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vent of sin brought with it many problems that Adam and Eve could never have dreamed of. Pain, sorrow, loss, hunger, evil thoughts, loneliness, and heartache are just a few. It was also the beginning of a very human reaction: tears. Of all the created beings, humans are the only ones capable of laughing and emotional crying. No doubt Adam and Eve heard their babies’ hunger cries and comforted their children when they experienced painful injuries. But when Adam and Eve shed tears over the loss of a son, it was an emotional blow that hit deep within their hearts. Someone has said that more tears are shed from the pain that cuts the soul than from pain that afflicts the body.
Benjamin was only a lad when his brother Joseph was sold to traders heading down to Egypt. He was led to believe that his brother had been killed by a ravenous animal, and so he likely shed many tears of grief over his loss. Yet we know that God had other plans for Joseph. Rising to a prominent position in Egypt, Joseph made a great name for himself. Eventually God gave him the opportunity to serve his own brothers and provide food that would sustain their family. Knowing he was leading his brothers on, since they could not recognize him, Joseph fought back his tears as best he could. Moses writes that “Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there” (Genesis 43:30). And again, “He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him” (45:2). But when Joseph finally laid eyes on Benjamin, the emotional oceans of joy overflowed: “He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping” (45:14). What a reunion that must have been!
It was not unusual for people to weep in those days. Certainly we have evidence that the men as well as the women shed many tears. Ishmael, Esau, Jacob, David, Hezekiah, Elisha, Mordecai, Nehemiah, Job, Jeremiah, Micah, Naomi, and Hannah are some of the Old Testament people who wept. The New Testament names Peter, Mary, Paul, and John, not to mention Christ himself. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7).
In the Bible, tears were shed for many reasons. There were tears of joy as we have seen in Benjamin and Joseph. Esau also shed tears of joy when he met his estranged brother, Jacob. There were tears of gratitude like we see in the sinful woman who wiped Jesus’ feet with her tears. Then there were tears of regret like Peter cried when he “went outside and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75). Tears of grief were also shed by Bible people. We know that Hezekiah was grieved when he wept upon learning that his illness was fatal.
Tears are shed for many reasons today as well. But the worst kind of tears will be those shed in hell, where there will be a loud sound of wailing and weeping. Those tears of pain, hatred, and torture will never end.
Perhaps God gave tears to us as little hidden blessings. Maybe God wants us to see a physical teardrop running down our cheeks now and again to remind us that we are still held captive by this sinful world. Perhaps that’s why God makes such a point of promising that in heaven “he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). While here on earth, God will always be near enough to dry every tear, and in heaven he will wipe them away forever!
How happy are the saints above,
Who once went sorrowing here!
But now they taste unmingled love,
And joy without a tear.
Henry W. Beecher
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