A Sign of Completeness and Power
We’ve talked about the number three in Scripture. Now let’s look at the number seven in the Bible.
We see the number seven pop up early in Scripture, during the creation account.
On each of the first five days, God sees what he did and pronounces it as “good.” On the sixth day, when he creates people, he pronounces it as “very good.” Then he rests on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3).
Seven is an indication of completion and of God’s power. God finished his creation, and then he rested. We work first, and then we rest—once we complete our labor. God modeled this for us, and we should follow his example.
Our calendar today with it seven-day week comes from the days of creation. If we care to consider it, each time we look at the calendar it’s a subtle reminder of God’s creation and of its completeness.
The number seven occurs hundreds of times in the Bible. Sometimes it’s just a number. Other times it’s a number packed with symbolism. When we encounter seven as we read Scripture, we might want to contemplate what else it might carry.
Consider when Joshua leads the people to conquer the city of Jericho. For seven days they march around the city once and return to camp.
On the seventh day, they march around the city seven times. They shout and blow their trumpets. The walls fall, and they take the city (Joshua 6:1-25). God is clearly at work in this, allowing them to conquer Jericho without even needing to fight.
We also see seven connected with forgiveness. In a way, forgiveness puts an end to—that is, it completes—a wrong perpetrated against us. The opposite of forgiveness is retaliation, which perpetuates hostilities and even multiplies it.
Jesus says that even if someone wrongs us seven times a day and asks for forgiveness, we should forgive them each time (Luke 17:4).
But lest we put a limit on how many times we should forgive another, Jesus tells Peter that we should forgive them seventy-seven times (or seven times seventy). In essence, our willingness to forgive should be without limit (Matthew 18:21-22).
Another occurrence of the number seven in the Bible occurs when Jesus’s church selects seven deacons to serve the people and help address their physical needs (Acts 6:3). Picking seven isn’t arbitrary; it’s intentional.
John’s epic vision in the book of Revelation overflows with the number seven, showing up in three dozen verses. There are:
- Seven churches (first appearing in Revelation 1:4)
- Seven spirits (Revelation 1:4)
- Seven lampstands (Revelation 1:12)
- Seven stars (Revelation 1:20)
- Seven lamps (Revelation 4:5)
- Seven seals (Revelation 5:1)
- Seven horns (Revelation 5:6)
- Seven eyes (Revelation 5:6)
- Seven angels (Revelation 8:2)
- Seven trumpets (Revelation 8:6)
- Seven thunders (Revelation 10:4)
- Seven heads (Revelation 12:3)
- Seven crowns (Revelation 12:3)
- Seven plagues (Revelation 15:1)
- Seven bowls (Revelation 16:1)
- Seven hills (Revelation 17:9)
- Seven kings (Revelation 17:10)
Genesis opens with the seven days of creation and Revelation concludes the Bible with multiple recurring references to seven. It’s clear that John’s end-time vision shows the completion of what God started in Genesis.
Let’s praise God for his completion and power each time we see the number seven in the Bible.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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