Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 1:1
And the LORD spoke unto 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,
1. the tent of meeting ] Heb. ’hel m‘d. A.V. ‘tabernacle of the congregation’ confuses m‘d with ‘dah. LXX. (‘tent of witness’) confuses m‘d with ‘dth. The name ‘tent of meeting’ is a term very frequently employed in P for the Tabernacle (cf. Num 3:7 f., Num 4:2 f., Exo 27:21, Lev 1:1; Lev 1:3). Exo 29:42 (P ) shews the meaning which attached to it ‘where I will meet with you to speak there unto thee’; it was understood to mean ‘the tent where Jehovah met His people by appointment,’ the ‘tent of tryst.’ But the name was also used in earlier times for the sacred tent, which in Exo 33:7-11 (E ) is pictured as an ordinary nomad tent which Moses could himself carry and pitch outside the camp. And it seems probable that in the primitive days of which E preserves a record a somewhat different meaning attached to the name. See note on Num 12:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1 16. Moses is directed to number the fighting men of Israel with the help of twelve princes.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A month had passed away since the setting up of the tabernacle Exo 40:2, Exo 40:17 : and the Sinaitic legislation was now complete (compare Lev 27:34).
A census (sum) was commanded, to be based not upon any fresh registration of individuals, but upon that which had accompanied the previous collection of the offerings. Compare Exo 30:11, etc.; Exo 38:25-28. The offerings had been probably tendered by the people in groups, and if certificates of registration were furnished to such groups, the new census might be easily carried out by means of these documents, and got through Num 1:18 in a single day. The present registration enrolled persons after their families, by the house of their fathers; and was superintended not by the Levites (see Exo 38:21 and note), but by Num 1:4 an assessor for each tribe to act in the business with Moses and Aaron. The purpose now in view was not religious only. The census now taken would serve as a basis for various civil and military arrangements.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Num 1:1
In the wilderness of Sinai.
In the desert: an illustration of the life of the good in this world
I. The natural trials of the desert.
1. Barrenness. Temporal and material things cannot satisfy spiritual beings.
2. Homelessness. The soul cannot find rest in this wilderness world.
3. Pathlessness. Man, if left to himself, is bound to stray and lose himself.
4. Perilousness. The wiles of the devil, the seductions of the world, and the lusts of the flesh.
5. Aimlessness. The years pass, opportunities come and go, and so little seems accomplished, so little progress made in our character, so little true work done.
II. The divine presence in the desert.
1. Divine communication in the desert. Gods voice is never silent. He is ever speaking in the sounds and silences of nature; through Scripture; and by His Holy Spirit.
2. Divine provision in the desert. The Lord will give grace and glory; no good will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
3. Divine shelter and rest in the desert (Psa 90:1).
4. Divine direction in the desert.
(1) By the leadings of His providence.
(2) By the teachings of the sacred Scriptures.
(3) By the influences of the Holy Spirit.
5. Divine protection in the desert. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. If God be for us, who can be against us? Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
III. THE DIVINE USES OF THE DESERT.
1. That the generation of slaves might pass away. There is much in us that must die and be buried before we can enter upon the inheritance of spiritual perfection. Our craven-hearted fears, our carnal lusts, our miserable unbelief, must be buried in the desert.
2. That a generation of free men might be educated. In the desert we are being trained by God into spiritual perfection and power for service and blessedness.
Conclusion:
1. Ponder well the Divine design of our life in this world.
2. By the help of God seek its realisation in ourselves. (W. Jones.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE FOURTH BOOK OF MOSES CALLED NUMBERS
-Year before the common Year of Christ, 1490.
-Julian Period, 3224.
-Cycle of the Sun, 27.
-Dominical Letter, D.
-Cycle of the Moon, 9.
-Indiction, 6.
-Creation from Tisri or September, 2514.
CHAPTER I
On the first day of the second month of the second year
after Israel came out of Egypt, God commands Moses to number all
the males of the people from twenty years and upward, who were
effective men and able to go to war, 1-3.
A chief of each tribe is associated with Moses and Aaron in this
business, 4;
the names of whom are given, 5-16.
Moses assembles the people, who declare their pedigrees
according to their families, 17-19.
The descendants of REUBEN are numbered, and amount to 46,500,
ver. 20, 21.
Those of SIMEON, 59,300, ver. 22, 23.
Those of GAD, 45,650, ver. 24, 25.
Those of JUDAH, 74,600, ver. 26, 27.
Those of ISSACHAR, 54,400, ver. 28, 29.
Those of ZEBULUN, 57,400, ver. 30, 31.
Those of EPHRAIM, 40,500, ver. 32, 33.
