I enjoy reading, and most of what I read is printed in smaller than normal print, because the books might otherwise be bigger than they already are. My eyes are getting older and more tired, making reading glasses necessary, but even more important than that is having good light by which to read. I have a great reading light, very bright, but it’s still a reading light, and it’s hard to use for long periods of time. The best place in the house to read is in a chair by the front window, where lots of natural sunlight comes in. The natural light allows one’s eyes to focus better, and this in turn makes the text crisper, and I can read for longer periods of time when I am sitting there.
OK, long analogy, what’s the point? Two verses in Prov. 13 prompted me to compare sources of light, with a subsequent life lesson summary. The first is Proverbs 13:9, which says “The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.” When I first read this, the comparison seemed to focus on what this whole chapter does, contrasting the righteous and the wicked. But when I noticed that Solomon used different words for illumination, I stopped to dig a little deeper. Turns out the “light of the righteous” uses a word that would be used for sunlight, the brightest natural light source we have. In contrast to that, “lamp of the wicked” uses a word for a common source of light in a home or tabernacle, something temporary, and much less bright.
This is not coincidence, and it fits my analogy well. My reading light could be better termed a ‘lamp’, and the sunlight through my front window would be ‘light’. So then the righteous (the God-follower, the one relationally right with God) is paired with ‘light’, and that light rejoices. That light is associated with joy, which can only come from a relationship with the Lord On the contrary, the mere lamp that is associated with the wicked (no relationship or wrong relationship with God) simply goes out. This lamp is ineffective. I realize there are other places in Scripture where a lamp is a good thing, but here in this context it is not, it is merely a dim comparison.
This is a good comparison of righteousness and wickedness. But, so what?
We as believers have gained access to the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. There is absolutely no other source of power and life. But too often we tend to use our own “lamps” to get through the day, to live this life, forgetting about the eternal one to come. Because if we are truly believers, we are already part of that eternal life, we are part of that Light, used so often in Scripture in comparison to the darkness of the evil world. It’s up to us to lead others to that Light, and then encourage them to live according to the clarity it brings us. Just as the sunlight makes my book texts clearer, so does a relationship to God through Christ illuminate His Word, by which I am commanded to live.
In very practical terms, verse 25 speaks clearly. “The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the stomach of the wicked is in need.” If I have Christ, I can be content in living my life for Him. If I do not, I will forever be hungry, never satisfied.
Let’s use our lamps less, and the Light more!
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