In biblical times, the concept of "evening" held significant cultural and religious importance. It marked the transition from day to night and was often associated with the end of daily labor, the onset of rest, and the time for evening sacrifices and prayers. However, in certain contexts, the evening also symbolized a period during which humiliation or distress persisted until divine intervention or resolution.

Biblical Context and Examples

1. Lamentations and Mourning: The book of Lamentations provides a poignant example of how humiliation and suffering extended into the evening. The prophet Jeremiah laments the destruction of Jerusalem, expressing sorrow that continues unabated. Lamentations 1:2 states, "Bitterly she weeps at night, with tears upon her cheeks." The imagery of weeping at night underscores the prolonged nature of the city's humiliation and distress.

2. Job's Trials: The account of Job is another illustration of suffering that extends into the evening. Job's trials were not confined to the daylight hours but continued relentlessly. In Job 7:4 , Job laments, "When I lie down I think: 'When will I get up?' But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn." This verse highlights the enduring nature of his affliction, which persisted through the night.

3. Psalmic Expressions: The Psalms frequently reflect the theme of evening as a time of continued distress. Psalm 6:6 reads, "I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears." The psalmist's anguish is not limited to the day but extends into the night, illustrating the ongoing nature of his humiliation and sorrow.

4. Prophetic Warnings: The prophets often used the imagery of evening to convey the continuation of judgment or humiliation. In Isaiah 17:14 , it is written, "In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more. This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who plunder us." The evening here symbolizes a time when divine judgment is realized, and the humiliation of the oppressors is brought to completion.

5. New Testament Reflections: In the New Testament, the evening is sometimes depicted as a time of trial or testing. For instance, in Mark 4:35-41, Jesus calms the storm in the evening, demonstrating His authority over the natural world and bringing peace to His disciples' distress. The evening setting underscores the continuation of their fear until Jesus intervenes.

Theological Implications

The continuation of humiliation until the evening in biblical narratives often serves to highlight the endurance of human suffering and the need for divine intervention. It underscores the belief that while trials may persist, God's deliverance is ultimately assured. The evening, therefore, becomes a metaphor for the period of waiting and enduring until God's purposes are fulfilled and His mercy is revealed.

In the broader biblical narrative, the evening can symbolize the end of an era of suffering and the anticipation of a new dawn, reflecting the hope and redemption found in God's promises.Joshua 7:6
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust on their heads.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Judges 20:23,26
(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Judges 21:2
And the people came to the house of God, and stayed there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ezra 9:4,5
Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

The Life of Mr. Robert Blair.
... to-morrow resolved on a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer ... his neck, said, That
on hallow-evening he should ... After his ejection, he preached often in his own ...
/.../howie/biographia scoticana scots worthies/the life of mr robert 6.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1792 to the Close of ...
... a most solemn day of fasting, humiliation, prayer, and ... and over high mountains, often
lodging in ... he "preached morning, afternoon, and evening, alternately in ...
/.../chapter 1 from the close.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1800, to the End of ...
... 5. We had a day of fasting and humiliation for the ... On Monday evening the conference
rose: all the demands of the ... I am now often drawn out in thankfulness to God ...
/.../chapter 5 from the close.htm

Making Haste to be Rich.
... One evening, about a week after his failure, Mr. Lawrence ... him to return, and his
children asked often for their ... and then it was in sorrow and deep humiliation. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arthur/words for the wise/making haste to be rich.htm

Letter xxxvi. (AD 396. )
... is observed four times, or even so often as five ... of unleavened bread, because in
the evening following it ... as fasting is symbolical of humiliation; whence it is ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter xxxvi a d 396.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1836 to the ...
... to self-examination, to self-abasement, humiliation, and prayer ... relation he died
on Sabbath evening, the twenty ... state; in doing which, though often preaching, he ...
/.../chapter 14 from the close.htm

Prayers Answered
... She had prayed often, and often had answers, but ... Saturday evening, December 21st,
the wind blew gently from ... pilgrims set apart a day of humiliation and prayer ...
//christianbookshelf.org/various/the wonders of prayer/prayers answered.htm

Period ii. The Church from the Permanent Division of the Empire ...
... a Vandal, directed the fortunes of the West until his death in ... This humiliation has
been brought upon her, not by the ... Our clemency has often been at a loss to ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period ii the church from.htm

The Night of the Soul
... Flower needed the life-giving water of humiliation"it was ... in the morning rather than
in the evening of life ... you remembered that Our Lord is often pleased to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/martin/the story of a soul/chapter ix the night of.htm

the Night of the Soul
... Flower needed the life-giving water of humiliation"it was ... in the morning rather than
in the evening of life ... you remembered that Our Lord is often pleased to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/therese/story of a soul/chapter ix - the night.htm

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