Those of MANASSEH, 32,200, ver. 34, 35.
Those of BENJAMIN, 35,400, ver. 36, 37.
Those of DAN, 62,700, ver. 38, 39.
Those of ASHER, 41,500, ver. 40, 41.
Those of NAPHTALI, 53,400, ver. 42, 43.
The amount of all the effective men in Israel, from twenty years
old and upward, was 603,550, ver. 44-46.
The LEVITES are not numbered with the tribes, because they were
dedicated to the service of God. Their particular work is
specified, 47-54.
NOTES ON CHAP. I
Verse 1. The Lord spake unto Moses-on the first day of the second month] As the tabernacle was erected upon the first day of the first month, in the second year after their coming out of Egypt, Ex 40:17; and this muster of the people was made on the first day of the second month, in the same year; it is evident that the transactions related in the preceding book must all have taken place in the space of one month, and during the time the Israelites were encamped at Mount Sinai, before they had begun their Journey to the promised land.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They now had been in the wilderness a full year, or near it, as may be gathered by comparing this place with Exo 19:1; 40:17, and other places.
In the tabernacle; from the mercy seat.
B.C. 1490
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1, 2. on the first day of the secondmonth, c.Thirteen months had elapsed since the exodus. Aboutone month had been occupied in the journey and the rest of the periodhad been passed in encampment among the recesses of Sinai, where thetransactions took place, and the laws, religious and civil, werepromulgated, which are contained in the two preceding books. As thetabernacle was erected on the first day of the first month, and theorder here mentioned was given on the first day of the second, somethink the laws in Leviticus were all given in one month. TheIsraelites having been formed into a separate nation, under thespecial government of God as their King, it was necessary, beforeresuming their march towards the promised land, to put them into goodorder. And accordingly Moses was commissioned, along with Aaron, totake a census of the people. This census was incidentally noticed (Ex38:26), in reference to the poll tax for the works of thetabernacle; but it is here described in detail, in order to show therelative increase and military strength of the different tribes. Theenumeration was confined to those capable of bearing arms [Nu1:3], and it was to be made with a careful distinction of thetribe, family, and household to which every individual belonged. Bythis rule of summation many important advantages were secured: anexact genealogical register was formed, the relative strength of eachtribe was ascertained, and the reason found for arranging the orderof precedence in march as well as disposing the different tribes incamp around the tabernacle. The promise of God to Abraham [Ge22:17] was seen to be fulfilled in the extraordinary increase ofhis posterity, and provision made for tracing the regular descent ofthe Messiah.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai,…. Which is different from the wilderness of Sin, Ex 16:1; and had its name from the mountain so called, on which God gave the law of the decalogue, and where the Israelites had been encamped eleven months,
Ex 19:1;
in the tabernacle of the congregation; which had now been set up a whole month, and out of which the Lord had delivered to Moses the several laws recorded in the preceding book in that space of time,
Ex 40:17;
on the first [day] of the second month; the month Ijar, as the Targum of Jonathan, which answers to part of our April, and part of May, and was the second month of the ecclesiastical year, which began with Abib or Nisan:
in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt; that is, the children of Israel, who had now been a year and half a month out of it:
saying, as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Muster of the Twelve Tribes, with the Exception of that of Levi. – Num 1:1-3. Before the departure of Israel from Sinai, God commanded Moses, on the first of the second month in the second year after the exodus from Egypt, to take the number of the whole congregation of the children of Israel, “ according to their families, according to their fathers’ houses (see Exo 6:14), in (according to) the number of their names, ” i.e., each one counted singly and entered, but only “ every male according to their heads of twenty years old and upwards ” (see Exo 30:14), viz., only “ all who go forth of the army, ” i.e., all the men capable of bearing arms, because by means of this numbering the tribes and their subdivisions were to be organized as hosts of Jehovah, that the whole congregation might fight as an army for the cause of their Lord (see at Exo 7:4).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Numbering of the Israelites. | B. C. 1490. |
1 And the LORD spake unto 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, 2 Take ye 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; 3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies. 4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. 5 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. 6 Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 7 Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 8 Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 9 Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon. 10 Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 11 Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni. 12 Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 13 Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. 14 Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 15 Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan. 16 These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.
I. We have here a commission issued out for the numbering of the people of Israel; and David, long after, paid dearly for doing it without a commission. Here is,
1. The date of this commission, v. 1. (1.) The place: it is given at God’s court in the wilderness of Sinai, from his royal palace, the tabernacle of the congregation. (2.) The time: In the second year after they came up out of Egypt; we may call it the second year of that reign. The laws in Leviticus were given in the first month of that year; these orders were given in the beginning of the second month.
