Jan 30, 2018
So why does Lent have 40 days? OK Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days, granted.
But why not three for the Trinity, or seven for the days of the week, or ten, which is a nice round number, or twelve, for the twelve tribes of Israel? There are many 40 's in the Old Testament that maybe provide a clue. Noah and the Ark for starters. How about the Israelites wandering in the desert -- but wasn't that for forty years? Then there are special forty day seasons in the lives of Moses and Elijah.
Obviously this number 40 has some sort of serious symbolic significance in the world of the Bible. In this podcast, which comes from a segment of the Sonrise Morning show that was broadcast on Ash Wednesday 2016, Matt Swaim Interviews Dr. Italy in order to get at the bottom of why Lent has 40 days, how this factors into what the season of Lent is really all about, and what this tells us about how we can can the most out of this special season. There is really much more to the "forty" thing than first meets the eye! This podcast provides the answers. And maybe a few practical tips as well.