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Have you ever given someone the “silent treatment?”
I have.
I had a childhood friend who lived four doors down from me, his name was Craig, I considered him to be a “good friend”, we did all the usual things friends do. Played cricket in the street, rode our bikes and played countless games of cards while drinking litres of Milo into the small hours of the night.
During one such card session I happened to catch him cheating; we had played for a couple of hours and I wondered why I’d lost so many consecutive games – I was so angry with him, and after refusing to apologise I asked him to leave… we didn’t speak for about three months...eventually he knocked on my door, apologised and promised not to cheat again at cards – we shook hands and resumed the friendship.
You could say I gave him the “silent treatment”.
No doubt many of you of either given or been on the receiving end of the silent treatment and when in the wrong hands it can be an abusive method of control, a form of punishment, avoidance, or disempowerment which happens to be a favourite tactic of narcissists (ego-centric people who cannot empathise with others needs or feelings, because they are consumed with themselves) I don’t believe I was being narcissistic towards my friend, rather, I was standing up for an important principle. In this case, don’t cheat!
I felt humiliated and mocked, so as a means of correcting my friend; I refused to talk to him, or acknowledge him until he apologised for his actions.
What of the “silent treatment” in the hands of a skilful teacher?
Webster’s Dictionary states: the “silent treatment” is an act of completely ignoring a person or thing by resort to silence, especially as a means of expressing contempt or disapproval.
Well that certainly fits my experience.
Jewish Rabbis have understood from the Torah and from their terrible afflictions over the past 2000 years, that God has “hidden” His face from them (a metaphor to mean God has been silent). They believe the only “visible” face of God can be seen through His written Word, and that they are in the longest period of divine silence in their entire history.
If we turn to Deut 31:17 we see this is precisely what God said He would do.
And the LORD said to Moses, b“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and ewhore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will fforsake me and gbreak my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and hI will forsake them and ihide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, j‘Have not these evils come upon us because kour God is not among us? Deut. 31:17–18
Silence as a response to sin
These words express the silence of God as first understood as a sign of reproof or anger.
As we shall see we should not assume God is angry with us because we might sense His silence in our lives. But more of this later.
The Scriptures are filled with examples of God being silent especially if the person trying to approach Him is in a state of sin or error.
Some examples which to mind:
1. Is 1 Samuel 28:6 this “silent treatment” is applied to King Saul. We all know the account. Saul’s excruciating solitude and morbid sense of guilt were exacerbated by the fact that he failed to receive an answer through any of the channels usually provided by God:
We read “And Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.”
We know this silence caused Saul to panic and slide toward a tragic end.
2. Another example is found in Ezekiel 20:30-31 these words are addressed to the elders who had come to consult the prophet (in verse 1) , and to all Israel. They still in heart and even in deed (comp. Isa. 57:4–6, 11, and 65:3 (they provoke God to His Face), as showing the habits of the exiles) clung to the old idolatries. The question for them was whether they would continue to walk in the ways of their fathers. If so, it was true of them, as of the elders, that the Lord to whom they came would NOT be inquired of by them.
Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. Ezekiel 20:30-31
tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”
tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
3. Likewise the first two chapters of the Book of Amos. The peoples of the Middle East — Damascus, Tyre, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Israel, and Judah—come, through the intermediacy of the prophet, to inquire of God concerning the Assyrian force coming upon them, but the prophet answers:
“Because of three transgressions and because of four, lo ashivenu—I will not revoke it!”
This leitmotif (light Motef) of a refusal to answer in a strong way represents an answer: God wraps himself in silence because the peoples, owing to their sins, are unworthy of hearing God.
It is precisely “this type of silence” that is the sign of their deep guilt and open shame which Israel suffers from to this day
Now the reality of this type of silence can inflict a state of panic in those who can no longer perceive God is with them. Many have perceived that God has hidden His face from them, as David, who became extremely fearful that God could become silent.
Please turn with me to…
Psalm 30:7 —By your favor, O LORD, you made my gmountain stand strong; you hhid your face;
I was idismayed.
