Teach me to number my days

Psalm 90 says “Teach me to number my days so that I may gain a heart of wisdom”. The Psalmist isn’t speaking about merely counting our days numerically, as that doesn’t require a heart of wisdom. The New Living Translation of Psalm 90:12 reads, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” This captures the meaning of the original Hebrew.

When we recognize that we have only so much time on this earth, that truth will help us think rightly about how to spend our time. This, in turn, will encourage us to grow in wisdom. God reminds us that our days on the earth are very short when compared to eternity.

Psalm 90: You turn mortals back into dust
And say, “Return, you sons of mankind.”
⁴ For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or like a watch in the night.

⁵ You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep;
In the morning they are like grass that sprouts anew.
⁶ In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew;
Toward evening it wilts and withers away.

As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,

We are reminded that the entirety of our lives are but a vapor, a mist in the wind. The Psalmist is asking God, “Help me make the most of this short life that I have on earth”. How do we do that? By not wasting our wilderness experience. We need God to help us understand the brevity of our lives in relation to eternity because the choices that we make during our brief stay on Planet earth have eternal, ever-lasting consequences. Our earthly lives do not last long, and we need wisdom to prepare for what follows.

Jesus gave a parable that also explains what happens when we don’t “number our days.” In Luke 12:19–21 Jesus describes a rich man who wanted only to “eat, drink, and be merry” and had no time or thought for God. The rich man believed he had YEARS yet to enjoy his pleasures, but God required his life that very night. If the rich man had learned to “number his days,” he would have focused on activities that had eternal rewards.

We can learn from this parable that none of us know how many days we will be granted, so we must not waste them on silly, selfish pursuits that have no real value.

Those who have learned to number their days spend them in pUrsuit of Godly wisdom, goodness and the Kingdom of God. They PURSUE and ACTIVELY SEEK God’s Will for their lives. Jesus instructed us in His Sermon on the Mount HOW to gain Eternal rewards.

God’s people can delight in their call to live differently, knowing that true blessing comes from submission to and dependence on God who will reward them as they GROW IN GRACE, BECOMING more like Jesus.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount….

1. Delight in Your Spiritual Bankruptcy apart from God’s Grace (Matthew 5:1-3).
2. Delight in Your Deep Grief over Sin because God Will Comfort You (Matthew 5:4).
3. Delight in Your Dependence on and in Your Submission to God, and He Will Reward You (Matthew 5:5).
4. Delight in Your Longing for God, and See God Satisfy You in Him (Matthew 5:6).
5. Delight in Graciously Helping Others, Knowing God Will Graciously Help You (Matthew 5:7).
6. Delight in a Clean and Pure Heart, for You Will Enjoy Eternal Fellowship with God (Matthew 5:8).
7. Delight in Being a Peacemaker because It Gives Evidence that You Are a Child of the God of Peace (Matthew 5:9).
8. Delight in Inevitable Persecution because You Will Receive a Great Reward, and You Are in Good Company (Matthew 5:10-12).

Many of us spend our days worrying about what we’re going to wear, what entertainment we’re going to amuse ourselves with, what we’re going to buy, what people are saying on Social media…but all of that is going to VANISH like dust in the wind. God is reminding us to focus on His Kingdom that has eternal, everlasting rewards during our brief stay on earth. We SHOULD USE our short time on earth wisely.

The counting of the Omer is a good time to reflect on “numbering our days”, although we should do it everyday. What is “an Omer”? An Omer is a unit of dry measure used to describe a sheaf of grain (barley) that has been harvested and gathered together in a bundle. The counting (numbering) of the Omer is the counting of the 50 days in-between Feast of Firstfruits and Pentecost. In Judaism, On the “morrow after the Sabbath” (the third day after Passover), the Israelites were instructed to bring a sheaf of barley and wave it before the Lord as a firstfruits offering. This is the Feast of Firstfruits.

