[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during February 2024]
Can you recall the feeling of relief that comes when you realise that the horrific events that you have just witnessed were only a nightmare? Perhaps ‘only’ is not an appropriate word to describe the impact of what you have experienced; those moments just before we wake up can be very distressing.
The nightmare song, from Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta ‘Iolanthe’, contains a litany of disturbing situations, any one of which could be a nightmare in itself. Such is the discord with which these scenarios are presented, tumbling from one mental image to another in rapid succession, that it is difficult for any short extract to convey the drama of the whole song. Nevertheless, here is one couplet:
Well, you get some repose in the form of a doze,
with hot eyeballs and head ever aching.
But your slumbering teems with such horrible dreams
that you’d very much better be waking;[1]
The word ‘nightmare’ dates from the Middle English period of language development (1066 to 1485 AD) and is related to a German word with a similar etymology. Classical Hebrew did not have an equivalent word, preferring to use a term equating to ‘dream of terrors’. However, the Old Testament does include several dreams that could truly be described as nightmares.
In around 1890BC the then Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream which turned into a nightmare.[2] Seven fine cows, nurtured by the waters of the Nile, were suddenly swallowed up by seven scrawny specimens. God gave an interpretation through Joseph which led to the nation being prepared for the impending famine.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon during the period 605-562BC, had a double dose of nightmares.
One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. Daniel 2 v1 [NLT]
In 582BC his sleep was once again disturbed:
I had a dream that made me afraid. The thoughts that went through my mind while in bed and the visions in my head terrified me. Daniel 4 v5 [ISV]
In both cases, God was giving Nebuchadnezzar a look into the future; firstly the long-term decline of nations and, secondly, his own personal experience of God.
What should be own our reaction to nightmares? Are they portents of evil to come or simply a reaction to what we have watched, or eaten, before going to bed? Maybe that is where the warning, if any, lies; not with the details of the nightmare itself but rather the activities that may have provoked it.
The psalmist reminds us of a promise from God:
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, Psalm 91 v5 [NIVUK]
On the strength of that promise we will be able to echo the words of a prophet more often known for his pessimistic messages:
At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me. Jeremiah 31 v26 [BSB]
References:
[1] A_Nightmare, WS Gilbert, 1883.
[2] Genesis 41
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Last week’s reflection: Whose Image is That?
Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys