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Numbers Chapter 1
- Numbers 1:1 And the LORD spoke
unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the
congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the
second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt,
saying,
- 2 Take ye the sum of all
the congregation of the children of Israel, after their
families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of
their names, every male by their polls;
- 3 From twenty years old
and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou
and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
- 4 And with you there shall
be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his
fathers.
The first thing I thought of when reading these passages about
numbering the men who were to be part of this great army was that
this numbering was a commandment by God as opposed to King David
deciding to number his people without God's sanction and
commission.
It sort of reminds us about how serious God is about doing things in
His timing and in His divine order.
Under the dispensation of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, all
who believe in Christ have access to individual infilling of the
Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. We now have available the
written word as well as the living Spirit of God within each one
that receives Jesus and desires to walk in the Spirit. Good things
God has for His children.
We can be always filled with the Holy Spirit and seek the will of
God in all things. The Holy Spirit is a greater teacher than the
most educated of mankind could ever be. We can be led of the
spirit.
Why David sinned by numbering the people is interpreted differently
by many. It is really unclear except that it may have been some form
of pride. Pride goes before a fall. He was to trust God and not
trust in the greatness of numbers perhaps then again it may have
simply been that God didn't command it or ordain it and David was
supposed to be a king that represented God. His name was associated
with God and all that he did would reflect on God who was considered
the God of Israel.
Once we name the name of Christ, all that we do either will bring
reproach upon that name if our actions are evil or bring glory to
Him if our actions are good.
- Numbers 1:5 And these are the
names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of
Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.
- 6 Of Simeon; Shelumiel the
son of Zurishaddai.
- 7 Of Judah; Nahshon the
son of Amminadab.
- 8 Of Issachar; Nethaneel
the son of Zuar.
- 9 Of Zebulun; Eliab the
son of Helon.
- 10 Of the children of
Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh;
Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
- 11 Of Benjamin; Abidan the
son of Gideoni.
- 12 Of Dan; Ahiezer the son
of Ammishaddai.
- 13 Of Asher; Pagiel the
son of Ocran.
- 14 Of Gad; Eliasaph the
son of Deuel.
- 15 Of Naphtali; Ahira the
son of Enan.
- 16 These were the renowned
of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers,
heads of thousands in Israel.
- 17 And Moses and Aaron
took these men which are expressed by their names:
- 18 And they assembled all
the congregation together on the first day of the second month,
and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the
house of their fathers, according to the number of the names,
from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.
- 19 As the LORD commanded
Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
Notice that the army was to be of men. God never ordained that women
serve in combat. This isn't being sexist though. This shows a God of
mercy, kindness and love. He knows that a woman's body isn't usually
strong enough to be able to fight in battle. Women have a certain
time every month when they should be at home and not out on a battle
field. Women carry babies in the womb and could lose the baby
prematurely if she fights in a war. Also men are supposed to protect
and care for women. If they are concerned with the safety of the
women on the battlefield, they could not fight a battle very well.
An important battle for one's survival involves concentration.
I realize that there are tomboys that can fight as well as men but
those are exceptions to the rule. If we encourage women to be in the
army, in certain situations they would eventually be drafted. This
would cause more unqualified women to be forced into something their
bodies are not able to deal with.
God knows better what is good for us if we listen. I'm not speaking
here of heaven vs hell commandments but I see that if we obey God in
all things, we wouldn't get in as much trouble.
He also ordained that only those men above 20 are numbered. Some
kids are stronger than others so we see a merciful God who realizes
that many under twenty would not be mature enough and many times not
strong enough to endure the rigors of war and fighting. I see in all
of this the mercy and grace of God in all His law. God is so good, I
find no fault with Him.
- Numbers 1:20 And the children of
Reuben, Israel's eldest son, by their generations, after their
families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number
of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old
and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
- 21 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and
six thousand and five hundred.
- 22 Of the children of
Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house
of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to
the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty
years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
- 23 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and
nine thousand and three hundred.
- 24 Of the children of Gad,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of
their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty
years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
- 25 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five
thousand six hundred and fifty.
