With a 3.5-year-old and a nearly 2-year-old in our house, we greatly value silence. Of course, we enjoy hearing our children playing with their toys and singing, but when they go to bed at the end of the day, we are usually “noised out” and ready for some quiet time. Silence is not only valuable; it is biblical.

Silence usually appears in the Bible in two contexts. The first is waiting for the Lord and trusting Him to act. The second is the wisdom of knowing when to keep silent.

David makes the following statement twice, with minor variations, in Psalm 62: “For God alone my soul waits in silence” (vv. 1, 5). In Exodus 14 Moses says to the people, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (v. 14). The silence in these verses indicates God’s sole ability to render human salvation (in these cases physical). Lamentations 3:26 says, “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”

We also find scenes in Scripture of God’s presence bringing about silence. Habakkuk 2:20 says, “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” Likewise, we learn that at the opening of the seventh seal of the scroll in Revelation 8:1, “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” This is a reverential, deferential silence that recognizes God’s holiness and perfection.

The book of Proverbs repeatedly ties together wisdom and the ability to keep silent; Proverbs 17:28a says, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise” (also see 11:12; 18:13; 21:23; 29:11). Both Solomon and James teach similar truths (Ecclesiastes 3:7; James 1:19).

One of the greatest moments of silence in Scripture combines the two aforementioned contexts. In a prophecy fulfilled on the cross, Isaiah states of our Messiah, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (53:7).

Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, displayed divine wisdom, presence, and salvation in this one special moment. The God-man kept silent so that men could share in the holiness and perfection of God. What a gift!

Clay Leonard