Numbers 1

Numbering men for warverses 1-4

 And the LORD spoke to 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

Take you 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

from twenty years old and upward

ALL that are able to go forth to war in Israel

            you and Aaron shall number them by their armies

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe

            every one head of the house of his fathers

Leaders from each tribeverses 5-16

 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you

            of the tribe of Reuben : Elizur the son of Shedeur

            of Simeon: Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai

            of Judah: Nahshon the son of Zuar

            of Zebulun: Eliab the son of Helon

            of the children of Joseph

of Ephraim: Elishama the son of Ammihud

            of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur

            of Benjamin: Abidan the son of Gideoni

            of Dan: Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai

            of Asher: Pagiel the son of Ocran

            of Gad: Eliasaph the son of Deuel

            of Naphtali: Ahira the son of Enan

These were the renowned of the congregation

            princes of the tribes of their fathers

                        heads of thousands in Israel

Entire community gathered to be numberedverses 17-19

 And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names

            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

As the LORD commanded Moses

            so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai

Numbers listed for ten tribesverses 20-43

 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

                                    those that were numbered of them

even of the tribe of Reuben

                        were forty and six thousand and five hundred

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

those that were numbered of them – even of the tribe of Simeon

were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred

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

those that were numbered of them – even of the tribe of Gad

were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty

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

            those that were numbered of them even of the tribe Judah

were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred

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

those that were numbered of them – even of the tribe of Issachar

were fifty and four thousand and four hundred

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

those that were numbered of them – even of the tribe of Zebulun

were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred

Of the children of Joseph – namely – of the children of Ephraim

by their generations – after their families – by the house of the fathers

according to the number of the names

from twenty years old and upward

all that were able to go forth to war

those that were numbered of them even of the tribe of Ephraim

were forty thousand and five hundred

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

            those that were numbered of them even of the tribe of Manasseh

                        were thirty and two thousand and two hundred

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

those that were numbered of them even of the tribe of Benjamin

were thirty and five thousand and four hundred

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

            those that were numbered of them even of the tribe of Dan

                        were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred

Of the children of Asher – by their generations – after their families

by the house of  fathers –  according to the number of the names

from twenty years old and upward

all that were able to go forth to war

those that were numbered of them even of the tribe of Asher

were forty and one thousand and five hundred

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

those that were numbered of them even of the tribe of Naphtali

were fifty and three thousand and four hundred

Total number given to the eleven tribesverses 44-46

 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

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

Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and

three thousand and five hundred and fifty

Levites not included in the numberingverses 47-53

 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were

NOT NUMBERED among them

FOR the LORD had spoken unto Moses

saying

Only you shall NOT NUMBER the tribe of Levi

neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel

BUT you shall 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

they shall minister unto it

and shall encamp round about the tabernacle

And when the tabernacle sets 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 comes nigh shall be put to death

And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents

every man by his own camp – every man by his own standard

throughout their hosts

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

Israelites did everything the LORD commandedverse 54

 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD

commanded Moses – so did they

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 3        From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: you and Aaron shall number them by their armies. (6633 “able to go forth to war” [tsaba] means campaign, military service, troops, the waging of armed conflict against an enemy, the host of heaven, or warriors)

DEVOTION:  No one between the ages of twenty and sixty were excluded from serving in the army of Israel. That was the LORD’S command and every man had to follow HIS orders.

It wasn’t a volunteer army but one in which all were assigned to follow their tribal leader into battle. One of the nice things about the children of Israel going into battle was that the LORD was usually directing them in what to do in each battle. When they didn’t listen or wait for the LORD it was a sign of rebellion and they didn’t win those battles.

So every Christian is a soldier of the cross. Every believer is to serve the LORD throughout his/her life. We are in a battle that lasts from the time we become a believer until the day we die.

I had a seminary professor ask me to pray that he finishes well in his life as a believer. It is very important to live each day as if it might be our last. We need to be faithful to the LORD and HE will be faithful to us.

So we need to train our children to realize that the Christian life is one that requires the armor of God to fight the enemy of every believer. Once we teach them about the armor, we have to remind them to put it on each day.

CHALLENGE:  Did you put your armor on today? The fiery darts of the devil are being shot out each day at every believer.

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 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. (1 “pedigrees” [‘ab] means chief, father, ancestor, progenitor, a male parent, forefathers, or originator or patron of a class)

DEVOTION:  There was a signup day for the army. Everyone came forward to recite their family heritage. Each of the eleven tribes had leaders that were to be followed into battle.

There is pride in one’s family heritage amongst the children of Israel. They kept good records of who belonged to each tribe. There were records for the purpose of military service. There were records to make sure that property stayed in the family. There were records of those who the leaders of each tribe.

These records were kept until Jerusalem was burning and the records were lost for many of the tribes. Today there are many still searching for their family ancestry.

Today we find many individuals taking the time to see if they were part of the first ones who came to America. There are many search engines available to help people find their relatives.

We have one person in our family who has even gone over to England to find our relatives and find out more about our history. History is good to know about your family if it was a good family.

