NUMBER TWENTY (20)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Meaning of Number 20
a) Twenty is twice ten and can, at times, mean a complete or perfect waiting period.
b) For 20 years Jacob waited to get possession of his wives and property, and to be freed from the control of Laban his father-in-law (Genesis 31:38 - 41). For 20 years the children of Israel waited to be freed of Jabin, king of Canaan, who oppressed them. God response was to raise up Deborah and Barak, who freed the people from bondage (Judges 4 - 5).
2 How is the number 20 related to dreams?
a) The scriptures record at least twenty dreams.
i) Abimelech is warned by God not to go near Sarah, Abraham's wife, whom he thought was just his sister (Genesis 20:3).
ii) Jacob has TWO dreams. His first dream is of a ladder that goes to heaven (Genesis 28:12). In his second dream, an angel tells him to leave his father-in-law Laban and go back to Canaan (Genesis 31:10).
iii) Laban is told not to harm Jacob and to leave him alone (Genesis 31:24).
iv) Joseph, a son of Jacob, has TWO dreams. The first symbolically showed his brothers bowing before him in obedience (Genesis 37:5), while the second represented his brothers AND his father and mother bowing before him (verse 9).
v) While in Egyptian prison with Joseph, a butler and a baker have distinct dreams. The butler's dream represents him being freed from prison and once again serving Pharaoh. The baker's dream symbolizes him be killed by Pharaoh in three days (Genesis 40).
vi) Egypt's Pharaoh has TWO dreams. They both communicate from God that the land will have seven years of bountiful harvests followed by seven years of famine (Genesis 41).
vii) Gideon overhears a person in the enemy encampment recall a dream that represents them (the Midianites) being conquered (Judges 7).
viii) Solomon is offered by God ANYTHING he wants (1 Kings 3:5).
ix) King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has TWO dreams. The first represents all the major world-ruling empires from Babylon until the return of Christ (Daniel 2:3). The second reveals the king will be given the mind of an animal (made insane) and forced to live outside for seven years as punishment for his vanity (Daniel 4).
x) Daniel is given a dream of four great beasts that represent world empires that will exist in succession up to the time when Jesus Christ will come to rule the earth (Daniel 7).
xi) Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, had THREE dreams. The first told him to take Mary as his wife even though she was pregnant with Jesus (Matthew 1:20 - 23). The second told him, after the birth of Christ, to flee to Egypt until Herod the Great was dead (2:13). The third informed him that Herod was dead and that it was safe to go back home (2:19).
xii) The wise men who came to worship Jesus are told to not visit Herod on their way back home (Matthew 2:12).
xiii) The wife of Pontius Pilate, who is the Roman authority in Jerusalem, has a disturbing dream about Jesus' upcoming sentencing and warns her husband to have nothing to do with 'that just man' (Matthew 27:19.
3. Additional information on the Biblical Meaning of 20
a) God promised Abraham that if he found only 20 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah he would not destroy both cities (Genesis 18:31).
b) Samson was Judge over Israel twenty years (Judges 15:20, 16:31).
c) The book of Hebrews uses over 20 different names and titles for Jesus Christ.
The End ...
1. Meaning of Number 20a) Twenty is twice ten and can, at times, mean a complete or perfect waiting period.
b) For 20 years Jacob waited to get possession of his wives and property, and to be freed from the control of Laban his father-in-law (Genesis 31:38 - 41). For 20 years the children of Israel waited to be freed of Jabin, king of Canaan, who oppressed them. God response was to raise up Deborah and Barak, who freed the people from bondage (Judges 4 - 5).
c) In the days of Samuel the prophet the Philistines battled and overcame Israel, taking the Ark of the Covenant back to their land. The Ark brought such calamities on the Philistines that after seven months they gave it back to the Israelites. It ended up in the city of Kirjath-jearim, which is several miles west of Jerusalem. Israel had to wait at least 20 years (1 Samuel 5 - 7) before the Ark would be moved again.
d) Solomon spent seven years building the house of God in Jerusalem and another 13 building his own home for a total number of 20 years. After he had completed both buildings Solomon gave Hiram, the king of Tyre, twenty cities in the land of Galilee (1 Kings 9:10 - 11).
d) Solomon spent seven years building the house of God in Jerusalem and another 13 building his own home for a total number of 20 years. After he had completed both buildings Solomon gave Hiram, the king of Tyre, twenty cities in the land of Galilee (1 Kings 9:10 - 11).
2 How is the number 20 related to dreams?
a) The scriptures record at least twenty dreams.
i) Abimelech is warned by God not to go near Sarah, Abraham's wife, whom he thought was just his sister (Genesis 20:3).
ii) Jacob has TWO dreams. His first dream is of a ladder that goes to heaven (Genesis 28:12). In his second dream, an angel tells him to leave his father-in-law Laban and go back to Canaan (Genesis 31:10).
iii) Laban is told not to harm Jacob and to leave him alone (Genesis 31:24).
iv) Joseph, a son of Jacob, has TWO dreams. The first symbolically showed his brothers bowing before him in obedience (Genesis 37:5), while the second represented his brothers AND his father and mother bowing before him (verse 9).
v) While in Egyptian prison with Joseph, a butler and a baker have distinct dreams. The butler's dream represents him being freed from prison and once again serving Pharaoh. The baker's dream symbolizes him be killed by Pharaoh in three days (Genesis 40).
vi) Egypt's Pharaoh has TWO dreams. They both communicate from God that the land will have seven years of bountiful harvests followed by seven years of famine (Genesis 41).
vii) Gideon overhears a person in the enemy encampment recall a dream that represents them (the Midianites) being conquered (Judges 7).
viii) Solomon is offered by God ANYTHING he wants (1 Kings 3:5).
ix) King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has TWO dreams. The first represents all the major world-ruling empires from Babylon until the return of Christ (Daniel 2:3). The second reveals the king will be given the mind of an animal (made insane) and forced to live outside for seven years as punishment for his vanity (Daniel 4).
x) Daniel is given a dream of four great beasts that represent world empires that will exist in succession up to the time when Jesus Christ will come to rule the earth (Daniel 7).
xi) Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, had THREE dreams. The first told him to take Mary as his wife even though she was pregnant with Jesus (Matthew 1:20 - 23). The second told him, after the birth of Christ, to flee to Egypt until Herod the Great was dead (2:13). The third informed him that Herod was dead and that it was safe to go back home (2:19).
xii) The wise men who came to worship Jesus are told to not visit Herod on their way back home (Matthew 2:12).
xiii) The wife of Pontius Pilate, who is the Roman authority in Jerusalem, has a disturbing dream about Jesus' upcoming sentencing and warns her husband to have nothing to do with 'that just man' (Matthew 27:19.
3. Additional information on the Biblical Meaning of 20
a) God promised Abraham that if he found only 20 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah he would not destroy both cities (Genesis 18:31).
b) Samson was Judge over Israel twenty years (Judges 15:20, 16:31).
c) The book of Hebrews uses over 20 different names and titles for Jesus Christ.
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