Our entire lives involved counting! We count how many days until a special occasion. We count how many dollars are needed to reach the end of the month expenses. We count how much to tithe, put in savings for emergencies, and then budget for food and other needs each month. We count how many people will come to our home on any given holiday and then budget with enough food to feed them well.
We count steps we walk to keep our hearts pumping for good health. We count the “reps” we perform with goals to increase the count as we stretch our limits in exercise of our bodies. We count how many glasses of water we drink each day. We count calories as if our lives depended on it. We count how many steps need to be added to account for the brownie we just consumed.
We count time spent on tasks and relationships like a stingy store owner who does inventory daily to make sure no one is stealing from his profits! We count groups. We count by twos, fives, and ten. We are always counting something and comparing the count to other counts!
We count the time the preacher takes to deliver a sermon. We listen but our focus drifts to counting while listening when we count the minutes it takes to receive the message. We count how many minutes the worship team takes. We count how much time it will take to get our kids from class. We count how many we brought to church and hope that the count is the same when they all get into the car to go home. We count how many green lights we get on the way to church. Then we count how much time it will take to get something to eat after church. Jesus tells us to “count the cost” of being a true disciple. How holy is our counting? (Asking for myself.)
The first thing we teach our babies is counting numbers! “One bite, two bites, three bites,” we say as we feed them. We count in races to see how fast our toddlers can pick up toys and put them away. We count runners’ abilities to beat their best time down to a nanosecond.
The count is important to us but more important to God. God tells Moses to count the men from each of the Twelve Tribes (Sons of Jacob) who are on the journey to the promise land. God already knows the count but wants the leaders to know so they can be organized according to their clans. The Levites are exempt because their purpose is to care for The Law and The Tabernacle. God is building an army among the them in the count. God knows what lies ahead for His people. Will they trust and obey God? Can His people be “counted on” to fulfill His purpose for their good and His glory? We shall see…
Numbers 1
The Census
The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: 2 “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. 3 You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army. 4 One man from each tribe, each of them the head of his family, is to help you. 5 These are the names of the men who are to assist you:
from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
6 from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7 from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8 from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
9 from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
10 from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11 from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
12 from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13 from Asher, Pagiel son of Okran;
14 from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15 from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”
16 These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the clans of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been specified, 18 and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The people registered their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or more were listed by name, one by one, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai:
20 From the descendants of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 21 The number from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500.
22 From the descendants of Simeon:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 23 The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.
24 From the descendants of Gad:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 25 The number from the tribe of Gad was 45,650.
26 From the descendants of Judah:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 27 The number from the tribe of Judah was 74,600.
28 From the descendants of Issachar:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 29 The number from the tribe of Issachar was 54,400.
30 From the descendants of Zebulun:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 31 The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.
32 From the sons of Joseph:
From the descendants of Ephraim:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 33 The number from the tribe of Ephraim was 40,500.
34 From the descendants of Manasseh:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 35 The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.
36 From the descendants of Benjamin:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 37 The number from the tribe of Benjamin was 35,400.
38 From the descendants of Dan:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 39 The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.
40 From the descendants of Asher:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 41 The number from the tribe of Asher was 41,500.
42 From the descendants of Naphtali:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 43 The number from the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400.
44 These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families. 46 The total number was 603,550.
47 The ancestral tribe of the Levites, however, was not counted along with the others. 48 The Lord had said to Moses: 49 “You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. 50 Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the covenant law—over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it. 51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who approaches it is to be put to death. 52 The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each of them in their own camp under their standard. 53 The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the covenant law so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the covenant law.”
54 The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
More than two million Israelites were anticipating entering Canaan, conquering the inhabitants, claiming the land, and enjoying their promised inheritance. But before all of this could happen, Moses had to organize this assembly of former slaves who had been enjoying their freedom for only a year—and it wasn’t an easy task.
God’s preparation for conquest involved four stages: numbering the soldiers (Chapter 1), organizing the tribes (Chapter 2), assigning the priestly duties (Chapters 3-4), and celebrating the Passover (Chapter 9:1–14).
The Book of Numbers opens with a count of all the fighting men over the age of twenty in the camp. They were counted, but they couldn’t be counted on, because all but two of them died during Israel’s march through the wilderness. Then the new generation was counted, and they were people that the Lord could count on. They trusted His Word, entered the Promised Land, and claimed it for their inheritance. Ah, spoiler alert! But there is much to learn in the journey!
Studying the Book of Numbers can help us better understand how God directs His people, why being faithful to Him is important, and how we can grow spiritually in the difficulties of life. We don’t have to fail as did that first generation; instead, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). Cling the message Paul wrote in Romans as we enter the wilderness journey with God’s Chosen.
Maybe you are experiencing difficulties even now on your own life journey. I pray that in reading Numbers we will see our own story in the story of God in ways that build our faith in God who desires His best for us and will do what He says He will do—Provide where He guides
Lord,
Thank you for Word—all of it—that teaches us more about You with each passage of Truth. Thank you for helping us see the importance of counting for organization to fulfill your purpose in and through us; not just for the sake of counting or merely relying on the count to decide our worth. May we be “counted on” as you lead us to be with you, hear you, then do what you say. This is our response—to believe and to follow you. We know we can count on you!
In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 