Now that we see that numbers are intentional, let’s take a look at several examples of numbers with their meaning.
Moses
The Israelites spent 400(difficulty) years in slavery in Egypt, and then spent 40 years wondering in the wilderness.
While the Israelites were in Egypt, Moses was born and hid for 3(accomplishment) months before his mother set him in the river. Moses’ life parallels the Israelites. He grew in Egypt and at 40 years old he killed the Egyptian in anger and was sent to spend the next 40 years in his own wilderness. When Moses was 80(newness) years old, God spoke to him to save the Israelites from their slavery, and he spent his last 40 years as the deliverer of the Israelites while they were in the wilderness. Moses died at age 120(fulfillment) after living 3 sets of 40 year periods of his life(Acts 7). “And after destroying seven(completion) nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450(struggle followed by God’s work) years.” Acts 13:19-20a
David
David was the 8th(newness) child and a shepherd boy who would become a new type of king to replace Saul who reigned for 40 (struggle) years. He picked up 5(God’s work in action) stones to kill Goliath who was 6 (evil) cubits tall and used a spear weighing 600 sheckles and taunted the Israelites for 40 days (1 Samuel 17). When David was 30 (accomplishment) years old he became king. He reigned for 7(completion/rest) years in Judah and 33 years in all of Israel for a total of 40 years(2 Sam 5:4-6). He then died at age 70. David’s life is clearly showing us the intentional purpose for numbers in the Bible. Why then would “a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22)” be categorized as a king for 40 years which is regularly seen in instances of struggle and difficulty. 1 Chronicles 22:8b gives some insight on this number. “…’You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.” This recognition points us to look deeper into David’s life. As we look, it was filled with constant challenge. Saul repeatedly sought to kill him. His son Absolom tried to overthrow him. He was continually fighting wars while king. People that follow and accomplish God’s will will find challenge in their life, but those that hold fast will enter into God’s rest (7).
Jesus
Jesus life on earth was all about accomplishing the mission of saving our souls. He was 30 years old when He started His ministry, it lasted 3 years, He died as one of 3 described on the cross, suffered darkeness for 3 hours and buried for 3 days rising on the first day of the new week(8) to establish a new covenant with people.
Jesus was given 3 gifts as a baby, was 12 years old when He first revealed Himself as the fulfillment to the Old Testament law. He fasted for 40 days before being tempted to experience the same struggle that we do. Looking again at Jesus’s challenge for us to understand the numbers, the feedings he used 5(God’s work) loaves and 2 fish equaling 7 pieces of food to feed 5,000 men with 12 baskets left over. Mark 8 records that Jesus used 7 loaves to feed 4,000(with them in their desolation) people with 7 baskets left over after He had been with them 3 days. Jesus is telling us that He was giving people rest by doing God’s work to fulfill the prophecy about Him.
Noah and the Ark
Noah and the flood is full of significant numbers. We see in Genesis chapter 6-9 that Noah was 600 years old when God eliminated evil and wickedness by covering the mountains 15 cubits deep and covering the earth 150 days. God was with Noah in the trial of 40 days and 40 nights of rain. God saved Noah using a boat that was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits tall, and 3 levels. God populated the new earth with 8 people and Noah lived 350(3+5=8) years after the flood. The day that God delivered Noah was an important day as well.
“…At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” Genesis 8:3b-4. After the evil was removed(6) God gave Noah rest(7) and used him to re-populate the new earth(8).
For a more in depth look at Noah and The Ark, check out the Noah and Ark deep dive.
In the next part, we will review how recognizing the significance of the numbers in the Bible opens our eyes to a deeper understanding of God’s purpose for us.
