Awaken The Dawn

AWAKEN THE DAWN!

but equally spectacular was the ever-changing landscape as shadows were cast and lost on the rugged mountain- ous terrain. We stood there, trying desperately to drink in the awesome majesty of the unfolding panorama. Finally, the sun was up, and turning to each other we exclaimed: “It was worth it getting up so early!” It was as though we had watched the birth and creation of the earth. Ancient eastern peoples must have felt the same way about the rising sun. They not only used the sun to sym- bolize deity in their writings, but they also built their tem- ples facing the east. Moses’s Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple both faced the rising sun, because to Israel the sun typified the glory of God. For most people—ancient and modern—the day starts when the sunlight breaks across the land, dispelling the night. That wonderful Grand Canyon sunrise got me out of bed, but the tables are turned these days. Today, for instance, I saw the beautiful golden orb rise majestically over the eastern foothills of San Jose, California. The day was not just starting for me—I was very wide awake. I was return- ing home from spending two wonderful hours of prayer in the church sanctuary. I no longer let the sun summon me to its rising; instead, like David in Psalms, I find joy in waking up the sun! David’s Secret David twice exclaims: “I will awaken the dawn.” 1 We must remember that David lived approximately one thou- sand years before Christ. People did not understand the universe as we do today. They did not think the earth rotated around the sun while it simultaneously revolved 2