Numbers in the Bible: Lesson 1

Overview

Every Word—and Every Number—Is for Our Learning

All of Holy Scripture is given by God for our learning. We confess that the Bible is inspired—literally "God-breathed"—infallible, and inerrant, down to every jot and tittle. There are no wasted words. And just as God uses words to reveal His love and grace, He also uses numbers. Numbers in Scripture do more than count; they often carry symbolic weight. Like the thirteen stripes or fifty stars on a flag, or the three volleys of a twenty-one-gun salute, biblical numbers can be both literal and meaningful—pointing beyond themselves to deeper truths about God and His saving work.

Certain numbers recur with striking regularity. Forty appears in the days and nights of the flood Genesis 7:11–12, the years of wilderness wandering Numbers 14:33–34, and Jesus' temptation Luke 4:1–2. Three marks Jonah's time in the fish Jonah 1:17, Christ's resurrection on the third day Matthew 16:21, and the triune name into which we are baptized Matthew 28:19. Seven crowns the work of creation Genesis 2:1–3 and shapes the seven churches of Revelation 1. Ten appears in the commandments, the plagues, and the lepers Jesus healed. Twelve runs from Jacob's sons to the tribes of Israel to the apostles—and shows up in the twelve baskets gathered after the feeding of the five thousand Mark 6:41–44. Other patterns—two, four, five, seventy, a thousand—will reward attention as well.

Why does this matter? Because God cares about details. The same Lord who weaves the grand sweep of redemption from Genesis to Revelation also numbers the very hairs of your head and notices each sparrow that falls Matthew 10:28–31. He loved the world in this way—by giving His only Son John 3:16. His mercy overflows the cup Psalm 23:5. And in what may look like divine "bad math," He takes the full sum of our sin upon Christ at the cross and remembers it no more—casting it as far as the east is from the west.

As we explore questions like Why does Jesus tell us to forgive seventy times seven? What are numbers of completion, and what are numbers of incompleteness?—remember the goal: the numbers in Holy Scripture do more than measure. They reveal God's love, tie the great events of salvation history together, open the Scriptures more fully to us, and offer real comfort to God's people.

Transcript

Well, good morning and welcome. 3s

Let's join in prayer, please. 6s

Blessed lords, since you have caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning, 9s

grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart, that by patience 15s

and comfort of your Holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. 24s

Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, 33s

one God, now and forever. Amen. 38s

Every word of Holy Scripture, every single word is meant for our learning. 43s

There is no wasted word in God's Word. 50s

Every word God uses and is placed there under His sovereign care. 57s

We confess that Scripture is infallible, that is, it is incapable of error, and that the Bible is an errant. 65s

It contains no error. 75s

And so we know then that the very words down to the word itself is all born, all exhaled from God. 79s

Remember what Scripture says? The God exhaled His Word. 88s

That's what the word inspired means. 92s

When it says that the word is inspired, it means God exhaled it. 95s

A phrase that's been used in the past, it's quite an old phrase now. 100s

It's every jot and tiddle of the Word of God is an errant and infallible. 105s

And so we know then that every word comes from Him. 114s

Well, God uses not only words to reveal His love and His grace to us, but God also uses numbers. 119s

Numbers, literally obviously count things, but numbers can also be symbolic. 129s

And so we're going to look here in these weeks to come, in these five weeks in this class, 137s

we're going to look at repetition in Scripture of numbers. 143s

We're going to hear refrains of numbers, and we're going to look for patterns in the numbers. 148s

And we're going to ask, what does the Scripture tell us in terms of why is God using these numbers? 155s

And what do the numbers themselves communicate to us? 162s

And so we're going to look at a lot of numbers the next of five weeks. 168s

We're going to look at a lot of numbers because there's a lot of numbers in the Bible, right? 176s

Let's start with Genesis chapter 7. 181s

Genesis chapter 7 verse 11. 184s

Genesis chapter 7 verse 11. 189s

In the 600th year of Noah's life in the second month on the 17th day of the month, 201s

on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heavens were opened. 208s

The rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. 216s

Let's go to numbers. 223s

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and then Numbers. 226s

Numbers chapter 14 verse 33. 230s

And there we read, and your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years. 252s

And shall suffer for your faithful, faithfulness until the last of your dead bodies 260s

lies in the wilderness. 267s

According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land 40 days, 270s

for every day a year you shall bear your iniquity 40 years. 276s

And you shall know my displeasure. 281s

Let's jump over into Luke. 285s

Chapter 4 of verse 1. 286s

Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. 290s

Luke chapter 4 of verse 1. 294s

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. 307s

Where, for 40 days, he was tempted by the devil. 314s

He ate nothing at all during those days when they were over. 319s

He was famished. 324s

Are you catching the theme here? 327s

One of the numbers that we're going to look at is, guess what? 331s

We're going to look at 40, right? 334s

Because 40 keeps popping up in Holy Scripture. 336s

There are a lot of 40s in God's Word. 340s

Well, let's lay some more pavement here for our weeks ahead. 346s

Let's go to Matthew chapter 28, verse 19, Matthew chapter 28, verse 19. 350s

This is the great commission of our Lord. 363s

And God in His grace has given the church its marching orders. 366s

The church doesn't have to be creative in terms of what is it that we are supposed to do. 371s

