| Number 1 - Unity, God * Unity; indivisible, the source of all other numbers; prime; the first = God * The First Commandment - ye shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3) * Hear O Israel, the Lord your God the Lord is one (Deut. 6:4) * I am the firt and I am the last (Isa. 44:6) * One faith, one hope, one baptism, one God and Father of us all (Eph. 4:4) Number 2 - Division * The first divisible number * The first number where one is bound with a second * Lamech - the first to take 2 wives and so rebel against God (Gen. 4:19) * "To Eber was born two sons. In his day the earth was divided." (Gen. 10:25) * Rebekah bore 2 sons - a people divided (Gen. 25:23) * Jeroboam and Rehoboam - a kingdom divided * A man cannot serve 2 masters (Matt. 6:24) * Judgement described as the separation of the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31) * 2 covenants - the law of Moses and the law of grace (Gal. 4:22) Number 3 - Redeemed of the Lord * Noah's 3 sons repopulated the earth (Gen. 6:10) * Sacrificial animals had to be 3 years old (Gen. 15:9) * 3 angels appeared to Abraham and destroyed Sodom (Gen. 18:2) * After 3 days journey, a ram was provided to sacrifice in place of Isaac (Gen. 22:4) * There were 3 cities of refuge in Canaan and 3 beyond the Jordan (Num. 35:14) * Jonah was released on the 3rd day (Jonah 1:17) * Jesus was crucified at the 3rd hour (Mk 15:25) * Jesus was raised on the 3rd day (Matt. 27:63) * 3,000 people were converted at Pentecost (Acts 2:41) Number 4 - Order of Things * Four winds of heaven = four points of the compass (Zech. 6:5) * Four corners of the ark, altar and tabernacle and the future temple (Exod. 25:12, Ezek. 46:21) * Four sides to the camp in the wilderness (Numbers 2) * Four world empires (Daniel 2) * Four watches of the night (Matt. 14:25) * Four gospels - Equivalent to the four standards of the lead tribes of Israel on the 4 sides of the encampment. Man, Lion, Ox, Eagle (See Section 8) Number 5 - God's Grace * God would not destroy Sodom for the sake of 5 righteous men (Gen. 18:28) * God had provided sufficiently that Paraoh was able to set aside a fith of the produce to store for the years of famine (Gen. 41:34) * Benjamin was given 5 times more than his brothers (Gen. 43:34) * 5 was the prevalent number of the tabernacle - 5 curtains, 50 loops, 50 clasps, 5 frames, 5 bars, 5 cubits, etc. (Exodus 26 and 27) * 50th year was the year of release or Jubilee (Lev. 25:10) * 5 is the predominant dimension of the future temple of Ezekiel's vision (Ezek. 40) * Jesus fed the 5,000 with 5 loves and 2 fishes (Matt. 14:17) * The worthiest servant was given 5 talents and 5 were added (Matt. 25:15) Number 6 - Sinful Flesh * Six days of labor - as the curse from Eden (Exod. 23:12) * Goliath's six cubits and a span tall and having a spear tip of 600 shekels ( 1 Sam. 14:4-7) * Philistine giants had 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot ( 2 Sam. 21:20) * 666, the number of the beast, "a human number" (Rev. 13:18) Number 7 - Completion * God finished his work in the 7th day (Gen. 2:2) * Lamech who died the year of the flood was aged 777 (Gen. 5:31) * 7 pairs of clean animals went into the ark (Gen. 7:2) * God waited 7 days before sending the rain (Gen. 7:4) * Jacob served Laban 7 years for Leah and 7 for Rachel (Gen. 29:18-27) * There were 7 good years and 7 years of famine in Egypt (Gen. 41:26,27) * Under the law, man was to rest on the 7th day - Saturday (Exod. 20:10) * Uncleaness under the law lasted 7 days (Lev. 12:2) * The leper was examined by the priest after 7 days (Lev. 13:6) * At Jericho, on the 7th day, the Israelites had to walk around the city 7 times (Josh. 6:15) * The leper had to wash in the Jordan 7 times (2 Kings 5:10) * The last book of the Bible - Revelation - uses number 7 extensively * There are 7 days in the week * There are 7 colors in the spectrum * There are 7 notes in a musical scale * The moon takes 28 days (7x4) to cycle the earth. Number 8 - Resurrection * Circumcision was required on the 8th day (Gen. 17:12) * On the 8th day, the devoted things become God's (Ex. 22:27) * On the 8th day the Lord appeared * Lepers were considered cleansed if free of disease on 8th day (Lev. 14) NB: leprosy = sin * The Temple was dedicated by Solomon on the 8th day (2 Chron. 7:9) * 8 characterized items in the temple of Ezekiel's vision. The Gateway (Ezek. 40:8), the steps (v. 31), the tables (v. 41) * 8 people were saved in the Ark (1 Pet. 3:5) * Besides Jesus (who was raised by God directly), there are 8 resurrections recorded in the Bible through Jesus, the prophets or apostles: 1. The widow of Zarephath's son (1 Kgs 17:17) 2. The Shunamite's son (2 Kgs 4:35) 3. The man thrown into Elisha's tomb (2 Kgs 13:21) 4. Jairus's daughter (Matt. 9:18) 5. The young man of Nain (Luke 7:11) 6. Lazarus (John 11) 7. Dorcas (Acts 9:40) 8. Eutychus (Acts 20:7) |
| THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF NUMBERS - A SUMMARY |
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