Law – Numbers 1 – 4

Today we will continue to follow the Israelites on their journey towards Canaan. There may be a shared feeling of dryness between the Israelites and us who are reading the records of the exodus episodes. The people of the exodus experienced the dryness from the extreme climate of the wilderness, for the readers today; we experience the dryness of reading the recorded numbers of the people being numbered and the various stations that the people had camped.

As I was reading, I thought to myself, “Hey! The Israelites were physically going through the wilderness on foot experiencing the adverse conditions, but what about me? I’m just reading the recorded history in the comfort of my home on my favorite chair! So what so difficult in going through this “dryness” in reading what God had commanded Moses to do? Especially on the numbering of the people, there must be a purpose in doing thise”

So let us read on together.

Bible Passage: Numbers 1 to 4

As the title of the book suggests, it is the numbering of the people of the 12 tribes who are 20 years old and above who were able to go to war. Although the Levites were exempted, there were still 12 tribes participating in the military because Joseph’s 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were counted as 2 tribes.

The following pictorial illustration may help us to see the result of the numbering of the 12 tribes, with the Levites, and their placement in the wilderness at a glance.

The Commission to Number the Man of War

Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their

families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names,

every male individually,

Num 1:2

Moses was commissioned by God to number the children of Israel by their families. Moses had to collect all these information from every family of every individual male with the help of Aaron and the individual chief of every tribe.

This commission is important, as in God gave specific instructions to take a census, therefore it is commission by God Himself to carry out the numbering of the people. In the history of Israel, this was the first census taken and it was with the commission of God, but later on in history, King David did the same thing but it was not with the commission of God (ref. 2 Samuel 24: 1 – 17). David paid a great price for doing that! David did the numbering out of pride, and when the commander of the army, Joab, tried to discourage him, he refused and insisted in numbering the people. He had forgotten Who had sustained this great nation, and Who gave the increase.

The Criteria

From twenty years old and above–all who are able to go to war in Israel.

You and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

Num 1:3

Only males who are 20 years old and above, and are able to go to war are numbered.

As I have said earlier, there must be a purpose or purposes for God to want to number the people, and according to my understanding, there maybe several.

1. To let the males who are 20 years old and above know that they are warriors in the eyes of God, able to defend for their nation.
2. To let the nation of Israel know that they are no longer slaves but a nation that belongs to God and who has a strong military power.
3. That Moses can know the situation of the people while doing the count, also showing concerns to the people at the same time.

Do you agree with the above? Feel free to share if you can see more of God’s purposes in numbering the people.

Reflecting on this criterion upon our church today, can our youths from 20 years old and above be the soldiers of Christ, always ready to give a defense of the hope they have in God? I hope I can hear a loud and convincing “Yes I can!” from our youths.

The Levites

In chapters 3 and 4, we read of the separate numbering of the Levites and their allotted duties commanded by the Lord. This time, the Levites were to be numbered from one month old and above.

The Levites were not included in the numbers of the man of war, because they were dedicated to serve in the tabernacle of God.

In the golden calf incident at the foot of Mt. Sinai, only the descendants of Levi stood firm in the faith of God and they did not commit idolatry. So Levites were allotted the priesthood, to be in charge of the ark of covenant, the tabernacle, and the holy things of the tabernacle. Anyone else not of the tribe of Levi would be put to death if they ever came close to the tabernacle or the holy things.

It is from this special bestowment upon the Levites that we can understand how God esteemed those who stood firm in Him and His commandments. Therefore when the Bible calls us royal priests, a holy nation, a special people in the Lord, it is not a mere title that God gives to us, it is indeed a sanctified grace and honor that God has bestowed upon every children of His. Are we all living up to the standard of holiness to the Lord?