On the Feast of Firstfruits (3 days after Passover, 30AD), Jesus was resurrected and “waved” before the Father as a Firstfruits offering for the Spiritual Harvest. Jesus is not only the Passover Lamb, HE IS the Wave Sheaf. Because Jesus was accepted by the Father, the entire Harvest will be accepted.

The number 50 is not arbitrary. The “50th day” is not only the day that Israel arrived at the bottom of Mt. Sinai to receive the Law (10 Commandments/WRITTEN WORD OF GOD), and about 1400 years later, the same day of Pentecost, when the Disciples and the world received God’s Holy Spirit (LIVING WORD OF GOD), the number FIFTY represents the general number of years of ADULT LIFETIME (age 20 to 70) that a person has to FIND and pursue the LIVING GOD.

Numbers 14:29: your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all your numbered men according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me

Psalm 90: As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is only trouble and tragedy; For it quickly passes, and we disappear.

Leviticus 23:15: “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbat, from the day that you bring the omer [offering] that is raised, seven complete weeks there shall be until the morrow of the seventh week you shall count fifty days

Counting the Omer links Shavu’ot (Pentecost) explicitly to Pesach (Passover). Counting each day is like adding a link to a chain, so if Israel skips a day, the chain is broken. In a sense, Shavu’ot (Pentecost) is the ultimate fulfillment of Pesach (Passover). 

These festivals (Passover/Shavuot) originally took place in the same year, when the Passover Exodus brought the Israelites out of Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai where they were given the Torah (LAW/10 COMMANDMENTS) THREE (passover to firstfruits) PLUS fifty days later to SHAVUOT. Similarly, we also see a fulfillment of both festivals take place in the same year that Yeshua (Jesus) died: Jesus became the Passover Lamb THREE (time in the belly of the earth) + 50 DAYS (time between resurrection and Pentecost) BEFORE the HOLY SPIRIT was given (putting the Torah (LAW/10 COMMANDMENTS) on the hearts of the house of Israel).

Many Jewish sages see the connection between Passover (Pesach) and Pentecost (Shavuot) as the connection between Israel’s physical and spiritual redemption.

After the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E., the Omer offering could no longer be observed. But the practice of counting the Omer continued and is still observed by many Jews. Sadly, Christians generally ignore the significance of these days and how they relate to our Messiah Jesus.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah for ALL humanity, HUMBLED HIMSELF to the point of an excrutiatingly painful and humiliating death on a Cross, becoming the Passover Lamb of God who took away all of mankind’s sins, past, present, and future, forevermore for all who would only BELIEVE. Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the earth, fulfilling the sign of Jonah. On the Sabbath, just before sunset, Jesus ROSE victorious over sin, death, and the grave…He is the Firstfruit of the Harvest!

HALLELUJAH! The stone of our reproach had been ROLLED away. Jesus presented Himself RISEN to the women at the tomb, HIS DISCIPLES, and to over 500 believers…

1 Corinthians 15:6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

The Bible tells us that Jesus met with and trained His Disciples about the Kingdom of God during a period of 40 days following His Resurrection.

Acts 1:3: To these (Disciples) He (Jesus) also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

AFTER 40 DAYS, Jesus told HIS DISCIPLES that He was going to go away, but He would send them the GIFT of the Holy Spirit. They were instructed to wait in Jerusalem until the Comforter came. He also instructed them that they would take the GOOD NEWS (GOSPEL) MESSAGE OF SALVATION TO “JUDEA, SAMARIA, AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH”.

Acts 1: ⁶ So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority; ⁸ but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

Although the disciples didn’t know exactly when this GIFT would arrive, they went to Jerusalem, as instructed by Jesus, and WAITED. Ten days later, on the Feast of Shavuot (so 3+50 days after the Passover)...they RECEIVED the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT, which is the LIVING WORD OF GOD, the LIVING TORAH.

