The Number of New Beginnings

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In her book, Love on Steroids, Tammy Byler says, "The number eight has always belonged to new beginnings." She goes on to recount that eight people walked off the ark when the floodwaters receded, and the world began anew. In the Jewish culture, a son was circumcised on the eighth day, set apart, and welcomed into covenant. In addition to what Byler mentions, On the eighth day, after seven days of consecration, Aaron and his sons began their priestly service and God revealed His glory [see Leviticus 9:1, 4, & 23-24). It's another picture of God opening the way to a new beginning. The feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days, but the eighth day was a sacred assembly, symbolizing a new start with God after dwelling in temporary shelters [Leviticus 23:36]. And when someone was healed of leprosy, the eighth day marked their full restoration to the community [Leviticus 14:10-13].

Behold, I make all things new (Revelation 21:5b).

Now I'm not one who finds numerology fascinating like some people do, but I had never heard this about the number eight. I knew seven had special meaning in the Bible (referring to completeness), and I may write a book on the lessons connected to the number forty in the Bible, but I'd never heard that eight means a new beginning. 

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Whether or not we focus on the number, the message behind it is clear: God delights in giving His people fresh starts. New mercies meet us every morning, and new beginnings appear in places we never expected. The Lord specializes in restoration, turning endings into openings and setbacks into stepping-stones. When we walk with Him, yesterday never has the final say. He offers new beginnings.

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