I Am. The Light
When the children of Israel left Egypt, the Angel of Yahweh led them by a pillar of cloud and fire. This pillar joining heaven and earth provided shade by day, light and warmth by night, and a guide. When the children of Israel approached the Sea and turned to see the Egyptians pursuing them, the fiery, cloudy pillar moved from in front of them to behind them, serving as their rear guard. The Egyptians were engulfed in darkness while the same cloud provided light for Israel (Ex 14:19-20). This pillar of cloud and fire took them through the Sea and led them through the wilderness, ultimately to the life promised in the land of Canaan (cf. Num 9:15-23).
During the Feast of Tabernacles, recorded in John 7 and 8, this saving light of God’s presence was celebrated with great ceremony. Four seventy-five-foot lampstands, each with four enormous bowls of oil, stood in the outer court of the Temple, the court of women. Old, worn-out priestly garments provided wicks, and men would climb ladders to light the lamps. There is testimony that the light was as bright as day. Men would dance and sing with torches, celebrating God’s saving light that led them through the wilderness.
When Jesus says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life,” he is speaking during the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn 7:2). He is the “I AM” who met with and commissioned Moses on the mountain in Exodus 3. He is the pillar that joins heaven and earth in himself. He is the fiery cloud that leads and protects the people of God, ushering them safely into the promise of life.
He is the light of life, not only for Israel, but for the world. He is the Servant of Yahweh who is given as a covenant to the nations, to be a light to the Gentiles (Isa 49:6), fulfilling the mission of the seed of Abraham to be a blessing to the nations.
He also executes death. He says that those who follow him will never walk in darkness; that is, they will not be like the Egyptians who were engulfed in darkness to be eventually consumed by the Sea. Those who do not follow him will suffer the same fate as the Egyptians.
As with Israel of old, the light must be followed. Salvation is a way of life. Salvation is not a “thing” that is given to you like a ticket to Disney World, providing you entry into the heavenly theme park at the time of death.
This past week, Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, died. Whether or not God has mercy on him in his relative ignorance is God’s judgment to make. However, with the revelation God given us of himself, Adams’s last words don’t give me a great amount of confidence. He said words as if they were a magical formula that would give him his ticket to heaven, even though he wasn’t a believer.
Many professing evangelicals treat salvation the same way. God gives me this thing called “salvation” and won’t take it away, no matter how I live. Jesus, being the saving light of the world, the pillar of cloud and fire, tells us that salvation doesn’t work this way. Salvation is a path; it is a way; it is the way. This light must be a lamp to your feet and light to your path (Ps 119:105). You must follow the Light to life through the sea and wilderness. You must follow the Light through the battles in the land. You must follow the Light through the cross. As you follow the Light, he will lead you to life.
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