I often hear different pastors say statements like, "It's not about the numbers," or "It's not the quantity but the quality." I do not disagree with statements such as these because it it true, numbers can puff up pride and create competition taking our focus off bringing Him alone glory. However, God dedicated an entire book in His Word called Numbers. Is He concerned about numbers? It certainly appears so.
I have been teaching the two older boys through the Torah for the last year and a half. It's been a slow process, but it is foundational to the entire Word. We finished Leviticus before Christmas and we began the book of Numbers yesterday. I've reflected on some details that I have often overlooked when studying this book before.
The very first chapter begins with God commanding Moses to take a census of the people. He wanted them numbered. The logistics of this whole process can be brushed off, but I remember when my sister-in-law, Sara, was involved in the census for our county in 2000. It was a major job. It took intense preparation, planning, and people working together to try and get an accurate count of the number of people in our town. The difference in White County numbers verses the numbers Moses was responsible to account for is staggering. I wonder how this process worked for them. We aren't given those details, but he was told to count all the males from twenty years and upward. In our family, that would be only one person out of five. He totaled 603,550 men from each of the tribes (excluding the Levites). I can't imagine how long this took!
Over and over in chapter one, the phrase to qualify the men included, "those who were able to go out to war." The whole purpose of the counting and gathering of the the troops was to prepare for war and enter into the Promised Land that God had foretold to Abraham hundreds of years before. Israel's army wasn't made up of volunteers and there wasn't a draft involved. Each able-bodied man, twenty years or older was expected to take his place and serve the Lord and serve the people. No slackers and side-line watching was allowed. All participated in the process.
In application to us now centuries later, we are in a war every day. It may not be a physical war, but it is a spiritual war. I remember when my friend read through the Bible the first time, she commented her surprise to see so much war in the Bible. She was correct. In Genesis 3, God declared war on satan and His people have been in a spiritual battle ever since. The Christian life is a battleground, not a playground. We have a real enemy. We are told by Paul in Ephesians 6 what to do to prepare for this battle:
"Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:10-13).
If you are in the church much, you are familiar with this. You probably memorized the armor of God as a child and hear about this reference often. I heard a pastor say that in his opinion, there are a lot of spiritual streakers in the church. He said that many people just want the helmet of salvation and nothing else. It takes effort to put on that belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel shoes of peace, the shield of faith, and holding up that sword of the spirit. Oftentimes, we want just the helmet of salvation and don't want to do our part. In other words, we want the blessings of God without much on our part, but this leaves us weak, exposed, and vulnerable.
I do not believe that anyone can work to earn their salvation at all (Ephesians 2:8-10). It is solely a gift from God, but He cannot make us put on the belt of truth. We have to be in the Word for ourselves. He imputed His own righteousness through Jesus Christ but when we walk in sin without repentance and confession, we leave our hearts and vital organs exposed to the enemy's schemes. When we don't want to put on the gospel shoes of peace and share the best news anyone can have, we are leaving ourselves exposed. The shield of faith, which is the size of the door in front of our bodies shield the flaming darts of the evil one, can only be up when we believe the promises of God. The sword of the spirit is the Word of God again. He begins and ends with the Word. The belt holds everything together and the sword is our only offensive weapon.
"There's a war out there. It is being fought on the turf of your heart. It is fought for the control of your soul. Each situation you face today is a skirmish in the war. Be careful, be aware of the battle. Don't forget that there is a scheming enemy out there who is out to deceive, divide, and destroy. Go out knowing that to win you must fight. You must not relax, you must not forget. Wise, mature, godly people live aware of the spiritual; they see it in every situation of life. They never view life 'under the sun' (Ecclesiastes). They see the spiritual implications in everything they do, in every situation they are in. To do this we must be spiritually minded ourselves. We must live aware of the war." (Paul Tripp, Age of Opportunity)
We must suit up and put on the full armor leaving nothing exposed and open for a dart to be pierced. I will never forget a comment Beth Moore made in one of her studies years ago. She said the enemy will never waste fiery dart where we are covered with armor. I have been exposed in areas of my spiritual armor and have taken some blows recently. This is an indictment on myself, not to say I have it all together. This is a statement telling myself to suit up! My strength is not in myself but solely in the Lord. He is not only the Lord of hosts and armies, He is also victorious. His battle has already been won. So has mine.
The Israelites were being numbered to get ready to go into battle. There were 603,550 men "able to go out to war." Only two of these men that were counted could be counted on. Only Joshua and Caleb were able to enter into the Promised Land because the rest of them died while wandering because of their lack of faith. "If God were to number the believers in the church today according to their ability to wage spiritual warefare, we wonder how big the army would be." (Warren Wiersbe, Be Counted).
Oh, may I be one of them.
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