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The Number 40
When I was 39, I did not cherish the thought of turning 40. But now that my age exceeds 50, I find myself looking for the number 40. Not 40 years, but 40 more years.
When I was diagnosed with a brain tumor on 31 January 2004, my whole world came crashing down all around me. The Lord dug me out of the rubble and began to rebuild me from the inside out. As I thought about my longevity or lack thereof, the number 40 popped into my mind over and over again over a period of time, so I ventured to ask the Lord for 40 years – yes 40 years, as this number seems to be associated with testing, trials and renewal in the Bible.
Consider the following:
Noah’s flood: 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7)
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah (Genesis 25)
Moses was 40 years old when he left Egypt and was a shepherd for 40 years thereafter (Acts 7)
Moses stayed on Mt Sinai for 40 days (Exodus 24)
Israel wanders in the wilderness for 40 years (Exodus 16)
Maximum number of stripes that could be inflicted: 40 (Deut 25 – maybe I should exclude this one!)
Israel spies the promised land for 40 days (Numbers 13)
Joshua, one of the spies, was 40 years old (Joshua 14)
Cycles of judgment and 40 years of peace for Israel (Judges chapters 3, 5, 8, and 13)
Goliath taunts Israel for 40 days (1 Samuel 17)
David reigned as King for 40 years (2 Samuel 5)
Solomon was king for 40 years (1 Kings 11)
Ezekiel lays on his right side for 40 days (Ezekiel 4:6)
The entrance to the Temple was 40 cubits – 60 feet wide (Ezekiel 41)
Elijah went on the strength of one meal for 40 days (1 Kings 19)
Jonah warns Nineveh to repent, or destruction is coming in 40 days (Jonah 3)
Jesus fasted for 40 days (Matthew 4 and Luke 4)
The resurrected Jesus appears to His followers over a period of 40 days (Acts 1)
The lame man had been unable to walk for more than 40 years when he was healed (Acts 4:22)
More than 40 men under an oath to assassinate the apostle Paul (Acts 23:13, 21)
Am I extrapolating this too far, reading in something that is not there? Perhaps. Does the number 40 in these passages represent an approximation, and not exactly 40? Definitely in some cases. And even if I am on target, does this mean that I will live to be 87 or more? Of course not, but this is the number that was placed on my mind, so I am going with it!
The number 40 seems far into the future, so I don't think about it. So perhaps being prompted to ask for 40 years is just the Lord’s way of saying “do not worry about things that you cannot control. Take a chance and trust Me. When it is time, I will take you home. Until then, go about doing My work led by My Spirit.”
I first noticed the number 40 about 10 years ago. There are many such themes woven into the Bible, such as, "God is doing a new thing." These are priceless jewels that have been planted in scripture for us to find, like an Easter Egg hunt. In other words, "seek and you will find and he who has ears, let him hear." Think about this: What will we say when we get to heaven and Nahum asks: "Hey bro! What did you think of my book?" Ops, what do I know about this "minor" prophet?
If you have not trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, I invite you to get the big picture.
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