Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The other day, one of the persons who writes the daily Links Players lesson, came up with an interesting point.

This:

“In the Bible, the number three symbolizes divine perfection, completeness, and wholeness, most notably representing the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and appearing in significant patterns like Jesus’s resurrection on the third day, emphasizing divine power and new life.  It highlights important people, events, or concepts, signifying their fullness or importance, such as Noah’s three sons or the three temptations Jesus overcame.”

I had not recognized this until it was pointed out by the writer, Chris Herman, who leads a Links Bible Study at the golf course where I play in the winters, The Palms.  He also has as role in what’s called “Links Players International,” which seeks to plant bible study groups in golf clubs across the country.  Not only seeks, but has been successful.

It’s good work – and Herman’s analysis of the number three also is good work, prompting me to go farther to learn more about the general issue of number symbolism in the Bible.

Informed by Mr. Google, a generalization is this:

“Biblical numbers often carry symbolic, theological meaning rather than just literal value, with key numbers representing spiritual concepts such as

divine perfection (7), unity (1), and testing (40).  These patterns, often found in prophetic books like Revelation and Daniel, represent themes like completion (12), humanity (6), and creation (4). 

“Here are the most common symbolic numbers in the Bible:

• 1:  Unity, primacy, and the oneness of God (e.g., “The Lord our God is one”).
• 2:  Divine perfection, completeness, or the Trinity (e.g., resurrection on the third day).
• 4:  Creation of the earth (e.g., four corners of the earth, four seasons, four winds).
• 6:  Humanity, imperfection, or sin (man was created on the 6th day; one short of 7).
• 7:  Spiritual perfection, completion, or totality (e.g., days of creation).
• 40:  Testing, trials, or probation (e.g., 40 days of rain, 40 years in the wilderness).
• 666: The number of the beast, representing ultimate human imperfection/sinful imperfection.
• 1,000:  Implies a very large, complete, or indefinite number. 

Wow!  I didn’t know all that.

Plus, to go beyond, here is more on the number three as summarized by Herman because, as always with Links Players, there is a relationship between the Bible and golf.  Sometimes it can come across as a bit contrived, but, for me, there is good news here because the Bible is “God’s word and can be trusted”…AND golf is my favorite sport.

From Herman:

“Playing golf as a threesome is a great way to compete, have fun, and play fast.  I like playing as a foursome, but I prefer a faster pace to ‘stay in the zone.’  My patience is always tested when waiting to hit every shot on the golf course and enduring a five-hour round.

“I used to put a cross on my golf ball, but the dimples always made it look like a plus sign, so I changed it to three dots to remind me of our Triune God.

“I did an AI search about the number three and found the following:

“In the Bible, the number three symbolizes divine perfection, completeness, and wholeness, most notably representing the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and appearing in significant patterns like Jesus’s resurrection on the third day, emphasizing divine power and new life.  It highlights important people, events, or concepts, signifying their fullness or importance, such as Noah’s three sons or the three temptations Jesus overcame.

“Jesus was raised on the third day, Jonah was in the belly of a fish for three days, an event Jesus identified as a prophetic sign of His own time in the grave.  There are three patriarchs in the Old Testament (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and Jesus’ inner circle included three men, Peter, James, and John.”

Why do I focus on this?  Well, for at least two reasons:

• First, Herman’s lesson sparked my curiosity about number symbolism in the Bible.

• Second, learning more resulted in another way to trust the Scriptures as the inspired word of God, which works for us every day in our Christian life – my Christian life.

And, finally focusing on this reminds of my what the lead pastor at our church here in the desert, Ricky Jenkins, always says as he reads passages from the Bible – “I have just read from the greatest book ever written and I attest today that every word in it is true.”

Right!