And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. (Psalm 18:10-11)
It is interesting that David associates God’s secret place with darkness. I say that because, first of all, we almost always relate God to light, not darkness. As John said, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Then there is the association connecting the secret place with where God resides when He is among men: as it is written, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). It would seem that David describes the place where God meets with man as being in darkness which is odd considering what we tend to associate darkness with.
The Hebrew word translated as darkness is חשך choshekh which is also the word used in the Creation account: “and darkness was on the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). However as we see in Scripture, even though darkness enveloped the earth in the beginning, the Spirit of God was present, hovering over the waters, ready to bring forth life. Furthermore, immediately after this revelation we read the words, “Let there be light” — and there was light and it was good. This light, of course, is not to be confused with the light that would be viewed when the sun was created on the fourth day — this was something different.
In Jewish commentary it is referred to as the primordial light, or in Hebrew the Ohr HaGanuz which means, “the Hidden Light.” In other words, they believe that the light was already in existence but was simply concealed in choshekh. Taking this fascinating idea into account, we can conclude that God is present whether in light or in darkness. Of course, we prefer the light because that is when we are able to see, observe and have some understanding of what surrounds us and what lies before us. On the other hand, when we find ourselves in darkness, we are limited in what we can see and discern. However, that state of affairs often prompts us to draw closer to our Maker and lean upon His guiding Hand — to abide under His shadow as it were.
The point is, God is always present — in light or darkness. Moreover, though we commonly associate darkness with wickedness, the reality is that when things seem the darkest, He may be closer than He’s ever been. His light shines brightest when we are in choshekh.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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