2. The directions given for the execution of it, Num 1:2; Num 1:3. (1.) None were to be numbered but the males, and those only such as were fit for war. None under twenty years old; for, though some such might have bulk and strength enough for military service, yet, in compassion to their tender years, God would not have them put upon it to bear arms. (2.) Nor were any to be numbered who through age, or bodily infirmity, blindness, lameness, or chronical diseases, were unfit for war. The church being militant, those only are reputed the true members of it that have enlisted themselves soldiers of Jesus Christ; for our life, our Christian life, is a warfare. (3.) The account was to be taken according to their families, that it might not only be known how many they were, and what were their names, but of what tribe and family, or clan, nay, of what particular house every person was; or, reckoning it the muster of an army, to what regiment every man belonged, that he might know his place himself and the government might know where to find him. They were numbered a little before this, when their poll-money was paid for the service of the tabernacle, Exo 38:25; Exo 38:26. But it should seem they were not then registered by the house of their fathers, as now they were. Their number was the same then that it was now: 603,550 men; for as many as had died since then, and were lost in the account, so many had arrived to be twenty years old, and were added to the account. Note, As one generation passeth a way another generation cometh. As vacancies are daily made, so recruits are daily raised to fill up the vacancies, and Providence takes care that, one time or other, in one place or other, the births shall balance the burials, that the race of mankind and the holy seed may not be cut off and become extinct.
3. Commissioners are named for the doing of this work. Moses and Aaron were to preside (v. 3), and one man of every tribe, that was renowned in his tribe, and was presumed to know it well, was to assist in it–the princes of the tribes, v. 16. Note, Those that are honourable should study to be serviceable; he that is great, let him be your minister, and show, by his knowing the public, that he deserves to be publicly known. The charge of this muster was committed to him who was the lord-lieutenant of that tribe. Now,
II. Why was this account ordered to be taken and kept? For several reasons. 1. To prove the accomplishment of the promise made to Abraham, that God would multiply his seed exceedingly, which promise was renewed to Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 14), that his seed should be as the dust of the earth. Now it appears that there did not fail one tittle of that good promise, which was an encouragement to them to hope that the other promise of the land of Canaan for an inheritance should also be fulfilled in its season. When the number of a body of men is only guessed at, upon the view, it is easy for one that is disposed to cavil to surmise that the conjecture is mistaken, and that, if they were to be counted, they would not be found half so many; therefore God would have Israel numbered, that it might be upon record how vastly they were increased in a little time, that the power of God’s providence and the truth of his promise may be seen and acknowledged by all. It could not have been expected, in any ordinary course of nature, that seventy-five souls (which was the number of Jacob’s family when he went down into Egypt) should in 215 years (and it was no longer) multiply into so many hundred thousands. It is therefore to be attributed to an extraordinary virtue in the divine promise and blessing. 2. It was to intimate the particular care which God himself would take of his Israel, and which Moses and the inferior rulers were expected to take of them. God is called the Shepherd of Israel, Ps. lxxx. 1. Now the shepherds always kept count of their flocks, and delivered them by number to their under-shepherds, that they might know if any were missing; in like manner God numbers his flock, that of all which he took into his fold he might lose none but upon a valuable consideration, even those that were sacrificed to his justice. 3. It was to put a difference between the true born Israelites and the mixed multitude that were among them; none were numbered but Israelites: all the world is but lumber in comparison with those jewels. Little account is made of others, but the saints God has a particular property in and concern for. The Lord knows those that are his (2 Tim. ii. 19), knows them by name, Phil. iv. 3. The hairs of their head are numbered; but he will say to others, “I never knew you, never made any account of you.” 4. It was in order to their being marshalled into several districts, for the more easy administration of justice, and their more regular march through the wilderness. It is a rout and a rabble, not an army, that is not mustered and put in order.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Note: Commentary on Pentateuch, including Numbers, was written by Dr. G.F. Crumley. (verse by verse commentary follows this chart and introduction to the Book of Numbers)
CHART 4
NUMBERS
Book of Census – Place for Every Person
I. Israel’s Preparation at Sinai, Nu 1:1 to 10:10.
1. First census of the people, Nu 1:1 to 4:49.
2. Sanctification of the people, Nu 5:1 to 10:10.
II. Israel’s March to Kadesh – Barnea, Nu 10:11 to
12:16.
1. Beginning of the March, Nu 10:11-36.
2. Beginning of their Murmurings, Nu 11:1 to
12:16.
III. Israel Encamped at Kadesh – Barnea, Nu 13:1 to
20:13.
1. Their Defiance of God – unbelief, Nu 13:1 to
14:45.
