Numbers Introduction
For some people, the title of Numbers alone is enough to make them not want to dive into this book! As we read over the next few weeks, this isn’t a math book, but a narrative of God’s people and God’s faithfulness to them.
God’s people have just received the Law at Sinai and now they are journeying to the Promised Land. While the book of Numbers begins with a census of Israel, the rest of the book has little to do with actual numbers. Numbers is about the journey towards the land flowing with milk and honey just east of the Mediterranean Sea. The people head to Kadesh and God leads them through a cloud by day and fire by night. When the cloud that covered the tent moved, the Israelites packed up camp and followed it. When the cloud stopped, the people stopped and set up camp again. God provided for his people giving them manna from heaven, which is bread, and quail. From there, there are stories of trust and disobedience, complaining and wandering. God’s promises hold true throughout.
The book of Numbers is in our Bible for a reason. Not only does it move the storyline of Scripture along, but it also points to the coming Savior. Amidst all of Israel’s failures, there was still hope. God’s wrath and judgment in this book might seem harsh, but we see God marked by both judgment and mercy in the Old Testament and New Testament. Look for yourself in the story.
Like the Israelites, when are you tempted to complain? When are you tempted to question God’s promises to you? In what ways are you acting in disobedience to the Word of God? Take a note on Moses’ leadership throughout Numbers. Where does he do well? Where does he fall short? What can we apply to our own lives? Don’t be afraid of the names you don’t know and the places you may be unfamiliar with–focus on the overall story!
Join us through the book of Numbers, as we see the unfolding of God’s big story and the rocky journey to the Promised Land!
Read Numbers 1
The Census
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: 2 “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. 3 You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army. 4 One man from each tribe, each of them the head of his family, is to help you.5 These are the names of the men who are to assist you:
from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
6 from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7 from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8 from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
9 from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
10 from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11 from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
12 from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13 from Asher, Pagiel son of Okran;
14 from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15 from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”
16 These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the clans of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been specified,18 and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The people registered their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or more were listed by name, one by one, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai:
20 From the descendants of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 21 The number from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500.
22 From the descendants of Simeon:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 23 The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.
24 From the descendants of Gad:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 25 The number from the tribe of Gad was 45,650.
26 From the descendants of Judah:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 27 The number from the tribe of Judah was 74,600.
28 From the descendants of Issachar:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 29 The number from the tribe of Issachar was 54,400.
30 From the descendants of Zebulun:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 31 The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.
32 From the sons of Joseph:
From the descendants of Ephraim:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 33 The number from the tribe of Ephraim was 40,500.
34 From the descendants of Manasseh:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 35 The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.
36 From the descendants of Benjamin:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 37 The number from the tribe of Benjamin was 35,400.
38 From the descendants of Dan:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 39 The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.
40 From the descendants of Asher:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 41 The number from the tribe of Asher was 41,500.
42 From the descendants of Naphtali:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 43 The number from the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400.
44 These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families. 46 The total number was 603,550.
47 The ancestral tribe of the Levites, however, was not counted along with the others. 48 The Lord had said to Moses: 49 “You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. 50 Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the covenant law—over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it. 51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it.Anyone else who approaches it is to be put to death. 52 The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each of them in their own camp under their standard. 53 The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the covenant law so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the covenant law.”
54 The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Go Deeper
The book of Numbers begins with a census. There are two censuses that take place in Numbers, one at the beginning of the book and one at the end. This census is for men over twenty who can go to war, which is why women weren’t included. Note the Levites were not included because they were chosen as the priestly tribe. Moses and Aaron divide the people into their tribes and appoint leaders for each one, to prepare to journey towards the Promised Land. Most of us look at these chapters in the Bible and are tempted to skip over them. However, this is more than just a list of names. There is so much we can learn! In this chapter, there are three main takeaways.
The first thing we see is that God is dwelling with His people. The book begins saying, “The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt” (v. 1). Exodus ended with Moses outside the tent of meeting where God’s presence dwelt, and now Numbers begins with Moses inside the tent of meeting talking to God. Why is this important? It means that the book of Leviticus worked! The problem we see at the beginning of Leviticus is how a holy in God could dwell with a sinful people. This is solved through sacrifices, feasts, and the priests. It also shows us that from the beginning, God desires to be with His people.
