There was the 40 years that Moses spent in Egypt before leaving in one big hurry to live for...40 years...in the Sinai wilderness, taking care of sheep before God appeared to him in the burning bush to send him back to Egypt to lead Israel out of slavery there. Once they left and safely crossed the Red Sea (with a little bit of help from God, who handled the obstacle and the opponent with a certain flair. After that, Moses went up on Mount Sinai to meet with God for...40 days...and then brought back down from the Mountain the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Levitical code.
From their, Israel traveled to the edge of Canaan, only to turn back in fear and despair. Because of that, they had to wander in the wilderness for another...40 years.
PHEW.
Saul, the first king of Israel, reigned for ...40 years.
David, the second king of Israel, reigned for...40 years.
Solomon, David's son and the third king of Israel, reigned for...40 years.
Oh. There's the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying before His temptation and the beginning of His public ministry.
There's more, but to write about it, I'd have to look it up. And you'd accuse me of showing off.
The point is...40 somethings, be it hours, days, years, is meaningful. There is a significance to the recurring number throughout the Bible. A generation, or more likely, two generations.
I've been in Maine for exactly 40 days. And it has been a fasting experience, of sorts. I'm fasting, refraining from warm (ish) weather. It has been cold here. I mean, really cold. Many, no, MOST nights, the temperature has dropped well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Many days, the temperature has remained below, or only slightly above, that benchmark. Wind chills have dropped into the 20s and 30s BELOW zero several times.Don't worry about me, though. I am not living in a refrigerator box under a highway overpass. They've discovered heat here in Maine--whether generated by burning heating oil, firewood, wood pellets, kerosene, propane or electricity. I am not complaining about the cold--just reporting the facts.
What is really important about these 40 days in Maine is not related to the weather. It is about the people. In 40 days, I've met well over a hundred new (to me) people and am well on my way to making these new acquaintances into friends. I have worshiped with my new church family on six consecutive Sundays, and celebrated the Lord's Table twice. I've attended and participated in a dozen different meetings of various groups, boards, committees. I've enjoyed many meals as the guest of generous hosts. I've learned nearly everyone's names and can successfully associate those names with the appropriate faces about 80% of the time, and that number is going up daily. I've partipated in more than 20 Bible study sessions with men and women who are really serious about studying God's Word, growing in faith, in knowledge, and in fruitful ministry.
And in those 40 days, there has been no discouraging words heard, no second thoughts or regrets about making this move, no unpleasant encounters. Nobody has made fun of my ugly orange New York State license plates still clinging resolutely to the front and rear bumpers of my car. And, oh, yeah--no car wash.
Looking forward to the next 40 days--and beyond. It will eventually warm up here, I'm told. I'm guaranteed that summer will last at least...40 minutes.
In closing, I'd like to corrupt those well known words from Job 13:15 (Dennis Ashley paraphrase):
"Though He freeze me, yet I will trust in Him."
