This is Episode #42 and today we’ll read Numbers, chapters 1-2 together. God commands Moses to take a census of Israel and gives explicit instructions about ordering the camps.
Show Notes
Maybe this will help: The Bible Project resources on Leviticus
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· The Bible Project’s Bible Basics
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This is Episode #42 and today we’ll read Numbers, chapters 1-2 together. God commands Moses to take a census of Israel and gives explicit instructions about ordering the camps.
Show Notes
Maybe this will help: The Bible Project resources on Leviticus
Visit
Bible Study Resources
· The Bible Project’s Bible Basics
Other Resources
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you purchase anything, I may get a small commission. This does not cost you anything and it helps offset the costs of the podcast. Thank you in advance.
View my Broadcast License.
Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast. This is Episode #42 and today we’ll read Numbers, chapters 1-2 together. God commands Moses to take a census of Israel and gives explicit instructions about ordering the camps.
Welcome
Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2! I'm your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me - from the beginning - simply reading God's word together. We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament. But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New. So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work. I’m really glad you’re here!
Intro to Numbers
Before we dive into what the book of Numbers is all about, let’s do a church word. The word is Pentateuch. Simply said, it means the first five books of the Bible. This is not to be confused with Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Moving on.
Okay, let’s review. It’s been about a year since the exodus from Egypt. In that time, the Israelites have constructed the mobile tabernacle, they’ve learned a lot of God’s laws, been fed miraculously by His manna, and complained a lot.
Numbers starts with a census of all the people and the organization of their camp, including the order in which they move out and the way they settle. The tabernacle was placed right in the middle, encircled by the Levites for protection and maintenance. And then the twelve tribes were organized around them.
Here’s the headline though. The trip from Mount Sinai – where the Israelites are right now – to the Promised Land, should take them about 11 days. So, why did they wander for 40 years? Well, I won’t reveal everything, but let’s just say they pushed God to the point of Him swearing that no one in that current generation – except two – would enter the land flowing with milk and honey. Sadly, one of those two wasn’t Moses.
So, because they rebelled, the Israelites wandered in the desert for the time it would take for that generation to die off. The book of Numbers recounts their experiences and teaches us how God delights in our obedience, will not tolerate rebellion without consequences, and how to be humble and open to God’s guidance.
Numbers Chapter 1:
The Census of Israel
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: “Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of every male one by one. You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions — everyone who can serve in Israel’s army. A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral family. These are the names of the men who are to assist you:
Elizur son of Shedeur from Reuben;
Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai from Simeon;
Nahshon son of Amminadab from Judah;
Nethanel son of Zuar from Issachar;
Eliab son of Helon from Zebulun;
from the sons of Joseph:
Elishama son of Ammihud from Ephraim,
Gamaliel son of Pedahzur from Manasseh;
Abidan son of Gideoni from Benjamin;
Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai from Dan;
Pagiel son of Ochran from Asher;
Eliasaph son of Deuel from Gad;
Ahira son of Enan from Naphtali.
These are the men called from the community; they are leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of Israel’s clans.”
So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years old or more, just as the Lord commanded Moses. He registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:
The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.
The descendants of Simeon: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, those registered counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.
The descendants of Gad: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.
The descendants of Judah: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.
The descendants of Issachar: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.
The descendants of Zebulun: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.
The descendants of Joseph:
The descendants of Ephraim: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.
The descendants of Manasseh: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
The descendants of Benjamin: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.
The descendants of Dan: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.
The descendants of Asher: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.
The descendants of Naphtali: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, those registered for the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.
These are the men Moses and Aaron registered, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel; each represented his ancestral family. So all the Israelites twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel’s army, were registered by their ancestral families. All those registered numbered 603,550.
Duties of the Levites
But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe. For the Lord had told Moses, “Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites. Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it. Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it is to be put to death.
“The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner. The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.” The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Numbers Chapter 2:
Organization of the Camps
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families. They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:
Judah’s military divisions will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. His military division numbers 74,600. The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar. His military division numbers 54,400. The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon. His military division numbers 57,400. The total number in their military divisions who belong to Judah’s encampment is 186,400; they will move out first.
Reuben’s military divisions will camp on the south side under their banner. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur. His military division numbers 46,500. The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. His military division numbers 59,300. The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel. His military division numbers 45,650. The total number in their military divisions who belong to Reuben’s encampment is 151,450; they will move out second.
The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place, with their banners.
Ephraim’s military divisions will camp on the west side under their banner. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud. His military division numbers 40,500. The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. His military division numbers 32,200. The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the Benjaminites is Abidan son of Gideoni. His military division numbers 35,400. The total in their military divisions who belong to Ephraim’s encampment number 108,100; they will move out third.
Dan’s military divisions will camp on the north side under their banner. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. His military division numbers 62,700. The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ochran. His military division numbers 41,500. The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan. His military division numbers 53,400. The total number who belong to Dan’s encampment is 157,600; they are to move out last, with their banners.”
These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral families. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550. But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family.
Close
Wow! That’s a lot of men from 20 to 60 years old. When you factor in women, children and the elderly, you’re probably talking well over one and a half million people. They had to be organized and everyone had to know their job. If it helps, I’ve posted a blog that includes an artist’s rendering of what the Israelite encampment must have looked like at rest. Let me know what you think at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Thank you for joining me here today. I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed. Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions. And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there. If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you tomorrow!
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.