What’s the Number?
Scripture: 2 Peter 3:3-9Some Strange and Astonishing Numbers from the Faithbook – the bible.
- The King of Bashan was apparently so huge he had a bed measuring 13 and 1/2 feet long and 6 feet wide. Deut 3:11 Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.
- Absalom once had 6.5 pounds of actual hair removed during his annual haircut. 2 Sam 14:25-26 In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. Whenever he cut the hair of his head — he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him — he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard.
- King Solomon had 700 wives, 300 concubines, and 12,000 horses. 1 Kings 11:1-4 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. (1000 mothers-in-law)
- An Army of 185,000 wound up being destroyed in a single night Isaiah 37:36-37 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies!
-
Rehoboam was a father of 88 children. 2 Chron 11:21 Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom
more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had 18 wives and 60
concubines, 28 sons and 60 daughters.
- King Zimri is said to have reigned for only 7 days. 1 Kings 16:15-17 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town. When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp.
-
Adam was 930 years old when he died. Gen 5:5
Altogether, Adam lived 930 years,
and then he died.
-
Methuselah, lived to be 969 years old. Gen
5:27 Altogether,
Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
- Noah was 600 years old when
he built the ark, and 950 years old when he died. Gen 7:6 Noah
was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. Gen 9:28-29 After
the flood Noah lived 350 years.
Altogether, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died.
-
A Biblical army once consisted of 700 left-handed men. Judges 20:15-16 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six
thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men
from those living in Gibeah. Among all
these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each
of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
- One man supposedly had 12 fingers and 12 toes. 2 Samuel 21:20-21 In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot — 24 in all. He also was descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him.
Those are unusual facts from the bible using numbers. At church we like to say numbers don’t matter. You know when we say that? – when attendance is stagnant or decreasing. Numbers mattered to God – why else would we know that on one occastion Jesus fed 4000 and another time 5000 from one boy with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.
Jesus had how many disciples? 12 / 120 / 500 many
others
How many did Jesus send out 2 by 2 to preach? 70
Lazarus had been dead in the tomb how many days? 4
How many days of creation are there? 7
In Egypt how many years of plenty? 7 How many of famine? 7
How many days did the feast of unleavened bread
last? 7
How many days did the Israelites march around Jericho?
7
How many trumpets were carried and blown by the
priests? 7
How many times did they march around Jericho on the
final day? 7
How many days did it rain to create the flood? 40
How old was Moses when he fled from Pharaoh’s
palace? 40
How many more years till God sent Moses back to
Pharaoh? 40
How many years did Moses and the Israelites wander
in the wilderness? 40
How many days was Jesus in the wilderness between
his baptism and temptation? 40
How many souls were saved in the Philippian jailer’s
household? All of them
How many souls were saved in the Samaritan village
after the woman at the well told them about Jesus? Many of them. And after hearing Jesus, many
more believed in him.
How many souls were saved on the birthday of the
church – at Pentecost? 3000
We could do this all day. The number 40 alone appears at least 140
times in scripture. The number 7 about
500 times. What is the name of the 4th
book of the bible? NUMBERS!
2 Peter 3:3-9
First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will
come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
SCOFFERS: Persons who will endeavor to turn Christianity into
ridicule, as this is the most likely way to depreciate truth in the sight of
the gullible multitude. The scoffers, having no solid argument to produce
against revelation, endeavor to make a joke of some parts of Christianity; and
then to laugh at it, and get superficial thinkers to laugh and unknowingly
agree with them. (Is that true in Peter’s day or ours? – YES!)
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is
like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (That is like
the difference between the widow and the wealthy who were giving their
contribution into the temple treasury – the wealthy gave a lot by most
standards but not by the Jesus standard when compared to the two pennies of the
widow because she gave all she had. – 2 pennies to her were like $2,000.00 to
them. One day to us is like 1000 years
to God. Even though it may seem like a
long time to us and to the scoffers it is like no time to God. But that doesn’t fully answer why it is
taking so long for Jesus to return?
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some (scoffers) understand slowness.
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
What’s
the number? NOT ONE to perish What’s the number EVERY ONE to come to
repentance.
Luke
15:3-10
The 100 Sheep: Then
Jesus told them this parable:
"Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses 1 of them. Does he not
leave the 99 in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds
it? And when he finds it, he joyfully
puts it on his shoulders and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I
have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will
be more rejoicing in heaven over 1 sinner who repents than over 99 righteous
persons who do not need to repent. The 10 coins 8 "Or suppose a woman has 10 silver coins and loses 1. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over 1 sinner who repents."
Luke
15:31-32
The Two sons: The father said, "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is
yours. But we had to celebrate and be
glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost
and is found."
CONCLUSION
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
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