Bible Matters 408: Forty

It is not a mystery that God’s word has meaning in numbers.  A couple of numbers have been studied previously, including twelve, one, six and three. Today’s lesson is on the number forty. 

When I started my dedicated walk with the Lord God and having a desire the understand his word, this one verse pricked my heart.

Proverbs 30:5-6 – Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

At that point in my life, I had been involved with my addiction forty years.  God had waited forty years for me to turn to him.  As I look back on that date, 12/3/13, my life has changed to give God the glory in all that I do. My addictions are but a distant memory. 

As I studied God’s word, the number forty is used multiple times for the period of trials and tribulation.  Let’s review a couple. 

God brought rain onto the Ark for forty days and nights.

Genesis 7:4-5,12 – For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

The first time that Moses was on Mount Sinai, he spent forty days and nights.

Exodus 34:28 – And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Moses returned to the Lord God after forty days and nights for the second writing of the ten commandments on the stone tablets.

Deuteronomy 9:16-18,25-26 – And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the Lord had commanded you. And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.  And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first ; because the Lord had said he would destroy you.  I prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

After Moses and the Israelites made it to Canaan, Moses sent spies into the promised land.  Those spies searched the land for forty days.

Numbers 13:17,25 – And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:  And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, reported that the Israelites could defeat the land of the Giants. Moses ignored Joshua and Caleb.   The anger of the Lord was kindled against the Israelites and they wondered for forty years in the wilderness.

Numbers 32:13 – And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed.

Deuteronomy 8:2 – And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

Acts 7:36 – He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty yea

Moses never made it into the promised land.  Only Caleb and Joshua made it into the promised land.  

Numbers 14:30 – Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

When the children of Israel angered the Lord, he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

Judges 13:1 – And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

Jonah fore warned the people of Nineveh that the Lord gave him forty days to convince the people of Nineveh to return to the things of God. 

Jonah 3:4-5,10 – And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

After Jesus was baptized with water by John, Jesus spent forty days being tempted of Satan.

Mark 1:13 – And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

After Jesus resurrection from the dead, he spent forty days speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God before his ascension into the heaven.

Acts 1:3 – To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

As I look back on my walk with the Lord God, over the past eleven years, it was my trial and tribulation period of fighting addictions for forty years that allowed me to speak to the men in jail on overcoming their addictions, as a subject matter expert.  It was only recently that I recognized my walk with the number forty. God was allowing me to be trained during those forty-years.  In a similar manner, God has allowed every one of you to be trained as a subject matter expert.  He is looking for you to take the knowledge he has given you and use it to grow his kingdom.    To be a priest and witness representing God’s kingdom.  To speak mightily on killing the giants in your life and overcoming sin.  To speak as Joshua and Caleb spoke on killing the giants in the land of Canaan.   Do this and like Caleb and Joshua, you too will see the promised land. 

To God be the glory in all you do, Amen.