“From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men twenty years old or older who are able to go to war.”

Numbers 1:2–3 (NLT)

Today we begin the book of Numbers, which derives its name from the two censuses conducted while the children of Israel were in the wilderness. Unfortunately, this book is a record of failures where they tested God and failed to go into the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Only after forty years in the wilderness would they take possession of the land of milk and honey.

I find comfort in this book in a strange sort of way. The fact that the children of Israel messed up so much in the wilderness and yet were not forsaken by God gives me hope. It shows me that God was gracious, is gracious, and will always be gracious to those who trust in Him. And even when we have lapses of faith, He pities us as a loving father pities his own children. He is soooooooooo patient with us!

Because this book gives us the numbers of the children of Israel, it can seem tedious. There are lots of names of people we don’t know and can’t pronounce. But we understand that God cares about individuals. Every soul listed is precious to God. This should encourage us. Jesus told us not to worry about our lives because even the hairs of our head are numbered (an ever-decreasing number for me 😉). If God cares about something so insignificant, then how much more does He care about the major issues of our lives?

Finally, the purpose of the census was to determine the number of soldiers in each tribe. Thus, only males twenty years and older were counted. The phrase “go to war” appears 14 times in this chapter. They would not be able to take possession of the Promised Land without warfare. Likewise, we are called to go to war. We fight a spiritual battle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). We must never forget this. We cannot afford to be lulled to sleep or deceived by the love of this world. We are soldiers enlisted and commissioned to fight the good fight!

Thanks for taking the time to read this! 😊 I would welcome your comment.

Photo by Bao Menglong on Unsplash