2. Their Discipline from God, Nu 15:1 to 20:13.
IV. Israel’s March to Moab, Nu 20:14 to 21:35
1. Defiance of Edom, Nu 20:14-22.
2. Death of Aaron, Nu 20:23-29.
3. Death of Arod, Nu 21:1-3.
4. Discipline of Israel over the Brass Serpent, Nu
21:4-9.
5. Defeat of Sihom and Og, Nu 21:10-35.
V. Israel on the Plains of Moab, Num 22:1 to Num 36:13.
1. Balak and Balaams Collusions Regarding Israel,
Nu 22:1 to 24:25.
2. Israel’s Worship of Baal at Peor, Nu 25:1-18.
3. New Generation Numbered and Instructed,
Nu 26:1 to 30:16.
4. Israel Defeats the Midianites, Nu 31:1-54.
5. Eastern Jordan Settled by Two and a Half Tribes,
Nu 32:1-42.
6. Journey From Egypt to Moab Reviewed, Nu
33:1-49.
7. Instructions for Possession and Division of the
Land, Nu 33:50-Nu 36-13.
INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
AUTHOR: Among conservative scholars there is general agreement that Moses wrote the Book of Numbers.
NAME: The Hebrew title is, “In the Wilderness,” from the first significant word in the Book. This is an appropriate title, as a summary of important events during Israel’s trek from Egypt to Canaan.
The English title, “Numbers,” is suggested from the “numbering” or census of Israel at Sinai, as recorded in chapter 1. This English title may be misleading, in that it suggests a compilation of dry statistical tables. But this is not the purpose or intent of the Book.
Moses took a census of Israel on three occasions:
1. First: the first year, third month following the Exodus, for the purpose of levying a poll tax, Ex 30:11; 37:25, 26.
2. Second: the second year, second month of Israel’s trek, for purpose of military conscription, Nu 1:3.
3. Third: in the fortieth year, in the plains of Moab, for the purpose of the division of the Land among the tribes, Nu 26:4.
SYNOPSIS: The Book of Numbers may be divided into nine sections:
Section 1: Preparation for the journey, chapters 1-4.
Section 2: Levitical legislation, chapters 5, 6.
Section 3: From the erection of the Tabernacle to KadeshBarnea, chapters 7-14.
Section 4: Levitical laws, chapter 15.
Section 5: Revolt of Korah, chapters 16, 17.
Section 6: Laws of cleansing, chapters 18, 19.
Section 7: Last leg of the journey, chapters 20, 21.
Section 8: In the Plains of Moab, chapters 22:1-33:49.
Section 9: Final instructions, for observance in Canaan, chapters 33:50-36:13.
NUMBERS CHAPTER ONE
Verses 1-4
Jehovah spoke to Moses “face to face,” Ex 33:11; 19:1; 18:21-25.
The time: the first day of the month lyyar (Zif), the first month of the religious year. This corresponds to the latter part of April and the first part of May. This was a year and two weeks since the Exodus, ten and a half months after Israel’s arrival in Sinai, and about a month following the set-up of the Tabernacle.
The command: take a census of Israel. This was the second census, the first being for the half-shekel levy of the poll tax, Ex 30:11-16.
The primary purpose of this second census was to provide a roll for military service. Every able-bodied male from twenty years old and upward was liable to serve.
A secondary purpose for this census was to provide a family registration roll. The social and political structure of Israel was according to tribe and family associations, traditions, and loyalties. This promoted unity in diversity.
The first census was taken by the Levites only, because it was for religious purposes. The second was taken by representatives from the various tribes.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai Although this is the first numbering of the people, of which we have an account, still, inasmuch as God had already imposed a tax upon every person, the amount of which has been recorded, we infer that it was in fact the second. But the reason for thus numbering the people a second time was, because they were very soon about to remove their camp from the wilderness of Sinai to take posession of the promised land. Since, however, their impiety withheld thmn from doing so, there was a third census taken just before their actual entrance into the land, and with this object, that it might be obvious, on comparison, how marvellously the people had been preserved by the springing up of a new generation, in spite of so many plagues and so much slaughter; for although a great proportion of them had been cut off, almost as many persons were found as before.
Further, it must be observed, that the people were not numbered except at God’s command, in order that He might thus assert His supreme dominion over them; and also, that the mode of taking the census was so arranged, that there should be no confusion of ranks either through fraud or irregularity; for this was the reason why each tribe had its superintendents, lest any one should slip into a tribe to which he did not belong; and this is expressly mentioned by way of assurance, since otherwise many might suspect that so great a multitude could hardly be distinguished into classes with certainty, so that the whole sum should be calculated without mistake.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MARCHING AND MURMURING
Numbers, Chapters 1-19.
