The Israelites were people of “numbers”. There is even a book in the bible called “Numbers” about. . . numbers (and so much more). It is interesting to note that in the history of Israel, before they entered into the promised land, they were very concerned about numbers. Just take a look at this excerpt from the book of Numbers.
Take a census . . .
List . . .
One by one . . .
Numbers . . .
You know, by the time it was all said and done, the Israelites numbered 603,550 (minus the Levites)! That’s a lot of people! But, here is what is interesting. As you walk through Israel’s history from that point on, the “numbers” fade in terms of importance. Do you know what takes their place? Faith. Prayer. A courage that comes from confidence in God and His promises. God’s provision. God’s sovereignty. God’s power. The people uniting under the headship of God. The people striving to glorify God. The people willing to consider others less important than themselves and serving with a humble heart. The people being willing to fight for God’s namesake. The people obediently following God’s leading. Now maybe your sitting there reading this and saying, “Wait a minute Rob, wait a minute? Is this Israel you are talking about? You know, the folks who God chastised for their idolatry, disobedience, and hard heartedness? The folks who wandered in the desert for much longer than they should have because of their grumbling and their often faithless existence?” Yep, that’s them. One important thing to notice about the Israelites is when you read their story, the only time things went well for them is when they lived lives of faith and obedience towards God. Their numbers……they didn’t really matter. As a matter of fact, there were often times in the bible where God purposefully reduced their numbers so that His power might be shown and He might receive the glory for how He moved in their midst.
Hmmm. . . I wonder what lessons churches can draw from the annals of Israel’s history? I wonder what we all can learn from walking through the pages of scripture and seeing that it has never been about “the numbers” but about God. The Israelite’s were called to live for God and stand back while He displayed His power and protected his namesake. We are called to the same thing.
Maybe instead of asking “How big is your church?” God’s people need to start talking about how big our God is. Maybe instead of asking, “Do we have enough people?”, we need to say, “Let us turn to God and ask Him to provide for the ministry of the church.” Perhaps all of us need to ask not if we are big enough, but How God can use our faith to bring Him glory as
He moves in His church
For His glory,
Rob
July 2, 2016