The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Message summary: The timeless challenge issued by Joshua echoes throughout the ages: "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:14,15).

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"Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:1,2,12).

Yesterday I completed another trip around the sun. Sixty-eight times I have made this trip in my post birth existence. (I also had about 75% of a trip in my pre-birth state, see Psalm 139:13).

The heading for Psalm 90 in the New American Standard Bible uses this summary, "God's Eternity and Man's Transitoriness."

The Psalms are normally associated with David, but David did not write Psalm 90. It was written by Moses who lived about 400 years before David. Yet an inspired compiler placed his writing in the midst of the Psalm collection within the Holy Scriptures.

The first daily verse powerfully expresses God's eternity, "from everlasting to everlasting You are God". What a powerful assurance it brings in any setting or situation to contemplate the eternality of our Almighty God.

The second daily verse expresses man's transitoriness, "So teach us to number our days". Transitoriness means "of brief duration, an impermanence that suggests the inevitability of ending or dying". Our days on this earth are numbered. They had a beginning and they will have an end unlike God who exists from "from everlasting to everlasting". And in the span of eternity our days on earth are certainly of brief duration. "You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14).

The day is the most fundamental unit of time going back to Creation though we don't normally express our age in days but years. On aged tombstones people's ages were engraved in years, months, and even days. We have met several people in life who can, on any given day, tell you how old they are in days, literally expressing today's Bible verse. Today I happen to number my days at 24,837.

I may be able to count the days since I've been born (Hint: I used an online widget!*) but I don't know how many more days I have on this earth or what my future holds. But I have learned that, over the course of my life here on earth, there is a lot I am unable to schedule or choose, including trials or blessings. As a line in an old hymn states, "Every joy or trial falleth from above, traced upon our dial by the sun of love; We may trust Him fully, all for us to do – They who trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true."

"Teach us to number our days" is in the form of a petition. The plural "us" is interesting and I include myself with Moses and others in making this petition. Moses lived some 43,800 days, but it seems to me that he wasn't likely referring to keeping an up-to-date count of the days since his birth. Rather I believe he is calling us to recognize and give attention to the blessings and responsibilities of each day.

The purpose of numbering our days is "that we may present to You (God) a heart of wisdom". This should be a foundational goal in life and a lifelong pursuit. Again, James reminds us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (1:5). In light of the times we should be seeking God's wisdom through the earnest study of His holy Word. Then we are able to exercise spiritual discernment in every facet of life.

Moses goes on to say a couple of verses later, "Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). The deepest source of satisfaction for the believer is God's unfailing love. It is unwavering and inexhaustible; "Though the mountain be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken....says the Lord, who has compassion on you" (Isaiah 54:10).

Today, in numbering our days, let us recognize that, "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it". There are no leap days on God's calendar! We awaken each new day and choose to glorify God and serve Him with all our hearts.

The timeless challenge issued by Joshua echoes throughout the ages and is a fitting way to conclude this message: "Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:14,15).

Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)