God says, this is what I want you to do. 376s

Now, that's going to take various expressions, right? 379s

But the marching orders are given to us. 382s

Matthew chapter 28, verse 19. 386s

Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples of all nations. 389s

Just to break this down, how is a disciple made, very next clause, 395s

baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit, 401s

and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. 406s

And remember, I'm with you always to the end of the age. 410s

So the two aspects, then, of discipleship making. 414s

We are made disciples in the waters of baptism, just a little side. 418s

Sometimes you'll read literature or you'll hear where people will make a distinction between a person who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 423s

and one who is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 433s

As if discipleship is somehow elevated in terms of that which one is striving for. 437s

It's really a wrong understanding of what Scripture communicates to us. 446s

We are made disciples. 452s

A disciple is one who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 454s

That's different than the call to continually grow in our life of discipleship. 457s

But discipleship isn't a rank that's somehow achieved by the believers. 465s

No, we are made disciples in the waters of baptism. 471s

So our disciples made, we baptize them. 475s

What's an aspect of growing in our discipleship? 477s

We're taught. We learn. 482s

We continually study God's Word. 484s

Now, jump me back to the baptism there. 489s

Go there for and make disciples of all nations. 492s

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 495s

One God, three persons. 505s

Let's go over to the book of Jonah. 511s

Please, book of Jonah. 515s

Jonah in the Old Testament is Echial Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, and then Jonah. 517s

Jonah, chapter 1, verse 17. 531s

But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah. 544s

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 550s

Let's go back to Matthew, chapter 16. 559s

Matthew, chapter 16, verse 21. 563s

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples, verse 21 of 16, 577s

that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders, 583s

and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 588s

So, what's another number you think we're going to look at? 596s

Three. That's right. 600s

We're going to look at three. 601s

And how many times, we won't look at all of the times, but how many times the number three continues to pop up? 603s

Well, let's lay some more pavement. 611s

Let's go to Revelation, chapter 1. 613s

Very last book in the New Testament. 616s

Revelation chapter 1, verse 1. 620s

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place, 632s

he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, 640s

even to all that he saw. 650s

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written, 653s

for the time is near. 661s

John to the seven churches that are in Asia. 664s

Okay, let's go from Revelation. 672s

Let's go to the very first book, Genesis chapter 2. 674s

Genesis chapter 2, verse 1. 678s

Genesis chapter 2, verse 1. 688s

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude. 696s

And on the seventh day, God finished the work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 702s

So God blessed the seventh day. 712s

Notice what's being emphasized here? 715s

And hallowed it because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. 717s

So another number, seven. 723s

Let's go to Luke chapter 17, Matthew, Mark, and then Luke, Luke chapter 17, verse 11. 734s

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee as he entered the village. 757s

Ten lepers approached him, keeping their distance. 765s

They called out saying, Jesus, master, have mercy on us. 768s

How many commandments are there? 774s

Ten. How many plagues were there? 777s

Ten. 781s

Well, guess what another number is? 782s

We're going to look at ten, right? 785s

We're going to look at ten and see what God is communicating with the number ten. 786s

Let's go to Mark, the sixth chapter. 796s

Matthew and then Mark, Mark chapter 6. 799s

And we'll start in verse 41, Mark chapter 6, verse 41. 809s

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. 818s

And he divided the two fish among them, and all eight and were filled. 829s

And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish, those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men. 836s

How many sons did Jacob have? 849s

Twelve, right? How many tribes of Israel? 853s

There were twelve. How many disciples? 857s

Twelve. Often times how many members are there on church councils, just a little to side? 861s

Twelve. Isn't that interesting in model constitutions of churches? 868s

Quite often the number twelve is used for members of council. 872s

So let's take a look at the number twelve in these weeks. 877s

Forty, three, seven, ten, and twelve. 882s

There's also other numbers that I'd like to consider with you. 888s

We're going to look at two, four, five, seventy, and a thousand. 892s

So there is our menu here of the numbers that we're going to digest in the weeks ahead. 905s

The question I want to pose, could the numbers mean more than what they count? 913s

Could the numbers mean more than what they count? 922s

Potter for a moment, thirteen stripes on the American flag. 927s

Representing the thirteen colonies, fifty stars on the American flag representing the fifty states. 933s

Those numbers can be literal, yet at the same time they speak to something more. 942s

So a July fourth party might have a cake with fifty, or it might have a cake with thirteen candles. 950s

You see the numbers can be literal, or they can be representative. 960s

Think of a twenty-one gun salute. You've got seven guns, and they fire three times in unison. 966s

It's a literal twenty-one shots, but it sounds like three. 972s

Probably to our ears we couldn't tell the difference if it was an eighteen or twenty-four gun salute, right, with six or eight guns firing. 977s

