Taking Count
The Story of the Old Testament: Numbers • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Prayer
The Book of Numbers
Recap of the Story of the Old Testament
Started with Genesis, story of creation, the fall (sin coming into the world), promise to Abraham of making him, his family, into a great nation, a nation through whom all other nations would be blessed.
Moved into the book of Exodus, where the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians, freed by the power of God, led by Moses out of Egypt into the wilderness to make their way toward the Promised Land.
We just finished up the book of Leviticus, where we covered God’s instructions for the Israelites, all part of this process to shape and form his people to become his holy nation. Those instructions included what offerings and sacrifices to make, the laws, both ceremonial and moral, the priesthood, and finally, feasts and festivals.
Today we begin making our way into the fourth book of the Bible, the Book of Numbers.
Name of the book, Numbers, refers to the command that God gives the Israelites to the count the number of military aged men among the nation of Israel. In other words, this is a military census. Listen to Numbers 1:1-4...
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.
Command by God to count, tribe by tribe, all the men who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army. They are getting ready to move towards the land God has promised to give them - but they’re not just going to be able to walk in and take it, they’re going to have to fight for it. It will require a battle.
Throughout the rest of Numbers 1, it goes through each tribe, giving the number from that tribe who are able to serve in the army - Rueben, Simeon, Gad, Judah, and so on.
A couple of notes about the census
There’s a question of how many - what’s the total count from each tribe. As translated in most Bible versions, the numbers are big, from the tribe of Reuben, 46,500 military aged men, 59,300 from the tribe of Simeon, from the tribe of Gad, 45,650. The total of all twelve tribes is given as 603,550.
Here’s the problem with that number - it’s huge. That’s just counting the military aged men, it doesn’t include woman and children. That would likely put the number close to two million. There’s a few difficulties with these numbers: one, is the lack of historical evidence for an army this large - evidence from ancient documents reveal that no other nation had an army close to this size, including Egypt (their army was 100,000). Then you have the difficulty of how much space a nomadic group of this size would require, as well as how long it would take them to travel together. A passage in Deuteronomy says that seven other nations were larger than Israel. That means there would have been 16-24 million people living in the land (which is about the size of New Jersey). Finally, the archeological evidence does not support that large a population in this area.
Some scholars have suggested that the Hebrew words used in these passages, the ones translated as thousands and hundreds, could be translated as military divisions rather than individual persons. If understood that way, the numbers would have been in the thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands, which seems to fit more in line with the size we see of other nation’s armies during this time -and why they would have needed God’s help to escape Egypt and defeat the Canaanites.
What the census does provide is historical evidence. It seems highly unlikely that anyone who would have written these stories as myth would have gone to the trouble of making up such detailed, specific numbers and names as are laid out here for chapters at a time. Not to mention all the embarrassing stories about the Israelites that we’re going to be covering in the weeks to come - it does not reflect well on them.
But the book of Numbers isn’t just about a military census, a list of names and numbers, it is primarily about the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness. In fact, in the Hebrew tradition, this book is known as bamidbar, which means, “in the wilderness,” the desert.
The book lays out the travels of the Israelites and their travels are going to be how we make our way through the book of Numbers today and through the next five weeks.
Today we’re starting in the area of Mt. Sinai, where they’ve been for over a year. All that we’ve covered so far in the books of Exodus and Leviticus, the receiving of the Ten Commandments, the making of the golden calf, the building and the dedication of the tabernacle, all the instructions given, have happened here in this area of Mt. Sinai.
Next week, we’ll be following along as the Israelites make their way from Mount Sinai to the desert of Paran, and then in the weeks to come, as they travel from Paran to Moab.
The other part of Numbers 1-4 that I want to focus on, besides the military census, is the arrangement of the camp. This wasn’t just “pick spot and set up your tent”, this was laid out in very specific order. Which makes sense, whether the numbers were thousands or millions, it would be a mess trying to move all these people without some order.
It’s like the difference between a Boy Scout troop camping on its own - here are the campsites, pick a spot, set up your tent - versus all the organization that goes into hosting the National Jamboree at Bechtel Summit. If it wasn’t organized, marked with banner and signs, people would be spending the whole time just looking for their tent.
So God gave them very specific instructions for where they were to set up camp - let me give you an example from Numbers 2:1-9...The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family.” 3 On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 His division numbers 74,600. 5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 His division numbers 54,400. 7 The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 8 His division numbers 57,400. 9 All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.
Rather than read through the whole arrangement, I’ve got an image here that shows the basic layout: Three tribes in each direction surrounding the tabernacle, with the east considered the “front”. So, beginning with the east, as we just saw from Numbers 2, were the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun and Judah. Towards the south are the tribes are Reuben, Simeon and Gad. On the west side are the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin. Then, on the north, the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali.
Now, on the inside of these camp formations, directly surrounding the tabernacle, were the Levites, the tribe responsible for its care. Here, it was Moses and Aaron and his sons (the priests) on the east, at the forefront, with the three Levite clans on each of the remaining sides, the Gershonites on the west (they were responsible for the care of the tent and its coverings), the Kohathites camped on the south side (they took care of the sanctuary and all the items in it), and finally, the Merarites, on the north, who were responsible for all the frames and crossbars and posts that held up the tents and walls.
Count the Cost, Center your Life - So, what’s the point of all this? What does it teach us? The instructions that God gives the Israelites here in the book of numbers are about two main things - the first being the military census, counting your troops before you go into battle. And two, the camping formation for the Israelites, how they were to organize themselves.
