AS FAITHFUL AS THE MORNING

AN AMAZING FACT:  The ancient Egyptians believed that the sun god Ra made a daily trip across the sky in the Boat of Millions of Years. At night, it was said that Ra was traveling in the evening boat through the underworld. Every night, Ra battled with the serpent Apep. If Ra was successful, he was reborn at sunrise. In order to keep the sun rising every morning, Egyptian priests performed complicated rituals to help Ra overcome the serpent every night.

For the Egyptians, even something as regular as the sun rising every morning was fraught with uncertainty. Without the proper rituals, Apep might capture Ra, causing an eclipse or terrible storm. On the other hand, the God of the Israelites used the regularity of the sun to describe the endurance of His righteousness: “The Lord is righteous in her midst. … Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails” (Zephaniah 3:5). The daily predictability of the sun was also a metaphor for the Messiah: “His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun” (Psalm 72:17).

The enduring nature of God should be a great comfort to His people—especially in times when everything else seems uncertain. The prophet of Lamentations, in the middle of his anguish over the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the captivity of his people, sees the inevitability of morning as a reminder of God’s compassion: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. … It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:22, 23, 26). Even when everything is coming apart at the seams, the sun will still rise and our God will still be faithful.

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalms 30:5