I believe that God weaves His design into the Bible in many ways. One thing He uses is numbers and the number He uses most prominently is the number seven. I saw this again today as I worked on a study of the Third Epistle of John. Although by verse count, its 14 verses are one more than the 13 verses of 2 John, it actually has 4 words less than 2 John. Therefore, by word count it is the smallest book in the Bible. But in this tiny book, God leaves His footprint. The subject matter is fascinating and helpful, but there is much for the lover of numbers as well. Seven is used in the Bible as the number of God's perfect work. Let's see how this number shows God's work in 2John. An outstanding number of statistics are multiples of seven.
On August 3, 2006 (9th of Ab in the Jewish calendar; a month called the "fifth month" in the Bible), the Jewish people will remember the 2,592nd anniversary of the destruction of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem with a day of mourning and fasting. This is also thought to be the date when Herod's Temple was destroyed in 70AD and the date for the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. The Jews still mourn their many losses. In Zechariah 7:3-5, Zechariah was asked if it ws proper to continue the fast of the fifth month. The fast had been established to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem; but now Jerusalem was being restored. In reply, the Lord foretold of the day when Israel will be fully restored and the fasts "shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace" (Zechariah 8:19). Yet, as any reading of today's newspaper will demonstrate, the Jews still fast and Rachel is still weeping for her children (Jeremiah 31:15). All who love the Lord still look to that day when the fast of the fifth month will be turned into a feast.
One of the most interesting short verses in the Bible reads, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying." In seven simple words (seven being the number of perfection), The Bible identifies the source of what Moses wrote. It did not come from Moses, but directly from the Lord Himself. The words of the law are the words of God. This is an important doctrinal truth. However, I do not know what Bible reference to give you for this verse. It occurs with these exact seven words a total of 72 times in the Bible. 72 is 6 times 12 (6 being the number of man and 12 the number of Israel). Perhaps this indicates that God used Israel to bring His words to man.
