Articles
Sleepless Nights
We’ve all been there. Is anything longer and darker than a sleepless night? There are a number of sleepless nights documented in Scripture; here are a few of them.
Jacob wrestles with God (Gen 32:22-32). At first glance this appears to be a bizarre encounter, but further reflection on the underlying situation brings it into better focus. Consider Edersheim’s analysis:
“Now what was the meaning of this solemn transaction? Assuredly, it was symbolical – but of what? (It was) symbolical of Jacob’s past, present, and future. The ‘man’ who wrestled with Jacob ‘until the breaking of day’ was Jehovah. Jacob had, indeed, been the believing heir to the promises, but all his life long he had wrestled with God – sought to attain success in his own strength and by his own devices. Seeming to contend with man, he had really contended with God. And God had also contended with him.
“At last further contest was impossible: Jacob had become disabled, for God had touched the hollow of his thigh. In the presence of Esau Jacob was helpless. But before he could encounter his most dreaded earthly enemy, he must encounter God, with Whom he had all along, though unwittingly, contended by his struggles and devices. The contest with Esau was nothing; the contest with Jehovah everything. The Lord could not be on Jacob’s side till he had been disabled, and learned to use other weapons than those of his own wrestling. Now he resorted to other weapons, even to prayer; and he sought and found another victory, even in the blessing of Jehovah and by His strength. Then also, at ‘the breaking of day,’ he obtained a new name, and with it new power …
“And still to all ages this contest and this victory, in despair of our own efforts, and in the persevering prayer, ‘I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me,’ have been and are a most precious symbol to the children of God” (Bible History – Old Testament 136-137).
As Paul noted, “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Cor 10:4), and no weapons will work against God. We must seek to do God’s things in God’s ways and submit to His leadership and will. Otherwise, we will encounter many frightening “Esaus” in life, and we may not attain the kind of outcome Jacob had when he met his forgiving brother.
Darius’ long night of anxiety (Dan 6:18ff). Darius knew he had been outmaneuvered the moment the trap was sprung on Daniel: “When he heard these words, (he) was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him” (6:14). He had been done in by his own short-sighted, arrogant ratification of an unalterable decree. Daniel must go to the lions.
But a glimmer of hope came, from all places, the lips of the heathen king: “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you” (6:16). What a remarkable statement from a man who had never seen such a thing – starved, vicious lions foregoing an easy meal! Darius’ night of worry was rewarded the next morning by the voice of a very-alive Daniel: “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you” (6:21-22).
There is no misery like that of deep regret, of choking on the guilt of our own ill-advised actions. As with Darius it kills joy, ruins our appetite (6: 18) and robs us of sleep, adding exhaustion to our misery. How blessed we are that God so generously forgives our foolish mistakes that cause Him grief and others harm.
Ahasuerus Rectifies an Oversight (Esth 6:1ff). It must have been hard to get good sleep as an Oriental monarch: there were battles to fight; vast expanses of conquered lands to be administered; and assassination plots to be discovered and neutralized. In the days before satellite TV and the internet, insomniac kings relied on scribes to debrief them on the minutiae of kingdom affairs. Thus, “that night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the … chronicles; and they were read before the king” (6:1). Lo and behold, what did Ahasuerus discover but a loyalist had foiled an assassination attempt against him. And what reward had been given to this man for saving the king’s life? Nothing. How’s that for bureaucratic oversight? And who was that loyalist? None other than the uncle of Queen, a connection not yet known by Ahasuerus.
The resulting irony is delicious: the king’s top advisor, Haman, had hoodwinked Ahasuerus, similar to way the satraps had done to Darius, into signing a kingdom-wide decree of genocide against the Jews. The backstory is that Haman, who is nothing but a petty, self-absorbed twit with undeserved power, has become enraged over Mordecai’s refusal to pay homage to him (3:1-5). In his vindictiveness Haman hatched the plot to exterminate the Jews.
So, at the precise moment that Ahasuerus learned about Mordecai’s heroic actions, “Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him” (6:4). Suddenly Haman’s fortunes change, and instead of presiding over Mordecai’s public execution Haman is charged with leading the national hero through the streets of Shushan proclaiming his exalted status (6:7-11). Haman is eventually outed and hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai.
Jesus’ prayer before selecting the apostles (Lk 6:12-16). “He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (6:12). Close communication between Jesus and His Father was vital, and it’s a fair conclusion that if Jesus needed such, so do we. We are not privy to the content of this prayer. Is it unreasonable to think that He was reflecting on the future of the choices and sacrifices to be made by these men? That their lives would be drastically altered? That everything, even their lives, would be asked of them? That one would betray Him? That all but one would forsake Him at his execution? This, and likely more, needed to be discussed with His Father in prayer.
Nights can be long and fraught with anxiety, but we can face the darkness with our Father just a word or a thought away. What a blessing!
