BACKGROUND for Numbers
Numbers is a book about how Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land, the sin that made them wander for 40 years in the wilderness of Sinai, and the new generation that prepared to go again.
BACKGROUND for Numbers 1
In Numbers 1, the Israelites have been camped near Mt. Sinai for more than a year. Through Moses, God had given them the whole law (Leviticus). They were ready to move toward the land that God had promised them. Moses and Aaron were commanded by God to take a census of all the fighting men. There were 603,550 men ready to fight. This did not include the Levites, women, or children. With these groups added into the count, the number was believed to be over two million. They had multiplied greatly (Exodus 1:7) since Jacob entered Egypt with only 70 family members!
REFLECTION
We will continue to see censuses taken throughout Scripture proving that God is a God of order and detail (1 Corinthians 14:40). I want to be a woman of order and detail too! My office is a MESS right now with many unopened pieces of mail and papers left in piles. I need to clean this up before I can even start on my taxes to make sure I have everything that I need!
My excuse is that I have been busy with other things (triathlon on Saturday and speaking at a retreat on Sunday), but this passage reminded me to STOP and get this area of my life in order.
2014 Update: While my office is much nicer this year, and I have a system for getting all my tax papers in order, I still need to get them done!
2015 Update: It seems like I am always working on this chapter when I am getting ready to do my taxes. Last year, I completed them in one day with much order and joy. I am back to NO ORDER again, and the deadline is looming!
2023 Update: Taxes again! Actually, we got them to the accountant in March. I am always so convicted about order when I do my taxes. Since I wrote this, we did succumb to having an accountant do them, and that has made things so much easier. Now that I am a spiritual director and am required to charge for it, I have to keep track of small business income and expenses. Not my strong suit! How about you?
APPLICATION
How about you? Are there any areas of your life that you need to get in order? Pray and ask God to direct you in the ordering.
PRAYER
Help us to honor You in our order. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
APPLICATION
How about you? Are there any areas of your life that you need to get in order? Pray and ask God to direct you in the ordering.
PRAYER
Help us to honor You in our order. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
1 comment:
Here I am. SO MANY YEARS LATER, and I still do struggle with ORDER. I have learned since I wrote this post that I am very high on SOCIAL instinct. Reading that I was running a triathlon (with friends - I won my age division, by the way) and speaking at a retreat afterward tells you that this SOCIAL instinct is so dominant, and it makes me neglect my PRESERVATION instinct. I teach this instinctual variant teaching two times every March. I am always convicted to get back to the PRESERVATION of my body (I am not that bad at it, but this year I realized I was doing too much sitting and ministry sitting with people and not as much walking and stretching because I am not teaching Pilates which combined those two instincts really well.) and home. So, I am going to go into my study and clean out my junk drawer and SING (because reading Numbers made me want to sing in worship more!
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