In my Read the Bible plan, I am in Numbers. I know. I know. At first mention it sounds boring…maybe tedious reading. But actually it is not. Yes, there are lists of the number of men in the Tribes of Israel. That isn’t great reading except that if we stop and think, our Father is interested in every single man, every single family. No one is unimportant.

The Sepuagint labels this book, “Chronicles of the Census”. But Hebrew people name this book, B’midbar…translated as “Into the Wilderness”. That changes the whole first impression about this book. I mean, who doesn’t love a good outdoor wilderness story?

In this book we find long lists. Lists of people. Lists of furniture in the Tabernacle. Lists of how many curtains for the inner covering of the Tabernacle. Lists of how many curtains for the outer covering of the Tabernacle. Snuffers. Censors. Furniture and contents of the Tabernacle. But while reading these lists the items that caught my eye were the “sockets”.

Now sockets weren’t listed up there with the golden altar or the menorah, or the bronze altar or the table of shewbread. But without those sockets, the Tabernacle could not be erected. God gave very strict instructions on how to erect and take down the Tabernacle. It was clear that only the priests could enter the Holy Place and the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place only once a year.

Without those sockets, the Tabernacle could not stand. Would not be functional. The divisions of the Tabernacle would not exist and even the Tabernale itself . We see instructions on how to fasten together the boards and the curtains. Without these sockets, that doesn’t happen. 

The sons of Merai were tasked with keeping the boards and sockets. Taking them down…putting them up. One lost socket and…diaster. The Tabernacle is spoiled.

It is so fascinating to me that the little things, the seemingly small, unimportant things are crucial. I don’t think there is any “small thing” in our Father’s eyes. Everything and everyone is important. Without each and everyone doing what He has called us to do, the Kingdom suffers. Now don’t get me wrong. Father God’s perfect plan and His perfect will is always accomplished. We just lose our privilege to participate when we are disobedient or think that something is too small to be important.

We might not be in a lead role, but whoever is leading can’t be successful without your job being done well. In chapter 16 of Numbers, Korah leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. He wasn’t content with his assigned job of caring for the Tabernacle. He thought he was just as gifted as Moses. He sought to be in the position Moses held. That wasn’t God’s plan. As a result, Korah and the 250 leaders who sided with him were destroyed. Not only that, the next day some of the Israelites were still murmuring against Moses and 14,700 were consumed by a plague. Pretty high price to pay.

Whatever our Father has gifted us to do in the kingdom, we should gladly do. He has chosen us especially for that task. And nothing He asks us to do is too small or unimportant. Everything has value in His kingdom, especially His children.

A daisy can’t be a rose.

A cat can’t be a dog.

A cow can’t be a horse.

A tree can’t be a river.

Dear ones, let’s rejoice in who our Father created us to be. Rejoice in the kingdom work He has chosen us for. Rejoice that in our Father’s estimation, no one is small…no one is unaccounted for…no one is unimportant.

He knows and sees even the smallest details…they are of the utmost importance.