It was God’s favour and protection of David which gave him “prosperity” and he was exalted, which made Zion strong, and enabled him to triumph over his enemies. But, suddenly all was changed—you hid your face, and I was troubled. God hid his face, declared himself angry with his servant (1 Chron. 21:7–12), and sent the dreadful plague which in a single day destroyed seventy thousand lives. Then David, feeling that God’s face was indeed hidden from him, “David was troubled.”
So “Hiding of face” is a metaphor for “being silent”.
Again please come with me to Psalm 143:7 (Psalm 28:1; 83:1; 109:1 also!)
oAnswer me quickly, O LORD! pMy spirit fails! qHide not your face from me, rlest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8 sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I ttrust. uMake me know the way I should go, vfor to you I lift up my soul.
David likens Gods silence to deathly stillness. Here in Psalm 143 we get a unique window into the relationship between David & God.
So Ver. 7.— Hear me speedily, O Lord. The supplication of ver. 1 is taken up and pressed. “Hear me, O Lord; and not only hear me, but speedily. It is a time for haste” (comp. Ps. 141:1). My spirit fails; or, “faints” very low if not depressed (LXX., ἐξέλιπε). Hide not thy face from me (comp. Pss. 27:9; 69:17; 102:2). Lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit (see the comment on Ps. 28:1 without hope and desperate). Ver. 8.—Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; i.e. same request “early & speedily” (comp. Pss. 46:5; 90:14). For in thee do I trust. His utter trust in God gives him a claim to be heard and helped. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; i.e. illumine me, so that I may perceive the course which I ought to follow (comp. Ps. 5:8, “Make thy way straight before my face”). For I lift up my life unto thee. Again, a sort of claim seems to be urged. Ver. 9.—Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies (comp. Pss. 140:1, 4; 142:6). I flee unto thee to hide me; literally, to you I hide myself AV.
“Don’t hide from me - allow me to hide in you”
So far we have considered the negative aspect of God’s Divine Silence, but can we perceive a positive uplifting message here this morning?
It states in Isaiah 54:7: “For a little while I forsook you (hid may face – became silent), But with vast love I will bring you back,”
David wants to speedily bring on this vast love! He wants the silence to be temporary and short lived; the vacuum of silence must be filled with His Loving kindnesses – a love which forgives, reconciles and redeems; a love which has purpose and profound meaning to all of us here this morning.
Now we know intellectually that God’s fills all eternity with love & compassion in which God’s response to sin and His divine silence, lasts but for a moment. Him hiding His face is a sign of disapproval and not a lack of love on His part.
However, a brief silent moment that can be, for some the Silence of God can produce a loud ringing noise of doubt, which can do all kinds of damage if allowed to dominate our thinking.
Self-doubt can lurk in dark corners of our lives, ready to pounce at the mere hint of uncertainty.
And it was this self-doubt which prompted this subject this morning. So far I hope you have the idea of a Silent God in your minds. So far we have consider that sin can cause this painful silence and returning to Him with humility and with sincere heartfelt pleas for forgiveness can result in being with God face-face as it were.
I would like to turn this subject on its head, if I may.
Over the past few years our community has witnessed several brothers and sisters leave us and in some instances they have left their faith also. Leading up to this exhortation I had spoken to two of the three who have left our community.
1. A young brother said “it probably started with the feeling that I was praying devotedly but there was no-one on the other end and in the end that doubt led to all kinds of questions about whether I was attributing things to God that suited me without evidence.
No one on the other end of his prayers – The Silence of God
2. A young sister said to me recently “if God was real, I doubt He would want anything to do with me – I can’t see Him in my life”
Again she felt God was silent to her
3. Another more prominent member of the brotherhood said "It suddenly struck me that there just wasn't enough evidence to justify belief."
The evidence he wanted was to support his God and after he believed he wasn’t there He became silent.
In all these cases and many more, these believers have doubted God and His existence, and with faith wavering and weakening and with every lingering doubt...they slowly ceased worshipping and communicating with God, which in turn makes it even easier for their faith to diminish and even die.
