Numbers 20:1-6

Why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? (Numbers 20:4)

When the number 40 shows up in the Bible, it’s usually associated with a time of struggle and discovery. It rained on Noah’s ark for forty days and nights. The people of Israel wandered the wilderness for forty years. Moses fasted on Mt. Sinai for forty days. Goliath taunted the army of Israel for forty days. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. 

Today we read that while in the wilderness the people asked Moses: “Have you brought us out here to die?” The short answer to that question would be, “Yes. You have come to this place to die, so that you can emerge as a people deeply rooted in your relationship with God.” 

It’s no wonder then why the season of Lent lasts for forty days. It is meant to be a time of dying so that we might emerge renewed in our life of faith and discipleship. As we step into these forty days, what needs to die in your life so that something new might emerge?