Walking in the Light

“O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Is. 2:5)

Every week we gather for worship in order to be called once again to walk in the light of the Lord. This service is one of the significant ways God shines His light upon us, convicting us of sin, and drawing us near, and teaching us to follow Him. The light of the Lord is the Day of the Lord. It is when God’s glory shines forth, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. Hebrews says that in the New Covenant we have not come to a mountain that may be touched like the Old Sinai, but we have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to the armies of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, to God the judge of all, to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Hebrews says that God still speaks at this new mountain, and when God speaks, everything shakes. His voice thunders, and earth and heaven are shaken mightily so that only those things which are permanent will remain, so that we may receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken. In the sermon text today, the response to the Light of the Lord is either people diving down into the rocks and dust in fear and terror or their idols being cast down into the rocks and caves. And this is always the option when we gather before the Lord of Hosts. Will we receive the blood of sprinkling? Will we cry out for mercy and cast our idols away from us? Or will we cling to our idols, to our sin, and try to stand on our own? But we know that God knocks down the proud; he brings low all those who think they stand. We gather here and now to cast our idols from us. We bow down before the Lord in faith, trusting that He will lift us up. We are at war with sin, and this means that we are sin confessors. A man who is not regularly asking his wife and children for forgiveness is deceived and arrogant, and he is asking for God to humble him. And he cannot be upset or surprised when the rest of his family does not know how to ask for forgiveness or repent of sin. But our help is in the name of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. So come and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Throw down your idols, confess your sins, and walk in the light.