Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. – Leviticus 24:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 13, 2018): Leviticus 24

Fresh out of High School, and on a self-imposed break from University, I worked the night shift at a local department store. When everyone else was preparing for bed, I was going to work. There were usually five of us on duty, and we would meet up at various times during the night. Most nights, there was just the five of us. Every once in a while a supervisor would show up to make sure we were working in the middle of our shift, but not often. After all, what supervisor in their right mind wants to get out of a warm bed at three in the morning to check on a bunch of guys working at the store. When I worked the night shift, we were the lowest rung in the hierarchy of importance.

I remember working at a fast food restaurant (yes, I too am a graduate of McDonald’s) and the worst manager that I remember working under was one promoted from the night shift. She had faithfully spent her nights cleaning the store until her superiors decided that she deserved a promotion. So she was promoted from custodian to shift manager. But she had never really worked any of the shift stations. She became the only manager I worked under that didn’t have the slightest idea how to cook a hamburger, and considering that hamburgers are the main item on a McDonald’s menu, that was a problem.

Why this trip down memory lane? Because in my experience most people with seniority work hard to get off of the night shift. I know, there are a few people who would rather work when the rest of the world is sleeping but, for most of us, it is those with lower seniority who work the night shift; there are no bosses who are found tending the store in the middle of the night.

And yet, that is exactly what this passage seems to indicate. Aaron was the High Priest, the highest religious authority in the land. And encoded into the law is the idea that Aaron was to tend the lamps from evening until morning. The High Priest of Israel was instructed to work the night shift. It would be interesting to know how often the High Priest actually did work the night shift.

But it is also a powerful illustration of who we are supposed to be. The servants of God are always tasked with taking light into the darkness. Jesus was “the light of the world” (John 8:12). He carried the light into the darkness. He could have remained in the heavenly realms, in the light. But instead, he chose to come to us and be our light.

And that is also who we are. We are the ones instructed to be the light in the darkness. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

We are all called to work the night shift. Morning is coming. But until then, we are the ones who are charged with making a positive difference in the world, and to carry a light into the darkness of the night.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 25