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ILLUSTRATION: A senior pastor who told his handsome new assistant pastor to avoid the dangers of immorality in the ministry. The assistant pastor quite sure of himself said, "I’ll do much of my socializing in groups, there is safety in numbers." The wise senior pastor however responded, "Yes, there is safety in numbers, but there is more safety in Exodus!" RUN AWAY FROM SIN! – Source Unknown
When I went to a Crossways conference the presenter spoke about his tour of the Holy Lands in 1998. The tour gude got on the bus, introduced himself as Amnon. He said that he was named after one of King David’s sons. The presenter said, "You mean the one that assaulted his half-sister Tamar?" It must have been on his "to-do" list to read "How to win friends and influence people." They actually hit it off amazingly. Later, they were talking and the presenter asked Amnon how many Jews went through the Exodus. Amnon said, "We all went through it." That is a collective view of history, a shared history. We, as westerners, don’t think that way. But the history of redemption has become our history, our redemption.
NUMBERS IN THE BIBLE
Remember to use these keys when dealing whith Bible Prophecy only
Many of the numbers in the Bible have deeper prophetic or spiritual significance. Both in the Old and New Testaments, numbers reveal hidden concepts and meanings that commonly escape the casual reader. And throughout history, men with great minds, like Augustine, Isaac Newton, and Leonardo Di Vinci, showed more than just a passing curiosity regarding the importance of biblical numbers. Once more, Jesus said, “The very hairs of your head are numbered” (Matthew 10:30). So obviously, Bible numbers should be carefully considered.
At least 12 numbers in the Bible stand out in this regard: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 40, 50, and 70. In order to express this truth, one or two biblical examples have been given below. However, much more can be said on this subject, so these examples serve merely as an introduction and are not exhaustive by any means.
1 – represents absolute singleness and unity (Ephesians 4:4–6; John 17:21, 22.) (We presume readers need no more than these two citations, as most of the biblical information regarding unity and singleness is common knowledge.)
2 – represents the truth of God’s Word; for example, the law and prophets (John 1:45), two or three witnesses (2 Corinthians 13:1), and a sword with two edges (Hebrews 4:12). See Mark 6:7 and Revelation 11:3. It is also used 21 times in the books of Daniel and Revelation.
3 – represents the Godhead / Trinity. The angels cry “Holy” three times to the triune God (Isaiah 6:3). See also Matthew 28:19 and 1 John 5:7, 8.
4 – represents universal truth, as in the four directions (north, south, east, west) and the four winds (Matthew 24:31; Revelation 7:1; Revelation 20:8). In acts 10:11, a sheet with four corners symbolizes the gospel going to all the gentiles.
5 – represents teaching. First, there are the five books of Moses. Second, Jesus taught about the five wise virgins and used five barley loaves used to feed the 5,000.
6 – represents the worship of man, and is the number of man, signifying his rebellion, imperfection, works, and disobedience. It is used 273 times in the Bible, including its derivatives (e.g, sixth) and another 91 times as “threescore” or “60.” Man was created on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26, 31). See also Exodus 31:15 and Daniel 3:1.
The number is especially significant in the book Revelation, as “666” identifies the beast. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Revelation 13:18).
7 – represents perfection, and is the sign of God, divine worship, completions, obedience, and rest. The “prince” of Bible numbers, it is used 562 times, including its derivatives (e.g., seventh, sevens). (See Genesis 2:1–4, Psalm 119:164, and Exodus 20:8–11 for just a few of the examples.)
The number seven is also the most common in biblical prophecy, occurring 42 times in Daniel and Revelation alone. In Revelation there are seven churches, seven spirits, seven golden candlesticks, seven stars, seven lamps, seven seals, seven horns, seven eyes, seven angels, seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven thousand slain in a great earthquake, seven heads, seven crowns, seven last plagues, seven golden vials, seven mountains, and seven kings.
10 – represents law and restoration. Of course, this includes the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. See also Matthew 25:1 (ten virgins); Luke 17:17 (ten lepers); Luke 15:8 (healing, ten silver coins).
12 – represents the church and God’s authority. Jesus had 12 disciples, and there were 12 tribes of Israel. In Revelation 12:1, the 24 elders and 144,000 are multiples of 12. The New Jerusalem city has12 foundations, 12 gates 12 thousand furlongs, a tree with 12 kinds of fruit 12 times a year eaten by 12 times 12,000 or the 144,000. (See Revelation 21.)
40 – represents a generation and times of testing. It rained for 40 days during the flood. Moses spent 40 years in the desert, as did the children of Israel. Jesus fasted for 40 days.
50 – represents power and celebration. The Jubilee came after the 49th year (Leviticus 25:10), and Pentecost occurred 50 days after Christ’s resurrection (Acts 2).
70 – represents human leadership and judgment. Moses appointed 70 elders (Exodus 24:1); The Sanhedrin was made up of 70 men. Jesus chose 70 disciples (Luke 10:1). Jesus told Peter to forgive 70 times 7.
