Num 4:39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

“From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old” – This statement appears 7 times in Numbers chapter 4. This age was specifically fixed as the full maturity of bodily energy peak at this age to perform the laborious duties assigned them in the wilderness, as well as of mental activity to assist in the management of the sacred services. At thirty years of age his body is at his full strength, and when fifty it begins to decline. Christ began His ministry at the age of thirty (Luke 3:23).

In David’s time and afterwards, the age of the Levites’ service was reduced to twenty years old (1 Chronicles 23:24). One reason could be the laborious work of carrying the vessels and the Tabernacle was no longer needed as when they were wandering in the wilderness and therefore, the younger men could be enrolled in the service earlier.

The age from thirty to fifty is the prime season of man's life for business. What are our young men from age thirty to fifty most concerned and busy themselves with? There are three:

1.      Building their career.

2.      Finding a wife.

3.      Raising a family.

We have many teenage boys who are faithful and active. But what happen when they reach thirty? Some are no longer faithful. Some are still with us but are not active in the church. Many have started a family, but they are not bringing their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). They are too busy with their career and ensuring their children excel in their secular education. Family and work have replaced spiritual growth.

What is the result when their own children grow up as young adults? They become unfaithful. Trust me; look around for yourself: it is like father, like son.

The service of God should be done when we are in the most active frame. Those who said they will become active when their children have grown up never did! It came too late and at a huge price of their own faith and the faith of their family.

Timothy, Titus, John Mark, and the apostles, were young men when they began to follow Jesus and serve Him. Paul told young Timothy: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Young men and women, it is good to excel in your career and be concerned with your family. You are more blessed than the ninety percent population of this world when you have a job, a good income, a loving family, a house of your own, a bank account, and good health. Remember, you don’t have them if God has not blessed you: “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth,” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

James wrote: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,” (James 1:17). What you have are God’s blessings to you. God gave them to you; what have you given to God? God demands your service in return: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Young men and women, serve God while you are young and fit. Do not be distracted by the things of this world. Success can be a blessing or a cursing; it depends on you. It is a blessing, if it resulted in your gratitude to God and faithfulness to Him. It becomes a curse if it resulted in you becoming entangled with it and becoming unfaithful to God. Therefore, choose blessing because the result is eternal life: “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8).

Young men and women: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Yes, serve the Lord; it has a greater reward!

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

Neh 2:5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.

Nehemiah is the story of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah built walls. Why did he need to do it? Wasn’t there already a wall standing in Jerusalem? Indeed, there was a wall but it was broken. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the wall and laid it in ruins (2 Chronicles 36:19). And it had remained in that condition for more than a hundred years. Nehemiah came to repair the wall that had been broken into pieces.

But Nehemiah did more than rebuilding the wall; he was rebuilding the lives of the Jewish nation. This book is also the story of the restoration of a people from ruin and despair to a new walk with God. The spiritual wall he was building was more important than the physical wall he came to do.

What are the walls in your life that are broken and need rebuilding?

1. Is it your family that is broken? Many families are broken, even Christian families. It could be that the children are not talking to their parents or one of the parents. Build up your family: “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).

2. Is it your marriage that is broken? Husbands, do you love your wives? Wives, do you love your husbands? It is sad when husbands and wives stop loving each other when the children are grown up. Husbands and wives: Build up your marriage: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them” (Colossians 3:18-19).

3. Is it your spiritual life that is broken? I have some who admit that their faith is weak. Their spiritual walls are broken. To these people, I say: “Do something about your wall. Do you want it to remain broken or do you want to rebuild it?” Build up your spiritual wall: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).

What would you do when you detect something is wrong with your car? You send it to the workshop to get it fix. You repair things that are not working. Shouldn’t you also repair the cracks in your life? More so when you detect that your spiritual life is weak; you need to rebuild it. Shouldn’t you be concerned that it is weak and do something about it?

Nehemiah asked about the situation in Jerusalem not because he was curious but because he was concerned. He was very concerned to the point of weeping and fasting (Nehemiah 1:4). And his concern led him to act. Likewise, if you are concerned about your spiritual walls, you will act. You will never begin to build the walls of your life until you have first become greatly concerned about the ruins. Have you ever taken a good look at the ruins in your life? Is the relationship with God important to you? Is the wall weak? I urge you to strengthen your spiritual walls.

