Will you go on a journey with me? Today I am introducing a new series called, Different Figures.

As it turns out, I am a numbers guy. Mind you, this is the guy who failed 10^th grade basic Algebra and struggled with it twice in college as well. I took it twice in college – eek! Of course, I have a story for you.

Genesis 1:1 In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning, I failed 6^th grade. I had actually failed 6^th grade, but a teacher who cared enough about me, went to bat for me, as she knew I was smarter than my grades reflected. In addition, my Mom had me tested that year and according to the results? Well, let’s just say the results indicted my intelligence. The real problem wasn’t my intellect. The real problem was a lost child who couldn’t apply himself as he was trying to find his way and instead, acted out behavioral issues. Even though I technically failed 6^th grade, Mrs. Angelino (Previously Miss Spangler – she taught me twice in my elementary days) sat me down and showed me my grades and gave me a choice. Do I want to stay in 6^th grade, or do I want to go to the Junior High School? To this day, I do not know how she was able to pull this off. After pondering a bit in the meeting, social status, drove me to the decision to take the opportunity to go to Junior High School. (Today we know this as Middle School) Somehow for the next 3 years, I managed to get by. Scared straight maybe. I would find out in 10^th grade, that not only did I not know math, I didn’t even know what an adjective was in the English language. Years later as an adult, I would come to know Eileen and Ron Angelino better, as the Sunday School Superintendents of my home church where I grew up. As my journey progressed in my recovery from addiction and the better of self, I was able to thank Eileen for what she did for me way back in 6^th grade.

In 10^th grade, my homeroom teacher was Mr. Treon. He had been at the school for ions. Mr. Treon taught High School Math. My brother had him, and I had heard many stories about him. They were not good stories. His teaching abilities, along with his roundish build, reflected in his nickname that carried over from year to year. His teaching method was the worst that I can ever recall. This is how it went: “Open your books to page X. Here is the math principle we will be learning today. Here is the exact example that is in the book, explained exactly how it is explained in the book except written on the board.” That’s it. That was the first 15-20 mins of class. The last 20 minutes was given to us to complete homework assigned for that chapter. Mr. Treon would then read the newspaper or a book, for the rest of the class. He thought he was doing us a favor by allowing us to complete the homework in class, so we wouldn’t have to do it at home. I would try to ask questions about the material, and he would refer back to the example in the book that was written on the board. No further explanation given, except, “It’s just like it shows in the book.” I would go up a second time and ask the question differently, hoping for a different answer-that would never come. I finally gave up. The first 2 semesters where D’s and F’s. The final semesters where just F’s. I recall the final grade as a 36. The book of Numbers has 36 chapters.

In the Beginning, Genesis 1:1 God created the heavens and the earth. The Hebrew word for In the beginning is Bereshit. Notice, that Bereshit is not just word for word swap, Bereshit does not equal beginning. Bereshit = In the Beginning. It could also be interpreted as First. I am certainly not looking to claim to be a Hebrew Scholar here. But I am intelligent enough to recognize, that translation from one language to another must be done so very carefully, so words do not lose meaning. Why do I go down this rabbit trail? Simply, because interpretation is important, and the root in this case is Hebrew. Hebrew dates back with written evidence to around 1000 BCE, while the English language came along around 650 CE. That’s a big gap!

MATH:

1000 BCE to 1 BCE = 999 Years

1 CE to 650 CE = 650 Year

Total Gap = 1,649 Years!

Have you ever read a book from the 1940’s? The English is different isn’t it? Imagine 1,649 years of Hebrew now being translated to English, an additional 1,334 years in 1984? Hopefully, it was done carefully, eh?

God speaks to us in the Bible in many different ways. This is done for the purposes of the plain fact, that we are all the same, yet different. Each of us reaches understanding and perspective through our own unique path. I needed Math explained to me in a different way than what was being presented to me. However that was not an option in Mr Treon’s class. Imagine if the Bible just gave us one method only to “get it.”? Here is a short list of all the ways the Bible uses to teach:

I am going to tell you my story and why I am a numbers guy, as we look at numbers and their significance in the Bible. The Bible is numerically backed. Data, in numbers form as we know it in today’s world, is all over the Bible. Data is perfect. Data is irrefutable, yet open to interpretation.

Will you go on a journey with me as I look at Different Figures in the Bible?

It’s Time.