I read about a preacher who wanted to impact South Korea for Jesus Christ. And so he started a church in his friend’s living room. One of the parishioners was paralyzed. And so one Sunday, the pastor went over to her. Laid hands on her. And prayed fervently. And she was healed! This got people in the community excited. And they started flocking to the new church in droves. Pretty soon, they outgrew the living room. So they put up a tent in the front lawn. And had services out there. But soon enough, that got too crowded. And they built a church. By the mid 1960s, they had 3000 people.
But one day, as the pastor was baptizing several hundred people, he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. He was rushed to the hospital. Where he had major surgery. And while he was sitting in bed reading the Bible, he came across a verse in Exodus 18:18 that moved his heart: It said this: "The work is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone. You will only wear yourself out."
The next day, the pastor called the elders and deacons. And put each one in charge of a certain number of people.
After the pastor did this, the church exploded with growth! Thousands of people gave their lives to Christ. By 1972, there were 10,000 members. By 1979, there were 100,000. By 1984, 400,000. And today, there are almost 800,000 members of the Yoido Full Gospel Church. Making it the l...
Come with me for a moment. Come with me as we leave here and drive down Elizabeth Street. At the end of Elizabeth Street, you take a left on Debary Ave. Drive on Debary Ave. until to reach Providence and take a left. Drive down Providence until you reach Saxon. Take a right on Saxon and drive ½ mile and you will see something there on the left side of the road. I’m sure many of you have seen it before. It is a memorial, set up and maintained by the family of an accident victim.
Let me ask you, “Why is that memorial there?” It is there to remind us, to help us remember the person who lost his life there.
In Washington D.C., in Arlington National Cemetery, you will find many graves, headstones, and tombs, but several stand out above all of the rest. They are the tombs of the unknown soldiers. Let me ask you, “Why are those tombs there?” They are there to honor those who have given their lives in the defense of this country, but they are also there as reminders. They remind us of the value of the freedoms we enjoy in this country, and the high price paid for those freedoms.
How many of you are wearing wedding rings this morning? Why do wear a wedding ring? I know, you wife made you, but other than that, why do you wear that ring? Wedding rings are a sign to others that you are married. They are also reminders to us, of the commitments we have made. They are memorial reminders.
Just as we have set up many things in our lives to serve as reminders, God has also established a number of memorials over the years to help us remember as well.
Back in Genesis chapter 9, we find one of the earliest memorials ever established. You may remember, back in the early part of Genesis, God caused a flood to cover the earth and kill every living thing on earth except for Noah, his family, and two of every animal that had been on the ark. After the flood was over, God said, this is a sign of the covenant I am making between Me and every living thing, that I will not destroy the earth again with a flood. I have placed My bow in the clouds. God created rainbows as memorials, to remind us of the covenant He made with us.
You may remember the memorial God set up for the Israelites in the book of Exodus. If you remember, the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. God sent 9 plagues on Egypt to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Again and again Pharaoh refused. Finally, God said, “I will send a 10th. I will send an angel of death to kill the firstborn of every family and animal in Egypt. But, if you will place the blood of a lamb on your doorpost and over your door, the angel will pass over your home. From this day forward I want you to observe the Passover as a reminder of the time I delivered you out of Egypt and passed over you. It was a memorial, a reminder.
In Numbers, God set up another memorial. In chapter 15 He told the Israelites to place tassels with a blue thread, on the four corners of all of their garments, as a memorial, a sign to remind them to obey all of God’s commands.
Memorials are important and God uses them all through the Bible, but there is no memorial more important, no memorial more significant to Christians than the one Jesus established in the 22nd chapter of Luke. …
Add Air or Put on the Spare! (08.24.05--Under Pressure!--Exodus 16:2)
When we are under pressure, we can either seek to manage the pressure or let the pressure manage us. Easier said than done? Yes, but like most things in life, there is a way if we really have our eyes and hearts open to finding it.
The other day I had a flat tire on the Corvair. It was one of those slow flats that you look at every day as you get into the car in the morning and say, “I think that it is a little low. I’ve got to put some air in that tire soon.” After weeks of looking and not doing, I pulled out of the garage one morning and, after a few miles on the road, I began to feel the car handling poorly. There was a sway and unsteadiness about it. I knew that it could only be one thing--the tire that was going flat, not having convinced me of its plight in the garage, it was now speaking to me on the highway. It was time to either add air or put on the spare.
I could have avoided the inconvenience of changing a tire if I had simply reached for the air compressor days ago and filled that tire to pressure. Not having done so, I was left with the lesser of the two choices, changing a dirty tire on a busy highway. Instead of handling the pressure, it had handled me.
“There are two ways of handling pressure.” According to Jay Kesler. “One is illustrated by a bathysphere. Bathyspheres compensate (for pressure) with plate steel several inches thick, which keeps the water out but also makes them heavy and hard to maneuver. (When) you look through the tiny, thick plate-glass windows, however, what do you see? Fish! These fish cope with extreme pressure in an entirely different way. They don’t build thick skins; they remain supple and free. They compensate for the outside pressure through equal and opposite pressure inside themselves.
