Fourteen Sons in Jerusalem

 This morning in my ongoing Biblical reading, I came upon the account of the sons who were born to King David at the time he took the throne over all Israel in Jerusalem. While they are left unnumbered in the 14th chapter of I Chronicles, where they appear, I counted them. At first, they seemed incomplete. But on further reflection, I found they were as carefully arranged as I have come to expect in the patterns that repeatedly reappear, not only in the writings of the most influential Book ever written, but also in reality itself.

I’m a total wipe out in Math, my early dyslexia severely interfering with my ability to manipulate numbers in a conventional fashion. My wife, Judi, takes care of all the numbers in our family that aren’t symbolic ones. Those, I can handle. Numbers matter to me. I’ve come to realize that God was ordering my life in series of sevens, then discovered He was doing the same in the lives of other believers I knew, then learned through my Mother, who watches Three Angels Broadcasting Network programming, that this was a widespread phenomenon. Finally, as I began paying closer attention to the “unnumbered numbers of the Bible” I discovered that this numerical ordering of the lives of God’s people has been going on for a very long time.

The Israelite nation, as it marched in the wilderness, was divided up into a column of 14 units—which is double the sacred number 7. The garments of the high priest were seven in number. His breast plate held the 12 gems representing the 12 tribes, plus two more stones, the Urim and the Thummim, which were used by God to indicate His will–14 in all. There were seven articles of furniture in the sanctuary. There were 14 among Jesus original New Testament ministry team: the 12 original apostles, the apostle chosen before Pentecost to replace Judas, and Jesus Himself.

Even the human body, as it comes from God’s hand, is based on the number seven. There are seven openings in the head—two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and a mouth. There are fourteen parts of the human frame—two hands, two forearms, two upper arms, two feet, two shinbones, two upper leg bones, the body, and the head.

Time repeats in sevens, also. There are seven days in the Creation week, culminating with the seventh-day Saturday Sabbath of Scripture. That’s the only time period we have that is quite apart from any natural phenomenon—the rotation of the earth creating the day, the earth’s rotation around the sun creating the year, and the waxing and waning of the moon creating the month. The Sabbath is God’s way of signing His Creation, as an artist might sign his finished painting, so we would remember to look beyond what was made to the Maker.

In my own life history, the number seven has been functioning also. I worked under seven primary mentoring pastors in the course of my preparation for Gospel ministry. When I was ordained, Judi and I stood with six other couples, three couples flanking us on each side, on the stage whose backdrop I had built in the Main Pavillion at Soquel Campmeeting, just south of Santa Cruz, California. To date, I have received seven years of formal ministry training. I could tell you of the prayer places I’ve been in times gone by that ended up being, either by my design, or God’s allowing me to see what was already there, based on sevens, too. God talks to me in sevens, and I talk back to Him in the same way.

The “Let Freedom Ring” sermon series I completed in this pastorate has 14 sermons in its design. That was by my intention, to reflect the Messianic number 14, which the ancient Jews drew from the numerical equivalent of King David’s name—the monarch prophesied to be the forbearer of the Christ. The reason Jesus’ geneology in the first page of the New Testament is divided into three groups of 14 ancestors each (even though this meant cutting out ten kings of David’s line to achieve it) is that Matthew wanted to drive the point home: “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, Mr. Fourteen!” I asked God that He give us seven sites for ”Let Freedom Ring’s” first preaching cycle. Four I was able to prepare speakers for personally. The other three occurred without my direct involvement, beyond writing the sermons, in other locations–over a hundred mostly first time preachers, in all. When I saw seven of our church leaders in attendance at the consecration service for the speakers that launched this evangelistic thrust over in our local Seventh-day Adventist high school gymnasium, I began to think I was seeing things that might not be there. I had set the tables up in the shape of a cross, with seven candles as decorations, but was what I was observing actually happening? God said, “Go back and count the number of letters in the title I gave you for this series before you ever wrote it.” I did. “Let Freedom Ring” contains exactly 14 letters—double the sacred number seven. A year later, when the full report came in for the results of those seven scattered meetings by our grade school and high school aged student evangelists, I counted up the baptisms that had resulted. There were exactly 14. Double sevens again.

When I was invited to present the series to pastors and educators who had gathered for a major convention from the North Eastern portion of the United States, and Bermuda, as a series of three workshops a few weeks back, God let me know He was still the Designer of Destiny. I had gone down to get some lunch at the Food Court before going over for my first workshop, and ordered a bowl of vegetarian noodles and a lemonade. The clerk rang up my total: $7.77. Okay. She said, “We’ll call you when it is ready.” I sat to wait on a nearby chair. A few minutes later, she announced, “Order number seven is ready.” I looked up, and sure enough, I’d ordered their seventh menu item. When I blessed my food there at the Food Court table with all the strangers walking by, I was chuckling to God. “I know what You are up to. You’ve done this before. You’re just letting me know You are in charge of the details for this “Let Freedom Ring” project, and all will be well.”

