Sermon: The end of a bitter day
Good Friday
Text: Amos 8:10
April 6th, 2007
NBBC
Intro
The year is 760 B.C. a fruit farmer living 16 km. south of Jerusalem finds his mind wondering towards God, his heart is impressed with sorrow for his beloved nation about to be judged. It seems that he cannot escape the thoughts that pour into his head, even the baskets of fruit holds a prophetic warning for the nation he loves. Try as he might he cannot distract his thoughts from those which cascade into his imagination and he must give them expression. It is in this context of being carried along by the Holy Spirit that Amos records the words that foretell the tragedy that will come upon the nation of Israel and which foreshadows the darkest day in human history – the one we call Good Friday.
“In that day, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.”
I wonder if Jesus, reading that passage, and realizing that it was spoken of Him, I wonder if He asked Himself, “how bitter?” Could Jesus have imagined that the nation that hailed Him as a king as He entered on a donkey would reject His life for that of an insurrectionist? Did He suspect that the one He trusted with His money purse would betray Him for a few silver coins? How was He able to see past the boldness of the one who stood by His side with a sword to defend Him at His arrest and perceive the coward who would deny that he knew Him? How deep was the pain of hearing those who were experts in the law, which foretold of Him, twist that law to deny Him the justice that the law upheld? How bitter was that day when the one who created humanity was rejected by that humanity?
How bitter was the ridicule? Were there among the voices the sound of those who had once been mute, were there eyes of scorn now staring which had not long before been blind, were there people running with the crowd, drunk in the revelry of bloodthirsty entertainment, who had once only been carried? How bitter was the day? Was the cross that he carried made from a dead fig tree found outside the city that some say He had cursed and now was cursing Him? Were the tools which fashioned it those which once held memories of joy in His father’s workshop? Had the soldiers who mocked Him ever been under the command of the centurion whose servant Jesus had healed? How bitter was the day when the one who upheld the universe was held up upon a cross?
How bitter was the irony when the one who claimed to be life was stripped of life? When the one who said that “whoever believes in me will never thirst again,” Cried out “I thirst?” When the feet that walked on water were nailed upon a cross and hands that blessed the heads of children were stretched out as a curse; that the one who heard a voice from heaven say this is my son, now cried out to heaven asking why he was forsaken? How bitter was the irony that the one whose spit had opened blind eyes was spit upon by those still blinded.
How bitter was that day? How bitter was the pain that He endured in silence. The one who chose to put on flesh now had his flesh stripped from Him as He was whipped by Roman guards. The one, who was head of all powers and authority, was surrounded by the puppets of Caesar’s authority and struck upon His head. The words of whose breath had calmed storms and gave life to the dead, found His breath being slowly choked as he breathed His last. How bitter was the pain for the one which the prophets said “A bruised reed he will not break,” whose body now lay bruised and beaten.
How bitter was the humility of being stripped and exposed and displayed in shame, for one who modeled modesty? Whose life had exemplified gentleness and love to be surrounded by anger and hate? The one about whom the Psalmist said “owned the cattle on a thousand hills,” was buried in a borrowed tomb.
His final taste was the bitterness of vinegar, His final image was the bitterness of His mother and friends in morning, His final sounds were the sounds of crowds mocking, soldiers swearing and religions leaders ridiculing. His final feeling was the agony of asphyxiation as He could no longer lift His body to draw His breath, His final thought was that God had abandoned Him and His final resting place was in a stone, dark, cold cave – the end of a bitter day.
You’ve been there haven’t you, alone in the dark cave of your own bitter day? Perhaps you’ve been humiliated and degraded; mocked by others, laughed at and ridiculed. Perhaps you’ve faced the bitterness of friends who betray you and deny you and reject you, when you needed them most. Or has it been the bitterness of pain, an accident at work that’s left you unable to do what you had for so long taken for granted. You’ve faced a bitter day haven’t you? And in the end you’ve found yourself emotionally sealed in a stone, dark, cold cave; isolated from help, despairing of hope, numb to the world and bruised from the blows that life and circumstances have delivered to you. It seems that bitter days lead to caves.
