THE NUMBER 40

I thought of writing a few of my notes from Aneel Aranha’s teaching yesterday (@HOLY SPIRIT INTERACTIVE). I made a little more study as regards the number 40 and noted down more bible references, to drive the point home.

There are a number of biblical references to Forty Days (and nights)

-Forty days Moses was in the mount, Exodus 24:18; and to receive the Law, Exodus 24:18.

-Forty days Moses was in the mount after the sin of the Golden Calf, Deuteronomy 9:18, 25.

-Forty days of the spies, issuing in the penal sentence of the 40 years, Numbers 13:26, 14:34.

-Forty days of Elijah in Horeb, 1 Kings 19:8.

-Forty days of Jonah and Nineveh, Jonah 3:4.

-Forty days Ezekiel lay on his right side to symbolize the 40 years of Judah's transgression.

-Forty days Jesus was tempted of the Devil, Matthew 4:2.

-Forty days Jesus was seen of His disciples, speaking of things pertaining to God's kingdom, Acts 1:2.

-Throughout the Bible the number 40 is associated with a time of testing, as also is the case with Jesus fasting in the wilderness and the following tempting by the Devil. The Devil was testing Him, obviously in the hopes that He would fail the "test", which of course Jesus did not fail.

-According to Hebrew numerology, the number forty symbolizes trial. It suggests a long period of time in which a person, or people, face challenge. In the Old Testament: After Noah builds the ark, it rains for forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7). When Moses ascends the mountain to meet God, he stays forty days and forty nights before God bestows the law upon him in the form of two stone tablets. (Deuteronomy 9). After the Israelites a freed from slavery in Egypt, they wander in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 14). Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, takes his stand in front of the Israelite army for forty days before David faces him (1 Samuel 17). After Elijah kills the prophets of Baal, he eats and drinks and is able to travel for forty days and forty nights on the strength of that food (1 Kings 19). When Jonah prophesies to Nineveh, he declares the city's destruction in forty days (Jonah 3).

- In the New Testament, After Jesus is baptized in the river Jordan, he is driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where he is tested for forty days Matthew 4; Luke 4; Mark 1). When the Apostle Paul recounts his suffering to the Corinthians, he says received the punishment of forty lashes minus 1 on five separate occasions (2 Corinthians 11).

What are we to learn from all this?

Whenever one goes through any ‘desert experience’ acknowledging God’s presence, that person will always have ‘manna’ (Supernatural provision) to survive the harsh reality of the ‘desert experience’.

During that testing, if one depends entirely on the WORD OF GOD, that person WILL come out of his/her ‘desert experience’ VICTORIOUS and BLESSED beyond measure.