Noon

The mid-point between sunrise and sunset when the sun is at its brightest. Noon is a time to seek shelter from the heat of the day. The darkening of the midday sun and the surprise attack of the enemy at noon are signs of God's judgment. The brilliance of the noonday sun is likened to the glory of Jesus Christ and to the vindication of God's people.

Noon as a time of severe heat

Shelter from the noonday heat

Isaiah 4:5–6 See also Isaiah 16:3 Moab likens asylum sought from Judah to shelter from the noonday sun; Isaiah 25:4

Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a canopy, a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and the rain.

Time to rest from the sun's heat

2 Samuel 4:5 See also Genesis 18:1Song of Solomon 1:7 See also Ruth 2:7 Ruth rests from her gleaning at noon; 1 Samuel 11:11 Saul's army halts its destruction of the Ammonites at midday; 1 Kings 20:16 Israel's enemies relax at midday, unaware of the imminence of battle; Matthew 20:12 Workers in the vineyard might have been expected to rest during the hottest part of the day; John 4:6 Jesus Christ rests from his journey by the well of Sychar.

Now Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day, while the king was taking his midday nap.

Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?

Noon as a natural break in the day

1 Kings 18:26–29; Nehemiah 8:3

Noon as a time for prayer

Psalm 55:16–17 The devout Jew prayed three times daily. See also Daniel 6:10; Acts 10:9

But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.

Noon as a time of God's judgment

A time of unexpected destruction

Jeremiah 15:8 Armies usually attacked at dawn; a noon raid would take the people by surprise. See also Jeremiah 6:4, Jeremiah 20:16; Zephaniah 2:4

I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. I will bring a destroyer at noon against the mothers of young men. I will suddenly bring upon them anguish and dismay.

Darkness at noon is a sign of God's judgment

Job 5:14; Amos 8:9 See also Deuteronomy 28:29; Isaiah 59:9–10Matthew 27:45 parallels Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44–45 The noonday sun is darkened following the crucifixion.

They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.

And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.

The noonday sun as a symbol of glory

The glory of Jesus Christ

Revelation 1:16 See also Matthew 17:2

He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

The vindication of God's people

Judges 5:31 See also Job 11:17; Psalm 37:6; Isaiah 58:10; Matthew 13:43

So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.

Events that occurred at noon

Joseph invites his brothers to eat with him at noon: Genesis 43:16, Genesis 43:26; Joshua 10:12–13 The sun stops in the middle of the sky, allowing Joshua to defeat the Amorites; 2 Kings 4:18–20 The Shunammite woman's son dies at noon.; Acts 22:6, Acts 26:13