In ancient times, walls served to protect the city from the enemies’ invasions. As God wanted the wall of His holy city to be a strong to protect the city, so God wants the Christians today to be strong in the faith so that they can be protected from the attacks of Satan during spiritual warfare: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Spiritual wall-building is to be a way of life for every growing Christian.

Today, we are faced with the same challenges from our adversary, the devil, as he tries to discourage and kill our spiritual growth. We need to build the walls that are broken: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13). Is your wall standing?

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

“For I am the Lord, I change not.” (Malachi 3:6)

Well, in a few days there’s going to be some major changes taking place in our country and its government.  I’m not going to opine on the pros or cons of our governmental changes, I’m just going to use “change” as the basis for our lesson today because “change” is one of those inevitable things about this world we live in.  The reason why is because it’s tied to “time” and “time” only applies to this world and us as we occupy it.

Nothing of this world remains the same because of two types of changes that occur - natural change and capricious change.  In the “natural” realm of change our bodies age and boy do they change.  Simply speaking, we just wear out.  As I said, it’s just the nature of things associated with this earth.

But, the area of “capricious” change is different.  This is the kind of change that man (we) cause to change.  We’re just constantly changing things, sometimes whether they need it or not.  Sometimes we just can’t leave well enough alone.  And, sometimes the change is good, and sometimes it isn’t.  Since man sinned and was ejected from The Garden, nothing has remained the same.

We’ve been studying about ancient Israel in our Sunday morning class and they’ll serve us well as an illustration to this lesson.  In the first chapter of Exodus we find Israel living in the land of Egypt and everything was just “peachy keen” for them.  All of a sudden a new government came into power and their lives changed.  And it wasn’t for the better either.

My point here is, that things can change from good to bad rather quickly, however, sometimes they can change from bad to good.  Let’s hope that our coming government change will be a change for the better.  But, whether natural or capricious, change will be a part of this world as long as it exists.

Aren’t you glad that there is one thing that doesn’t change - God and His Word?  Think about it, when it comes to God’s rules they are the same for everyone.  Have always been so and will remain so forever.  I cited the passage from Mal. 3:6 where God says (in modern language) “I DO NOT CHANGE!” 

What that says to me is, that God does not operate like man.  He is not capricious like man is.  He has set His standards and given them to us in His Word and we can know assuredly that we don’t have to worry about them being changed on us in mid-stream, so to speak.

To me, there’s a lot of comfort in knowing that there is only ONE set of rules for us to follow in order to be saved.  Only ONE plan given for man to reach heaven.  That these rules and this plan is the same for every human being on earth.  This is the only example of perfect quality we’ll ever see on this earth. 

There’s a great old hymn in our songbooks entitled “Abide With Me” which originated as a poem written by Henry F. Lyte, a minister in England.  Henry suffered from a serious lung condition which eventually turned into tuberculosis.  On September 4th, 1847, at the age of 54, he preached his last sermon.  Following the sermon he sat down and penned the poem “Abide With Me.”

Shortly after that, he traveled to Italy where the climate was much more suited to helping his lungs however it was too late to do any good.  In November of 1847 he passed away.  It’s these words of the second verse that tie this hymn to our lesson topic today: “Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me.”

There’s another beautiful old hymn that fits very well with both the lesson and the poem of Henry Lyte.  It was written by Knowles Shaw and its words were taken, almost verbatim, from the first 7 verses of the 15th chapter of John.  The title of this hymn is “I Am The Vine.”  I encourage you to read that passage from John 15, but I’d like to cite one verse from it here.  It’s verse 7 and it reads “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Yes, it’s just a fact of life on this earth that things are constantly changing.  Some good, some bad, but know assuredly that everything about us and this world that we occupy will change.  The only thing that we have that is constant, that doesn’t change is the Creator of this world - GOD! 

If we “abide in Him” we have His Word that He “abides in us.”  Further, He left us with another promise that should comfort all of us.  In Heb. 13:5 he says “...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  And that will never change.

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Covey