The Significance of the Number 40 in these Days, this Hour

We just came out of Passover and I did a brief study on the plagues of Egypt (posted earlier this month).  You may want to go back and read it. Over the past few weeks, the number forth kept rolling around in my head and then I saw some post on social media bout "40" and so I thought I would explore this number in a more exhaustive way on my own.

You would have to be living under a rock not to know that most of the world has been shut-down or in quarantine for the past few months in some parts of the world.  Let’s start this discussion with that word, quarantine. The word quarantine comes from the Venetian dialect of the Italian word, quaranta giorni meaning 40 days. The Latin word, quaranta, means 40. This was the period of time that ships were required to be isolated before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death Plague.

In the Hebrew Bible, forty is often used for time periods, forty days and forty years, which separate “two distinct epochs” so we see that forty is a significant number in the Hebrew scripture. Highly significant events occur in timespans of 40 days or years so let’s look at the ones I found.

NOAH:

·       The rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights during flood. Genesis 7:4.

·       Noah waited 40 days after the tops of mountains were seen after the flood, before releasing a raven. Genesis 8:5-7.

MOSES:

·       Moses spent 40 years exiled in Kush (Sudan? Ethiopia?). Exodus 2:11-22, Acts 7:23, and Acts 7:30.

·       Moses’ life is divided into three 40-year segments; separated by his growing to adulthood, fleeing from Egypt, and his return to lead his people out. Acts 7:23, 30, 36.

·       Moses sent out spies (scouts) to explore the land of Canaan (promised land) for 40 days. Numbers 13:2, 25.

·       Moses and the Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness outside the Promised Land; one year for each of the 40 days the spies (scouts) explored the land of Canaan because they grumbled and sinned against God. The entire generation died (we see this period of years 40 year again) that represents the time it takes for a new generation to arise. Numbers 14:33-34, Numbers 32:13, and Joshua 5:6

1.     Caleb was the only scout who trusts in YHWH and he was 40 years old when he enters Canaan. His life alone is spared by God.

·       Moses spent three consecutive periods of 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai with God.

1.     Moses fasted and prayed and received the 10 Commandments of the law on the first time. Exodus 24:18. He went up on the seventh day of Sivan, after God gave the Torah to the Jewish people, in order to learn the Torah from God, and came down on the seventeenth time of Tammuz.  He had been fasting and praying and the Lord wrote with his finger on the tablet and gave Moses the 10 Commandments.  When Moses saw the people worshiping the Golden Calf, he broke the tablets. Deuteronomy 9:11, Exodus 32:19.

2.     He went up on the eighteenth day of Tammuz to beg forgiveness for the people's sin and came down without God's atonement on the twenty-ninth day of Av. Deuteronomy 9:25. Moses fasted for another 40 days and 40 nights when God had written the Law a second time.  Exodus 34:28.

3.     He went up on the first day of Elul and came down on the tenth day of Tishrei, (first Yom Kippur), with God's atonement; whole-hearted forgiveness and reconciliation with the people of Israel.  Elul serves as the “month of divine mercy and forgiveness”. Deuteronomy 10:10

ISAAC:

• Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. Genesis 25:20
• Isaac’s son Esau was 40 years old when he marries Judith and Basemath. Genesis 26:34

EZEKIEL:

• God commands Ezekiel to lie on his right side for 40 days to bear the sins of Israel. Ezekiel 4:6
• Ezekiel prophesies that Egypt shall be desolate for 40 years. Ezekiel 29:12

HEBREW LEADERS:

·       Several early Hebrew leaders and kings ruled for 40 years in Israel, again, a generation. 

1.     Eli (the final judge to rule) in 1 Samuel 4:18

2.     Saul in Acts 13:21

3.     King David in 2 Samuel 5:4, and

4.     King Solomon in 1 Kings 11:42

• The land has peace for a period of 40 years under these judges:
1. Othniel in Judges 3:11
2. Deborah in Judges 5:31
3. Gideon in Judges 8:31

OTHER OLD TESTAMENT ACCOUNTS of FORTY:

• The embalming of Israel (Jacob) takes 40 days. Genesis 50:3
• God punishes Israel by allowing the Philistines to defeat them for 40 years (the epoch of Samson).  Judges 13:1

• The Philistine army stands against Saul’s army sending out Goliath twice a day for 40 days until David slays Goliath. I Samuel 17:16
• Elijah fasted and traveled 40 days to the Mountain of God (Mount Horeb aka Mount Sinai; where God gave Moses the 10 commandments). I Kings 19:8

·       Jonah prophesies that Nineveh will be overthrown in 40 days. Jonah 3:4

·       40 days for a woman to rest after giving birth to a son (80 for a girl). Leviticus 12:1-8

·       A mikvah consists of 40 se’ah of water.  A measurement.

