October 31st, 2020

This Sunday, All Saints’ Day, is the second Sunday in a row that has a First Reading and not an Old Testament Reading. This week’s text, like last week’s, is from the book of Revelation [7:9-17; there is also the option of adding verses 2-8].

The text ends with one of the most beautiful pictures in all of Scripture, that of God wiping away tears from the eyes of his people. This is a wonderful picture because God is not showing his power and getting one of his angels to do such a work; he is showing his love and doing such a work himself. In this action he shows the depths of his kindness, his goodness, and especially his humanity.

This is a picture that is important enough to occur twice within the book of Revelation. It also occurs in 21:4. When God repeats himself, you know that is important.

And [God] will wipe off every tear out of their eyes, and death will not be any longer, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain will be any longer, because the first things have passed away [a somewhat-literal translation].

There is a lot of weeping going on within all of Scripture. And you probably could have guessed that these two occurrences are the last times that the word ‘tear’ is used in the New Testament. It is a word that frequently pops up in both the Psalter and the works of Jeremiah, who, by the way, is called ‘the weeping prophet’. And one would think that the word ‘tear’ is also in the first few books in Scripture. But the first time that word occurs in Scripture is in 2 Kings 20[:1-6]. And its appearance is somewhat significant.

In those days [King] Hezekiah became ill to die. And Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and he said to him, ‘Thus Yahweh says, “Put in order your house, for you are dying, and you will not recover.” And he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying, “Oh, Yahweh, oh remember how I walked before your face in faith and with a whole heart, and I did the good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept a bitter weeping. And Isaiah did not go out of the middle court, and the word of Yahweh came to him: “Return and say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This Yahweh says, the God of David your father: I heard your prayer; I saw your tear. Behold, there will be healing to you. On the third day you will go up to the house of Yahweh, and I will add to your days fifteen years. And from the hand of the king of Assyria I will deliver you, and I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant [another somewhat-literal translation].’”

Obviously much could be said about this text. At the basis of this request is the verb ‘to remember’. We normally think of that as an action of the mind, but it is strongly connected to actions. This is especially seen in the book of Genesis. The action of remembering is worked out in physical action. God’s ears and eyes are involved.

The LORD added fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life, and that was enough time for him to have a son, Manasseh, be the king after him, and he was twelve years old when he began to reign, and, unfortunately, he was incredibly evil [see 2 Kings 21:1ff].

Things do not always work out as we expect them. But we are not God. But God is still involved with us; he still remembers. And his involvement in Jesus was certainly in a bodily form.