Tag: census

48.j. “Wilderness” – 12.p. “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel”

 

Num 26:1-4  After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, “Take a census of the people, from twenty years old and upward,” as the LORD commanded Moses. 

Num 26:53-55  “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list.  But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.

Num 26:64-65  But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Moses did not number the people but when God commanded him. We have here the families registered, as well as the tribes. The total was nearly the same as when numbered at mount Sinai. Notice is here taken of the children of Korah; they died not, as the children of Dathan and Abiram; they seem not to have joined even their own father in rebellion. If we partake not of the sins of sinners, we shall not partake of their plagues.  The execution of the sentence passed on the murmurers, chap. 14:29, is observable. There was not one man numbered now, who was numbered then, but Caleb and Joshua. Here appeared the righteousness of God, and his faithfulness to his threatenings. Especially observe the truth of God, in performing his promise to Caleb and Joshua. Death makes awful havoc of the human species, and causes surprising changes in families and nations; yet all is appointed in perfect wisdom, justice, and truth, by the Lord himself. This should stir us up to think upon the hateful nature of sin, the cause of all these devastations. We should renew our repentance, seek forgiveness, value the salvation of Christ, remember how frail we are, prepare for the summons of death, and fill up our days in serving our generation according to the will of God.(Henry)

Narrow is the gate that leads to righteousness and wide is the road that leads to destruction. Notice only two of the original generation made it to the promised land. Unbelief, grumbling, and rejecting God’s commands had consequences on those who were originally given the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. They were given a promise but rejected the commands of the promise giver – God. They were given warnings and examples but failed to listen or obey God. 

Eternal life is a promise from God for all who would trust, rely upon, and cling to Jesus Christ for their forgiveness, salvation, and redemption. Likewise, eternal hell is promised for those who reject God’s plan of salvation. 

45.o. “Wilderness” – 9.u. “Take a census”

 

Numbers 1:1-4  The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers.

As recorded in the book of Exodus, God miraculously rescued Israel from their long slavery in Egypt. They came through the Red Sea and saw God provide through the desert wilderness. Israel then came to Mount Sinai where God appeared to them in a spectacular way. At Mount Sinai Moses went up to meet with God and receive the law. At Mount Sinai, the people of Israel also honored an idolatrous image of a golden calf and were afterward corrected by the LORD. The main part of the book of Exodus covers about one year, and Leviticus only a month – but the story of the book of Numbers covers more than 38 years.

The book of Numbers approaches it all God’s way. In the wilderness, one may be tempted to launch a hundred different schemes and plans to move forward. But only God’s way really works; and the book of Numbers tells us about God’s way. The idea that the LORD spoke to Moses is repeated more than 150 times

The book of Numbers is all about God’s people in the Wilderness – how they got there, how God dealt with them in the wilderness, and how He brought them out of the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.

“The theme of the book of Numbers is the journey to the Promised Land of Canaan. Its opening ten chapters, covering a mere fifty days, describe how Moses organized Israel for the march from Sinai to the Promised Land.”

“So the Israelites had been slaves in the land of Goshen; their tasks were appointed, and their taskmasters compelled their obedience. Their difficulties had been great, their bondage cruel, but they were free from the necessity of thought and arrangement. Having escaped from their taskmaster, they imagined that freedom meant escape from rule. They had been taught in their year of encampment under the shadow of the mountain that they had to submit to law, and it was irksome to them, and they became discontented. This discontent resulted from lack of perfect confidence in God.”

Now they were numbered again for the purpose of organizing and counting an army. God wanted the count made by their families because the strength of Israel was determined by looking at the strength of individual families. This was a military census to see who could fight for Israel in taking the Promised Land. This was the first step in taking the Promised Land – an inventory to understand the resources they had to conquer the Promised Land. The taking of this census would have a great effect on the nation. As the count was made, every family knew preparations were being made for war. (Guzik)