NEW TESTAMENT ACCOUNTS of FORTY:

·       Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the Judean dessert. Matthew 4:2, Mark 1:13, and Luke 4:2. (This is also described as the commemoration of Lent in some Christian traditions.)

·       The Sanhedrin used 40 lashes as one of the punishments listed in Deuteronomy 25:3; even though in actual practice only 39 lashes were administered as it was said, 40 would kill a man.  Jesus took 39 lashes.

·       There were 40 days from the resurrection of Jesus that he appeared on earth to His ascension in heaven. Acts 1:3.

OTHER FORTY’s:

·       A human being grows in the mother’s womb to produce a living body in 40 weeks.

·       The temperature, -40 on the Fahrenheit scale and -40 on the Celsius scales correspond together.  It is the same, minus forty or forty below on either measuring system.

·       This year is 2020 contains 20+20 and that = 40.

·       2020 is a census year; Jesus Christ was born during a census.

·       2020 is a year of “vision”. (Perfect vision is 2010.)  We need to ask the Lord what to see this year.

Finally, I have read that a group of theologians believe the number 40 represents "change”. It is the time of preparing a person, or people, to make a fundamental change.

In the last month, we certainly have seen changes in our world. God is all about rest, as even He rested on the 7^th day – the Sabbath; so maybe this “forced” rest our world has experienced has to do with our lack of taking a Sabbath. I remember in the early 1970’s when stores closed at a reasonable hour at night and most places were closed on Sundays. Could it be God is demanding His Sabbath from our nation?

Many people have been taking this time of being “shut-in” to truly find the Lord and turn their hearts with purpose, back to the Lord. They are repenting, seeking God, finding Him, but I feel as though there are many, dare I say even many Christians that are NOT using this time to seek the Lord, to repent of “their wicked ways” (because most of us think we are right, ya know?) and to truly encounter what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the churches.  When we truly bow the knee, and repent, and turn, THEN we will hear from heaven and God will heal our land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Something is brooding in my spirit as the Lord is highlighting “signs and seasons”.  We just came through a very significant time in history; the world had another, real-time Passover. Just as the plague of the angel of death was going over Egypt 3333 years ago, we too, needed the Lord to cover us, so that the coronavirus would Passover our homes.  Even the entire nation of Israel was “shut in” (a curfew was imposed over everyone), for the first time since Moses led his people out at the Exodus. God is a very intentional God so we need to be paying attention to these signs, watching and waiting.  Jesus died on Passover and then He rose again on First Fruits.  And after Jesus rose, he came back to live on the earth, walking with his disciples on the earth again, for 40 days. Read about it in Acts 1.

After Jesus rose from the dead but before He ascended up to heaven, He instructed His about the coming Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) and He told them to wait in the upper room (after He ascended) for the Holy Spirit to come, and Jesus said, He was “mightier than I”.  The disciples again, were shut-in for 10 days in the upper room (Acts 2:1) when the Holy Spirit came and filled the room like a rushing, mighty wind, baptizing them with fire.  Matthew 3:11. This is what the church calls Pentecost and it where the Old Testament period of the law was concluded and the new era of the church began.  This “church”, those who believe in Jesus as Messiah are now part of the body (or bride) of Christ.  The church age began at Pentecost and will conclude when Christ comes back.  (This is where understanding a Galilean wedding betrothal/ceremony would be helpful to understand.  I may write about that in the near future.)

We just experienced a fresh world-wide Passover, and I am expecting, that 40 days from that event (plug the 10 days they were shut-in waiting in the upper room), we will experience a FRESH world-wide Pentecost!

I have heard some prophetic voices saying things like we are nearing the end of this “church” age and we will be stepping into the “Kingdom Age” after we come out of this coronavirus quarantine; that we will be stepping into a whole new way of living; life will be different.  I agree.  We are shifting from one period of time in history into a distinctively new period with particular characteristics marked by this notable event called the coronavirus.  Watch; we are living the history books of tomorrow.

The number 40 is an indicator, that there is about to be a "change".  Hiding and watching, waiting for the Fire of God to fall fresh and new upon us… Maranatha.

ADDENDUM:  I just heard that the official day of the Wuhan Virus shutdown in the United States was March 23rd, 2020.  The official day for the reopening of the United States is May 1st, 2020 - or EXACTLY 40 days!

Pentecost is celebrated 40 days after the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.  There was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that shifted the disciples from people of great fear (hiding and denying) to people of great faith!  Could we have another great outpouring of His Spirit, a great awakening coming upon us?  May 31st, 2020, is Pentecost and Shavuot begins May 28th.  Shavuot comes from the meaning "weeks" celebrates the early barley harvest and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.  It is also called the "Feast of the Harvest".  Hmmm - is there going to be a GREAT HARVEST coming as the Fire of God falls again on the earth?  I have heard many Christians feeling that we are about to step into the Third Great Awakening... yes Lord. Jesus Come!