There is one book in heaven that has the names of all those who are followers of Jesus Christ. It is called the book of life. If your name is not found in the book of life, because you have never made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, than you are not going to spend eternity in heaven. There is no other name that will allow you to be a member of the family of God.

CHALLENGE:  If you want to be a member of the family of God, than you must repent of your sins and become a follower of HIM. There is not time like the present.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 49      Only you shall not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel (6485 “number” [paqad] means visit, inspect, look at, attend to, make a search, hunt up, list by name, or call to account)

DEVOTION:  Those who served the LORD were a special group from one tribe. The tribe of Levi was made up of the family of Aaron which was designated as the only ones who could serve as priests. The rest of the Levites were those who served the priests in many different capacities.

The other eleven tribes were the ones who did the fighting in the army of the children of Israel. Sometimes you can read the list of the children of Israel and think that there were twelve tribes and then the Levites but that is not true. The two sons of Joseph were divided into two tribes: the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. We have to remember this fact because it becomes important as we continue our study through the Old Testament.

So the tribe of Levi was not to be counted at all. They were excluded from the population count of the rest of the tribes. They were not to serve in the army. They were to be the spiritual leaders of the nation.

Today we have chaplains in the armed services that are involved in the spiritual development of the soldiers. They were not part of the fighting unit but they are there to help the fighting unit understand that there is a life after death that they need to be prepared for.

It was said that there are no atheists in foxholes. That is probably not true but many people make commitments to the LORD when they are close to death. If they are genuine, they will spend eternity in heaven.

The LORD is making it plain that there is a need of an army to fight the enemy but there is also a need for man of faith to encourage them before battle, during battle and after battle.

CHALLENGE: Numbers are not important when spiritual leaders are serving the LORD properly. However, spiritual leaders will receive a great judgment because of their greater responsibility.

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: 53      But the Levities 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. (7110 “wrath” [qetseph] means anger, or indignation.)

DEVOTION: On the first day of the second month in the second year the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron to number the children of Israel. The number was to be only those who were twenty years old and older who could go out to war. They were numbered was the tribe of Levi. They were special servants of the LORD. They were to protect the tabernacle of testimony. They were to carry the parts of the tabernacle. They were to ministry in the tabernacle. They were the only ones that could take down the tabernacle and set it up.

The final tally of those who were able to go to war was six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty [603,550]. These were the fighting men of Israel.

Each of the tribes was to set up around their own personal standard or banner. The tribe of Levi was in a separate location in the center of all the other tribes.

One of their responsibilities was to see that no stranger came into their camp. If a stranger came close to the tabernacle they were to be killed. The area around the tabernacle was set apart for only the members of the tribe of Levi.

If someone came into the camp in disobedience to the LORD, there would be an outpouring of the anger of the LORD against that individual or those individuals.

The tabernacle was HOLY. God warns us about places we shouldn’t go near because we are HOLY. We need to realize that HE does that for our own good. HE loves us. The good news is that HE will never leave us or forsake us. We need to listen to HIS warnings.

CHALLENGE: We are at war with an enemy that is real. We have to be ready for war and for worship. God wants us to fight the good fight for HIM. God wants us to worship HIM in spirit and in truth today.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

Tabernacle of the congregationverse 1

Tabernacle of testimonyverses 50-54

Levites to ministerverse 50

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

LORD (Jehovah)verses 1, 19, 48, 54

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Wilderness of Sinaiverses 1, 19

Land of Egyptverse 1

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Stranger come near tabernacleverse 51

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Ministerverse 50

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Mosesverses 1, 17, 44, 48, 54

Congregation of the children of Israelverses 2-17, 52

List of those 20 year old and up

Israelverse 3

Aaronverses 3, 17, 44

Number warriors from each tribeverses 19-46

603,550

Levitesverse 47

Not numbered

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

54 In view of Israel’s great disobedience in the later chapters of Numbers, these words of initial compliance to God’s word have a special poignancy. Israel began so well then failed so terribly that her experience remains a potent lesson to all people of faith who follow them. Ending well is the desire. Most racers get off the blocks reasonably well, but the winner is only certified as such at the end of the track. (Allen, R. B. (1990). Numbers. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, pp. 711–712). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

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1:47–54. The Levites were not to be counted in this census for they were exempt from military service in the sense of bearing arms. This is implied in the fact that they were set apart for the service of the tabernacle and all its furnishings. Only they could erect and dismantle it; any others who touched it would die (v. 51; cf. 1 Sam. 6:19–20; 2 Sam. 6:6–7). Morever, the Levites pitched their tents adjacent to the tabernacle, and the other tribes in the outer perimeter (Num. 1:52–53; cf. chap. 2). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). Numbers. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 217). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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The Levites exempted (vv. 47–54). The three sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (Gen. 46:11); Moses and Aaron were descendants of Kohath (Num. 3:14–24) and Aaron was the first high priest. Only the sons of Aaron were allowed to minister at the altar (vv. 1–4) and the Levites assisted the priests in their ministry. Supervised by the high priest, the Levites dismantled the tabernacle when the camp relocated, carried the various tabernacle parts, furnishings, and vessels during the march, and then erected the tabernacle at the new location.

