Consider This - A Time to Weep

Ecclesiastes 3:4

A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.

Photo by Skylar Kang: https://www.pexels.com/photo/burning-candles-with-melted-wax-at-night-6044441/

Today we continue our journey with the topic of weeping. I think this is a topic that is not discussed enough and yet, here we are, ready to discuss it.

Just as a reminder the word for time here is still the word that means a season and the word in Hebrew for weep is bāḵâ which means the following…

To weep, wail, cry, shed tears, lament, make lamentation and mourn. Pretty descriptive and if you’re like me, you can easily picture people doing this.

The first place this word is used is in Genesis 21:16 which says…

Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Do not let me see the boy die.” And she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. ^H1058

The context of this verse concerns Hagar who had been cast out by Sarah and who had borne a child to Abraham. She wept because she did not want to see her boy die. In the following verses in this chapter, God meets her in an amazing way.

We see other instances where people wept in scripture too. Here are a few instances:

Genesis 23:2 - Abraham wept for Sarah after she died.

Numbers 11:13 - The people wept for meat.

Deut 34:8 - The people wept for Moses after he died.

Judges 14:16 - Samson’s wife wept before him, as she accused him.

Ruth 1:14 - Orpah and Naomi wept

1 Samuel 1:7 - Hannah wept because she wanted a child

And there are many other examples in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we also see that people wept. The Greek word for weep is klaiō which means the exact same thing as the Hebrew word meant.

It’s interesting to note how many times Jesus aka Yeshua mentioned the word weep. The word weep is used around 17 times in the New Testament and here are a few verses that Jesus used it in.

Mark 5:39 - And entering in, He *said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.

Mark 14:72- Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.

Luke 6:21 - “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Luke 7:13 - When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Then we also see the word used by Paul, James and John in the following passages.

Romans 12:15 - Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

James 5:1 - Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

Revelation 5:4 - Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;

And then two of the most popular verses in the New Testament where our Lord Jesus wept are mentioned in…

Luke 19:41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,

John 11:35 - Jesus wept.

So there is indeed a time to weep and the circumstances vary. I know for myself, I have wept when I found out I couldn’t have children, and I have wept for the loss of both of my parents when they died. I’ve wept over my sin and I have wept out of the knowledge of knowing how much the Lord loves me.

I know in our culture it is often frowned upon to weep, but today I would ask. you to consider this, in biblical times when people died they were given often up to a year to grieve the loss and in the loss they wept. But even more so, I’d ask you to consider what the Psalmist said when he declared in Psalm 119:28, “My soul weeps because of grief, strengthen me according to Your word.” Even during our darkest days of grief, the one true answer is the Word of God.

In fact, the picture in Psalm 119:28 of the soul weeping is like the melting of wax on a candle. That melting wax is the weeping of the soul and the One who can strengthen us does it through His word.

This reminds me of another famous passage in Psalm 30:5b - weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

There is a season to weep. If you’re in that season, just know it will eventually end and you’ll be able to use it to help someone else.