You do the division, we probably couldn't tell, but there's something about the number three that signifies full military honor. 988s

You see it's not just the number of shots, but it can stand for something else. 999s

So what are the meanings then of these numbers? What's behind them? 1005s

That's what we're going to explore in our time together. 1011s

God cares about details. God cares about details. 1017s

You know some people are just gifted, humanly speaking, some people are just gifted in being good at details. 1026s

It's really good. Other people are bigger picture kind of people where they say, you know, details aren't my thing. 1033s

I let other people figure out the details. Most people are kind of a combination of the two. 1041s

Well we can say very clearly with God in his perfection, not only is God big picture, we see the incredible unity of the theme of his 1049s

salvific theme that runs from the pages of Genesis to Revelation. 1060s

We see books that span century upon centuries of separation and yet this incredible unity that occurs amongst them. 1065s

God is incredibly big picture oriented and God is also a God of the detail of the detail. 1074s

Let's take a look at Matthew the 10th chapter. Matthew chapter 10 verse 28. 1084s

Matthew chapter 10 verse 28. 1092s

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. 1106s

Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body and hell. 1111s

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. 1116s

And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 1124s

So do not be afraid you are of more value than many sparrows. 1131s

Even the hairs on the head are counted. 1140s

He loves you more than anyone else could ever love you. 1146s

I wonder if you are more than anybody else could ever love you. 1154s

And he loves you right down to the very last hair. 1158s

In fact it is counted by him. 1165s

Let's go to John 316. 1172s

Matthew Mark Luke and then John. 1175s

John chapter 3 verse 16. 1180s

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 1193s

So often we use that word so in English to modify. 1205s

And it shows a degree. 1211s

So if you say I am so tired. 1214s

The soul is modifying the tired there. 1218s

It is showing the degree of the extent that you feel tired. 1221s

Often times we understand John 316 understand so in terms as if it is a modifier of God's love that God so loved the world that he gave his only son but an actuality. 1227s

The Greek word that is used there means thus or in this way. 1246s

So it is not modifying the depth of God's love but it is saying thus in this way. 1253s

An example of that would be when we use the phrase is that so. 1262s

Is that so? 1267s

That is not modifying. 1268s

That is just saying is that which has occurred or is occurring? 1270s

Oh is that so? 1275s

So we could translate John 316 as God loved the world this way. 1277s

He gave his son. 1287s

Now do we know the depth of God's love for us? 1291s

Absolutely. 1294s

But the actual Greek word that is being used there is showing this way. 1295s

It is not a modifier. 1302s

It is that same love that did not love his own life, that loved us to the end, that causes the Lord Jesus Christ to count the hairs on our head. 1305s

Let's go to Psalm 23 please. 1322s

Psalm 23. 1325s

Psalm 23. 1331s

Psalm 23. 1334s

Verse 5. 1334s

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 1341s

You anoint my head with oil. 1345s

My cup over flows. 1348s

David rightly recognized the pattern of God's giving mercy. 1351s

God always gives us more than we can contain. 1356s

It overflows. 1363s

So that being said, it seems as if God is a really lousy mathematician. 1365s

Because he takes all of our sinfulness and gives to us his forgiveness. 1372s

The Lord Jesus Christ bearing all of our sin in thought, word, and deed, what we've done and what we've left undone. 1381s

That all encompassing confession that we make. 1388s

God takes all of that sin upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 1391s

Jesus says it is finished to tell the story paid and full. 1395s

The death has been paid. 1399s

So in one aspect, it seems that God is really a lousy mathematician. 1401s

He takes all of our sin and God remembers how many of our sins? 1406s

Zero, right? 1413s

Zero. 1415s

This one who counts the numbers of hairs on our head, who loved us in this way by sending the Lord Jesus Christ. 1417s

He remembers zero of our sins. 1428s

They've been cast as far as the east is from the west. 1434s

So we're going to look at a lot of numbers. 1440s

Three, two, and four, five, and ten, seven, and twelve, forty, and eight. 1444s

We're going to be doing combining of those numbers in the weeks ahead. 1450s

I want to address some questions with you. 1455s

Why does Jesus say we are to forgive seventy times seven? 1458s

Where are those numbers used there? 1465s

What are prime numbers and how might they be symbols of God? 1470s

What are numbers of completion? 1475s

What are numbers of incompleteness? 1479s

Why does God want us to do the math with regard to the numbers? 1484s

The numbers in Holy Scripture, they do more than measure or count. 1493s

They reveal something about God's love for us. 1499s

They tie the various historical events together. 1504s

The numbers in Holy Scripture can help to open up the Scriptures for us. 1511s

And we will find comfort in the numbers. 1521s

Well, Pastor Meloneck is going to conclude her class on Reformation, the last class next Sunday. 1527s

And so, two weeks from today, we'll come back and we'll do some more counting together. 1535s

And look, at some of these questions, and start to take these numbers and see what they mean. 1542s

So Reformation, last class, next Sunday, and then I'll be back with numbers two weeks from today. 1549s

Blessings. 1555s

You 1566s