Why does Lent last 40 days?
The number 40 appears at a number of points in salvation history. The period of the flood in Genesis 7 was 40 days. Israel wandered 40 years in the desert (Ex. 16:35; Num. 32:13), and Moses fasted on the mountain of God 40 days and nights (24:18). Elijah fasted at Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8). Nineveh was given 40 days to repent (Jon. 3:4). Jesus fasted in the desert before His temptation. The Forty Hours Devotion honors the 40 hours that the body of rested in the tomb. The number 40 can signify trial, testing, waiting, preparation. What one sees in these passages is that the number 40 generally symbolizes something old passing away and something new beginning. In each of these events there was an entering into new life. The word “Lent” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word (lencten) that means “spring.” Whether we have the children of Israel entering into the Promised Land after 40 years or Jesus beginning His public ministry after 40 days, we can see the fulfillment of divine purpose and prom
