Sun 9:30a Class; 10:30a Worship; 11:35a Communion
Bible Bites
Count to Forty
“The Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand.” (1 Samuel 17:16)
The joke I tell my high school students is that if you need to guess a number in the Bible, it is probably forty (or maybe seven!).
The Bible is full of forties: forty years in the wilderness for Israel, forty days in the wilderness for Jesus, forty days and nights of rain in Noah’s flood, forty days on Mount Sinai for Moses, and Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection over a course of forty days… just to name a few.
Forty typically represents a time of testing and transformation. After a season of forty – whoever it is, rarely is the same if they endure to the end. Goliath taunted Israel for forty days. Only one man rose to the challenge and was transformed by it. David entered a shepherd and left a warrior king. Your life will have ‘forties’, too. Who knows what God might be preparing you for?
This Week’s Reading: 1 Samuel 17-24; Psalm 31; Proverbs 31
This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision
