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NUMBERS

INTRODUCTION

Before we start the book of Numbers, I feel it necessary to present a short introduction to this magnificent book.

Reading verse one of the first chapter, we see that these are the words which God
spoke to Moses in the tabernacle. Moses must have received these messages in the second year, which means the tabernacle was built and set up.

"Numbers" takes its name from verse two and the fact that two censuses are recorded
that were taken of the people (Chapter 1, and Chapter 26).
The Exodus from Egypt was around 1445B.C.; thus this "book of numbers" was written
about 1443 B.C. It covers the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and is more or less a diary of those episodes.

There are many things that can be learned from this book. For instance, the location of all the tribes as they camped is given in Chapter 2. The duties of the Levites are given in Chapter 3. And the law of the Nazarite is in Chapter 6. Chapter 13 tells of the spies entering Canaan and returning with an "evil report" which caused the forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

Perhaps the greatest theme of Numbers is a "number" of warnings. As the nation of Israel travels they face many temptations. And this book depicts the Chrsitian life,
because we face much the same temptations.

Through the example of this nation in the book of Numbers, perhaps we Christians of the twenty-first century can learn how to live more appropriately.

CHAPTER 1

1 And the LORD spake 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.

Moses' instructions are to take a census. Note that women, and males under 20
are not counted. Therefore the total we shall see will be of male population over
20 years of age.

4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. 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.

God Himself points out who will be the chief of each tribe. Each of the twelve tribes is
appointed a "captain."
We do better in nations when God appoints the leaders.
Notice that Manasseh is substituted for Levi. The Levites, of course, are "captained"
by Aaron.

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.

Moses, Aaron and all the captains gathered the people by tribe on a set day. They
counted them according to God's commandments in verses 1-3.

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.

Math is a boring discipline. Of all the educational disciplines perhaps math and English are my
favorites. Even though they may be boring at times, they present the most interesting information.
Maybe the reason for math and English being so boring is that we first must have the fundamentals.
Only by having EACH of the tribe's numbers can we arrive at a TOTAL. Yep, the old adage is still true.
If you wanna know the real facts, you gotta do the math!
Remember, in these verses, only the male population (over 20 years of age) was counted.
Each tribe is numbered, and the whole total is 603,550 men (verse 46).
Now, for that age of the world, one could safely assume that each man represented a family of at
least four. That would mean a total population (guestimation) of some 2.5 million.

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.

This is an important fact. The tribe of Levi was NOT included in the above total. Therefore,
the total doesn't represent a FULL number of all the people.
The Levites were to tend to the tabernacle, and therefore they camped "round about" it.
Maybe this is "much ado about nothing," but I might ask the question to provoke thought.
Were the Levites so unimportant that they were not numbered; or, was it that they
were so important that they were not numbered? Were they not numbered because their
job and position in society didn't contribute to the national economy? Or were they not
numbered because their job and position in society contributed a value that couldn't be
monetarily estimated?
In chapter 3:40-53, there MAY be some insight into the questions above. Each of the Levites
WERE indeed numbered. But they were counted (males) from a month old and older.
And in that discusion (Numbers 3:40-53), God said to take the Levites (by number) in place
of the first-born males of the other tribes. The number of first-born males that were
left over after subtracting the Levites was 273. These had to be PAID FOR!
God gave the Levites particular honor by calling them to special service for Him.
The Levites weren't numbered among them that were able to go to war. There's was a
DIFFERENT battle! The "called" of the Lord should be busy about the battle
against evil!

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.

All the other tribes had specific spots to camp, but the tribe of Levi was in the CENTER
of the nation, and surrounded the tabernacle.
Friends, Christians ought to be in the CENTER of the nation! We should be at the
FOREFRONT of moral and ethical concerns! We should surround that which is holy, and draw
our strength from the center of our lives - JESUS CHRIST!
There is another important principle here. EACH Christian ought to set his life with
Jesus as the CENTER, and all who are in Christ ought to be together even though they may
be individually different.
With God at the center, a person, a family and a nation can be STRONG!

Please continue to follow along in Bible study with us.