12 + 70

Exod 15:27

27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.(KJV)

On leaving Marah, God leads them to an oasis. It had a huge supply of water plus plenty of shade. And these palm treess could have been date palms for all we know. Date palms have been grown agriculturally and wild in the middle east for millenia. Have you ever seen one with ripe dates on it? They hang in large bunches, and I mean large bunches and these are tall trees and the dates are way up at the top. Just think if those palm trees at that oasis were date palms, just being there would probably have meant that God was also giving them real sweets besides a wonderful supply of fresh water. 12 wells for 12 tribes.

In quite a few following scriptures this morning, you will see great use of the number 12 is to God besides the number 70. 12 especially seems to be representative of not only the 12 tribes but also the 12 apostles, and if you remember, in Revelation there are 24 elders who sit around the throne of God and my suspicion is that these are or these represent the 12 patriarchs and 12 apostles.

Lev 24:5

5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake TWELVE cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.(KJV) [again this is because of their being 12 tribes to inherit the promised land]

Num 7:84-89

84 This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: TWELVE chargers of silver, TWELVE silver bowls, TWELVE spoons of gold:

85 Each charger of silver weighing an hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

86 The golden spoons were TWELVE, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was an hundred and twenty shekels.

87 All the oxen for the burnt offering were TWELVE bullocks, the rams TWELVE, the lambs of the first year TWELVE, with their meat offering: and the kids of the goats for sin offering TWELVE.

88 And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed.

Look how often God was having them use 12 items at a shot. Again all were related to the fact that there were 12 tribes.

Josh 4:3-5

3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:(KJV)

Again God wants the significance of the 12 tribes stressed. All throughout Joshua and Judges you notice the number 12 brought to a body’s attention. In verses

Joshua 8:25, 18:24,19:15,21:7,40; Judges 19:29, 21:10 and in 1st and 2nd Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and so forth all thru the entire old testament the number 12 comes up time and again.

Then in the New-what do we see but Jesus picks 12 men to be his main and special disciples and eventually they become the apostles, minus Judas, who gets replaced by Matthias. What about # 13 - Paul? It looks as tho not only Paul but several others were counted as apostles, but it actually did total 13 if you only count Paul besides the 12. And remember of the 12 tribes of Israel, one was not counted-the tribe of Levi. They were not counted because they would not be receivers of the land as the others were. Joseph’s two sons replaced Joseph and Levi. But again, we see the number 12 brought to our attention by Jesus choosing 12 and then on top of that what do we see in one of the events of feeding several thousand people?

Matt 14:20

20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.(KJV) A basket I would say in this case for each disciple.

The woman who was hemorraghing for TWELVE years who got healed when she touched the fringe of his prayer shawl-- the fringe that symbolized all the laws of Israel.

And naturally Jesus was 12 years old when he was debating with scholars in the temple. Also Jesus mentions about the 12 hours in a day.

Then in Revelation you see the number even more: 12, 000 from each tribe being sealed for protection and probably ministry also. You also see the woman of Revelation 12 with a crown of 12 stars. That woman symbolizes Israel and the baby symbolizes Jesus. And finally look at the heavenly city that comes down, with 12 gates and 12 angels and the 12 tribes’ names written on those gates, plus 12 foundations for this city-the 12 apostles.

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Rev 21:12-14

12 And had a wall great and high, and had TWELVE gates, and at the gates TWELVE angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the TWELVE tribes of the children of Israel:

13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had TWELVE foundations, and in them the names of the TWELVE apostles of the Lamb.(KJV)

Now look at the dimensions of this city

Rev 21:16-17

16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. (144 divided by 12 is 12)(KJV)

Lastly

Rev 22:2

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare TWELVE manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.(KJV)

Now what does all this mean? I don’t know a lot about the number 12 other than that it signifies authority and inheritance in the Kingdom. What more it could mean, I really don’t know. The number 70 also signifies something. And there are scads of scriptures referring to 70 this, 70 that. There were 70 elders of Israel, 70 palm trees to camp under. 70 years for Tyre to languish, 70 years for Jerusalem to be destroyed along with the temple and it was while the people lived in captivity in Babylon. Jesus even sent out 70 disciples to minister in various cities throughout Israel. I think it is rather interesting that Jerusalem, was destroyed 40 years after Jesus was born according to our calendar in 70 AD. 70 is a multiple of 7 and 7 is the number for completion. Thinking about the number 70-is the anti-christ going to show up 70 years after the nation of Israel got established again? Or 70 years after Jerusalem was retaken in the 1967 war by the Israelis? It certainly seems to me that the world is ripe for the anti-christ to take the scene.

If you would seriously like to know the significance of the numbers 12 and 70, you need to do your own research. Meanwhile as you think about this, Remember this, after Marah comes Elim. After the bitterness, sweetness and rest. When you camp by the healing springs of Elim, you are charged up and ready for the next leg of the journey.

Where do you need healing? Physically? Emotionally? Spiritually? Camp by the healing springs of Elim, camp in God’s presence and lavish love. Be renewed. Wash off the weariness of sins that so easily beset you. Forgive if you have been carrying a grudge-get that rock of granite off your back (that unforgiveness) that has been weighing you down, wearing you out with grief, throw away that spirit of fear of people or situations. God has not given you a spirit of fear, but power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7 God wants you to be able to live in peace, not fear: peace, not guilt: peace, not anger: peace, not pride.

Phil 4:7

7 And the peace of God, which passeth {goes beyond} all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.(KJV)

Last Week’s Bible Trivia: The next day when he was brought to confront the council of Sadducees and Pharisees, what did Paul use to defeat their whole purpose in being there? The issue of the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees didn’t believe there was a resurrection of the dead, the pharisees did, and quite a few of them felt Paul should be allowed to believe in that if he chose. At any rate a great big argument arose in this council since the people were strongly and seriously divided over the issue. The dissension got so hot, that Paul had to be taken out of the council meeting room for his protection and that night Jesus appeared to Paul to let him know that he would be getting to testify of Him also in Rome. Little did Paul know but that it would be two more years before he even got to Rome.

I am going to stop right here on Bible Trivia Questions. Temporarily I will stop Bible Trivia. As I continue to go through the material in Exodus there is going to be so much to learn and absorb that I believe the Bible Trivia questions will be a distraction. They will be started up again another time. Whether I will continue on Paul’s experiences, I don’t yet know, but right now I want to concentrate on the connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Again may God’s peace rule and guide your hearts. God’s Peace be upon you all. The Good News Lady

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem even more so now. "They shall prosper that love thee." Psalm 122:6 Pray also for wisdom for President Bush as enjoined us by I Timothy 2:1-03 and pray for our troops. Continue especially to pray God’s protection around our soldiers that are still in Iraq and other parts of the Arab world.