Genesis
7:12 “And the rain was upon the
earth forty days and forty nights.”
I came across this little
biblical fact that there are nine 40-day periods in Scripture, but on only five
of these the notation “and forty nights” is added. On the other four
occasions (the spies in Canaan, Goliath’s challenges, Jonah in Nineveh, and the
post-resurrection ministry of Christ), we can assume that the activity ceased
at night. But on these five it continued unabated.
The article stated that the
first of these was the great Flood. The most intense rains ever experienced on
the earth poured torrentially, night and day. One can visualize the
stress-filled nights for Noah’s family, with the cries of the dying outside,
and no light of the sun or moon to pierce the outer darkness. But, of course,
they were all safe in God’s specially designed Ark.
Many years later, Moses
twice spent 40 days and 40 nights in the awesome presence of God on Mount
Sinai, receiving the divinely inscribed tablets, with the Ten Commandments and
all the laws of God. The mountain was intermittently quaking and breathing fire
and smoke while he was there, and the nights were surely more awesome even than
the days, but God was there!
Elijah spent 40 days and 40
nights traveling back from Beersheba to Sinai, even though this relatively
short journey would not normally require 40 days. Evidently Elijah experienced
great hardships and obstacles along the way and many sleepless nights, but God
met him again at Sinai, and it was worth it all.
Finally, the Lord Jesus (God
Incarnate) In Matthew 4:1-2 was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil . . . forty days and forty nights”. In weakened human
flesh, without food or rest, this was a greater trial than any of the rest, but
He was triumphant, and then the “angels came and ministered unto him”. A
reminder that God is with us ad God is for us day and night 24/hours a day, 7
days a week, 365 days a year and for eternity.
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