Whether a person is struggling with doubt, or a tragedy where comfort is hard to find, it can be the perceived as God being silent, a silence which is most deafening in those whose hearts are doubting God.
The Scriptures reveal to us that often God has used SILENCE as a test of our faith.
The following examples are random because the Bible is filled from cover to cover of believers struggling with a trial, a suffering or an almost insurmountable tragedy.
The life of Naomi & Ruth is a great example of being subject to God’s test, these two faithful women were subject to an intense trial and suffering and came out strengthened from God’s silence.
Every test of God has a specific duration: it has a purpose and it has an end. Between the beginning and the end there is a period of suspense in which one necessarily finds the silence of God.
During the trial, Naomi, might have said “I went out full and returned empty” though in hindsight she would see with great clarity the mighty hand of God working in her life to bring an everlasting fullness the like she could not fathom.
In a strange way God’s silence fills a vacuum that has been created by His will.
The classic example of God’s silence as a test is the story of the sacrifice of Isaac, in Genesis 22: for three long days filled with the heavy silence of God, Abraham and Isaac journeyed toward Mount Moriah, the site where the sacrifice was to take place. The silence was broken with an Angel staying the hand of Abraham and God providing Himself a sacrifice.
The story of Israel in Egypt and how they knew not the God of Abraham and yet over four hundreds of years of divine silence, But God revealed Himself to a people who cried out of their affliction and He heard them in their cry.
In the long dramatic story of Joseph there is a period of twenty-two years of divine silence (Gen. 37:1–46:2) from the moment when Joseph leaves his father until their reunion in Egypt—a period as trying for the father as it is for the son. A beginning, a vacuum filled with varying circumstances then a joyous end.
The Book of Esther is another example: not only is God silent throughout the story, he is not even mentioned. The very name of Esther (from the Hebrew root hester, hidden) draws attention to the fact that this whole episode, in which the fate of the Jewish people hangs in the balance, takes place before the hidden face of God and surrounded with his silence.
Although in general the test concludes with a “happy ending,” in the Book of Job it is different.
Here the suspense resulting from God’s silence is the most long-drawn-out way (stretching from chapters 3 to 37), the most troubling, and the most problematic. The story is a kind of trial held in camera, and although the epilogue partly restores Job to his previous condition, it does not give him back his children who were taken away from him at the beginning. The period of silence spans 34 chapters with many words from all parties but finally God speaks out of His creation in the most powerful way.
So we need to be prepared some trials come at a cost – its young people should know its not always a happy ending.
The silence of God can have tragic implications, especially, as we see in the case of Job, where this silence involves a man who is essentially innocent.
God uses silence to test us daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and so on.
Sarai &Abram did not wait on God when they turned to Hagar for a son…this test spanned 13 years before God appears and speaks!
Gen 16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael.45 16:16 (Now46 Abram was 86 years old47 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.)48
Abraham & Sarah were both subjected to very long periods of divine silence (between Gen 16:15 & Gen 17:1 we have 13 years!!!) where God was looking for faithful obedience, though Sarai and Abram decided to take matters into their own hands as we B&S often want to do. Like us B&S, our faith can be defective not regarding our confidence in the promise of God but the method in which we proceed to operate without God’s help and involvement.
Gen 16:3.— And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan (i. e. in his 85th, and her 75th year; a note of time introduced, probably, to account for their impatience in waiting for the promised seed), and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
God is silent other than His previous instruction to Abram the years pass by and as age progressively advances on Sarah she hopes in the promise of a child the silence from God must have been deafening to both Abram and Sarai.
What happens after the silence is broken?
13 years B&S and they have caused events which would forever change the course of history, after such an act you would think God would want to deal with their actions.
Look at Chapter 17:1
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old,1 the LORD appeared to him and said,2 “I am the sovereign God.3Walk4 before me5 and be blameless.6 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant7 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.”8
No mention of what had happened.
The silence is broken with Who God is, and what is required of Abram & Saria
Note: If you have read to the end well done! I would love to hear your thoughts on this philospohical theme and get yourr expericences and understanding on the Silence of God in your life.
Thanks F2F
I have.
