Measuring Time according to Psalm 90:4

Scripture tells us that the way our Father does things is not the way we do things, nor does He think the way we do (Isaiah 55: 8-9).  This principle is apparent when we look at Psalm 90, the only psalm written by Moses. This whole psalm is insightful and is well worth our time to read again and again, having a depth of insight into the mind and ways of our Father. Specifically in verses 3-6, Moses was discussing the speed at which a person’s lifetime passes before the Creator of mankind versus how it passes to mankind themselves. He said to the Father:   

Within these four verses Moses gave us an equation that has always intrigued me: one day = one thousand years.  He is letting us see how our lives pass by, from our Father’s point of view. In the psalm Moses explains that we are like the new grass that sprouts in the morning only to wither and fade by the evening.  Indeed, from the simple equation Moses gave us, we can calculate the following table:

TABLE: The Passage of Time: God versus Man

To help bring this into perspective, let’s look at it like this:

• It takes a couple about 9 months to conceive, carry, and give birth to a child.  This is about 1 minute to Elohim about the time it takes us to pop a bag of popcorn in the microwave.
• If a child becomes an adult at 21 years, then it takes them about 30 minutes to grow up before the Most High.
• If on average, human beings have 70 to 80 years of life, then we have a little under 2 hours to live God-time (GT).  That is about the time it takes for us to watch a movie or two episodes of a TV show.
• The United States of America is about 1.8 days old GT, a little less than a two-day weekend.
• Israel is about 3000 years old which makes it 3 days old GT, the length of a holiday weekend.
• China has a recorded history of approximately 5000 years which makes it about as old as a typical five-day work week GT.
• The continent of Africa, considered to be the cradle of humanity, is about 2 billion years old.  That would make it 55.5 centuries old GT.
• The earth is said to be 4.5 billion years old which makes it 125 centuries old GT.

From Everlasting to Everlasting

While all of this blows my mind as I continue to consider it, these times are minuscule when compared to Elohim Himself. He exists outside of time as we know it; He comes from everlasting and continues to everlasting (Psalm 90:2).

This concept can be a little difficult to fathom so let’s look at it this way: Consider an extra-long dining table that can seat 20 people.  There are no chairs, so we go stand beside it near the middle of the table. One end of the table represents the beginning of time when our solar system came into being.  The other table end represents the end of time when the earth will be destroyed by fire (Zephaniah 1: 14-18).  

The Creator of our universe can take in the whole of time from one end of the table to the other all at once, but He is not confined by it like we are.  His existence goes from before the beginning of the table “the beginning of time” and goes past the other end of the table “the end of time.”  His existence keeps on going past both ends of the table forever. He just keeps going “from everlasting” one way “to everlasting” the other way.  Can you picture it?   He exists now.  He always was before time began. He always will be after time ends. May our Father open our eyes so we can see and understand Him for who He is. He has been and will continue to be our dwelling place throughout all generations (Psalm 90:1).

Why is this important for us to understand?  Why did Moses put this in his Psalm of Praise?  There are many reasons I believe, but we are going to look at two.  The first one comes from verse 12 of Psalm 90 where he prayed, “teach us to number our days.” The second comes from the last verse when Moses asks Elohim to “establish the works of our hands.” We will look at the first one today and cover the second one in part II of this article.

Numbering Our Days

From the time of Adam to the time of Noah, human beings had a lifespan of about 1000 years or 1 day GT.  After the flood, their lives were shortened to about 10 hours GT. During our lifetime that time again has been shortened to no more than 3 hours GT. Moses writing Psalm 90, wanted us to make to most of the time we have.  He asked Elohim to help us give a number to each of our days so that “we would have a heart of wisdom.” In essence, he wanted us to have a count down so we would know how much time we have left to accomplish what we were put on earth to do.

If we have been given 80 years and 80 years equals 29,200 days, then we can calculate approximately how many days we have left to fulfill our destiny.  Let’s say someone is 35 years old.  We multiply 35 times 365 days per year, and we get 12,775 days that they have been living so far.  Then we subtract 12,775 days from 29,200 days, and we get approximately 16,426 days left.  If your eyes are starting to glaze over do not worry, I’ve created a matrix that calculates the days for every age from one to 100.  You can find it at the bottom of this article.

We can use the number of days left to “count down” our remaining days as Moses prayed for us to do. And using this wisdom, we can “count the cost” of the things we want to accomplish in life, calculate roughly how long those things will take, and then measure that number against our approximate life timeframe.

These calculations give us an idea of what we need to do to get our plans accomplished before it is too late.  Counting the cost with our time is not about how long we have to live, it is about making the most of the little time Father has given us, however long that may be. Numbering our days is like making a budget to manage how we spend our time.  If we make a budget for our time, we are less likely to waste it or spend it on worthless things only to run out of time before we accomplish our destiny.

The parable of the talents tells us of a wealthy man who gave his employees money while he went on a journey (Matthew 25: 14-30). Those who managed their money wisely were rewarded. They increased their original investments, were congratulated, and given more for their efforts. Maybe you’ve heard the adage that time is money.  Here it is literally the case.  Our time is part of our currency.  And like we do with our money; we can budget and manage our time to our benefit or to our detriment.  Let us take the time to number our days to establish a wise heart.

Prayer:

Father in Heaven,

Thank you for revealing how time passes in Your kingdom compared to our own.

Open our eyes so we may understand it more clearly and then apply this understanding to our lives.  

Teach us to number our days so that one day when we stand before you, we can present you with a heart of wisdom. Give us the mindset and desire to make the most of every opportunity and use each day wisely.  Place these principles in our hearts and write them in our minds (Hebrews 10:16) so that we through the power of Your Holy Breath will live in a way that pleases You and be living letters that the world can read.   

Forgive us for the times we have wasted and mismanaged the time we have been given here on earth.

Lead us and work through us to establish the work of our hands.  We offer what little time we have to Your will and to the establishing of Your Kingdom.

Use Your mighty hand and strong arm to accomplish through us the good works that You planned in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). We are Your workmanship fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image. You do great things, so through You and with You, we do great things as well. Make the things You do through us endure past our fleeting lives to touch the lives of those who come after us on earth and into eternity to come.

In the name of our King, Your Son, who is at Your right-hand right now interceding for us to come into the fulness of our destiny in you. 

In the name that makes a way through the desert, through the mountains, through the wilderness, and over every hill and valley. 

In the name that we love, cherish, and call on in times of trouble:

Yeshua ha Mashiah (Jesus, the Messiah)

Amen!

Number Our Days Matrix