"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me?
So far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
By night, but I find no rest.
Psalm 22:1-2
There are times when God seems silent.
When we didn't get that promotion that we prayed for, or that loved one's healing didn't take place like we wanted, or that prodigal daughter seems to have hardened her heart to all counsel and is hell bent on ruining her life. Before we conclude that the heavens are shut up to us, we need to take a look at history and see how the Lord works His purposes, unbeknownst to all concerned.
The 400 "silent" years between the book of Malachi and the New Testament are so named because there was no prophet in Israel in those days. This does not mean the Lord wasn't at work in continuing His unfolding plan of redemption. Alexander the Great reigned and conquered the known world during this time. For the first time since the confusion of the languages at theTower of Babel, due to Alexander's Hellenization of the world, the nations once again had a common language. Greek was the lingua franca of the day and the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, known as the Septuagint. The Roman Empire also arose during the "silent years", and the extensive system of Roman roads was unwittingly laid down to pave the way for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the known world, in a common language that they all could understand.
But you say, this was a psalm of David, a "man after God's own heart." And One greater than David cried out from the cross using the exact same words of despair. This is the one time when Jesus cried out, abandoning the familiar terms of endearment He was used to using for His father, "Abba, Father". Instead, He cried out in Aramaic, "Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?" (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) Why did Jesus speak in Aramaic? Why not in Hebrew, like he spoke in the synagogue? Could it be it was because the masses were illiterate to Hebrew, but Aramaic was accessible to both the Jew and Arab; both of the sons of Abraham-Ishmael and Isaac? Could it be that the message was that His sacrifice was for all people?
He experienced the distant void when His Father God had to turn His Face away; when "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him". (2 Cor. 5: 21) He went though that midnight of the soul so we didn't have to.
God's heart has not changed toward us. As it says in Isaiah, "But Zion said, 'The Lorcl has forsaken me, the Lorcl has forgotten me.Can a mother forget the baby at her breast And have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before me." (lsa.49:14-16)
As we share in Communion this month, let us remember that our place at this table came at great personal expense from God the Father and God the Son. And if we should be tempted to think God could ever forget us, just remember our names are engraved on the palms of His hands.
Questions to Think About
Why are you so far from saving me?
So far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
By night, but I find no rest.
Psalm 22:1-2
There are times when God seems silent.
When we didn't get that promotion that we prayed for, or that loved one's healing didn't take place like we wanted, or that prodigal daughter seems to have hardened her heart to all counsel and is hell bent on ruining her life. Before we conclude that the heavens are shut up to us, we need to take a look at history and see how the Lord works His purposes, unbeknownst to all concerned.
The 400 "silent" years between the book of Malachi and the New Testament are so named because there was no prophet in Israel in those days. This does not mean the Lord wasn't at work in continuing His unfolding plan of redemption. Alexander the Great reigned and conquered the known world during this time. For the first time since the confusion of the languages at theTower of Babel, due to Alexander's Hellenization of the world, the nations once again had a common language. Greek was the lingua franca of the day and the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, known as the Septuagint. The Roman Empire also arose during the "silent years", and the extensive system of Roman roads was unwittingly laid down to pave the way for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the known world, in a common language that they all could understand.
But you say, this was a psalm of David, a "man after God's own heart." And One greater than David cried out from the cross using the exact same words of despair. This is the one time when Jesus cried out, abandoning the familiar terms of endearment He was used to using for His father, "Abba, Father". Instead, He cried out in Aramaic, "Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani?" (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) Why did Jesus speak in Aramaic? Why not in Hebrew, like he spoke in the synagogue? Could it be it was because the masses were illiterate to Hebrew, but Aramaic was accessible to both the Jew and Arab; both of the sons of Abraham-Ishmael and Isaac? Could it be that the message was that His sacrifice was for all people?
He experienced the distant void when His Father God had to turn His Face away; when "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him". (2 Cor. 5: 21) He went though that midnight of the soul so we didn't have to.
God's heart has not changed toward us. As it says in Isaiah, "But Zion said, 'The Lorcl has forsaken me, the Lorcl has forgotten me.Can a mother forget the baby at her breast And have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before me." (lsa.49:14-16)
As we share in Communion this month, let us remember that our place at this table came at great personal expense from God the Father and God the Son. And if we should be tempted to think God could ever forget us, just remember our names are engraved on the palms of His hands.
Questions to Think About
- Have you ever felt that God seemed silent?
- What qualities of God were able to correct your perspective ?
- Why is it a comfort, rather than for fear, that God is sovereign over our suffering?
- How can we distinguish between God being silent and our impatience or inability to recognize His work?
Posted in When God Seems Silent