Michael - The Bible Guy

Some Thoughts On The Number 40

Have you noticed how some numbers keep cropping-up throughout the Bible?  Some of the most prevalent are 3, 7, 12, and 40, and their multiples, usually a multiple of 10. More than a cursory pass through the scriptures will reveal that there is a message, not only in the stories these numbers are helping to quantify, but much more interestingly, within the numbers themselves.

Although not a complete listing, below are some interesting occurrences of the number 40 that jumped out at me from a few of the more well known narratives of the Bible, along with some of my observations and thoughts

Did you ever stop to think . . . ?

At the time of Noah God sent the rains for forty days and forty nights.

When Jacob, of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob fame, whose name was changed to Israel, “for he contended for God”, died in Egypt, his son Joseph had the Egyptians embalm and prepare Jacob’s body for burial, a process requiring 40 days to complete.

Moses was 40 yrs old when he fled Egypt to live in Midian

Moses had spent 40 years in Midian tending flocks when he encountered God in the burning bush.

During the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness.  At the 40-year mark, Moses died and Joshua, (Heb. same as the Greek Jesus) led the Israelites into Canaan, The Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. (Sidebar - So Moses lived 120 years, a "12" number; 12 being the number of completion - spiritual fulfillment; witness - Jesus selected 12 Apostles; the 12 Tribes of Israel; Elijah built an altar of 12 stones in his challenge to Baal when he called fire down from heaven to light upon the altar; 12 months in the year; 12 signs of the zodiac, etc.).

For 40 days and forty nights Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God, both times.

Now, the twelve tribes of Israel entered the Land of Canaan, and "God delivered up their enemies to them."  In other words, they had to do battle with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, but the victories came quickly and easily.  However, "the Sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord", so they were "given over to their enemies", having to endure a number of persecutions and oppressions:

As described in the Book of Judges, while living in the land of Canaan, Israel was thrust into three different cycles of being conquered, taken into slavery for a number of years, and finally calling upon the name of the Lord to deliver them from their miserable plight.  At each request, their deliverance came in the form of exceedingly bloody and violent battles; and all followed by 40 years of peace and presumed prosperity, or as it is described in Judges, “and the land was undisturbed for forty years.”

But once again, Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, which this time resulted in a 40-year oppression by the Philistines.  (For reason's I can go into at another time, the Philistine Oppression represents mankind living out of his physical 5-sense awareness only, with no sense of the spiritual life whatsoever.)

The 40-year oppression by the Philistines was immediately followed by what is know as The Period of the Kings, a time of growth and prosperity, beginning with the 40 year reign of Israel's first king, Saul.  The name Saul means-asked for; desired; demanded; wished. Taking the meaning of the name together with Saul's style of leadership, and his focus and accomplishments, we can say that, Metaphychristianly, Saul represents the action of our will in attaining what we want.

After Saul's 40-year reign, David ascends to the throne.  The name David means loved; beloved; well loved. Because King David was called by God "A man after my own heart", and so connected with God, (ref. among many other things, the many Psalms penned by David), Metaphychristianly speaking we can say that David represents Divine Love.  Like Saul, David was on the throne of Israel for 40 years.

After his 40 years at the helm, David was succeeded by the king who has been called the greatest of them all, Solomon.  The name Solomon means whole; entire; complete.  Succeeding, and thus carrying forward the banner of David and Saul, Metaphychristianly we can say that Solomon combines the self-will of Saul with the divine love of David into the complete spiritual man, Solomon.  It is written of Solomon that he was the richest man in all the world, Jesus tells us that he was the most splendidly attired, and we have all heard about the Wisdom of Solomon.  It was also Solomon who built the first temple in Jerusalem.  Solomon's rule lasted; you guessed it, 40 years.

The end of Solomon's reign signaled the beginning of the end of Israel as a "Twelve Tribe Nation" or as it's more commonly known, The United Kingdom. After Solomon came the time known as the Divided Kingdom, with the nation of Israel becoming what was known as the Northern Kingdom and Judah the Southern Kingdom.  So again we have a 120-year period of the United Kingdom, lasting from 1050 BC until about 970 BC.

Again there is a 40-year period from the end of Solomon's reign to the split of the United Kingdom into the Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, each with their own line and succession of kings.
Elijah, like Mosses, was on Mt. Horeb, a.k.a. Mt. Sinai, without food or drink for 40 days and 40 nights, where he too encountered God, not in the great and strong wind that rent the mountain and broke into pieces the rocks, or in the earthquake, or in the fire, but in “a still small voice.”
One that I find particularly interesting is in the 29th chapter of Ezekiel, where we find God speaking through the prophet, announcing that He will leave Egypt utterly desolate, such that, “No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.”

In the Book of Jonah, God gives the city of Nineveh 40 days to clean-up its act or be overthrown.  In effect, they are given a 40-day Grace period.

Moving on to the New Testament . . .

Just before Jesus began His ministry He spent 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness where he met the three temptations provided by that old serpent, Satan.

Besides Jesus using the metaphor of the mustard seed to illustrate the power behind faith, He also used the mustard seed to illustrate what the kingdom of God is like.  As the story goes, the seed is buried in the soil; the seed dies, but from the death of the seed sprouts a grand bush that provides safe harbor to the birds of the air to nest in its branches.  Guess what?  According to The Chas. C. Hart Seed Company, the period of time between the planting of the seed and the maturing of the mustard plant is, – are you ready for this? 40 days.

