By the NUMBERS

My running journey lately has been one of more running after God than that of running in the normal sense. Since October 1 I have been sidelined with an inguinal hernia which has been a blessing in a way.

My last run was in January and was a whole 5km. It took me just under half hour which was encouraging that I hadn't lost that much fitness overall. The inclement weather set in - snow storms, cold, melting, ice, cold again which may be a terrible excuse but such conditions could easily worsen the hernia situation with poor footing and slippery sidewalks.

Surgery for the hernia is scheduled for the end of March which puts me back in training mid may so that is less than exciting.

What is exciting though is the journey that I've had recently in my run after God.

Numbers.

Most runners obsess over their numbers - mileage, elevation, caloric intake, hydration, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

However, for as long as I've been a Christian, it was the Book of Numbers that I tried to avoid, I've read it several times and it seemed like a long list of unpronounceable names and unpronounceable places, a bore fest between Leviticus and Deuteronomy. This time though it has been different. I have never received so much clear revelation out of a single book of the bible than I have out of Numbers in the past few weeks.

Nazirite Laws - Numbers 6 explains the laws of the Nazirite. This was a special vow taken "setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way." Numbers 6:2. What caught me about this was that there is a lot of things one had to do to be set apart (sanctified) for God. Don't drink, don't cut your hair, don't touch death...a lot of don'ts. As I considered this, my thoughts jumped to the book of Judges and the story of Samson. Samson was a Nazirite, kept his vows perfectly, until he was tricked by Delilah and given over to the Philistines, bad stuff happened, they pulled out his eyes and he ended up committing suicide while killing all the Philistines in the process. I thought about how Samson lost his strength because he broke a vow and realized that because of Christ's death on the Cross, and our acceptance of that act as the final redeeming sacrifice for our sins we are sanctified once and for all. Christ sealed our sanctification with the sending of His Holy Spirit to be our comforter and guide in the book of Acts.

Answer to Moses' Prayer - In Numbers 11, Moses gets somewhat fed up of dealing with all the whining of the Israelites and asks God to help him, and so be it, Moses is able to choose seventy other leaders to help him. Two of these men, however, began to prophesy and Joshua (basically the next in line to lead the Israelites) protested about this. "But Moses replied, Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His spirit on them all." Number 11:29. Guess what, In Acts Chapter 2, God did pour out His spirit on all of His people and 1 Corinthians 14 speaks of the gift of Prophecy.

The Slayer and The Avenger -
But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge, and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder. The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property.- Numbers 35:26-28

The slayer is a picture of a sinner, constantly looking over his shoulder for the avenger to destroy him. The avenger is a picture of the devil - the accuser of the brethren, roaming like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. Jesus is our place of refuge where we find rest, but Jesus is also our high priest that has died and any possible conviction is erased. There is protection in Christ Jesus but there is also freedom in the death of Jesus. There is no more condemnation and no more conviction. In Jesus YOU ARE FREE.

So Numbers isn't so boring after all. The entire bible is woven together like a wonderful tapestry. It is beautiful in all its pieces and even more so when you allow the Holy Spirit to weave it into your heart.