I had a childhood friend who lived four doors down from me, his name was Craig, I considered him to be a “good friend”, we did all the usual things friends do. Played cricket in the street, rode our bikes and played countless games of cards while drinking litres of Milo into the small hours of the night.
During one such card session I happened to catch him cheating; we had played for a couple of hours and I wondered why I’d lost so many consecutive games – I was so angry with him, and after refusing to apologise I asked him to leave… we didn’t speak for about three months...eventually he knocked on my door, apologised and promised not to cheat again at cards – we shook hands and resumed the friendship.
You could say I gave him the “silent treatment”.
No doubt many of you of either given or been on the receiving end of the silent treatment and when in the wrong hands it can be an abusive method of control, a form of punishment, avoidance, or disempowerment which happens to be a favourite tactic of narcissists (ego-centric people who cannot empathise with others needs or feelings, because they are consumed with themselves) I don’t believe I was being narcissistic towards my friend, rather, I was standing up for an important principle. In this case, don’t cheat!
I felt humiliated and mocked, so as a means of correcting my friend; I refused to talk to him, or acknowledge him until he apologised for his actions.
What of the “silent treatment” in the hands of a skilful teacher?
Webster’s Dictionary states: the “silent treatment” is an act of completely ignoring a person or thing by resort to silence, especially as a means of expressing contempt or disapproval.
Well that certainly fits my experience.
Jewish Rabbis have understood from the Torah and from their terrible afflictions over the past 2000 years, that God has “hidden” His face from them (a metaphor to mean God has been silent). They believe the only “visible” face of God can be seen through His written Word, and that they are in the longest period of divine silence in their entire history.
If we turn to Deut 31:17 we see this is precisely what God said He would do.
And the LORD said to Moses, b“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and ewhore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will fforsake me and gbreak my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and hI will forsake them and ihide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, j‘Have not these evils come upon us because kour God is not among us? Deut. 31:17–18
Silence as a response to sin
These words express the silence of God as first understood as a sign of reproof or anger.
As we shall see we should not assume God is angry with us because we might sense His silence in our lives. But more of this later.
The Scriptures are filled with examples of God being silent especially if the person trying to approach Him is in a state of sin or error.
Some examples which to mind:
1. Is 1 Samuel 28:6 this “silent treatment” is applied to King Saul. We all know the account. Saul’s excruciating solitude and morbid sense of guilt were exacerbated by the fact that he failed to receive an answer through any of the channels usually provided by God:
We read “And Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.”
We know this silence caused Saul to panic and slide toward a tragic end.
2. Another example is found in Ezekiel 20:30-31 these words are addressed to the elders who had come to consult the prophet (in verse 1) , and to all Israel. They still in heart and even in deed (comp. Isa. 57:4–6, 11, and 65:3 (they provoke God to His Face), as showing the habits of the exiles) clung to the old idolatries. The question for them was whether they would continue to walk in the ways of their fathers. If so, it was true of them, as of the elders, that the Lord to whom they came would NOT be inquired of by them.
Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. Ezekiel 20:30-31
tn Or “Will I reveal myself to you?”
tn Or “I will not reveal myself to you.”
3. Likewise the first two chapters of the Book of Amos. The peoples of the Middle East — Damascus, Tyre, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Israel, and Judah—come, through the intermediacy of the prophet, to inquire of God concerning the Assyrian force coming upon them, but the prophet answers:
“Because of three transgressions and because of four, lo ashivenu—I will not revoke it!”
This leitmotif (light Motef) of a refusal to answer in a strong way represents an answer: God wraps himself in silence because the peoples, owing to their sins, are unworthy of hearing God.
It is precisely “this type of silence” that is the sign of their deep guilt and open shame which Israel suffers from to this day
Now the reality of this type of silence can inflict a state of panic in those who can no longer perceive God is with them. Many have perceived that God has hidden His face from them, as David, who became extremely fearful that God could become silent.
Please turn with me to…
Psalm 30:7 —By your favor, O LORD, you made my gmountain stand strong; you hhid your face;
I was idismayed.
