultimate fulfilment of this promise given through Isaiah because we still live in a world that can be deeply and painfully dark. But we wait in sure and certain hope that one day, the light of Christ will fill and flood and saturate every inch and corner of creation, and darkness will be driven out and driven away for the very last time, never to return again.
This season of Advent isn't just about waiting and preparing to celebrate the first coming of our Lord; it is also intended to turn our hearts and minds to the second and final coming, when all those walking in darkness will see a great light as the sun of righteousness rises with healing in its rays.
So take heart! This darkness will not endure. Our redemption draws near. As Paul tells us, "the night is nearly over; the day is almost here" (Romans 13:12).
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION OR DISCUSSION
When have you experienced light in the darkness (whether literally or metaphorically?
What does ragged hope look like? Hope that is found in the rubble, or in the midst of torn-down walls?
When have you experienced light in the darkness (whether literally or metaphorically?
What does ragged hope look like? Hope that is found in the rubble, or in the midst of torn-down walls?
PRAYER
Write a prayer about ragged hope that persists in the darkness and the rubble.
Write a prayer about ragged hope that persists in the darkness and the rubble.