“Christians, likewise, don’t have to be hard and thick-skinned--as long as they appropriate God’s power within to equal the pressure without.” (Jay Kesler.)
Add air or put on the spare. The Bible tells us to manage our pressure by not giving into the temptation to let things go until they are unmanageable. When we fill ourselves up with God’s Word every day, pray and give thanks to our Creator God who is above all stress and pressure in this life, we manage the pressures of the day by equalizing them on the inside with His Holy Spirit. There is no need to wait for our lives to deflate under the pressures of the day as long as we keep filling ourselves up with the equalizing pressure of God’s love. Add air or put on the spare. The choice is up to us.
“Getting to The Good Stuff!” Exodus 6: 1-12 Key verse(s): 12: “But Moses said to the Lord, ‘If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips’.”
When I was a boy I had the rather thankless job of feeding a herd of our neighbor’s hereford cattle. The job was in payment of some kindness the man had done our family; so there was no remuneration for the services rendered. The job was not one of my favorite things to do for a variety of reasons. First, it had to be done first thing upon returning home from school. When all the other kids were gearing up for at least an hour or so of bike riding and just hanging around, my brothers and I had to trudge across the meadow, down the hill and over to the cattle barn. The barn was not well kept so you always needed to be careful as to where you stepped. If you happened to step in the wrong place you could end up sinking up to your shins in something that looked like mud but didn’t smell like mud. And, of course, there was the poor lighting in the barn. As evening fell the barn got very dark and the few scattering light bulbs did little to relieve the fear that the sound you heard three stories up in the loft was something more than a cat or a barn owl. And there was the hay. How I hated the hay! It came in bales and those cattle ate a bunch of it. First you had to lug it, then snap the twine without cutting yourself, and then force it down the manger chute. All the while the air was filled with tiny bits of chaff that targeted my sinuses like ballistic missiles.
When all was said and done, this was often an unpleasant job. Sure, there was the occasional hay or feed fight to distract us from time to time. And, after a time we got to know each steer and cow pretty well. But, overall, I found the job to be tedious and difficult. I remember bumping into the farmer one evening as the three of us dragged into the barn for our evening chore. He could see that we looked none too excited to be there and decided to give us a hand with the lugging and the dumping for once. After a while he broke the silence with one of those declarative statements that just seem to come out of nowhere. Sensing the rigors and unpleasantness of our daily trudge he simply blurted, “Did you ever notice how the good timber always seems to be surrounded by a swamp?” We stared in respect but our lack of response evidenced our utter confusion. “You know.” He continued. “That one tree you really would like to cut down always seems to be more of a chore to get there than to cut down. Swamps! They’re everywhere!” He smiled and didn’t say another word.
For years I really thought that the man was daft. But, over time I began to understand what he was trying to get at. If you ever are going to find the good in this life, you have to be ready to deal with the bad. Feeding those cattle was not often fun. Yet, it was one more chore in life that built character and gave us skills. It was a sort of swamp that each of us boys had to pass through if we were going to get to that grown-up side of life waiting temptingly just around the bend.
Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
Whenever Joshua and his men looked up, they saw Moses standing there - holding the staff of the Lord high in the air. God had told Moses in Exodus 4:17 to take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it. They had seen God split the Red Sea with that staff and turn the Nile to blood. They had heard of how it could turn into a snake and how it swallowed the Egyptians snakes. This staff had the promise of God’s miraculous power behind it. This same LORD had promised them that they would make it to the Promised Land. He promised them a Savior through their offspring. With that encouragement of LORD’s promise behind the staff - the Israelites fought on and won the war.
The funny thing is that this would seem so foolish to the Amalekites. Could you imagine the army joking, “Why on earth is he holding that stick up in the air? Do these guys honestly believe that that piece of wood is going to save them?”
The foolishness of this whole scenario showed God’s strength. God saved the Israelites through a piece of wood. God also saves us through a piece of wood. We call it a cross. We say the cross saves us. We put it on our altar. We talk about it. We put it around our necks. Now, the world would call us superstitious for putting a piece of wood up on our altar. They say, “look at those fools - believing in someone who died a criminals death over 2,000 years ago to save them from their sins!” But they don’t understand - we’re not worshiping the piece of wood or trusting in the wood, we’re worshiping and trusting in the promise behind the piece of wood. Peter says in 1 Peter 2:24 that Je...
Russell Brownworth
And our text is Exodus 20:12: Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (NRSV)
Frankly, when I was a little guy I had my own ideas about that business of honoring parents so my days would be long upon the earth; I thought it meant that, if I didn’t honor them, Dad would kill me!
Several months ago I was teaching the teenagers in Sunday school. We were talking about Exodus 33, a unique Scripture where it talks about Moses seeing the Lord. To open up the class I asked a question, “When we get to heaven, what three questions will you ask God?” After giving some questions, the teenagers asked me, “What questions will you ask of God?” I said, “Lord, why did you bother?”
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