Verse for the Day, 19 May 2016

Good Morning All!

 

No your eyes do not deceive you, after an exceptionally long break the Verse for the Day is back!

 

As always your feedback and comments are appreciated.

 

 

 

Numbers 10:8-10, “And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”

In the first part of Numbers 10, we have God instructing Moses to have two trumpets made, which are to be used for a variety of reasons. They shall be used to summon the chiefs and leaders of the tribes, to inform all the people that they to break up their camp and prepare to set out, and to sound the alarm, issuing the call to arms.

However, there is more to these trumpets than just to issue various instructions, they have a deeper and more significant purpose. Like all of the tabernacle items and articles, they served as reminders of God and were to constantly point the people to God, so it is with these trumpets.

The people are instructed that when they are attacked by an enemy or go out into war they are to blow the trumpets in order that, “you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.” They are also to blow the trumpets when they are rejoicing, celebration and praising God for His faithfulness as this will serve as, “a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”

Upon first appearance we could be forgiven for being slightly confused by this, for it seems to imply that God can forget. Only those who forget need reminders! So, is this true, can God, does God forget, does His memory need to be jolted, does He need to be brought to attention? No, not at all!

What then do these verses mean? It is not God that needs reminding, it is the people Israel. The trumpet blasts when going into war or on the days of gladness would serve to remind the people of God.

For this nation, war was a daily fear, they were travelling through foreign lands and were vulnerable. It would have been very difficult to them to defend themselves if an army were to descend on them, they had nowhere to run, and no walls or fortifications to hide safely behind. They would also have to make war against the inhabitants of the Promised Land. For years the men of Israel would be called upon to fight in order to secure the land. Thus the daily reality and fear of war, along with the certain prospect of war in the Promised Land would have caused constant anxiety and fear amongst the nation. This fear would greatly increase when they were confronted by an enemy. Therefore, God gives them this means of seeking to remind them of the most important truth, a truth that is very easy to lose sight of when we come face to face with our fears, with an enemy. This important truth is that God is with them, God is for them, and God will fight both with and for them. When the enemy descend and fear gripped their hearts, that fear would be shattered with the sharp blasts of the trumpet, reminding God is with us, He is our deliverer and He will give us the victory.

Similarly, in time of prosperity and gladness, when life is good and they were rejoicing, it is easy to lose sight of the One who is the source of their prosperity, who has made them glad and joyful through His goodness. The blast of the trumpet would direct their attention to the reality that all these good things, this favour, prosperity and gladness they are now enjoying had all come to them from God.

In addition to these important reminders of God’s presence and goodness, the trumpet blasts at the time of war and at the time of gladness, would serve as a reminder for the people to call upon God in prayer. When the trumpet sounded for war, it would remind them to pray for God’s help, strength and protection, for God to give them the victory, before they gathered their weapons and ran into the battle. In times of gladness, the trumpet blast would remind them to pray and give thanks to God, to acknowledge God’s goodness and give Him the praise He is due.

Essentially, the trumpets are not to remind God because He has a bad memory, but to remind the people to call upon God. For when they call upon God, He will hear them and answer them from heaven. When they call out to God, God will remember His promises, His covenant with them and will be faithful to all He has promised.

The application to us is one of great encouragement, for God’s character has not changed. He remains to be the faithful, good, gracious, present, prayer answering God. God is still with us, and He promises to aid us in our battles, especially against sin and those who oppose us because of Christ. He has promised that one day we will share in the victory of Christ and all our foes will be overcome. He has promised to provide our every need and not to just provide but to lavish His grace upon us, to the point that we can say with the Psalmist that our cup is overflowing. The challenge is for us to constantly remember who God is and what He has promised, so that no matter what situation we may be faced with we first call upon God before we do anything else. We can do this with confidence for God has promised to hear us and to answer us according to His sovereign goodness.

Faithful, Ever-present, Sovereign, All-powerful God, the One who is our Shield and Defender, who is our Provider and the Giver of all good things, we bow in worship before Your throne today. We thank You for the precious reminders found in Your Word, reminding us of who You are and what You have promised to us through Christ. Help us not to be so overcome by our difficulties and battles, or blinded by prosperity that we lose sight of these truths. May we keep You at the fore-front of our minds, being quick to first call upon Your name before we act. May we be people who always remember that we have a faithful God who always remembers us and is working for our highest God. For this we give You our thanks and adore You. Amen.