Eleven:11
Do you ever constantly see the same numbers on a clock? Like maybe every time you look at your phone it’s 4:44 or 5:55 or 11:11. Those are the ones I see the most. I never paid much attention to it, though, until a friend of mine told me how much she sees 11:11. She would take a screenshot of her phone each time she saw it there, but she also saw it all the time on other clocks.
Well, knowing how numbers are biblically symbolic, she decided to look up the number 11. Here’s what she found…
The number eleven is important in that it can symbolize disorder, chaos and judgment. In the Bible, 11 is used twenty-four times and "11th" can be found 19 times. Coming after 10 (which represents law and responsibility), the number eleven (11) represents the opposite, which is the irresponsibility of breaking the Law, which brings disorder and judgment. In Genesis 11, men rebelled against God and built the tower of Babel. He judged them by confusing their language, resulting in chaos.
(http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/11.html)
Since then, when I see 11:11 on a clock or just the number 11 randomly, my thoughts turn to that meaning out of curiosity. Until the other day.
I was having my quiet time, talking to Jesus and reading my bible. That particular morning I was reading in Hebrews and noticed I was about to read chapter 11. Well, for some reason, I immediately thought about all the times my friend and I have seen 11:11 on the clock. With that on my mind, I read the chapter. When I got to verse 11, my heart smiled.
It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.
Hebrews 11:11 (NLT)
You see, I struggle from time to time with the fact that I’m 33 years old, still single, and have no kids. I also cannot even begin to tell you how many times people have tried to encourage me with Sarah and Abraham’s story. And it is encouraging… if I were 90 years old and still wanting to have kids of my own. But let’s face it, I don’t want to start having kids at 90! I want to have great-grandkids by that age.
And yes, I know, it’s not about the actual age, it’s about the promise behind it. But seriously, can we stop using Sarah’s story as encouragement for keeping hope alive in that department? Because, maybe I can only speak for myself here, but it’s really not that encouraging.
Which is why I chose to focus mostly on the last part of that verse.
“She believed that God would keep his promise.”
My God is not a cruel God. He is a good, good Father. I believe that He wants me to be fruitful and multiply. I believe that He placed that desire in my heart for a reason. I believe that it would go against His very nature to give me that desire and not follow through. Therefore, I believe that God will keep his promise.
I am so grateful for this reminder. I’m going to meditate on this verse. I’m going to plaster it onto the walls of my heart. Heck, I might even plaster it onto the walls of my home and office. And I love that He gave it me in a season when I’m not curled up in that comfortable rut of loneliness, self-pity, and depression. Because if I had been, I probably wouldn’t have heard Him.
So, that was the end of my blog, but if you are anything like me then you are wondering what the 11th verse of the 11th chapter of all of the other books of the bible say. Well, guess what? I’ve provided them all below. They are all from the New Living Translation.
Genesis: After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
Leviticus: They will always be detestable to you. You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies.
Numbers: And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?
Deuteronomy: Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain—
Joshua: The Israelites completely destroyed every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. And then Joshua burned the city.
Judges: So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the Lord, Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders.
1 Samuel: But before dawn the next morning, Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments. He launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them the whole morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together.
2 Samuel: Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”
1 Kings: So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.
2 Kings: The palace guards stationed themselves around the king, with their weapons ready. They formed a line from the south side of the Temple around to the north side and all around the altar.
1 Chronicles: Here is the record of David’s mightiest warriors: The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three—the mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle.
2 Chronicles: Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them, and he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine.
Nehemiah: and Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the supervisor of the Temple of God.
Job: For he knows those who are false, and he takes note of all their sins.
Proverbs: Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.
Isaiah: In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people—those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.
Jeremiah: Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries.
Ezekiel: No, this city will not be an iron pot for you, and you will not be like meat safe inside it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel,
Daniel: “Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them.
Hosea: Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord.
Zechariah: That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through my actions.
Matthew: “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!
Mark: So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.
Luke: “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?
John: Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”
Acts: “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying.
Romans: Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.
1 Corinthians: But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women.
2 Corinthians: Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.
Hebrews: It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.
Revelation: But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them.