QT 1 Dec 11, God will accomplish his purpose in history

Num 1:44-46 (NIV) These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were counted according to their families. 46 The total number was 603,550.

NOTE: The 603K does not include the Levites which number 22K (Num 3).  That would place the number at about 625K.  Since this only includes men, the number would at least double to include women, or about 1.25M.  And finally, children are excluded which would at a minimum double the number to 2.5M, and probably closer to 3 million (since most nations have a greater than 2.0 ration of children to parents).  So, 3 million people wandered in a desert for 4o years.  God fed them with manna, and at times with quail.  God provided water, although sometimes with a wait.  This is an incredible miracle, which is why so many don't believe the story in the bible.  The writer relates the story in a passive tone.  There is no attempt to make the story any more than it was, which was a simple fact.  Only at the end of the story does Moses add some more details, such as the shoes and clothes not wearing out.  This story did happen, there is too much to it to deny as a myth.  It carries none of the characteristics of a myth.  It is a historical narrative that was carried on in the story of Judges and the other historical documents without any suggestion of its factual nature.  What does it say to us?  God is powerful enough to do whatever it takes to bring history to its ultimate conclusion.  A day of tribulation is coming, a day when God pours out his wrath on all the earth.  While God does not promise rescue from suffering or tribulation caused by the world toward the believer( but rather a promise of a better future), he does specifically promise rescue (rapture) from the tribulation which he brings upon the earth.  But he only promises that to the person who has been born again.  After the tribulation starts, it will be too late.  Not too late for salvation, but too late for rescue from that time of great sorrow.