It was God’s favour and protection of David which gave him “prosperity” and he was exalted, which made Zion strong, and enabled him to triumph over his enemies. But, suddenly all was changed—you hid your face, and I was troubled. God hid his face, declared himself angry with his servant (1 Chron. 21:7–12), and sent the dreadful plague which in a single day destroyed seventy thousand lives. Then David, feeling that God’s face was indeed hidden from him, “David was troubled.”
So “Hiding of face” is a metaphor for “being silent”.
Again please come with me to Psalm 143:7 (Psalm 28:1; 83:1; 109:1 also!)
oAnswer me quickly, O LORD! pMy spirit fails! qHide not your face from me, rlest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8 sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I ttrust. uMake me know the way I should go, vfor to you I lift up my soul.
David likens Gods silence to deathly stillness. Here in Psalm 143 we get a unique window into the relationship between David & God.
So Ver. 7.— Hear me speedily, O Lord. The supplication of ver. 1 is taken up and pressed. “Hear me, O Lord; and not only hear me, but speedily. It is a time for haste” (comp. Ps. 141:1). My spirit fails; or, “faints” very low if not depressed (LXX., ἐξέλιπε). Hide not thy face from me (comp. Pss. 27:9; 69:17; 102:2). Lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit (see the comment on Ps. 28:1 without hope and desperate). Ver. 8.—Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; i.e. same request “early & speedily” (comp. Pss. 46:5; 90:14). For in thee do I trust. His utter trust in God gives him a claim to be heard and helped. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; i.e. illumine me, so that I may perceive the course which I ought to follow (comp. Ps. 5:8, “Make thy way straight before my face”). For I lift up my life unto thee. Again, a sort of claim seems to be urged. Ver. 9.—Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies (comp. Pss. 140:1, 4; 142:6). I flee unto thee to hide me; literally, to you I hide myself AV.
“Don’t hide from me - allow me to hide in you”
So far we have considered the negative aspect of God’s Divine Silence, but can we perceive a positive uplifting message here this morning?
It states in Isaiah 54:7: “For a little while I forsook you (hid may face – became silent), But with vast love I will bring you back,”
David wants to speedily bring on this vast love! He wants the silence to be temporary and short lived; the vacuum of silence must be filled with His Loving kindnesses – a love which forgives, reconciles and redeems; a love which has purpose and profound meaning to all of us here this morning.
Now we know intellectually that God’s fills all eternity with love & compassion in which God’s response to sin and His divine silence, lasts but for a moment. Him hiding His face is a sign of disapproval and not a lack of love on His part.
However, a brief silent moment that can be, for some the Silence of God can produce a loud ringing noise of doubt, which can do all kinds of damage if allowed to dominate our thinking.
Self-doubt can lurk in dark corners of our lives, ready to pounce at the mere hint of uncertainty.
And it was this self-doubt which prompted this subject this morning. So far I hope you have the idea of a Silent God in your minds. So far we have consider that sin can cause this painful silence and returning to Him with humility and with sincere heartfelt pleas for forgiveness can result in being with God face-face as it were.
I would like to turn this subject on its head, if I may.
Over the past few years our community has witnessed several brothers and sisters leave us and in some instances they have left their faith also. Leading up to this exhortation I had spoken to two of the three who have left our community.
1. A young brother said “it probably started with the feeling that I was praying devotedly but there was no-one on the other end and in the end that doubt led to all kinds of questions about whether I was attributing things to God that suited me without evidence.
No one on the other end of his prayers – The Silence of God
2. A young sister said to me recently “if God was real, I doubt He would want anything to do with me – I can’t see Him in my life”
Again she felt God was silent to her
3. Another more prominent member of the brotherhood said "It suddenly struck me that there just wasn't enough evidence to justify belief."
The evidence he wanted was to support his God and after he believed he wasn’t there He became silent.
In all these cases and many more, these believers have doubted God and His existence, and with faith wavering and weakening and with every lingering doubt...they slowly ceased worshipping and communicating with God, which in turn makes it even easier for their faith to diminish and even die.
