“UPON THEM A LIGHT HAS SHINED”
«The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
upon them a light has shined» (Isaiah 9:2).
AFTER the civil war that unfortunately arose between Solomon’s children, the land of Israel was divided in two: the kingdom of Israel, in the north; and the kingdom of Judah, in the south. The capital of the northern part was the city of Samaria, and the capital of the southern kingdom was the city of Jerusalem. Those two regions were also known as Galilee, in the north; and Judea, in the south. Historically, the northern part was never well-regarded. For instance, Solomon gave Hiram, the king of Tyre, twenty cities in Galilee, and when Hiram saw them “they did not please him” (1 Kings 9:12).
The value of that area completely plummeted when Samaria was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC. A great number of Israelites were taken captive and the land was repopulated by “people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim” (2 Kings 17:24). Hence the area became known as «Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 9:1). The Jews considered the entire region an area of darkness. They did not interact with its people and did not believe anything good could come from those places. In fact, the Jews refused to accept Christ because the mere idea that the Messiah would come from Galilee was unthinkable (see John 7:41). This context allows us to understand the question Nathanael raised: «Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46).
The wonderful thing is that this area of darkness received a promise: «The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). And that promise was fulfilled when Christ came and established Himself in that region (see Matthew 4:12-16).
The Lord went where nobody wanted to go; He bore light to those who were in darkness; He imparted life to those who only knew death. Jesus does not consider anyone to be too wicked or too sinful to deserve a chance.
This Christ, who was the light in those dark corners north of Palestine, is the same One who can bring light today to the dense darkness that covers our souls. Let’s allow His light to dwell in all of us today.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernandez