To God be The glory, Amen

Work is tiresome. And sometimes it even seems pointless. But the work of God’s Kingdom, the work of righteousness, is never without fruit. We can’t always see the results of our labor, but God calls us to persist. We can’t let time discourage us. Instead, we must rely on God’s strength to persevere in doing right. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

https://www.openbible.info/topics/everything_happens_for_a_reason

And we pray:

Father LORD, You have already Written my story. To rest in You is key. Father LORD in my life I pray that Your will be done. Use me LORD, I was Created for a purpose. Open my heart to see Your will on my journey Home, Amen. Lord, thank You for preparing good works for me to do for Your Kingdom’s sake. I will probably never know the long-term fruit of my work. But even now, I see the fruit of the work of those who came before me, and I am encouraged. Teach me to rely on Your strength so that I may persevere without tiring. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

In a sea of ‘thou shalt not,’ the commandment to honor the Sabbath is a refreshing change. God never tires, yet He chose to rest. Why? Because rest brings joy, and it is His desire that we experience the joy of resting in Him. So He has given us the Sabbath, a good gift, so that we can experience a brief respite from the toils of life and get a foretaste of eternity with God.

Seven was symbolic in ancient near eastern and Israelite culture and literature. It communicated a sense of “fullness” or “completeness” (שבע “seven” is spelled with the same consonants as the word שבע “complete/full”). This makes sense of the pervasive appearance of “seven” patterns in the Bible.

but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. Exodus 23:11

Numbers in Biblical times were often symbolic of a deeper meaning. The number seven is especially prominent in Scripture, appearing over 700 times. From the seven days of Creation to the many “sevens” in Revelation, the number seven connotes such concepts as completion and perfection, exoneration and healing, and the fulfillment of promises and oaths.

While the Bible abounds with examples of the number seven’s use, this article discusses the following three categories in which the number often appears.

Significance of Number 7: Completion and Perfection

In Scripture, seven often symbolizes completion or perfection. Genesis tells us that God created the heavens and the Earth in six days, and, upon completion, God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 1; 2:1-2). Based on this cycle of work and rest, God commands us to also labor for six days and then complete the week by resting on the seventh day, the day God set apart as the holy Sabbath (Exodus 20:9-11). 

The number seven also denotes completion at the Crucifixion, when Jesus spoke seven statements in agony from the Cross at the completion of His earthly duties: 

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

“Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26-27).

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

“I thirst,” (John 19:28).

“It is finished” (John 19:30).

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46).

In the context of perfection, Jesus spoke in a grouping of seven when He was asked how we should pray (Matthew 6:9-13). In response, Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer, surely a perfect way to pray considering that the words came from Christ Himself! Notably, the Lord’s Prayer contains seven petitions:

Hallowed be thy name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; Lead us not into temptation; and Deliver us from evil.

Jesus again spoke in a grouping of seven when He used seven metaphors to describe Himself as the path to salvation, the perfect reward for a good and faithful servant. Jesus tells us He is: 

The bread of life (John 6:35); The light of the world (John 8:12); The gate to salvation (John 10:9); The good shepherd (John 10:11); The resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26); The way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6); and The vine (John 15:5).

In addition, King David referenced the number seven in describing the perfect nature of God’s words when he wrote that the Lord’s words are flawless, “like gold refined seven times” (Psalm 12:6). Likewise, when the prophet Isaiah described the coming Messiah, he listed seven qualities that the Savior would embody (Isaiah 11:1-2). 

Significance of Number 7: Exoneration and Healing

The number seven is also linked to exoneration and healing. Deuteronomy tells us that on every seventh year, the Israelites were to cancel all the debts they had made with each other and free their slaves (Deuteronomy 15:1-2, 12). 

We further see seven’s connection with exoneration when Peter asks Jesus how many times we are to forgive each other and Jesus replies, “seventy times seven” times (Matthew 18:21-22). In that instance, Jesus isn’t telling us to literally forgive someone 490 times. Instead, Christ is instructing us to forgive each other wholly, as His Jewish audience would’ve understood the emphasis on the number seven in this teaching to indicate complete forgiveness.  

In the context of healing, the prophet Elisha referenced the number seven when he directed Naaman the leper to bathe in the Jordan River seven times to be healed (2 Kings 5:9-10, 14). Moreover, we see a link between seven and healing in the seven healing miracles that Jesus performed on the Sabbath, or, the seventh day of the week. Specifically, Jesus healed the following seven people on the seventh day:

A man with a deformed hand (Matthew 12:9-13); A man possessed by an unclean spirit (Mark 1:23-26); Peter’s mother-in-law with fever (Mark 1:29-31); A woman crippled by a spirit (Luke 13:10-13); A man with abnormal swelling of the body (Luke 14:1-4); A lame man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5:5-9); and A man born blind (John 9:1-7).

Significance of Number 7: Fulfillment of Promises and Oaths

The number seven also frequently accompanies the fulfillment of promises or oaths. In fact, the Hebrew word for swearing an oath (shaba) and the Hebrew word for seven (sheba) both derive from the Hebrew word meaning satisfaction or fullness (saba).

In Genesis, God promises not to destroy the Earth again with a flood and memorializes this covenant with the rainbow, which is comprised of seven colors (Genesis 9:8-15). Later in Genesis, we learn that Abraham swore an oath of ownership over a certain well of water (Genesis 21:22-31). Abraham satisfied the oath with a gift of seven lambs and named the site of the oath “Beersheba,” which interchangeably means “well of the oath” or  “well of seven.”

The Book of Joshua gives us another example of seven’s correlation with promises. There, God promised Joshua that He’d bring down the fortified walls of Jericho if Joshua and his army marched around the city once for six days and seven times on the seventh day with seven priests blowing seven trumpets. After Joshua followed the Lord’s commands exactly, the walls of Jericho fell, just as the Lord had promised (Joshua 6:1-20).

Seven is also associated with promises in the Book of Revelation. In particular, we read of seven letters addressed to seven churches (Revelation 2-3). In the letters, Christ assures each church community that if its members repent and live according to Jesus’s instructions, each community will receive its promised reward. 

Further, Revelation often invokes the number seven in its discussion of God’s promise to save those whose names are written in the Book of Life and condemn those whose names aren’t (Revelation 20:15; 21:1, 27). The fulfillment of this divine promise is ushered in by groups of seven: seven seals, seven trumpets sounded by seven angels, and seven bowls of God’s promised wrath carried by seven angels (Revelation 6, 8, 11, 16).  

What Does the Significance of Number 7 Mean

The Bible’s extensive use of the number seven, in connection with such concepts as completion, exoneration, and the fulfillment of promises, suggests that God ascribes a sacred nature to the number. However, we must balance this conclusion with the fact that not every mention of the number seven in Scripture has a divine implication attached. In that regard, while it’s reasonable to draw inferences in studying Scripture, we must be mindful that just as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are the Lord’s ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). 

When we analyze the Bible, we can find a host of numbers that have deeper meanings and threads throughout the passages. These show the intricate handiwork of God’s plan and the wonderful ways it unfolds throughout history.

And we pray:

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of rest. Thank You for setting aside a day where I can turn my heart to You and find rest from the work of my hands and mind. I confess that I don’t always cherish rest as I should, and ask You to help me to make Sabbath rest a priority so that I may be refreshed in Your blessing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God cannot be mocked!

You reap what you sow.

1. 2 Corinthians 9:6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

2. Galatians 6:8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

3. Proverbs 11:18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

4. Proverbs 14:14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good rewarded for theirs.

5. Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

6. Proverbs 11:24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

7. Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

8. Proverbs 21:13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

11. Job 4:8-9 My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger.

12. Proverbs 1:31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

13. Proverbs 5:22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast.

14. Galatians 6:9 Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up.

15. James 3:17-18 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

16. John 4:36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.

17. Psalm 106:3-4 How blessed are those who promote justice, and do what is right all the time! Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people! Pay attention to me, when you deliver.

18. Hosea 10:12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers deliverance on you.

19. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

20. Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

21. Hosea 8:3-8 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him. They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants.

Sow to the flesh & reap corruption;
Sow to the spirit & reap eternal life

The world is full of sin and darkness. Thankfully, we have a God who loves us enough to send his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to purge us of our sins and give us eternal life with him in Heaven. How glorious! How marvelous! But, God did not come to help us one time only. He hears us when we cry out to him. He longs to deliver us and save us from our sins and iniquities. Let us strive to live a life worthy of his sacrifice and his forgiveness.

And we pray:

Dear God, help me! Hear my cries and hear my pleas! I need Your salvation and Your forgiveness from my sins. I know I am a sinner, but I know You are my Savior. Your name has power, O Lord. Lead me away from wickedness and into Your glory. Take my brokenness and use it to bring You glory. Thank You for Loving me enough to send Your Son – Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for my salvation. Help me to live a life that honors Your Name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.

The things that we see and hear in the Word of God and through the different teachers He has sent to guide us, we are to apply in our daily lives. We don’t just learn about God so we can sit on the knowledge and gloat about it. We are to apply this knowledge in our lives. This is when it will be truly effective.

And we pray:

Dear God, I ask that as I learn about more of You and Your ways, may I not just be a hearer of The Word but a doer of The Word too. May evidence of Your ways be present in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

In the book of Titus, there are many instructions for how people should behave and carry themselves. Here we see that older men are to be patient. That certainly contrasts the newspaper cartoon image of a grumpy old man yelling at kids. The instructions are not so you have more rules. It is how we believers set ourselves apart from the world and how they see Jesus in us.

And we pray:

Lord, help me live in a way that others see You in me. Make me sound minded, having solid faith, and patience. Let me be giving and generous with my possessions and time. I pray for the older men in my church. Conform them to Your Character. Keep growing and maturing them until they walk their last day with You. Thank You for Your instruction and wisdom You have given us. In Jesus’ name I give You praise and I pray. Amen.

https://versebyverseministry.org/lessons/titus-2a