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Numbers 40 & 50

 

The Number 40

The number 40 relates to revelation and to trials and testing.

 

Revelation

-Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and nights when he received the revelation of God’s law:

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:18)

-After His resurrection, Jesus revealed Himself to many people during 40 days:

To whom also he [Jesus] shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)

These appearances provided concrete revelation of the validity of Christ’s resurrection.

Trials And Testing

-Noah and his family endured the deluge on the earth for forty days and nights (Genesis 7:4).

-Moses spent 40 years in Egypt and forty years in the desert being prepared for the work that God would later call him to do - which would take another 40 years of trials while leading a rebellious people!

-Israel was tried and tested in the wilderness for 40 years:
And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)

The Lord tested His people to see if they would keep His commandments and be faithful to Him. Unfortunately, they failed the test:

But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:17-19)

-The number 40 is significant in the account of the Lord’s time in the wilderness prior to the commencement of His ministry:

And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. (Mark 1:13)

Jesus passed every test through the power of the Word of God - and so can you!

The word translated tempted here actually means "tested" or "tried."

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted , when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1:13-15)

Next, we come to the number 50. Get ready for a revelation that will greatly impact your life.

The Number 50

The number 50 signifies rest and release. The meaning of this number is derived from Israel's celebration of the year of Jubilee, which occurs every fifty years in their religious calendar.

To understand the spiritual significance of the year of Jubilee and what it means to believers today, you must understand the plan that God gave to Israel concerning the observance of this important year.

When Moses went up to Mount Sinai to meet with God, he was given instructions regarding specific days, times, and seasons which were to be consecrated and set apart as holy days.

These special days were important to God and had specific purposes as they reflected His plan of redemption through Christ and revealed His desire to pour out blessings upon His people.

Among these special observances was the year of Jubilee. This was not just a man-made Jewish tradition. It was God-ordained. God planned for Israel to observe the Jubilee throughout the generations as a testimony to His faithfulness and supernatural provision.

The word jubilee is taken from the Hebrew word "yovel" which means "to cause to bring back." Over the years, it became known as a year of liberty, freedom, and rest.

Jubilee was determined in Israel by precise calculations that were given by God. The Israelites were to count seven sabbatical years (7 periods of 7 years = 49 years). During the following year (the fiftieth), the year of Jubilee was to occur (Leviticus 25:8,10).

The criteria for calculating the fiftieth year was based on seven-year cycles. For six years, the Israelites would carry out a normal farming rotation. They would plant and sow and gather their harvests. They continued doing this until the seventh year, during which there was to be no sowing or harvesting. The land was to lie fallow for a Sabbath year of rest.

The seven-year periods were added up until seven Sabbath cycles had occurred. This would cover a total of forty-nine years (7x7=49). Following the forty-ninth Sabbath year, the special fiftieth year occurred--the year of Jubilee.

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another. (Leviticus 25:10-14)

God Moves In Cycles

The precise calculations used to determine the Jubilee year demonstrates God's vital concern with spiritual timing. God always works in times and seasons. He moves in cycles that have specific beginning and ending points. Within these divine cycles, various supernatural events occur - which lead us to conclude that these are God's cycles, not man-made cycles. Watch for the spiritual cycles of God being manifested in your life, your ministry, and world events.

If you are a born-again, Spirit-filled believer, then you are an heir of the promises of Abraham and the nation of Israel. Even though your flesh may not be circumcised, your heart is circumcised by the blood of Jesus:

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. (Colossians 2:11)

As an heir of Abraham and the nation of Israel, you are a beneficiary of the same blessings - and this includes the observance of Jubilee. You may say, "The year in which I am reading this book doesn’t end in 50. I’m not 50 years old. I haven’t walked with the Lord for 50 years. So how do I determine my time of Jubilee?"

Your Jubilee is spiritual and includes the components of the Jubilee observed by Israel.

What Jubilee Means To You

God established five essential features which characterized Jubilee in ancient Israel.

Release. Liberty was proclaimed to all who were in bondage. Those enslaved were set free.

And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. (Leviticus 25:39-41)

This release from bondage was not just something that God suggested Israel do, but it was commanded as the year of the Lord's release (Deuteronomy 15:2).

God declared complete and total liberty for His people.

Jesus has provided for your release:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. (Luke 4:18-19)

Restoration. Lost possessions were returned. Property that had been lost through debt or poverty reverted back to its original owner.

In the year of the jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong. (Leviticus 27:24)

God has promised that He will restore the years you have lost to the enemy (Joel 2:25).

Debt-Cancellation. All debts were canceled.

At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord's release. (Deuteronomy 15:1-2)

Jesus cancelled your spiritual debt at the cross by forgiving all of your iniquities (Psalm 103:3).

Protection. The people would dwell in the land safely because the enemy - who came to rob, steal, and destroy - would be defeated.

And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. (Leviticus 26:5-8)

As a believer, you need not fear evil because the Lord is with you (Psalm 23:4) No evil can threaten your position in God (Psalm 91:10).

Increase. There would be divine sufficiency, a supernatural cycle of God's provision. During the year of Jubilee, fields remained fallow and the people lived on what was harvested the previous year.

And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store. (Leviticus 25:20-22)

The Bible promises that God will provide all you need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13).

This Is Your Time

During Jubilee, there was to be release, restoration, debt-cancellation, protection, and increase.

This is your time of Jubilee spiritually. It is a time for you to reclaim everything that the enemy has stolen from you! Reclaim your health! Reclaim your family! Reclaim your ministry! Reclaim your finances! Reclaim it all!

A loud blast of the trumpet proclaimed the beginning of the year of Jubilee in Israel. The trumpet of God is sounding today in the spirit world, marking your spiritual Jubilee. God wants you to have liberty in every area of your life - physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially. He wants you to experience total freedom from every bondage of the enemy including sinful habits, wrong attitudes and emotions, and your sinful past.

This is the time for taking back all that was stolen from you. It is time to reclaim your lost property, finances, ministries, dreams, unsaved loved ones, and anything else that Satan has stolen from you. That is what the number 50 means to you.

 

 

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