Numbers
1
New
International Version (NIV)
The Census
1 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:
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.
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.
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.
Daniel’s Thoughts:
God keeps speaking to Moses and Aaron and his people Israel
through them. He has laid out the law for sacrifices and priests and other laws
in the book of Leviticus. Now God begins
a new chapter in the history of his people and his relationship with men.
How does this new chapter begin? Not with the most glorious of
moments. God commands Moses and Aaron to count his people. Specifically the men
who are of age to be in the army of Israel. God tells them who he has prepared
to help them in this task. God takes the time to make sure Moses and Aaron know
they have been called to help them in this service. This may not be most
glamorous job, but it is the work of the Lord. God calls these men even though
they were already the leaders of their tribes. God gives them a specific
calling naming them in the task.
In total there were 603,550 men fit to be in the army of Israel
What is the significance of Ephraim and Manasseh being split
apart and mentioned separately as the sons of Joseph but numbered separately?
Genesis 48:
5 “Now then,
your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned
as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
So these two have become adopted sons of Israel
(Jacob) and so are considered tribes. This would make the number of tribes 13
except that the Levites are considered separate and are not to be counted as a
tribe as this passage says in v 49.
The Levites are not counted and kept separate for the work of
the Lord to take care of the tabernacle of the covenant of the Lord. From this
people God chose his priests to serve him.
The Israelites did all of this just as the Lord commanded! This
may seem simple but from my life I know it is not easy to follow God especially
not to the letter and with my whole heart.
Daniel’s Prayer:
Lord
You took one man and made his seed into a nation.
From one man Abraham there is now a nation.
That nation is Israel God’s people.
There army numbers 603550 men.
God you are powerful and mighty.
I want to believe and trust in you Lord
For you are in control and you are doing mighty deeds
Lord I believe help my unbelief.
As you have called the Levites in the past
Let me live into the calling you have for me
I believe that is college ministry with IV for now
Reveal and confirm your calls on my life
In whatever you command and call me to
I want to submit
Let me do everything just as you command
With my whole heart
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment