Has it been three days?

“Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way." Matthew 15:32

Last year I decided to listen to the whole Bible again and now I am back in the gospels. I don’t know what it is about the gospels but I feel more “at home” when I listen to them. Anyway, when I was listening to Matthew, I heard something differently this time. It was when Jesus was ministering to a great crowd of people and He said "… they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way." I was like… wait, what!? THREE days!!?? For some reason the reality of this information hit me with a deeper impact and understanding. Can you image being with a multitude of people, outside, for three days, without food? This must have been an impromptu situation that caught them unprepared…

Here are the scriptures that came before this (15:32); “Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.” Matthew 15:29-31.

These people had been hanging out with Jesus, bringing their lame, blind and crippled, and watched him HEAL them for three days!? Wow. It must have been such an amazing and incredible experience that they were willing to wing it without food, and probably other supplies as well… for three days!

My next thought, after realizing how long they had been there, was that Jesus was fully aware of their circumstances and needs, and He already had a PLAN in place to take care of them. He said he had compassion for them, knowing their physical needs and wanted to provide for them before they went home. He had Compassion and Provision for them. Doesn’t knowing that give you a greater sense comfort? It does for me and it even confirms God’s awareness of our life’s circumstances “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26. Sometimes it feels like He isn’t around or aware of our difficulties, but He is, and He has already made provision for me, and for you!

This “three day” thing really intrigued me so I decided to look up all the scriptures that mentioned the “third day” or “three days” and boy was I surprised!! There were about 40 references for each of those two queries, so about 80 scriptures in total (that may change depending on your translation?)! Sometimes I feel like I am on the “caboose” of the knowledge train, but I had never thought about the Biblical significance of the number three before! There is a lot of significance to say the least! I knew, of course, the common “three days” scriptures of Jesus dying and being raised from the dead on the third day, and the significant reference to Jonah in the belly of the fish for three days, as a foreshadowing of Christ, but in looking up the scriptures I discovered that there are so many more that refer to three days that I never paid attention to.

(Somewhere in my thought process I thought of the Christian rock band Third Day and wondered if they knew the full significance of this title!)

 So, then I Googled the Biblical significance of the number three and got even more insight and information! I found the below information in this website: THE SYMOBLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THIRD DAY

 “In Scripture the number three is one of the so called "perfect numbers." The other "perfect numbers" are seven, ten, and twelve.  In Scripture the number three signifies completeness or perfection and points to what is solid, real, and substantial.  As a number which indicates completeness, the number three always identifies some important event in Salvation History.”

Well, that was cool!! With God, nothing is without some sort of significance and numbers seem to be a favorite of His! And the number three is super important! I was going to list all the “Third/three day” scriptures but this website did all that work for me (and then some!) so I will cut and paste them here:

In the Old Testament:

• It is the first of the four so called perfect numbers: 3 (divine perfection), 7 (spiritual perfection), 10 (ordinal perfection), and 12 (governmental perfection).  
• The earth was separated from the waters on the 3^rd day.
• There are 3 Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel.
• The 3 verses of the Priestly Blessing in which the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, God's holy covenant name, appears 3 times (Numbers 6:24-26).
• 3 times the Seraphim cry "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8).
• After the Great Flood mankind descended from the 3 sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
• 3 "men" announced to Abraham that his barren wife would bear a son (Genesis 18:14).
• Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son after a 3-day journey to Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22:1-4).
• Baby Moses was hidden by his mother for 3 months (Exodus 2:1), and the adult Moses requests of Pharaoh that he let Moses take his people on a 3 day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to their God (Exodus 3:18).
• There were 3 divisions of the desert Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem: the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies (Exodus 27:9; 26:1-30, 35-37; 31-34; 38:9-20; 21-31; 40:1-33; 1 Kings 6:1-37).
• The Theophany at Sinai was on the 3^rd day after the people arrived.
• God is mentioned 3 times in the Shema (the first profession of faith in Deuteronomy 6:4) and 3 times in the blessing in Numbers 23:24.
• There are 3 attributes of God mentioned in Exodus 33:18-19: hen, rachum, and hesed (gracious, compassionate /merciful, and loving kindness).
• Of the 7 Holy Feasts of the Sinai Covenant, 3 are pilgrim feasts in which every man 13 years or older must present himself before God at the Temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 23:14-17; 34:18-23; Deuteronomy 16:5-17; 2 Chronicles 8:13).
• Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 1:17); Jonah took a 3 day journey across the city of Nineveh (Jonah 3:3)