The second thing we see is that God keeps His promises. We see the unfolding of God’s promises through this first chapter in Numbers. In Genesis 12, God promised Abraham: land, seed (descendants), and blessing. This is known as the Abrahamic Covenant. God tells Abraham that “all the nations of the earth will be blessed by [his] offspring.” Already in the book of Numbers we see God coming through. They were heading towards the Promised Land, their numbers were many as we see through the census, and God’s blessing was upon them. What started with Abraham and Sarah is now generations of Israelites. God is faithful!
The third thing we see through this chapter is that God’s Word is reliable. This book is not a fairytale that took place thousands of years ago. These are real people with real stories. It says their total number was 603,5oo people (v. 46). This implies a total population of about 2.4 million! Census’ shows us the reliability of Scripture and the historical accuracy of what took place. The Bible is the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), and it has been preserved unlike any other text. Let this census remind you that God’s Word is trustworthy and true. It is authoritative and sufficient. We can and should depend on it.
Questions
What stands out to you about this chapter?
Numbers 1 begins with the Lord speaking to Moses and giving him clear instructions for the census. What does this show you about the character of God? What does this show you about the character of Moses?
This census likely would have been tedious and taken a long time. When is a time you have been obedient to the Lord, even when it was tedious or burdensome?
Watch This
Check out this video overview of the book of Numbers from The Bible Project!
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4 thoughts on “Numbers 1 + Overview”
What stands out to me is that God is trustworthy and has a good plan with specific order. Each directive is purposeful and following his steps leads to life and fulfillment. His word is infallible. What if at the beginning of this new year we took a “census” of all we’ve been entrusted with—our church, family, friends, career, time, treasures, etc.—for surely God has promised land moments awaiting for us this year. May we steward them well all to his glory. Let’s start with gratitude that we’ve been given so much and release them to his good plan.
God is leading. God wants us to trust Him. Wow to think 2.4 million people traveled and He fed them, gave them light, their clothes did not wear out, ect. But what did they do from the first moment, complain. God is good and greatly to be Praised. He has a plan for each of us that will help us to succeed in this world. I have to fully trust, lean in, and not waver, without complaint as His plan unfolds. Numbers will show us the magnitude of greatness of God but also the results that happen when our disobedience is put into play.
God thank You for these minutes of this day. Thank You for my heart being full of gratitude for all You have done and are doing. Thank You for seeing in this book of Numbers, what You have to teach me and that I can learn more of how to lean in and to trust You more and more, minute by minute in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!
God dwells with us. Pause there a moment…
He wants the very best for us. He is faithful and His direction is not to harm. Do not focus on present discomforts with grumbling and complaining. Move ahead by faith, claim the promised land and be obedient professors of His mercy.
All glory to God on this Epiphany Day.
1. What stood out to me in this chapter was when God stated that the Levites weren’t to be counted among the Israelites in the census. At first I wondered why but then, I thought about the process that God took Aaron and his sons through to consecrate them, annoint them and train them for the priestly work they would do not only unto God but to serve His people as well. Yahweh had specifically selected them to handle and take care of the holy things such as the tabernacle of the covenant law because they specifically had been given authorized permission by God to handle the holy things. To touch holy things without the proper cleansing, consecration, and annointing on you by God was dangerous because Yah takes the holy things very seriously. What also stood out to me is how faithful God is, he’s faithful as you all said to his promises, specifically to Abraham to preserve his lineage and descendants. And it now because of that same faith Abraham had to believe in the promises of God though he couldn’t see any physical evidence of it we now all have a chance at salvation, and right standing with the Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I give glory to Jesus Christ for his life, sacrifice and resurrection because without his grace and mercy that he demonstrated so beautifully on the cross I wouldn’t be here today.
2. God is very detailed and specific when he instructs us to do things. He doesn’t leave us confused, but he makes things clear in a way where we can obey in command to what he’s instructing us to do. Moses was very attentive and receptive to what God instructed him and Aaron to do regarding the census, he didn’t complain or hesitate to do what God asked, he did all that the Lord commanded him and Aaron to do.