Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 3:18 PM
Subject: Chatting about numbers this morning

Hi all

Chatting about numbers again this morning, and David’s counting of Israel , there is something about being able to count, figure out a sum, that is uniquely human.

Animals make their decisions by instinct, it’s we humans who can sit down and “figure things out”.

And that’s great, it’d be a bad parent who stopped their children from gaining knowledge of maths.

But when it comes to the Lord , we have those two scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments

1. Truly you are a God that hides yourself (keeps yourself secret), O God of Israel, the Saviour. (Isaiah 45:15)

2. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5)

indicating that we need to tread carefully when it comes to God’s numbers e.g. to be numbering God’s people.

Thus it was right for Moses to number the people, because he was following God’s instructions, and it was also done carefully, humbly, each person bringing an offering so that no plague would devastate them.

Numbers 1:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first (day) of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take the sum of all the assembly of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of [their] names, every male by their polls; From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: you and Aaron shall number them by their armies.“

Click here for further information about that first census
 

Done the right way, it’s great, done the wrong way, i.e. done presumptuously or proudly, done because you were the king, and wanted to know how big of a king you were, or for whatever reason, yes, brought on the plague,

2nd Samuel 24:10 And David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech you, O LORD, take away the fault of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.

That word foolishly is actually first used in Genesis when Jacob races off with his family without giving Laban opportunity to kiss his daughters or grandchildren goodbye. In other words, it’s being pretty presumptuous or uncaring of somebody else’s feelings.

But once it was done, it couldn’t be undone.

And David couldn’t undo the knowledge either once he’d got it.

Interesting Steve

Stephen Williamson Computing Services Pty Ltd
www.swcs.com.au/aboutus.asp