David, when he was being pursued by King Saul found his own hope to become king was being drained from his heart. His meager surroundings barely supported him, the nations around him mistrusted him; those who were attracted to him were the rejects of society, the outcasts, and the trouble makers. And David was left running for his life with a murderous madman always close on his heels and so he hid in caves – the end of a bitter day.
Elijah had long been the bearer of unpopular news. Yet faithfully he called the nation of Israel to repent of their idolatry and return to their God. Now he had just gone to the king and warned him that there would be no rain until he commanded it. The intimidation of Baal’s 500 prophets must have been daunting, especially with the murderous threats of a powerful queen ringing in his ears, his heart was in despair fearing that he alone was the only one left who spoke in the name of God. And so he ran and hid in caves – the end of a bitter day.
But they didn’t know what God knew all along. It is in caves that God performs His best work. It was in that cave as David hunched in the darkness and Saul came in to relieve himself. David’s companions rejoicing that God had delivered their enemy into their hands all David had to do was slit his unsuspecting throat. And in that cave David made a determination, he would not pursue good ends by unjust means. He would not take the life of God’s anointed and take upon himself the role of revenge which belongs exclusively to God. He would not sin even to fulfill what God had promised to him. It was in that cave that David’s purpose for life became more crystal clear than it had ever been while he was free. He did not live primarily to be king, he lived to glorify God.
It was in the caves of the Kerith Ravine that Elijah sought refuge. This ravine would have cut it’s way through the barren treeless hills of the region of Gilead, east of the Jordan river. It is likely that this ravine would have been a small seep of water that had worn away the rock and stone of this harsh desert environment. Elijah was not being sent to a place of luxury, rather it was a place of hardship. The temperature would sour up to 120 F. It would have been lonely, obscure and barren. The fact that the rain had stopped would mean that his small water source would become all the more stagnant, muddy and covered with scum and algae that grows in the hot dry weather.
Furthermore, we’re told that he would be fed by ravens. Ravens were unclean animals according to Jewish law. The thought of being fed by them must have been very revolting to a Jewish prophet like Elijah, and for good reason. Ravens are garbage birds. Scavengers who pick up the rotting left-overs of rotting animal corpses, and garbage left on the street. When the bible says that God commanded the ravens to feed Elijah meat and bread don’t get the impression that it was steak and and fresh oven rolls. God provided but only morning and evening, and I doubt it was gourmet dining. The region itself would have been desolate, and lonely, as well as dangerous. With the drought on, Elijah’s watering hole would have been used by many animals from jackals, to desert lizards. Sleeping on rocks by night, mainly sitting in boredom by day waiting for God to issue his next command, Elijah waited there for about six months. The Kerith ravine literally means “the cutting place.” That is exactly what God was doing in Elijah’s life he was cutting away the rough edges of his character in order to form a hero, a person who he could use.
Do you remember where God took Moses when Moses had asked to see God’s glory? Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."
Friends the caves of bitter days are used by God. Caves are where character is shaped and vision formed. It is the place where God meets us and reveals Himself in ways which are not possible in the normal circumstances of life. It is in the cave where things which have been buried can be raised to eternal life. God does His best work in caves.
Are you at the end of a bitter day? Are you in a cave of despair, or failure, or pain, or hopelessness? Now is the time to draw close to the God who works in the caves. Your suffering is not wasted, He uses it to shape you for greater, future purposes, He reveals Himself that the longing of your heart to know Him better, might be met in ways that were not possible any other way. He restores life and strength and hope in the stillness of the cave. Now is the time to wait on God, it may be the end of a bitter day. Darkness may have overtaken, but God is at work in the cave.
It was in the cave that David was prepared to rule the nation of Israel as its greatest king but David didn’t know it.
It was in the cave that Elijah was being shaped to perform one of the greatest Old Testament miracles, but Elijah was unaware.
And if you are in a cave God is at work in you, even if you can’t perceive it; just as he was at work to raise Jesus to life and through His death provide the means for eternal life for all.
But Jesus knew, He predicted, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." But I wonder, reading that passage in Amos, I wonder if he asked Himself, “How bitter?”
