​​
DECEMBER 5
2 KINGS 23:1–14
No matter how bad and spiritually dark things may seem,
don’t ever stop praying for moral and spiritual revival.
Just when you get to the point where you want to stop reading
the Old Testament because it has become so dark and discourag-
ing, out of the darkness rises young King Josiah. Rather than read-
ing about more idolatry, infanticide, desecration of the house of
the Lord, or consultations with fortune tellers and necromancers,
you find real spiritual revival. In the darkness a bright light shines
through the moral commitments of a young and godly king. One
of the first things this king does is to lead the children of Judah in
a revival service. He leads the people in a covenant-renewing cere-
mony, in which they again vow their allegiance to the covenant of
the Lord. Josiah then leads his people in a wholesale destruction of
idol high places and idol practices. Out of utter spiritual darkness
comes this moment of spiritual revival. God’s law is observed and
his covenant renewed. It had not seemed that this would be the
next chapter for the people of Israel; and, yes, God would later raise
up Babylon to purge his people and call them back to himself. But
the beauty of this moment of revival should not be diminished.
A rallying cry for the Protestant Reformers was the Latin phrase
post tenebras lux: “after darkness, light.” Spiritual darkness had
blanketed Europe, and the light and glory of the grace of the gos-
pel of Jesus Christ seemed like a tiny flickering flame. But out of
the darkness God raised up Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other
gospel lights. The flames of the gospel burned bright in Europe,
spread throughout the world, and burn brightly still today.
Between the “already” and the “not yet,” post tenebras lux is and
has always been the hope of God’s people. This hope is rooted in
the goodness, holiness, power, promises, and grace of God. It is
about holding on to the belief that God will not let his grace die,
that he will not let his plan fade away, and that he will keep every
one of the promises he has made.
The birth of Jesus was a monumental post tenebras lux moment.
He came into this dark world as the light shining in darkness (John
1:5). Jesus is the eternal light, the eternal torch that nothing or no
one could ever extinguish. He shines into the hearts of all who put
their trust in him.
The world might seem dark to you today, but another post tene-
bras lux moment is coming, when the light will come for his own,
ushering them into his final kingdom of light, life, peace, and righ-
teousness forever. Darkness will not ultimately defeat the light, and
so, with the same hope as the Reformers, we say post tenebras lux.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I rest in the fact that your grace is everlasting. You
are the sovereign King of this universe who will not let his plan fade
away, who will always be faithful to his promises. Help me to rest
in these truths. May I grow in patience, not in anxiety. Cause me to
rest in Jesus, my shepherd and King. In his name I pray, amen.