The People That Walked in Darkness

Scripture Texts: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

Can you imagine living in a world where there were no contrasts, no extremes, no differences?  A world in which there was no right and wrong, no good and evil, no sour and sweet, no hot and cold, winter and summer, no light and darkness.

We probably don’t give it much thought but contrasts and comparisons help us understand and appreciate things more.  It is contrasts that make our world what it is and without them we would have no frame of reference, our world would be utterly bland and boring.

Without contrasts, everything would become meaningless.  Bad doesn’t have meaning without understanding good.  We can’t fully appreciate how good a good friend is unless we have had a bad friend.  I don’t fully appreciate good health until I have been sick for three weeks.  When I encounter greediness it makes me appreciate generosity.

If everything we had was taken away from us and then given back…. Imagine our humble gratitude.

The prodigal son didn’t appreciate his father until he was stripped of everything, only then did he see what he had all along, an abundant life with a loving, caring, father who withheld nothing from him, but gave him everything.  He didn’t know how blessed he was until he experienced the opposite.

Our God is a contrasting God. He gives us night so we can better enjoy day. Gives us Fall so we can better see Spring. Let’s us go through dark valleys to better enjoy the view on the mountaintops. He allows heartbreak so we can better treasure love. Let’s us go through the dry, parched, spiritual times so we can experience the times of refreshing and grow stronger; and then really value His Spirit dwelling in us. Steve Smith

In the Messiah, Handel uses music to create a contrast he draws out of several texts in Isaiah.  The contrast is between darkness and light.

Handel puts words in a low range, in the voice of a bass soloist to paint a tonal picture of the contrast between darkness and light.  He wants us not just to hear the darkness, but to feel the darkness.