The Census of Israel

INTRO

Welcome to our study on the book of Numbers—36 chapters where we talk about lots and lots of numbers. The writers weren’t super creative with the title because they were going to talk about numbers. It all pointed to one thing, the Messiah.

• In Genesis, the Seed pointed to the Messiah.
• In Exodus, the Deliverer was actually the Messiah who pulled the Israelites out of Egypt into freedom.
• In Leviticus, the Atonement was the blood of Christ that allows us to be free.

Now here we are in Numbers, and our one word is Rock. Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 10:1–4 where Paul wrote, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.”

In Numbers, they were going from one generation to the next generation. They were in the wilderness, and the Rock they were partaking from was Christ. Jesus was their foundation. Jesus was their base.

TEACHING

Numbers 1:1: Moses was the writer. From Numbers 20 through the end of the Pentateuch (the end of Deuteronomy), covers one year, which included the rest of Moses’ life. The Israelites had been here in the Wilderness of Sinai at least 11 months (Exodus 19:1) after their departure from Egypt.

Numbers 1:2: Wiersbe said Moses was given an order to “take a census of the men available to serve in the army.”¹Every male in the community would be counted by tribe by clan and by family. In Exodus 30:11–12, God told Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, each of the men must pay a ransom for himself to the LORD as they are registered. Then no plague will come on them as they are registered.” Exodus 38:25–26 tallied the silver collected and counted 603,550 men. Keep this number in mind as we read Numbers 1.

Numbers 1:3–4: Only men who were 20 years and older and able to serve in the army were counted. The purpose was to get the men ready for war. Moses didn’t complete this census alone.

Numbers 1:5–15: One man from each tribe was named to assist Moses:

Elizur from the tribe of Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn and son of Leah).

Shelumiel from the tribe of Simeon.

Nahshon from the tribe of Judah (from the family tree of David according to Ruth 4:20).

Nethanel from the tribe of Issachar.

Eliab from the tribe of Zebulun.

Elishama from the tribe of Ephraim (son of Joseph).

Gamaliel from the tribe of Manasseh (son of Joseph).

Abidan from the tribe of Benjamin.

Ahiezer from the tribe of Dan.

Pagiel from the tribe of Asher.

Eliasaph from the tribe of Gad.

Ahira from the tribe of Naphtali.

Numbers 1:16–19: These men were the leaders of their tribes—the heads of Israel’s clans. They were like Jesus’ 12 disciples. Moses and Aaron, along with these men who had been designated by name, called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. One by one, the men who were 20 years and older were listed by name according to their clan and family. They did just as the Lord commanded

Numbers 1:20–43: Moses registered the Israelite males 20 and older who could serve in the army:

Reuben’s tribe = 46,500 men

Simeon’s tribe = 59,300 men

Gad’s tribe = 45,650 men

Judah’s tribe = 74,600 men

Issachar’s tribe = 54,400 men

Zebulun’s tribe = 57,400 men

Ephraim’s tribe = 40,500 men

Manasseh’s tribe = 32,200 men

Benjamin’s tribe = 35,400 men

Dan’s tribe = 62,700 men

Asher’s tribe = 41,500 men

Naphtali’s tribe = 53,400 men

The tribe with the fewest members was Manasseh (32,200) and the largest tribe was Judah (74,600). Don’t overlook the simple facts that they had to count these people and retain this information.

Numbers 1:44–46: These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the 12 leaders of Israel; each one represented his family. All were men 20 years and older who were able to serve in Israel’s army. The total number equaled 603,550. Compare that back to Exodus 38:25–26.

Numbers 1:47–51: God instructed Moses not to register or count the Levites, but to appoint them over the tabernacle, its furnishings, and everything in it. They were charged with transporting and caring for the tabernacle and everything associated with it. Whenever the Israelites made camp, the Levites camped around the tabernacle. Whenever the Israelites moved, the Levites were responsible for moving the tabernacle and its furnishings. If anyone else touched any of these items, they had to be put to death. There were priests, and then there were Levites, each group with different roles. The Levites took care of everything around the tabernacle while the priests did the offerings. The Levites were the ones who stayed back and served the Lord in this way. They were not part of the army who fought on the battlefields. The Levites were the logistical crew.

Numbers 1:52–54: The Israelites camped out under the banners of their family tribes. The Levities camped around the tabernacle of the testimony so no wrath would fall on the Israelites. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.

CLOSING

How does this apply to us? We all have our own lanes. We all have our own roles to fill so God gets the glory. God is glorified when everybody comes together. These are the tribes in the church today according to Ephesians 4:11–13: “And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”

When we walk in the sweet spot where God has put us, then God gets the glory. We will continue this dialogue of how important every person is in order for God to get the glory.