- 26 Of the children of
Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house
of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from
twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to
war;
- 27 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore
and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
- 28 Of the children of
Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the
house of their fathers, according to the number of the names,
from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth
to war;
- 29 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and
four thousand and four hundred.
- 30 Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the
house of their fathers, according to the number of the names,
from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth
to war;
- 31 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and
seven thousand and four hundred.
- 32 Of the children of
Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their
generations, after their families, by the house of their
fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years
old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
- 33 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty
thousand and five hundred.
- 34 Of the children of
Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the
house of their fathers, according to the number of the names,
from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth
to war;
- 35 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and
two thousand and two hundred.
- 36 Of the children of
Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the
house of their fathers, according to the number of the names,
from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth
to war;
- 37 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and
five thousand and four hundred.
- 38 Of the children of Dan,
by their generations, after their families, by the house of
their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty
years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
- 39 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and
two thousand and seven hundred.
- 40 Of the children of
Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house
of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from
twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to
war;
- 41 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one
thousand and five hundred.
- 42 Of the children of
Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by
the house of their fathers, according to the number of the
names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to
go forth to war;
- 43 Those that were
numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and
three thousand and four hundred.
- 44 These are those that
were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes
of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his
fathers.
-
45 So were all those that were numbered of the children of
Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and
upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
46 Even all they that were numbered were six
hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
I see also from these things that the Lord is showing them that they
must be prepared and not go to battle without knowing what they had
to work with and what their purpose was.
- Numbers 47 But the Levites
after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.
- 48 For the LORD had spoken
unto Moses, saying,
- 49 Only thou shalt not
number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the
children of Israel:
- 50 But thou shalt appoint
the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the
vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they
shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they
shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the
tabernacle.
- 51 And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the
tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and
the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
- 52 And the children of
Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and
every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.
- 53 But the Levites shall
pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no
wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the
Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.
- 54 And the children of
Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so
did they.
The Levites were the first tribe to stand by Moses after the
rebellion and worship of the golden calf spoken of in the book of
Exodus. Moses was from the tribe of Levi as was the priests. They
were set apart for the service of the tabernacle and were not to be
numbered as part of the army to fight in battle. So we see that
numbering had to do with preparing an army, not a census.
The fact that the Levites were not numbered has a great
significance. It tells me that even in times of war, the worship of
God has great importance and was not to be laid aside until the war
is over. They had to minister at the altar and do the service of the
tabernacle even in times of war. They were not to leave that service
to fight.
They also had to guard the tabernacle to keep strangers or those
that were not ordained for the service of the tabernacle to go near
to it and end up dying in the process. The presence of God abode in
the tabernacle and only those ordain for service and went through
the cleansing explained in detail in the book of Leviticus could
minister at the tabernacle. The Levites could not leave this holy
calling even in time of war.
We see from this that God has to ordain all things to bring
salvation to mankind. They could not do anything on their own.
We cannot save ourselves from sin by our own works and our own
plans. There is only one way. The whole Old Testament teaches us
that one way is God's way. All these things lead us to Christ the
only way to God.
Had a Jew been able to live from Abraham to the time of Christ, he
would have seen the process from the promise of Abraham to the
giving of the law showing the holiness of God and the weakness of
man to keep the law. This pointed to God providing a better way in
order for man to keep the spirit of the law in His heart and not
have to depend on ordinances and services of an earthly priesthood.
Through Christ, there is given power that comes within us when we
simply believe in the one that God sent to us to save us from sin.
This power that we call new birth, living water, the Holy Spirit,
comes to abide within us and teach us a new and living way. Even
after we come to Christ and are born again by the Holy Spirit we are
to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and constantly filled with the
Spirit that abides within us.
There is more than one filling of the Spirit. It is not just a one
time experience. We can be filled with the spirit every time we seek
God. The disciples were constantly being filled with or renewed in
the Holy Spirit.
Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit and a sign that He abides
with us.
The power of the Holy Spirit brings to us boldness to stand and live
among unbelievers without fearing or succumbing to the ways of the
world around us. It brings boldness to speak forth the words of God
without wavering.
The pattern in the wilderness that we see portrayed here shows us
that the presence of God and the worship of God should never be set
aside just because we have to take care of the business of this
world.
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