When I finished presenting the first workshop, I said, “Anyone who is interested in talking more about implementing evangelism into the educational process of our schools, and in connecting our churches and schools for the purpose of soul-winning, please write your name and email on the sheet before you go.” When I looked, there were exactly seven names. After the next workshop, I made the same announcement, seeking allies in the process of turning our 100 North American high schools and 2,000 grade schools into public evangelism training centers in cooperation with the churches and pastors who were in their vicinity. Again, when I looked on the list, there were another seven names—no more, no less. Now I had 14 allies. I said, “God, You’ve proved Your point here. You really don’t have to keep doing this. I know it is You.”

When they had the closing ceremony for the convention there in Providence, Rhode Island, our Union President highlighted the logo for the event, six stars around a star in the middle. He said, “These seven stars represent our six North Eastern United States Seventh-day Adventist conferences with their churches, surrounding our major educational institution, Atlantic Union College.” God wasn’t just weaving the little things in patterns of sevens in my life, but also in the larger blocks that affected all of us in attendance.

Last Halloween, when we went up to Salem, Massachusetts to do street outreach at the largest Wicca Festival on the planet on what was both their Witches’ Sabbath and the weekly day of worship for Biblical Theists (Friday night, October 31st, 2008 was the beginning of the Bible Sabbath, which starts at sundown on Friday evening each week, and ends on Saturday evening), I knew I needed 14 people—seven sets of two each, to achieve what needed to be done there. I announced this to my lead pastor, to both congregations with which I am directly affiliated, and to the youth group and Main Pavillion at our yearly Campmeeting in South Lancaster, MA the summer before the event would occur. But when the time neared, it looked very much like I might be the only person on the street. Braving 180,000 at what is billed “the most powerful spiritual vortex of Wicca and New Age on earth on Halloween night”, and the 30,000 to 40,000 wizards, warlocks and witches who would be present, seemed rather daunting to many of my associates. Still, I packed the literature we would be using in 14 bundles the afternoon before, and claimed seven Bible promises, writing them on a card I placed in my shirt pocket for safe keeping.

God brought in exactly the 14 people I had known we needed and asked Him for. They came from four different churches. Seven were men, and seven were women. When they had all arrived by their various means of transportation, the occult opposition we had been up against in the main intersection where the crowds were flowing into the city broke. (I’ll be glad to send anyone the specifics of that event, if you ask, and send me your email.) We had handed out all except a smallish few of the 7,000 to 10,000 tracts I had prepared in the two hours we were on the street. Two weeks later, we were standing in the facility that is now the Salem Seventh-day Adventist Church, at 65 Canal Street, within easy walking distance of the intersection where it all happened. As one of my members pointed out when I left that congregation a few weeks back, I was leaving seven months from the time we began to worship in our new church home.

I could easily go on. But I think you get the point. God is in charge of what happens to us. Even though we may only occasionally notice the patterns He is weaving in our lives, He’s busy behind the scenes of what would otherwise be inexplicable, the Master Designer of reality. Ezekiel’s wheels within wheels, all spinning in bewildering, yet perfect, order.

The following lyric, “There Are Fourteen Sons in Jerusalem” celebrates the tapestry of reality that points to a Grand Center, the God of the Bible, who not only spoke our world into existence in six days, and rested the seventh, but continues to uphold the works of His hands in a manner that allows those with eyes to see to know the Sovereign of History is still working out all things according to His good and perfect will.

Fourteen Sons in Jerusalem

There are fourteen sons in Jerusalem,

Fourteen sons in Jerusalem.

There are fourteen sons in Jerusalem,

Ready to take the throne.

There are fourteen sons of David, the King,

Fourteen sons of David, the King.

There are fourteen sons of David, the King,

Ready to take the throne.

Thirteen lived in David’s day,

Yet the Fourteenth holds eternal sway.

There are fourteen sons in Jerusalem,

Ready to take the throne.

Jesus is the Fourteenth Son,

David’s Branch has surely come.

Hail the Fourteenth Son in Jerusalem,

Ready to take the throne.

There are fourteen sons in Jerusalem,

Fourteen sons in Jerusalem.

There are fourteen sons in Jerusalem,

Ready to take the throne.

Hail the Fourteenth Son in Jerusalem,

Who sits upon God’s throne.