The Men of Iron Minute
by Chad Zueck | Director of Content Creation
Celebrate Marriage Milestones
Mornings consist of a boujee cup of coffee and time alone with God. I cherish these moments, and this rhythm is life-giving. Hence, I have found that prioritizing these at the start of the day improves my attitude, faith, hopefulness, and relationships. This morning was no different from the other mornings, sipping coffee and drinking in the Word. God arrested my attention with a passage in Numbers 10. God is instructing his people on how to prepare for battle and, generally, how to maneuver the Judean wilderness wilds under His presence. Here is the passage in full.
1The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Make two trumpets of hammered silver to summon the community and have the camps set out. 3 When both are sounded in long blasts, the entire community is to gather before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 4 However, if one is sounded, only the leaders, the heads of Israel’s clans, are to gather before you.
5 “When you sound short blasts, the camps pitched on the east are to set out. 6 When you sound short blasts a second time, the camps pitched on the south are to set out. Short blasts are to be sounded for them to set out. 7 When calling the assembly together, you are to sound long blasts, not short ones. 8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to sound the trumpets. Your use of these is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
9 “When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who is attacking you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God and be saved from your enemies. 10 You are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your fellowship sacrifices and on your joyous occasions, your appointed festivals, and the beginning of each of your months. They will serve as a reminder for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.” Numbers 10:1-10, CSB[1]
What intrigued me was the usage of the trumpets. They had to sound the trumpets to bring people together when marching under the priestly banner when entering battle, and during times of festival and celebration. The trumpets were memorials and reminders of God’s goodness, provision, and power. We are millennia removed from this original message for God’s people, so what could this mean for us today? This question arose within me, “What are the trumpets we sound? Do we have anything like this to mark specific moments in marriage?” In today’s Western world, we may not sound trumpets when the Kingdom breaks in, but you can choose something that fits your life that has the same effect.
We fight for what we care for. What gets rewarded gets repeated.
+ Newborn sleeping through the night
+ Sending your child to kindergarten
+ When you get that debt paid off
+ Milestone anniversaries
+ Promotions at work
+ Graduating college
+ Having a baby
+ New home
Sound the trumpets! Fight for your marriage and celebrate milestones.
As Ferris Bueller reminds us, “Life moves pretty fast.
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Be a mentor.
Find a mentor.
Be a better man.
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[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 10:1–10.