In the first chapter of Acts, during the time between His crucifixion and the birthing of the fledgling “Christian” Church, Jesus appears to His apostles, “ . . . alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

One last observation: Contrary to popular belief, the period of time required for full term gestation of a human baby, from conception to birth is not 9 months, exactly, it is actually, 40 weeks, (about 9 months and 1 week).  Go figure!

Conclusion:  Whenever you see the number 40, or more specifically, a time period of 40, be it days, weeks, months, or years, Metaphychristianly, Spirit is talking about a period of growth, gestation, or metamorphosis, moving from one stage of life or consciousness development to another.  This is not to say that this period of growth or gestation will take 40 days, weeks, months, or years.  The time involved is not the message; Spiritual growth and/or a shift of consciousness is the message.

Addendum:

I did a little more investigating and found that after leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, Moses and the Israelites made a number of different journeys and encampments over their 40-year wanderings.  Guess how many? Yep, 40.

That got me to thinking.  Ya know, for a long time I've been trying to put my finger on this "Born Again" thing that Jesus stresses to Nicodemus.  Somehow, just saying a prayer to the effect of, “Yes Lord, I'm a sinner, and I now make You the Lord of my life.  And I believe that You died for me and bore my sins for me, and that You rose from the dead.” never seemed to me to be what Jesus was talking about.

I think I’ve got it now.  We leave Egypt, and the bondage of our material only consciousness, and are in the desert, wandering for 40 years, our period of transition from the consciousness of a purely material existence only, to a consciousness that recognizes and then fully understands and accepts that we are really spiritual beings, and this physical body of ours is merely the vehicle we have chosen so that we are able to move about and express in this world, or wilderness of physicality.  While in the desert wilderness we are "out there", forced as it were to rely on God for everything.  

At the end of the journey ('s) we find ourselves at the River Jordan, ready to enter the Promised Land. But before we can cross the Jordan, Moses must die. Why? Because, as the typical explanation goes, Moses at one point over the last 40 years struck a rock with his staff in order to draw water from it rather than merely holding his staff out as God directed him?   Of course not! It is because Moses is the Law Giver, and its mouthpiece, and therefore representative of The Enforcer.

Let me explain.  Many times in the Old Testament, particularly in the Psalms, it is written, something to the effect, 'In that day, (when you inherit The Kingdom) My Law will be written on your heart. No longer will you need to be taught or told what is right. For it will be your only nature.'  Therefore there is no need for a Moses in the Promised Land, The Kingdom of God.

But, even after we cross over into the Promised Land, it's not over yet.  As I mentioned above, The Book of Judges describes three cycles of being conquered and taken into slavery, with each of these periods being punctuated by a 40-year period of peace.  There are still three trials to go through, (much like Jesus and His three trials given by Satan in the wilderness.  I did a quick research on comparing the two and they appear to be the same to me.)  Anyway, each of these trials is punctuated by a 40-year period of rest, which is to say that it’s not during the hard times that growth comes, but the time afterwards, when we are able to reflect on what has taken place and hopefully learn from it.  Isn’t it also interesting that these last three "trials" are described in the Book of Judges?  I mean, who is it that’s doing the judging, if not us?

Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.

Psalm 119:27Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on
                                     Your wonders.

Psalm 119:34Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it
                                     with all my heart.

Psalm 119:41May Your loving kindnesses also come to me, O LORD, Your salvation
                                    according to Your word.

Psalm 119:67Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.

Psalm 119:71It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.

Psalm 119:165Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them
                                      to stumble.
But, is the law of God so difficult to comprehend? According to Jesus;

Mat 22:37-40" You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
                                      your soul,  and with all your mind.   This is the great and foremost
                                      commandment. The second is like it; You shall love your neighbor
                                      as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law
                                      and the Prophets."

Mat 7:12           "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want
                                      them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Therein lies the beauty and simplicity of Jesus’ teaching, don’t you think?

Anyway, back to our trials in the land of Canaan.  So, then what happens after these trials?  The establishment of the kingdoms of Saul, David, and Solomon; the building of the redeemed, Born Again man.  And this was called what?  The United Kingdom, we are at unity, man and spirit, no separation.  In my estimation, this is all supposed to happen here in the now and present.  Jesus described it this way;

John 17:20-21 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe
                                         in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as You,
                                        Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us”

So why then after the illusion of separation has been overcome does the United Kingdom become a Divided Kingdom and then ultimately totally dispersed? At this point anyway, I believe that is talking about our transition into the next existence, not of this time and space continuum. Perhaps related to Christ's crucifixion on the cross? (Just thinking out loud here.)

A few more thoughts that I've had:

The Born Again experience is just that, a 40 something transitional period which accompanies our spiritual birth. Just as in our 40-week incubation period for our physical birth, where tremendous growth and transformation occurs, we must also undergo a 40 something period of incubation, growth, and transformation for our spiritual birth. As above–so below. But, it isn’t easy. Jesus told His disciples to be very sure to count the costs before embarking on this journey. At one point didn't Jesus compare this journey to the birthing process

Matt 24:5-8 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will
                                   mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See
                                   that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but
                                   that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
                                   against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and
                                   earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs."

Again, I am not taking the wars and famines and earthquakes as literal, but as representative of what may be raging within us at times during the birthing process.

Epilog

The above are just some informal thoughts I have hade that I decided to write down. Nothing formal; nothing written in stone, just some thoughts and a little thinking out-loud that I thought were interesting. Hopefully you did too.

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Forgive Them Father

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