We’ve all had the dark night of the soul. And sometimes that “night” is not just a night, but weeks, months, years and decades. Sometimes even for some nations it’s centuries (thinking Israel in Egyptian captivity for 400 years).
Nothing is more beautiful than when light comes to that darkness. That it begins to lift and hope becomes a little more tangible and real. That it feels like a possibility that the darkness could lift.
When Zechariah’s son, John (the Baptist), was born, the Lord inspired in him to prophecy.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Israel as a nation had been in a long, dark night of the soul. It had been hundreds of years since a major prophetic movement. Rome was the thorn in their sides as Rome ruled them, as much as they hated to admit it. The history of the Holy Land had been one of dominance over the Jewish people.
It had been a long, very long, dark night of the soul. The people wanted nothing more than deliverance from Rome, for the Messiah to come. It is likely they thought that the Messiah would deliver them from their enemies. And the Messiah was going to do that, but not in the way or time that they thought.
First the Messiah would need to deliver them from their sins.
Zechariah’s song is one that the more you meditate on it, the more powerful it becomes. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Zechariah recognized that Messiah was now here. He was going to bring salvation to the people and the forgiveness of sins.
Somehow and in some way the Messiah was also going to deliver Israel from her enemies. These verses are taken from Psalm 106:10 where the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians. He was going to do it again. This time he was going to save them from their sins.
And that really is our greatest need, isn’t it? Sometimes our greatest felt need is physical healing in our bodies. Or love and acceptance from others. Or the need for respect.
But truly our greatest need is to be reconciled back to God. Because our sins stand in the way of it.
A new day was coming though. That new day was Jesus.
For the longing that came through millenium, and for Israel’s dark night of the soul, a light was going to dawn. The sun was rising. It was a new day. And it wouldn’t just be a new day for a moment, the sun would shine in their hearts forever.
And can shine in our hearts forever. Our dark night of the soul ends also with Jesus.
It’s not that we don’t have severe times. We do.
But in the reconciliation between us and God, Jesus came. And opened that door. And one day when he comes to get us, all tears will be gone. Forever.
And for Zechariah? His son would serve as the one who was to roll out the welcome mat. What an honor.
What’s even greater? We get to do the same when we tell others about Jesus.