My friend Bob gave a great commentary on the Torah portion, Bamidbar. The book of Bamidbar (In the wilderness) or Numbers begins with a census, counting and making order. The point that Bob made that captivated me was his example of having collections of loved items, when he was young, that would give him enjoyment. He would look at these items lovingly, looking at every detail, counting each one, and arranging them in order. I have had many collections of things, and I remember doing the same thing! I specifically remember my orchid collection. I would count them, put them in order, examine them closely, fertilize them, celebrate new buds, and envision purchasing new varieties. God does the same thing.
We are God’s collection, and He is obsessed with us. He notices little things and big things and He counts all kinds of things in our lives and in nature. Here are just a few of the things that He counts in our lives:
- Job 14:5, “Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass”. Our days are determined by the Lord and we cannot increase them. He is the one that knows when our last moment on earth will be and when our soul returns back to Him. When we breathe our last breath may we be in His presence.
- Job 31:4, “Does not He see my ways and number all my steps”? Our God sees everything we do, He sees our heart’s intentions and He “numbers”, “counts” all of our steps. He is the one who desires that we follow after Him and is encouraging us to follow the ancient path that He has made for the world. Each step that we take towards Him is His delight!
- Psalm 56:8, “You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?” The word “wanderings” is an interesting word meaning, a “wandering of an aimless fugitive”. God has watched, counted our wandering as we move towards Him, away from Him and act as a “fugitive” instead of a son/daughter of God. This journey of our lives comes with many trials and tribulations. Many are the tears that we shed but, God stores them because they are precious to Him and He makes a notation of each tear in His book. We are His precious, beautiful collection and God notices everything.
- Luke 12:6-7, “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” God cannot and will not forget us. His attention to His precious possession is so great that He has even numbered our hairs on our head. When something you have is precious to you every detail is accounted for, every nuance is catalogued.
May we remember how precious a possession we are, and how precious our God is to us!
“Many, O Lord my God, are the Wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.”
Psalm 40:5