It’s Darkest Before Dawn
(Read Psalm 33)
I was a child when I first heard this expression, but I was a teenager when I remember paying attention to it. Scientifically, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me. As it turns out, the expression originated from a 17th century English theologian, Thomas Fuller, in his publication: “A Pisgah-Sight Of Palestine And The Confines Thereof.” He wrote, “It is always darkest just before the day dawneth.” A lot factors into the darkness of the sky and one’s definition of dawn, so it’s impossible to say with accuracy that it’s always darkest just before dawn. Spiritually speaking, the expression offers the hope that light brings no matter how dire and dark the situation.
From the prophesies of Malachi in 430 BC until the appearance of John the Baptist in 1st Century Judea, there were no recorded words or writings in either Testaments in the Bible. RC Sproul labeled this dark era, “Dust to Glory.” The intertestamental period is also known by some as the “400 years of silence.”
“Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.”
Psalm 33:20
The Jewish people had always had their prophets. There were always new prophesies to grow from in the Old Testament except during this blackout. It wasn’t a complete shutdown from God. They had the laws ordained by God in the Torah, wisdom and Psalters from David, Solomon, and others, as well as the writings of the major and minor prophets. There was just nothing new; silence from God for 400 years. As we’ve read in the Old Testament, we know that God’s people don’t always wait for God’s word or follow God’s word the way we’re supposed to. In Genesis, God promised Abraham and Sarah a child. Apparently, it took too long, and they decided to make things happen according to their own timeline. Taking Sarah’s maid, Hagar, as a surrogate wife, they had a child of their own doing, despite God’s promise.
We don’t always do well waiting on God. As believers, we know the protection and deliverance He brings, but selfishness and haste tempt us to take matters into our own hands. God has told us from day one that He is with us for every step we take. So, if we go without hearing from Him, we tend to become our own lord and master. I’ve been thinking a bit about this intertestamental span and have wondered what it must have felt like for God’s people during that dark time.
Waiting is always hard when we feel God isn’t listening. It’s hard when it’s for a few days, but what about weeks, months, and years? Were they feeling that God had forgotten them? When we let doubt and worries and distractions fester, we’re turning from His love, assurance, and guidance. During the 400 years of silence, the Jewish people turned to all kinds of things other than God. Heck, we do it ourselves, in a nanosecond. Technology is part of the problem, but instant gratification really puts the blame on us. When we’re not willing to wait for Gods’ ways, we’re showing that we don’t really trust Him because we never wait for what we don’t believe in.
There is a practice nowadays of shunning people, of ending a relationship, even of showing disagreement or disapproval of someone’s beliefs. It’s called “Ghosting.” My daughter had to tell me about this. I must be too clueless or old to be in the loop. From what I’ve learned it’s not uncommon for a person to simply ghost a partner because they’re too (fill in the blank) to tell them straight to their face. Aside from the cowardly aspect of ghosting, the significance is the sudden, no warning, total disruption of communication.
For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Isaiah 41:13
I won’t go as far to say that God ghosted His people for those 400 years because He has never hidden His feelings or intentions from us, but it might have seemed that way to them if they didn’t look deeper. It might feel that way to us when we’re waiting for God to fix something. Waiting for God to heal us. Waiting for God to make us feel like He loves us. When a child sees us taking a gift for them out of the packaging, their eyes can’t get any wider. They’re bouncing up and down and practically drooling with anticipation. For a believer, it should be the same thing. Waiting is openness, humility, submission, and most of all — faith.
The passage from Isaiah 41 reminds me that this isn’t a good-if-used-by offer from God. It’s an eternal lifeline, gift of love. When I’m feeling loneliness and despair, I need to remember that at any time, I can ask God to help. Then, I need to let go of my fear and give Him my right hand. There are 3,000 promises from God in the Bible and this one stands out as being unconditional. Even in our darkest walks, when we haven’t heard from God in years, we need to walk upright with confidence. We are not alone. He told us so.
Since God is all-knowing, He sees how everything will work out. Sometimes, He knows that by not answering us according to our hurried liking, we’ll turn our attention in another direction. Sometimes, that’s just what we need to do. “For I am the Lord your God…” What is more reassuring than our Divine Creator comforting us when He reminds us that He is the Lord — God of all things? This passage urges us not to look anxiously left and right for quick solutions, but to seek Him and His word. I need to show God my willingness to set aside my own control, agenda, and insecurities, and trust in His timing.
Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:26
I have never been afraid of the dark but in all honesty, I’ve always been afraid of the unknown. When snorkeling with my wife one day, the bottom dropped out of the ocean floor. What caused my panic was a barnacle-covered wall dropping down so deep, I couldn’t see the bottom. It was such a frightening experience for me, I tapped out. We went up for air and I told my wife, “I’m done.” Of course, she loved it and went out on a boat the next day. It’s worry, our own fears, that Satan puts in our lives to break down the beautiful relationship we have with our God.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus was telling us simply to rest in His presence. His love for the lovely birds of the air can’t even compare with His love for His people. It’s so easy to go down that rabbit hole of worry when we don’t know what’s going on? Where’s that check I’m waiting for? Where’s that confirmation of a job well done? Where’s that, “I love you,” from someone I need it from?
The intertestamental period spanned a long time, even for Bible history. Did God go dark, even “ghost,” His people as a rebuke? We will never know. Is it really darkest right before dawn? Literally, probably not. But, when one moment it’s pitch black out and then the next moment, we see shapes, definition, and eventual light, it’s fair to say that it was darkest right before dawn. For the people who had been waiting for God’s word for 400 years, their glimmer of hope, their dawn, their light came with the arrival of a Savior. It’s easier to see in the dark when we know what is there, but when we don’t, we need to look for the light in Jesus.
Key Applications:
- Waiting on God? Pore over His Word. Seek His presence, and He’ll direct you.
Charles R. Swindoll - Read Psalm 33. Pray each morning for the faith to rest in God’s arms, to allow Him full control. Give Him your worry.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.