The GIFT of the TORAH (LAW/10 COMMANDMENTS) on SHAVUOT, and the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT on PENTECOST are BOTH intertwined with the PASSOVER forever through the counting/numbering of the 50 days of the Omer.

Here are some Scriptures to pray over and contemplate as we move through these 7 weeks, or 50 days from Passover/Firstfruits and the time of Shavuot/Pentecost which celebrates the GIFT of the TORAH (WRITTEN WORD OF GOD) and the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT (the LIVING WORD OF GOD) who breaks the power of the sin nature and helps us to overcome our fallen human condition. We remember that these 50 days are important because they represent the average time an adult human has to “find God” and be SAVED.

Week 1: Loving and Giving 💖(Sunday, April 9th to Saturday, April 15th – 2023)

God IS love. Everything that God does is for the benefit of humanity, including giving His own life to save us. God desires us to love Him back and to love each other, although He doesn’t force it. He gives us FREE WILL. If we wish to have a place with JESUS in His Kingdom, we need to love Him and others. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t reject the King (JESUS THE SON OF GOD) and get into the Kingdom (Heaven). There is a connection between loving and giving. Sadly, the vast majority of mankind is deceived into thinking that lust is actually love. Lust involves personal gratification”. — As in “What’s in it for me?”. But God defines love as GIVING and the greatest love is sacrificial love (Agape).

John 13:34: I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Luke 6:34:  And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. ³⁵ But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Matthew 6:1:  “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. ² “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

 Week 2: Justice and Discipline ⚖ (Sunday, April 16th to Saturday, April 22nd – 2023 )

Justice is a term used for what is right or “as it should be.” Justice is one of God’s attributes and flows out of His holiness. We cannot begin to understand God’s justice unless we first understand sin or lawlessness. Sin embodies everything contrary to God’s holy nature and is offensive to Him. God calls us to seek justice in the world. This is not the fake “social justice/woke” movement that encourages sin, but TRUE justice where the widow, the orphan, the afflicted and the oppressed are treated fairly with kindness, dignity and respect. God also reminds us that discipline and judgment are linked. When we sin and rebel against God, we need to accept His discipline and correction so that we do not fall under condemnation when God returns to judge sin and sinners. (1 Corinthians 11:32).

Psalm 106:3
How blessed are those who keep justice,
Who practice righteousness at all times!

Proverbs 10:29: The king gives stability to the land by justice,
But a man who takes bribes overthrows it.

Isaiah 1:17: Learn to do good, Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

2 Timothy 1:7: For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

Proverbs 13:1: A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.

Rev. 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

Week 3: Harmony and Compassion👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 (Sunday, April 23rd to Saturday, April 29th – 2023)

God is Just, Righteous and Holy, but He is also Gracious, Merciful and compassionate. If He wasn’t, we wouldn’t be here right now. Although God hates sin and the consequences of sin, which is death (I think we all would agree death is aweful), God loves people and is compassionate and Graceful, slow to anger and steadfast in abounding love. He calls His people to follow His example being compassionate towards the weak, the sick, the poor, the suffering, the marginalized, and even towards those who still live in darkness, whose eyes are blinded as such were most of us. God wants us to live in harmony and not to be quarrelsome with those whom we disagree.

1 Peter 3:8: To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble;

Romans 12:16-18: Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Hebrews 12:14:  Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

2 Timothy 2:24: The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, ²⁵ with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

Colossians 3:12: So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;

Week 4: Endurance and Perseverance 🏃‍♂️ (Sunday, April 30th to Saturday, May 6th – 2023)

Life is like a race. The Apostle Paul reminds us to run our race as someone who wants to finish in first place and receive the Gold MEDAL. 🥇We are here on this earth to please God and to serve Him and others. But often, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life gets in the way. Self gets in the way. Satan throws many distractions and difficulties into our path to take our eyes off of Jesus and the prize that He has laid up for all who finish well. I mean, let’s face it…..THAT prize seems like a long way off, and the sin-filled, worldly temptations offer instantaneous gratification. But wordly delights always come with a price, an eternal price. God reminds us that the race is long and that we will need endurance to finish well…but oh, the GLORY that awaits those who remain focussed on the goal. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it even entered into the heart of man the WONDERFUL THINGS that GOD HAS PREPARED for those who LOVE HIM!