Whether a person is struggling with doubt, or a tragedy where comfort is hard to find, it can be the perceived as God being silent, a silence which is most deafening in those whose hearts are doubting God.
The Scriptures reveal to us that often God has used SILENCE as a test of our faith.
The following examples are random because the Bible is filled from cover to cover of believers struggling with a trial, a suffering or an almost insurmountable tragedy.
The life of Naomi & Ruth is a great example of being subject to God’s test, these two faithful women were subject to an intense trial and suffering and came out strengthened from God’s silence.
Every test of God has a specific duration: it has a purpose and it has an end. Between the beginning and the end there is a period of suspense in which one necessarily finds the silence of God.
During the trial, Naomi, might have said “I went out full and returned empty” though in hindsight she would see with great clarity the mighty hand of God working in her life to bring an everlasting fullness the like she could not fathom.
In a strange way God’s silence fills a vacuum that has been created by His will.
The classic example of God’s silence as a test is the story of the sacrifice of Isaac, in Genesis 22: for three long days filled with the heavy silence of God, Abraham and Isaac journeyed toward Mount Moriah, the site where the sacrifice was to take place. The silence was broken with an Angel staying the hand of Abraham and God providing Himself a sacrifice.
The story of Israel in Egypt and how they knew not the God of Abraham and yet over four hundreds of years of divine silence, But God revealed Himself to a people who cried out of their affliction and He heard them in their cry.
In the long dramatic story of Joseph there is a period of twenty-two years of divine silence (Gen. 37:1–46:2) from the moment when Joseph leaves his father until their reunion in Egypt—a period as trying for the father as it is for the son. A beginning, a vacuum filled with varying circumstances then a joyous end.
The Book of Esther is another example: not only is God silent throughout the story, he is not even mentioned. The very name of Esther (from the Hebrew root hester, hidden) draws attention to the fact that this whole episode, in which the fate of the Jewish people hangs in the balance, takes place before the hidden face of God and surrounded with his silence.
Although in general the test concludes with a “happy ending,” in the Book of Job it is different.
Here the suspense resulting from God’s silence is the most long-drawn-out way (stretching from chapters 3 to 37), the most troubling, and the most problematic. The story is a kind of trial held in camera, and although the epilogue partly restores Job to his previous condition, it does not give him back his children who were taken away from him at the beginning. The period of silence spans 34 chapters with many words from all parties but finally God speaks out of His creation in the most powerful way.
So we need to be prepared some trials come at a cost – its young people should know its not always a happy ending.
The silence of God can have tragic implications, especially, as we see in the case of Job, where this silence involves a man who is essentially innocent.
God uses silence to test us daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and so on.
Sarai &Abram did not wait on God when they turned to Hagar for a son…this test spanned 13 years before God appears and speaks!
Gen 16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael.45 16:16 (Now46 Abram was 86 years old47 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.)48
Abraham & Sarah were both subjected to very long periods of divine silence (between Gen 16:15 & Gen 17:1 we have 13 years!!!) where God was looking for faithful obedience, though Sarai and Abram decided to take matters into their own hands as we B&S often want to do. Like us B&S, our faith can be defective not regarding our confidence in the promise of God but the method in which we proceed to operate without God’s help and involvement.
Gen 16:3.— And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan (i. e. in his 85th, and her 75th year; a note of time introduced, probably, to account for their impatience in waiting for the promised seed), and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
God is silent other than His previous instruction to Abram the years pass by and as age progressively advances on Sarah she hopes in the promise of a child the silence from God must have been deafening to both Abram and Sarai.
What happens after the silence is broken?
13 years B&S and they have caused events which would forever change the course of history, after such an act you would think God would want to deal with their actions.
Look at Chapter 17:1
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old,1 the LORD appeared to him and said,2 “I am the sovereign God.3Walk4 before me5 and be blameless.6 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant7 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.”8
No mention of what had happened.
The silence is broken with Who God is, and what is required of Abram & Saria
Note: If you have read to the end well done! I would love to hear your thoughts on this philospohical theme and get yourr expericences and understanding on the Silence of God in your life.
Thanks F2F
