Silence. How do we interpret it? What do we make of it? What if the silence lasts for a long time? Does God speak even in the silence? Is God silent in the silence? Did you know there was 400 years of silence between the ending of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament? Between Malachi and Matthew, God was silent. Or was He? As I spent some time studying this lengthy period of quiet time where the voice of God was not heard among His people, I thought about the activity of God while His voice was silent. I came to this conclusion:
God’s silence doesn’t indicate God’s absence. His silence is preparation for a greater miracle.
During those 400 years, God was at work to prepare the world to receive the Good News of the Gospel as roads were being constructed, as Synagogues were springing up, as common languages were spreading and as people were feeling the chaos and persecution of constant changes of power in Israel.
And we read in Galatians 4:4-5 what followed the silent period proved God had been anything but silent. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4-5
When God seems to have gone off of the grid, know that something deeper is happening. It is something you don’t need ears for. It will be a heart thing, a God-thing, an obvious thing, when He bursts onto the scene of your circumstances. Be watching for it, and be expecting God to do something wonderful in your life this Advent season.
Two main messages emerge for me as the New Testament opens. They are, “repent” and “fear not.” Let’s look first at the word “repent.”
When I was growing up, repentance was defined basically as turning away from sin. While repentance is that, it also involves turning toward Jesus. In that respect, Advent is an invitation to turn and look at Jesus.
Repentance has nothing to do with who is in power around the world. It isn’t about man-made religious laws. It isn’t about drama and political upheaval. It is about looking at Jesus, completely, solely, without distraction, without competition. When God broke the 400 years of silence, He did so with an announcement about the Kingdom of God and a directive for us to look at Jesus. Look at Matthew 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
In John 1:29, John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, exclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! You want salvation? Look at Jesus. You want answers for life? Look at Jesus. You want stability in the midst of the chaos of this world? Look at Jesus. If you accept that repentance involves looking at Jesus or looking to Jesus or following Jesus, I challenge you to examine yourself this Advent season. To what have you been looking for salvation, satisfaction, provision, peace, and joy? If you are holding on to anything but Jesus for salvation, security, self-worth, sanity, or satisfaction, God is repeating the Advent message He sent through John the Baptist, “Repent, and just look at Jesus.”
When God broke the silence after 400 years, He shouted that we were to repent. We were to turn away from sin and self and look at and follow after Jesus. He is still issuing the same message to us today.
The second major message that God proclaimed as He broke the 400 years of silence was a message He gave to Mary, to Joseph, and to the Shepherds, through the voices of angels. It is simply, “Fear not.”
Advent encourages us to fear not. “Fear not. Come closer to Me,” God says, “and let me birth a miracle in you.” How many miracles do you think we miss out on because of fear? Can we give God total control this Christmas Season and accept the peace He longs to impart?
What can you do to “Be still and know that He is God” this Christmas? How can you reduce the noise in your life to enable you to hear God more clearly this Advent and Christmas? Do you hear what I hear? It’s God, breaking through the chaos of our lives to call us to repent and to fear not.