The Levites camped around the tabernacle, which stood in the center of the camp, with Kohath on the south, Merari on the north, and Gershon on the west. Moses and Aaron camped on the east, at the gate of the tabernacle. In this way, the Levites protected the tabernacle from intruders and, being next to the tabernacle, would see when the cloud signaled that the camp was going to move.

Because of their important ministry as assistants to the priests, the Levites were exempted from military duty. The tabernacle was the most important structure in the entire camp, and only the priests and Levites could attend to it. Therefore, they weren’t counted in the military census. Worship and warfare may seem unrelated, but in God’s economy, they go together. One of the major themes of the Book of Revelation is God’s warfare against evil on earth and His receiving worship in heaven. Unless the people of God are right with the Lord in their worship, they can’t face their enemies and defeat them in warfare. “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” (Ps. 149:6). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1999). Be counted (pp. 14–15). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)

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Ver. 54. And the children of Israel did according to all the Lord commanded Moses, &c.] Pitched their tents by their own camps and standards; did not come near the tabernacle, but kept at a proper distance from it, and did not meddle with things they had no concern with, and which were peculiar to the Levites: so they did; which is repeated to shew how readily, punctually, and perfectly they observed the command of God with respect to this affair. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 710). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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The Levites, the priestly tribe, were not included in the census because they had a more important job than fighting. They were responsible for the tabernacle, God’s palace, the most vital part of the whole camp. Israel was the people of God, but without his presence with them in the tabernacle, there would have been no point to their existence. The Levites’ task was to ensure God’s continuing presence with Israel. They dismantled, carried, and reassembled the tabernacle (vv. 50–51). They also guarded it from intruders. Entry to the tabernacle by laypeople could lead to divine wrath breaking out and the death of many Israelites, so the Levites were told to execute any outsider breaking in (vv. 51–53). A similar threat had been made against anyone trying to approach God on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:11–13; Heb. 12:18–29). (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 266–267). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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1 Corinthians 9
Paul limits his freedom for the sake of other Christians.
INSIGHT

Spiritual maturity is not a product of human effort. The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit, not of self-effort. Yet God will not grant spiritual maturity to us unless we are striving for it. Paul says, “I run . . . not with uncertainty. I fight . . . not as one who beats the air. I discipline my body . . . ” in pursuit of spiritual goals (1 Corinthians 9:26-27). The reality is that few of us have the spiritual passion to equal the temporal passion of the unsaved. It is a challenge to care about the same things God cares about-a challenge we must accept!   (Quiet Walk)

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THE ANTICHRIST

He is antichrist.  1 John 2:22
The antichrist is the one who, in one sense, stands instead of Christ, taking the Christian name and yet opposing the very kingdom of truth that the name implies. John says, “As ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists…. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (verses 18-19). So when we think of the antichrist, we have to bear that in mind. “These antichrists who have arisen,” says John, “belonged to us, but they were not of us.” In other words, they took up the Christian position, they claimed they were Christians, they professed to be teachers of the Christian Church, and yet they have been separated from the Christians in order that it would be clear to all that they were not of them. In other words, they claimed to delight in the true religion and yet they destroyed it.
The antichrist was already at work in the days of Paul and of John. Further, it is abundantly clear that although there have been many imitations of him, he will reach his maximum power just before the end of this age. I think it is equally clear that Daniel pictures the political aspect of this power, whereas Paul emphasizes the ecclesiastical aspect, and in Revelation 13 you get both—the beast from the sea (the political) and the beast from the earth (the ecclesiastical). And the last point, I think, of which we can be certain is that this power will ultimately be concentrated in one particular person. John says there were many antichrists, and yet the teaching is clear that there is going to be an ultimate antichrist, one person, a person having terrible power, able to work miracles and do such wonders that he almost deceives the elect themselves.
A Thought to Ponder: There is going to be an ultimate antichrist, one person, able to do such wonders that he almost deceives the elect themselves.
      (From Walking with God, pp. 100-101, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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Fruitful in Every Good Work
“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10)

There are many admonitions in Scripture insisting that the child of God maintain a lifestyle that reflects the holy character of the Savior.

The unique phrase “walk worthy” appears only three times in the New Testament: once in our text today; once in Ephesians 4:1, where we are asked to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called”; and once in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, where we are admonished to “walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”

Paul’s admonition to the church at Colossae was to live in such a way that everything would be “all pleasing” to our Lord. The Galatian church was struggling with members who were trying to keep the “old” Jewish law. Paul argued, “Do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). Paul insisted to the Thessalonians, “As we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

Since we are to “walk worthy,” we are to be “fruitful in every good work.” Indeed, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

None of this should be a surprise. When God drew us to Himself (John 6:44), brought the necessary conviction of our sin, Christ’s righteousness, and the judgment to come (John 16:7-8), what was “dead in trespasses and sin” (Ephesians 2:1) had to become a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17), “created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). That “new man” is then empowered to “walk worthy.”

                               (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)

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