Never thought an O.T. census would mean so much.

Numbers 1:1-54 The First Census

Day 33 of self-isolation. Protests to end the shutdowns are increasing as people realize they’ve been duped, and we have over-reacted to this particular virus, as serious as it is. Most of us see light at the end of the tunnel. Most important for the Christian right now is to discern what God is saying to the world and to each of individually. We press on. Thanks for joining me in the study of Numbers.

The Passage

Verse 1 provides the time in history that this census occurred.

Verses 2-5a provide a description of how the counting is to take place and who is to be counted.

Verses 5b-16 provide the names of those who would have stood with Moses, who are called from their congregations, as the heads of divisions of Israel.

Verses 17-19 describe how Moses worked with these men to register everyone that was to be counted.

Verses 20-43 give a listing of all those counted under each tribe.

Verses 44-46 remind us that those counted were only males who were 20 years old and up, and able to go to war.  Their number in total was 603,550.

Verses 47-49 describe how the Levites were not to be counted.

Now the rest of the chapter:

⁵⁰ But you shall appoint the Levites over the ^[a]tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the ^[b]tabernacle. ⁵¹ So when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the ^[c]layman who comes near shall be put to death. ⁵² The sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own standard, according to their armies. ⁵³ But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Israel. So, the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴ Thus the sons of Israel did; according to all which the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.

Footnotes:

1. Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
2. Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
3. Numbers 1:51 Lit stranger

Thoughts on the Passage

I find it interesting that these instructions from God came to Moses as he was in the “tent of meeting”. You can read more about that here: the tent of meeting.

Now it appears that the census was only of males twenty years of age and up and able to fight in an army. That no females were included may be a concern to many today, but that was not the case at the time. God wanted them to know (for He didn’t need a census to tell them) how many able-bodied men they had that could fight for Israel, preparing them perhaps for what was ahead. Matthew Henry points out that by virtue of counting all those “who were able to go out to war” (verse 3), the aged, those with bodily infirmities or chronic diseases, blind, or lame, were also excluded. God was interested in primary Israel for what was ahead.

And Moses was, of course, to have help in taking this census. Now when God says you need help, you need help. Don’t try to do it all by yourself. God will provide the help you need if you sincerely ask for it and are patient. In this case, God even names the individuals of each tribe that are supposed to help Moses. Chuck Smith says the names of those men chosen that day were very important and thus he writes:

So, let's take a look at the names of these men. In verse five Elizur is the first one and Elizur means, "my God is a rock." In verse six, Shelumiel; his name means "at peace with God." In verse seven, Nahshon means "a diviner." In verse eight, Nathaneel means "the gift of God." In verse nine, Eliab means, "my God is Father." In verse ten, Elishama means, "my God has heard" and then also in verse ten, Gamaliel means, "my God is a rewarder." And in verse eleven, Abidan means, "my Father is judge." In verse twelve, Ahiezer means "brother of health." In verse thirteen, Pagiel means "event of God." Verse fourteen, Eliasaph means "God addeth" and then the last guy, Ahira doesn't have too good a name. It is "brother, his brother is evil." So, he probably had an older brother that wasn't of too good a reputation, so he picked up the name "his brother is evil."

Imagine that, “God knew their names” and what they were like, just as He knows your name and my name, and He knows what we are like.

The text actually gives us the number of the men counted that day by tribe. Chuck Smith tells us that one needs to note how each tribe either grew or decreased in number throughout the forty years in the wilderness. We will be able to arrive at those numbers for comparison purposes when we get to the second census in the book. But for those that are impatient may I refer you to this link: men by tribe just before entering Canaan.

David Guzik speaks to this:

At the end of the Book of Numbers - 38 years later - this census is repeated. The total number of available soldiers will be almost the same - only a loss of some two thousand. But the numbers of each tribe change significantly, and there is meaning in what happened to each tribe over these critical 38 years.

David Guzik also makes some most interesting points about this census. He says it is the first step in “taking the promised land”. And when you are in the wilderness (your personal wilderness), you can come up with hundreds of schemes to get out of it – but only God’s way works. Guzik says God wanted them numbered by families because the strength of Israel was determined by looking at the strength of individual families. And that is true about the Church today – it is only as strong as we keep our individual families, in the faith. Some of us are not doing that well, are we?

Verse 46 tells us the number of able-bodied young men over 20 able to fight in an army for the Israelites was 603,550. And the Levites were excluded from that number. They had a different role to perform for God and the Israelites.

One may also ask why all the numbers of the tribes ended in 100’s or in the case of Gad’s tribe in the 50’s. There were no tribe numbers that went to units or tens. Matthew Henry suggests that earlier Moses had divided the people into 100’s and 50’s and appointed rulers over them as stated in Exodus 18:25. And thus when census time came, it was easier to count them by the number of rulers.  Makes sense to me.

Verses 50 and 51 tell us that the Levites had full charge and full responsibility for the tabernacle wherever it was moved to and wherever it was set down.  And they did the moving. They were to dismantle it and to put it together again.

Matthew Henry provides some reasons as to why God wanted the census taken. He suggests the following:
1. To prove the accomplishment of the promise He made to Abraham, that God would multiply his seed.
2. To put a difference between the true Israelites and the mixed born among them. (Only true Israelites were counted.)
3. To prepare the entire congregation for easier marching as well as to facilitate the administration of justice among them.

In verse 52, God instructs how the different tribes are to arrange themselves in the camp. They were to stick together by tribe. The Levites, however, were to be protected by these armies and in turn protect the tabernacle as they camped all around it.

Guzik reminds us that God counts things. He counts the stars and has a name for each one (Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26). God even counts and knows the number of hairs on your head! (Matthew 10:30). “He who counts the stars and calls thenm all by their names, leaves nothing unarranged in his own service.” (Spurgeon)

And Moses got the sons of Israel to do all of this as God had commanded.  So, we have a good start. There was obedience to God and to the leader He had appointed, Moses.  Whatever could go wrong? Stay tuned.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.