Hebrews 10:36:  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Romans 8:25: But if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Rev. 3:10: Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Rev. 14:12: Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Week 5: Humility and Splendor 🦙 (Sunday, May 7th to Saturday, May 13th – 2023)

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, who was God in the flesh, did not consider equality with God something to be exploited (Philippians 2:6). Instead, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a humble donkey, and In full submission to the Father’s Will, allowed Himself to be nailed to a Cross to die for the sins of mankind. Obedience and submission to God’s Will require a humble heart. Understanding that we cannot save, sanctify, or justify ourselves requires a humble heart. Believing that we really can do NOTHING on this earth without God (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) requires a humble heart. Once we come to the place of full surrender, finally ADMITTING that we NEITHER CAN NOR WANT to “do life” without God, then we can truly appreciate HIS BEAUTY AND MAJESTY. In this humble state of submission we look forward to, and even long for, the day when our flesh will be TRANSFORMED and clothed in HIS GLORY.

James 4:6: But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:10: Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Proverbs 11:2: When pride comes, then comes dishonor; But with the humble there is wisdom

Psalm 145:5: On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate

Psalm 104:1: Praise the LORD, my soul. LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

John 1:14: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Rev. 21:10:  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ¹¹ Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

Week 6: Bonding to God ✝ (Sunday, May 14th to Saturday, May 20th -2023)

After the FALL in the Garden of Eden, mankind became hopelessly and forever separated from our God in a way that we could NEVER fix. We cannot reach high enough up to God to bridge that chasm. But God, in His infinite mercy, reached down to man in the form of His Son Jesus Christ to become the propitiation and atonement for our sin. Only through the Messiah, fully God and fully man, are we able to have a RELATIONSHIP with the One True God who exists as Father, Son, Holy Spirit. When we receive Messiah Jesus into our hearts, God binds Himself to us through His Holy Spirit who lives in the heart of a believer. Now, when we PRAY to the FATHER through the SON, God hears our prayers! We currently have a very precious HEAVENLY TREASURE in this EARTHEN JAR of CLAY, and we look forward to the final fulfillment of our UNION with GOD at the MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB.

Jeremiah 29:12:  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Lamentations 3:25: The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.

John 14:²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. 

Matthew 19:6: So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Rev. 21:2: I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Week 7 : Nobility and Leadership 👑 (Sunday, May 21st to Saturday, May 27th – 2023).

Shavuot/Pentecost is on Sunday, June 5, 2022

The worldly definition of nobility includes royalty, aristocracy, or one who holds a higher social or political position. The Biblical definition of nobility may be summarized as ‘distinguished from the masses by birth’. The Bible also describes the state of being noble as superiority of mind or of character; commanding excellence; eminence. The city of Berea was the only city in which the Apostle Paul was not thrown out of the Synagogue for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They received the Word of God with eagerness, excited to learn more and live it out in their daily lives. In today’s darkened society of rampant sin that includes sexual perversion, promiscuity, violence, greed, hatred, rage and pride….God reminds us that citizens of HIS KINGDOM are to be DIFFERENT, fixing our minds on that which is pure, good, noble and lovely. God’s noble leaders must FIRST be FOLLOWERS of JESUS CHRIST, completely DEPENDENT on HIM for everything. They should have a great desire to serve rather than to be served. These are the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Acts 17:11: Now these people (Bereans) were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Philippians 4:8:  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Luke 8:15:  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

Romans 9:21: Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for disposal of refuse?

Luke 22:25-26: But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant,