Advancing the Revelation of Truth

The Spiritual Significance of the Number Forty

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All readers of the Christian Scriptures are familiar with its references to the number FORTY, whether it be days, nights or years.  A casual reading would lead the reader to believe that this number is related to God’s need to  chastise or punish individuals or groups such as the Whole Tribe of Israel.

This study is intended to show that this meaning is not always that which God applies to this particular number.

The following panel shows a brief summary of the meaning of those factors which make up the number FORTY.  The full meaning of each factor: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, 40. is detailed in the By Grace leaflets Nos: 64 and 66.

 

1 x 40.       [1]  denotes unity; as an ordinal it denotes primacy. [40] is  the number of trial or probation. It can also be viewed positively in that it is the END of the time of trial or testing.

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2 x 20      [2]  Following [1]  it tells us there is another. This difference may be for good or evil. [20]  expectancy with fulfilment. A waiting in hope of the determined outcome.

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4 x 10      [4]  the number of creation, of material things, and matter itself. It is the number of material completeness, therefore the world number  [10] the perfection of divine order. . Nothing is wanting, the whole cycle is complete

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5 x 8       [5] the number of grace, of divine strength made perfect in weakness. [8] the number associated with resurrection and regeneration and the beginning of a new era or order.


ALL REFERENCES TO SCRIPTURE’S  MEANING OF THE NUMBER  ‘FORTY’

The number FORTY is used in conjunction with other numbers such as: forty-one, forty and two thousand, and a hundred and forty and eight. This study takes only those examples, 35 in the O.T. and 9 in the N.T., which relate to forty only, as a time factor. There is an exception in the Mosaic Law, the limit of a maximum of forty stripes to be applied to a malefactor. [Deu 25:3]  It should be noted that one action of God can be referred to several times, but it should not be assumed that the action is described each time with the same purpose in God’s mind.


THE FORTY-FIVE EXAMPLES

 For yet seven days and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights. GEN 7:4  [5 x 8]     God’s Grace leading to regeneration.


And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his  father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.  And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days  of those which are embalmed: . GEN 50:2  [4 x 10] The cycle of life is completed


And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they  came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the  borders of the land of Canaan.    Exo 16:35    [2 x 20]  Waiting in hope of a determined outcome


And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the  mount: and he was in the mount forty days and forty nights.   And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the  tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.  Exo 24:18  [5 x 8] The beginning of a new era



And he was there with the LORD
forty days and forty nights; he did  neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words  of the covenant, the ten commandments. EXO 34:28  [5 x 8]   God’s Grace sustained Moses


NUM 13:25  And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the  congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to  Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and  shewed them the fruit of the land.  And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou  sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit  of it.  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the  cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak  there.  The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and  the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites  dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.  Numbers 13:25     [2 x 20]  A waiting in hope.


NUM 14:28   Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken  in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were  numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and  upward which have murmured against me.  Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware  to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the  son of Nun.  But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I  bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.  But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.  And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and  bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.  After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even  forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty  years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.  I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil  congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they  shall be consumed, and there they shall die.  And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and  made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander  upon the land,  Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died  by the plague before the LORD.  But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which  were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.   Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware  to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the  son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I  bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.  But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.  And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and  bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.  After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even  forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty  years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.  I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil  congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they  shall be consumed, and there they shall die.  And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and  made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander  upon the land,  Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died  by the plague before the LORD.  NUM 14:34  [2 x 20]  A waiting in expectancy   [1 x 40]  A period of probation. 


You have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.  And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast  of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be  afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:  Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not  so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a  possession.  Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall  also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.  For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand:  he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the  LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.   Deuteronomy 2:7    [5 x 8]  God’s Grace given towards the beginning of a new era.


Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good  land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.  Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to  wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land  of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the  LORD.   Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was  angry with you to have destroyed you.  When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even  the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the  mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:  And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the  finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the  LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day  of the assembly.  And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that  the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.    Deu 9:9     [5 x 8]   Divine strength made perfect in weakness.


And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and  brake them before your eyes.   And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and  forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your  sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke  him to anger.  For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD  was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that  time also.  And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I  prayed for Aaron also the same time.   And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with  fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as  dust: and I cast the dust thereofinto the brook that descended out of the  mount.  DEU 9:11    [2 x 20]  Expectance with fulfilment.


And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked  the LORD to wrath. Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and  possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the  commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to  his voice.  Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew  you.  Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I  fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.   DEU 9:25    [2 x 20] There is another way, expectancy with fulfilment.


And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and  brake them before your eyes.   And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and  forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your  sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke  him to anger.  For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD  was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that  time also.  And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I  prayed for Aaron also the same time.   And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with  fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as  dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the  mount.  And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked  the LORD to wrath.  Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and  possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the  commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to  his voice.  Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew  you.  Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I  fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you. Deu 9:25 [2 x 20] Another way, expectancy with fulfilment.


And I stayed in the mount according to the first time, and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the  LORD would not destroy thee. Deu  10:10    [2 x 20]  Another way, expectancy with fulfilment


And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the  judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face,  according to his fault, by a certain number.  Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should  exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should  seem vile unto thee. DEU 25:2    [1 x 40]  Trial


Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the  son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the  LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.  Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from  Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in  mine heart.  Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the  people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.  Joshua 14:7   [2 x 20] A waiting in hope of a determined outcome.


And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and  went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia  into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.  And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.  judges 3:11  [1 x 40]  The end of a time of trial and testing.


The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the  lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his  chariots?   Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,  Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a  damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours  of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the  necks of them that take the spoil?  So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him  be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty  years.  Jud 5:31   [1 x 40]  The end of a time of trial and testing.