Remember this book is primarily about their journey, they are about to make their way towards the land that God had promised them, the land where they would finally be the nation he had pledged to them so long ago. A land flowing with milk and honey.
It’s long been understood that this part of the Old Testament, this story of the Israelites being led by God on this journey through the wilderness toward their true home, toward the Promised land, that this was symbolic of God leading us on a journey through the wilderness toward our true home, the Promised Land of heaven, of life with God forever. That being the case, then we might consider how these two sets of instructions might be helpful to us as well.
The first being the military census, counting up your troops. I want to share with you some of Jesus’ teachings in Luke 14:31-33, Jesus is teaching here about discipleship, what it takes to be his follower: Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Jesus uses the example of a king taking a military census, counting up his troops before he decides whether or not he’s going to go into battle. If he doesn’t have enough troops, he’s not going taking the fight, he’s not ready to give it his all. But if he does think he has the troops, he’s going in, he’s ready to take up the battle, engage the fight.
“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” I hope you hear how seriously Jesus takes what it means to be his disciple. There’s no softening going on here. He’s saying, you have to be willing to give up anything and everything. It’s going to cost you - and if you’re not willing to pay the price, the whole price - don’t do it.
God is commanding the Israelites to count up the troops because it’s time to go! Get ready, we’re going to the land I promised - and it’s going to cost you. You better be ready to pay the cost, to give up - because you can’t go into battle if you’re not ready to make sacrifices. I’ve seen a few interviews of Israeli soldiers who are gearing up to go to war against Hamas - if they haven’t already. Most of them are reservists - people who’ve done their stint in the Israeli army and are now working a regular job - but ready to go as soon as the call came (apparently 150% of their reservists did!). And they know the potential cost of making their way into Gaza. They know what they might be giving up. But they also know it’s a price they are willing to pay.
Jesus is telling us, too - count the cost. You cannot follow me if you aren’t willing to give up anything and everything. I want you to really hear that this morning. Jesus wants all of you. He wants you to come to him with a posture of full surrender - here is my life, Jesus. It belongs to you. Whatever you ask of me, I’m ready. I know the cost. I’ve counted the cost. I’m willing to give up everything to gain you.
As you hear you those words, consider yourself saying to them - for most of us, we’ll feel the resistance - oh, wait, that’s a lot. I don’t know if I can. That’s a normal and natural reaction. Part of what it means is that you’re hearing what Jesus is asking - this is no easy thing. I tell couples that I do weddings for that I expect them to be nervous when they are making their vows to each other - if they aren’t, then I’m not sure they understand exactly what it is they are committing themselves to. They should be nervous when making such a big commitment!
Jesus makes no bones about the cost - but only because he knows the reward. As plain spoken as he is about willingness to give up everything, he’s just as plain spoken about why it’s worth doing so. How can the world touch what Jesus has to offer us. He is the Good Shepherd, He is the Way, the Truth, the Life. He is the Life and the Resurrection, the Light of the World.
Now, it’s not just the military census that we looked at - but the formation of the camp. Here is the essential part of the layout - the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, is at the very center. Remember, the tent of meeting was the presence of God in their midst. The entire Israelite camp, their nation, was encamped around God, his dwelling place. The nation of Israel, their lives, literally, were to be lived with God, his presence, at the very center. To live with a recognition of his holiness, his might, his glory in their midst.
This, too, paints a helpful picture for us to consider for our own lives - that they would be centered in the person of Jesus, his presence, in our lives. Just as the Israelites, whether they were camped or making their way through the wilderness, God, his presence, was right there at the center, in their midst. And the same should be true of us - whether at home, whether out and about - wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, we want Jesus at the center of our lives.
At the East Central Presbytery meeting I went to this weekend, we spent a lot of time learning about discipleship. One of the phrases that came up several times was the idea of “whole life discipleship.” The whole of our lives, every aspect, centered on Jesus, following him. Our home life, our work life, our social life - all of it, Jesus at the center, the most important thing.
Reality is, we all center all our lives around something - maybe it’s our work. Our family. Our leisure and comfort. It was actually someone confronting me with that very question when I was in high school that led me to coming to faith in Jesus. It was at Young Life camp, Windy Gap, the speaker was talking about what’s most important in our lives. In our cabin time, we were talking about that question - and in a moment of rare self honesty, I realized that the most important in my life, what I had centered it on, was me. My success. My happiness. I realized, too, that living a self-centered life was never going to give me the deep sense of satisfaction and purpose and love that I longed for. So I made the decision that week to repent (change direction) and center my life on Jesus instead. Or at least begin to make that shift, because that’s the battle, huh? Am I willing to give up everything for the sake of being with Jesus?
And this is why we talk so often about engaging in Spiritual disciplines, in soul training exercises. Because the whole purpose of them is to help us center our lives on Jesus (prone to wander!). And they cost us - it takes time and effort and a commitment to nurture those habits in our lives. Am I willing to pay that price in order to keep my life centered on Jesus, every aspect of it?
Make the commitment to spend time daily with Jesus, centering your life on him. Make a minimum commitment of fifteen minutes, start there. Read a short passage of Scripture (start with one of the Gospels). Read, reflect, respond.
Prayer of self-offering: my morning habit of praying Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Why praying this verse has been so helpful for me - willingness to count the cost, give up (I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live), and centering it on Jesus (but Christ lives in me, the life I life in the body…)
Internal grumbling versus humble, joyful service; times when I’m struggling to forgive someone, hold that grudge
Reminder that “Christ lives in me”, what an amazing thought, his presence, his Spirit, in me!
Prayer - Time of silence - your response.