Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples,
Isaiah 50:4–7 LSB
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens me morning by morning;
He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple.
Lord GOD has opened my ear;
And I did not rebel
Nor did I turn back.
I gave my back to those who strike me,
And my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not hide my face from dishonor and spitting.
Even now Lord GOD helps me,
Therefore, I am not dishonored;
Therefore, I have set my face like flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
It took a lot for the Lord Jesus to go through what he did while his feet touched the earth. When one aims for far-reaching effect, one needs to begin the implementation of it early. Like first thing in the morning if you wish to be attentive and make the day’s impact great.
“Rising early” (Heb. שָׁכַם sha-kham) is a major biblical theme, of course. Really? Like I said, an idea so grandiose as resurrection needs an early start. So we begin at the book of Genesis to get us up-n-adam.
Sunny side up
Aside from the inference of God taking dirt (which we will all become), forming our guy “Dusty” and placing him upright in the garden at the dawn of time (Genesis 2), there are many additional sunrise moments worth noting. Abraham shakham to pack for what seemed like his son Issac’s last big day out (Genesis 22). Jacob shakham after his amazing temple-steps dream and made one of the most profound confessions found in the Bible (Genesis 28), and again later wrestling with the divine man until the rising of dawn (Genesis 32).
Moses will shakham a lot, rising early to deliver two plagues on Egypt, the flies and the hail (Exodus 8, 9). Two times Moses shakham to head up mount Sinai to receive the covenant revelation of the LORD. Perhaps this is where his protégé Joshua learned the habit of getting up early to scout the promised land, initiate its takeover, and bring into it the presence of the LORD. Certainly a big job, and there was no time to dally about getting it done.
The poet claims to get up even earlier, “waking the dawn” with the bold sound of her music (Psalm 108). Can you imagine a sunrise hard rock festival? The schedule seems a little upside down, but I think that would be awesome. Weather permitting.
Gideon, Samuel, David, Hezekiah, Job, the two Singing Lovers—all engage in their activities early and often. It boils down to eagerness. There is something driving these people to just get going. I don’t think it’s ants in the pants, or ADHD. The Spirit of God seems actively at work in their consciousness, moving them here, taking them there, encountering them in some unexpected places. Not all of us think of ourselves as “morning people”, but it does appear to be a fruitful time of day to engage in God’s presence and work in the world.
Eager for the right thing?
Not everyone will shakham for good reasons or ideal circumstances. Lot and his family needed to leave Sodom at the rising of dawn to escape destruction (Genesis 19). And while Moses was up on the mountain, the children of Israel shakham to worship and revel amidst the golden calf they made (talk about contrast). Then the rebellious desert spies attempt a shakham jumpstart on a false conquest (Numbers 14) and fail miserably. The early morning scene in Judges 19 is just gruesome—don’t read this one to your kids before bedtime.
The Philistines found out that the LORD, taken as a hostage of war, wreaked havoc on their lives morning by morning (1 Samuel 5), until they couldn’t wait to send him home. Absalom knew that his kingdom coup against David needed an early start, and it got him out influencing early each day. The poet chimes in here too, Psalm 127 wisely observing that some people eagerly start work early and stay at work late out of selfishness and vanity. Actually, she says, it’s God who grants sufficiency to his beloved, even while they sleep! And poor Jonah lost his shade plant to the early-bug (Jonah 4), setting him on a solid bad-day trajectory.
When Israel was at its idolatrous low, the prophets warned that setting themselves against the very source of their help and sustenance would ensure the end of their time in his land of promise (Hosea 13). They would be forced to shakham and leave the land like the dew that leaves as soon as the sun hits.
The original Early Bird
So where does this all originate? Who is the earliest early bird? Who is the one most eager of all to get their plans begun and finished? No surprise, it’s God. Yes, he kinda cheated because he invented dawn, so we can give him that. But once humans are on the scene the LORD is not content to sit back and watch it all unfold (sorry deists). And when God shakham, you would think he’s got good reason, big motivation, and infinite eagerness.
Isaiah has much to say about the LORD’s zeal, and Jeremiah writes a lot about God’s shakham. Jeremiah isn’t talking about God’s people getting up early to do his bidding. Jeremiah is talking about the LORD himself getting up early and going about his business. And his business is the business of working to redeem his wayward covenant people who have become uninterested in his relational style of salvation.
Many times the LORD shakham and sends his word through the prophets (7:25, 25:4, 26:5, 29:19, 35:15, 44:4). Not content to simply delegate, he will also shakham and himself speak, teach and warn his people of danger (7:13, 11:7, 25:3, 32:33, 35:14). That is some kind of eager.
Jesus continues to display this trait while engaged in his saving work on earth. He would rise early to pray in unadorned privacy and solitude (Mark 1). The last week of his life frequently had him up early, travelling in and out of Jerusalem (Mark 11) to speak, teach, and warn in the temple (Luke 21, John 8). He appears before Pilate early that Good Friday morning (Mark 15), perhaps because his zeal for the completion of his Father’s greatest work could not be put off one minute more.
And Jesus saves the best sunrise for last. After resting according to the commandment, the women rise early to walk to the tomb in order to complete their sacred work for his body (Luke 24). But Jesus surprises again by rising earlier than them—in effect waking the dawn—completing the glorification of his body before they even arrived!
The zeal of the Lord will work morning by morning to accomplish his plans, until every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2). God still rises early—earlier than us! The Father heard the the cries of his Son, and will hear ours from morning until evening, and even through the night. He sustains the weary with his word, and is working to bring about God-likeness in his holy ones and in his world. Let us upright ourselves without delay, rouse the sun with our awe and praise, work in his world while it is still day, and eagerly anticipate his Saving Help to come and live among us forever.
Praise the LORD, all you who fear him!
Psalm 22:23–24 NLT
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.