March 2025 Letter

The Network of Life is turning 40. It is a milestone worth celebrating! Thank you for partnering with us, investing in young lives, and making an eternal difference! 40 years seemed significant, so I turned to Scripture to investigate other events where the number 40 had impact. This post was so popular last month, I thought I’d repeat it! Here's the shortened list of the many references to 40 that appear in the Bible:

 ·       It rained for 40 days and nights as Noah was rescued on the ark.

·       Israel wandered in the desert and ate manna for 40 years.

·       Moses fasted for 40 days and nights on Mt Sinai as he met with God to receive the Ten Commandments.

·       The spies investigated the promised land for 40 days.

·       Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days.

·       Saul reigned for 40 years.

·       David reigned for 40 years.

·       Solomon reigned for 40 years.

·       The Holy Place inside the Temple was 40 cubits long.

·       Josiah reigned for 40 years.

·       God gave Ninevah 40 days to repent.

·       Jesus fasted for 40 days before His temptation.

·       Jesus remained on earth 40 days after his resurrection.

One reference that I found really interesting was the timeline of the 7 feasts of Israel. The 7 feasts outlined in Leviticus all occur within a 40 week period each year.

Notably too, a full term pregnancy is 40 weeks in duration. And many believe that the feasts are symbolically “celebrated” as the baby is conceived, implanted, and growing in the womb. In many Jewish traditions, the 40 day pregnancy is linked to the significant moments in the Jewish calendar. Here are some amazing parallels with the 40 week pregnancy and the 40 week feast year:

 ·       We start with the 14th day of the first month when the egg first appears to begin the pregnancy. In the Jewish calendar, the 14th day of the first month is Passover.

·       Within 24 hours, the egg is fertilized which marks the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (the 15th day).

·       Implantation occurs 2 to 6 days later symbolically celebrating Festival of First Fruits (2 to 6 days after Passover). Certainly we can recognize the implantation as the “first fruits” of a pregnancy!

·       At 50 days, Pentecost is celebrated, the day that the law is given to those identified as God’s people. At 50 days, the little one in the womb has a “complete” anatomy with fully formed organs, eyes, and hands and feet.

·       A later example is in the 7th month when the baby’s hearing develops to the place where he or she can identify the voices of parents and other distinctive sounds. The Feast of Trumpets coincides with this important development of hearing!

·       Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is celebrated later in the seventh month. The baby’s body is now carrying oxygen throughout the body—hemoglobin has become more like that of an adult. On the Day of Atonement, blood is shed to cover the sins of God’s people.

 As we celebrate 40 years of ministry, we remember that nearly 8000 little ones have made the 40 week journey from conception to birth! We thank God for illustrating His plan for His people through the feasts that foreshadowed the work of salvation through Christ.