Sat.’s Devo - Numbers

Read: Numbers 26:1-51; Luke 2:36-52; Psalm 60:1-12; Proverbs 11:15
Twenty-four thousand people died in the plague caused by the rebellion of the people who went after Moabite gods. God then told them to take a census of who was left. He was to number all who were of age to serve in the army. The total number was 601,730. This number means that they were at their full maturity and ready to enter the promised land.
In Luke, we read about Anna, the widow who had lost her husband after 7 years of marriage. She had never remarried and now she was eighty-four. She had spent the rest of her life praying and worshiping at the temple in Jerusalem. She recognized the spirit of God on Jesus and prophesied that he was the hope of Israel.
Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth where they lived. Every year they traveled to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover which was Jesus’ birthday. When a Jewish boy reaches the age of 12 he is considered a man and starts working in his father’s business. Jesus’ father was God so when he went to Jerusalem that year, he stayed in the temple because that was God’s business. When his parents finally found him there, he told them, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be about my father’s business?”
They took him home, but Mary took note of what he had said and understood it. Jesus submitted to his earthly parents and became a carpenter like Joseph.
Looking back at today’s post I see so many numbers. God speaks through numbers because every number means something about what was going on. Twenty-four thousand means that God was dividing out (2) those who refused to submit to his reign (4). Thousand means full maturity, so their sin had reached its full maturity and God had to act. Seven means complete which described Anna’s marriage. It had made her complete and she didn’t need anything else. She was 84 which means she had “put off” (8) the kingdom of the world and had put on the reign of God’s kingdom (4). Jesus was 12 which means “joined”. He was wanting to join the government of God’s system on earth - the priests. God didn’t want Jesus to join with them because they had left the Mosaic law and had rewritten their own. The Holy Spirit was Jesus’ teacher.
Lord, thank you for the balance of your Word and your Spirit that teaches us truth.