“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 1:20 – 2:1
Verses 1-2 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;
The tabernacle (temporary shelter) had been erected and furnished according to the pattern God had given to Moses and it was there that Moses spent time and communicated with God. It would have been a quiet, cool and lovely place away from the noise and activity of the camp so that Moses could give himself to the LORD to receive instruction and encouragement in the task of managing over a million people.
Application: Where is your tabernacle? Is there a place and a time set aside each day away from the noise and activity of family, school, work, etc.? It is possible to talk with the LORD throughout the day in small amounts, but to hear what He wants to tell you must be during a quiet time when you can listen to His still, small voice. A clothes closet, the garage, the patio, a bench in the park can all become your tabernacle. Try to find quiet time with God. You will be encouraged and blessed.
Verses 3-4 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. 4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.
Scripture does not tell us how this numbering was done or how long it took. This must have been a very difficult task as there were hundreds of thousands of men twenty years of age or older. Having a member of each tribe assist would not only make the task easier, but legitimize it with the people. Notice that God decided the age of a soldier to be twenty years or older. The purpose of this numbering was for the Hebrew people to know how big their army was. God already knew this information as He invented mathematics.
Application: When attempting any ministry effort it can be wise to include others in the work. They can help lighten the load and speed up the results, they can give new insights into what is needed to accomplish the goal, and they can be prayer partners. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from the church family.
Verses 5-9 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.
Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun where the sons of Jacob’s first wife, Leah. She was also the mother of Levi.
Verses 10 Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
Joseph was the son of Jacob’s second wife, sister to Leah, Rachel. Because God separated the tribe of Levi to be priests and ministers of the tabernacle and eventually the temple, He divided the house of Joseph into two tribes named after Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. This kept the number of the children of Israel at twelve.
Verses 11-16 Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.
Benjamin was the second son of Rachael. This tribe eventually blended into the tribe of Judah and became the southern kingdom.
Verses 12-16 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.
Dan and Naphtali were the sons of Jacob through Rachel’s handmaid, Bilhah. It was common in these days for a wife who had no children to give her maid servant to her husband so that children could be born and credited to that wife. Sarah did this with Abraham and Ishmael was born and became the father of many Arab peoples.
Asher and Gad were the sons of Jacob through Leah’s handmaid, Zilpah. Careful records were kept by each tribe so that each member could trace their lineage back to their patriarch and ultimately back to Abraham.
Verse 17-18 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.
It can be assumed that the leader from each tribe carried out the numbering of the men from the tribe they were associated with. There would be some familiarity with their relatives.
Verse 19 As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
The numbering of the people was in obedience to a commandment from the LORD. It will be seen later on in the study of scripture what happens when a numbering of the people occurs by political order instead of by God’s command.
Verses 20-46 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.
By the results of the numbering of the men for military service, it can be seen that the people camping in the wilderness were well over a million people by the time all the males younger than twenty years old and all the female population are included. It boggles the mind to try to imagine how this huge camping community handled the ordinary daily tasks of hygiene, food preparation, and sanitation. Truly their welfare had to have had divine intervention for the people to remain healthy and free of communicable diseases.
Verses 47-51 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. 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.
Because the Levites has been set apart to do the work involved with maintaining and caring for the tabernacle, the place where the LORD manifested His power and His presence, they could not go to war and shed blood. They had to be holy and totally clean before God for the task they had been assigned.
Application: Just like the Levites, a Christian church that is set apart for the ministry must be holy and totally clean before God. Any church that has shed blood is not a church sanctioned by the God of Heaven and Earth.
Verses 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.
The assigned camping locations of each tribe will not be covered in this chapter as it has been covered elsewhere. Each tribe when camped put up a standard or flag to show where their camp was. This practice continues to this day as different branches of the military have their particular standard or military emblem and navy vessels fly the flag of the county they are fighting for.
Application: Today’s believer is a soldier in the spiritual kingdom of the LORD and is able to fight spiritual battles. However, the believer does not have a standard to let others know who and where he/she is. There are no emblems, signs or flags in the Christian church. While many churches have a flag in their sanctuary reported to represent Christianity, there is no Biblical support from the New Testament writings to validate this practice. Also, many churches have a flag of country in their sanctuary. The church is not a political entity. It is in service to an invisible God who is spirit. There is no Biblical support to have a national flag in a sanctuary that is supposed to be dedicated to God and to the things of His kingdom which are not of this world. Don’t take my word on this. Research it for yourself. Then ask yourself if God is pleased with these displays of the standards of men.
Verses 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.
The Levites surrounded the tabernacle with their presence and provided a buffer between the tabernacle and the other tribes. Their job was to protect and to serve and to be holy for a holy God.
Verses 54 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
At this time in their history, the Hebrew people were obedient to their God.
Application: Just like the children of Israel, believers must be obedient to all, not some, but all that the LORD commands. In order to accomplish this, the believer needs to rely on the Holy Spirit to help navigate the sinful world, the lusts of the flesh and the powers of darkness that will try to lead the believer astray and off of the path God has designed for His people to walk. The believer needs to know the scriptures well enough to understand the commandments and to do them. Bible study and prayer will sustain the believer in times of spiritual warfare. Remember the saying, “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.”