And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.  And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore  and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.  And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in  Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD;  and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.  JDG 12:14  [1 x 40] A time of trial or probation.


Thus was Midian subdued before the Children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.  Judges 8:28  [5 x 8]  The end of a time of trial and testing.


And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.  And he had forty sons [5 x 8]  and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore  and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.  And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in  Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD;  and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.  Jud 13:1  [1 x 40]  A time of trial or probation


And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the  battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab  the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.  And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.  But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at  Bethlehem.  And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented  himself forty days.  And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an  ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy  brethren;  And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and  look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.  Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of  Elah, fighting with the Philistines.  And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a  keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the  trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.  For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army  against army.  And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the  carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the  Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the  Philistines, and spake according to the same word  sand David heard them.  And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and  were sore afraid.  1samuel 17:16 [2 x 20] Expectancy, waiting in hope of a determined outcome.


So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David  made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David  king over Israel.  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned  forty years.  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in  Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.  2Samuel 5:4    [5 x 8]  God’s Grace at the beginning of a new era.


And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots  and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and  it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for  judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And  he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.  And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but  there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.  Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that  every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him  justice!  And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him  obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.  And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king  for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the  king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the  LORD, in Hebron.  For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying,  If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the  LORD.  And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to  Hebron.  2Samuel 15:7    [2 x 20]  Another way, expecting a determined outcome.


So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.  And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven  years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in  Jerusalem.  Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom  was established greatly.  1kings 2:11   [5 x 8] God’s Grace at the beginning of a new era.


And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his  wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?  And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was  forty years.   And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of  David his father:   1Kings 11:42     [5 x 8]  God’s Grace at the beginning of a new era.


And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had  slain all the prophets with the sword.   Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do  to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to  morrow about this time.  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to  Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and  sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might  die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not  better than my fathers.  And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel  touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.  And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and  a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down  again.  And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched  him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.  And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that  meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.  And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the  word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here,  Elijah?  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for  the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars,  and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they  seek my life, to take it away.1Kings 19:8    [5 x 8]  God’s Grace and regeneration.


And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet:  and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house.  Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.  In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years  reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.  And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his  days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.  But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed  and burnt incense in the high places.   2kings 12:1    [5 x 8]  God’s Grace and regeneration.


And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven  years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in  Jerusalem.  And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and  Solomon his son reigned in his stead.  21Chron 9:27    [5 x 8]  God’s Grace, divine strength.


the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not  written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the  Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of  Nebat?  And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.  And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of  David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.    2chron 9:30  [5 x 8]  God’s Grace, divine strength.


But they refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou  didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed  a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon,  gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest  them not.  Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God  that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;  Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the  wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead  them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and  the way wherein they should go.  Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest  not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.  Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that  they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.  Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them  into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king  of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of BashanNehemiah. Neh 9:21  [5 x 8]  God’s Grace, divine strength.


O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our  maker.  For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the  sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,  Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of  temptation in the wilderness:  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is  a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:  Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my  rest.  Psalm 95:10    [1 x 40]  Trial, testing and Probation. 


Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory  of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and  I fell on my face  Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake  with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.  But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and  shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:   And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou  shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious  house.  But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say  unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he  that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.  Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and  pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:  And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a  mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams  against it round about.    Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of  iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be  besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the  house of Israel.  Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of  Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon  it thou shalt bear their iniquity.  For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according  to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear  the iniquity of the house of Israel.  And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and  thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have  appointed thee each day for a year.   Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and  thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.  .   Ezekiel 4:6   [1 x 40]  Trial and testing


Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I  will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of  Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.  No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass  through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. [1 x 40] And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the  countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid  waste shall be desolate forty years: ([1 x 40] Trial and Testing.)  and I will scatter the Egyptians among  the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.  Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians ([2 x 20] Expectancy with fulfilment.) from the people whither they were scattered:  And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them  to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and  they shall be there a base kingdom. EZE 29:11


So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the  LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he  cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.  So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put  on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. JONAH 3:4  [2 x 20]  Expectancy with fulfilment.


Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted  of the devil.  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward  an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God,  command that these stones be made bread.  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread  alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.  MAT 4:2  [2 x 20]  A waiting in hope of the determined outcome. [5 x 8]  Divine strength made perfect in weakness.


The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began  both to do and teach,  Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy  Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:  To whom also he 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:  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they  should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,  which, saith he, ye have heard of me.  ACT 1:3  [4 x 10]  The perfection of divine order for world government.


And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was  mighty in words and in deeds.  And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit  his brethren the children of Israel. ACT 7:23   [2 x 20]  Another way, expectancy with fulfilment


Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of  Madian, where he begat two sons.  And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the  wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.  When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to  behold it, the voice of the LORD came unto him,  ACT 7:30    [2 x 20]  Another way, expectancy with fulfilment


This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a  judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the  angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs  in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet  shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him  shall ye hear. ACT 7:36   [5 x 8]  God’s grace and regeneration.


And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the  idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.  Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as  it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye  offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the  wilderness?  Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god  Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away  beyond Babylon. ACT 7:42  [2 x 20] There is a better way


The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the  people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high  arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he  divided their land to them by lot. ACT 13:18   [5 x 8]  God’s grace.


Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of  temptation in the wilderness:  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway  err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.  So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.   Hebrews 3:9    [5 x 8]  God’s grace


While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your  hearts, as in the provocation.  For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came  out of Egypt by Moses.   But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that  had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?  HEB 3:15     [1 x 40]  Probation, trial and testing.

 

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