 In the New Testament:

 

• Jesus' ministry covered 3 Passovers (John 2:14, 6:4; 12:1).
• Mary stayed with Elizabeth about 3 months (Luke 1:56).
• Jesus was missing for 3 days when He was twelve years old (Luke 2:46).
• Jesus took 3 men, Peter, James and John, up on the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1; Mark 2; Luke 9:28).
• Jesus prophesized that He would arise from the dead on the 3rd day (Matthew 16:21: 17:23; 20:19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33).
• Saul was blinded for 3 days (Acts 9:9).
• There are 3 theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity (1 Corinthians 13:13).
• The heavenly Jerusalem has 3 gates on each of its four sides (Revelation 21:13)
• Christians saw 3 as symbolic of the Trinity, the triune nature of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20).
• 3 is also recognized as the number of the Holy Spirit. 

There were a few in there that I hadn’t even thought of, like Jesus’ ministry covering three Passovers, the three gates on each side of the new Jerusalem, Saul being blind for three days... And of course, even the number 3 applying to the Trinity! (That was a huge Duhhhh! And forehead slap for me, lol!)

Here are a couple more nuggets from that website:

“In the symbolic language of the Bible, a three day period points to an act of divine intervention which impacts Salvation History…

…It was after the third day that Pharaoh's cupbearer was restored to his former position as Joseph had prophesized in Genesis 40:12-23.  Another reference to restoration on the third day is found in Hosea 6:1-2 where Yahweh tells His prophet a time will come when His covenant people will acknowledge their sins and seek redemption and restoration, as they cry out Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn, that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.“

I also remembered an Oswald reference of the “third day”:

February 7

Spiritual Dejection - Luke 24:21

“…but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.”

Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong… What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today "the third day" and He has still not done what I expected?... The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer…

…One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.  (if you want to read the whole thing you can see it here: The Discipline Of Dejection)

This is one of my favorites from Oswald, reminding me that God is fully aware and at work in my life and the everyday events that I am involved with. And instead of worrying, stressing out, or trying to “fix” things myself, I can have confidence that God is aware and already has a solution and provision ready and prepared for me. And instead of seeking an “answer” I need to seek GOD Himself, who gives the answer. This is most certainly a process as we continue our individual journeys to know God!

This was a very eye opening research topic for me and I learned a lot! Who knew how interesting and important the number 3 was!!? I hope it was for you too! God is SO BIG sometimes we just can’t see Him in all of His glory and intricate detail… we seem to always be looking in the wrong direction or place. These scriptures remind me how faithful, loving and compassionate He is and that I can rest in the knowledge that He has my back, no matter what things look like.

So, are you need of some divine intervention, salvation or restoration in some way? Is it the THIRD day for you (or third month or third year), and you are wondering where He is? I hope this blog gave you some encouragement and hope to hang in there and continue to have faith in His perfect way and timing. He is fully aware of your circumstances and He has compassion for you!! He is right there, ready and willing to help you. So, seek His face and He will redeem you from your circumstances… Your third day redemption is near!

Father, thank you so much for continuing to reveal Yourself to me as I seek You with my whole heart. Thank you that You are such a loving and caring God and that nothing escapes Your notice. Please help me to be patient and trusting as I surrender my life and plans daily to You.