THE Book of Leviticus is hard to outline and to interpret. It is lengthy, and introduces so much of detail of law and ceremony that its analysis is accomplished with difficulty. And yet Leviticus took but thirty days to declare and put its every precept into actual practice. In that respect the Book of Numbers quite contrasts its predecessor. It covers a period of not less than thirty-eight years, and the plan of the volume is simple. Four keywords compass the nineteen chapters proposed for this mornings study. They are words necessitated by the wilderness experience. Leviticus sets up a sanctuary and a form of service; but in Numbers, we read of men of war, of armies, of standards, of camps, and trumpets sounding aloud. Through all of this, these key-words keep their way, and the mere mention of them will aid us in an orderly study of the first half of the volume; while we will not be able to dispense with them when we come to the analysis and study of the latter half. I refer to the terms mustering, marching, murmuring, and mercy.
MUSTERING
The first nine chapters of Numbers have to do almost entirely with the mustering. Chapters one and two are given to arranging the regiment, as we saw in our former study:
And the Lord spake unto 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 ye 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: thou 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. * *
As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. * *
Every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war. * *
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Every man of the Children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard (Num 1:1-4; Num 1:19-20; Num 2:1-2).
After all the centuries and even the millenniums that have come in between the day of Numbers and our day, wherein have men improved upon Gods plan of mustering armies and arranging regiments? True, we permit our boys to enter the service younger than twenty, but we make a mistake, as many a war-wrecked youth has illustrated. True, we make up our regiments of men who are strangers to each other, and in whose veins no kindred blood is flowing. But such an aggregation will never represent the strength, nor exhibit the courage that the tribal regiment evinces in fight. The almost successful rebellion of our Southern States demonstrated this. Our standard speaks of the nation, and appeals to the patriotic in men. Their standard represented the family and addressed itself to domestic pride and passion. It is well to remember, however, that the primary purpose of these Old Testament symbols is the impression of spiritual truths. And the lesson in this arranging of regiments is the one of being able to declare our spiritual genealogy, and our religious standard.
Every Israelite, when he was polled, was put in position to declare his paternity and point unmistakably to his standard; and no Christians should be satisfied until they can say with John, Now are we the sons of God, because we have discovered that the Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God. And no standard should ever be accepted as sufficient other than that which has been set up for us in the Word. Long ago God said, Behold I will lift up Mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people, and in Christ Jesus He has accomplished that; and every one of us ought to be able to say with C. H. M., Our theology is the Bible; our church organization is the one Body, formed by the presence of the Holy Ghost, and united to the living and exalted Head in the Heavens. To contend for anything less than this is entirely below the mark of a true spiritual warrior.
Chapters three and four contain the appointment of the Priests. When Moses numbered the people, the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered (Num 1:47). God had for them a particular place in the army, and a peculiar part to take in this onward march. Their place was roundabout the tabernacle, at the center of the host, and their office was the charge of all the vessels thereof, and over all the things that belonged to it. They were to bear the tabernacle, to minister in the tabernacle, to encamp roundabout it; to take it down when they were ready to set forth; and when the army halted in a new place, they were to set it up (chap. 2). In one sense they were not soldiers; in another they were the very captains and leaders of Jehovahs army. Their men from twenty to fifty were not armed and made ready for the shedding of blood, but they were set in charge of that symbol of Jehovahs presence without which Israels overthrow would have been instantaneous, and Israels defeat effectual. The worlds most holy men have always been, will always remain, its best warriors. The Sunday School teachers of the land fight the battles that make for peace more effectually than the nations constabulary; while the ministers of the Gospel, together with all their confederatesconscientious laymenput more things to rights and keep the peace better than the police force of all towns and cities. Every believer is a priest unto God. We should be profoundly impressed with the position we occupy in the great army which is fighting for a better civilization, and with the responsibility that rests upon us in the bringing in of a reign of righteousness.
Chapters five to nine, we have said, relate themselves to the establishment of army regulations. They impose purity of life upon every member who remains in the camp; they require restitution of any property falsely appropriated; they insist upon the strictest integrity of the home-life, and they declare the vows, offerings, and ceremonies suited to impress the necessity of the keeping of all these commands. In this there are two suggestions for the present time, namely, the place that discipline has in a well-organized army and the prominence it ought to be given in the true Church of God. That modern custom of making a hero of every man who smells the smoke of battle, and the complimentary one of excoriating every moral teacher who insists that even men of war are amenable to the civilities of life and ought to be compelled to regard them, has filled the ranks of too many standing armies with immoral men and swung public opinion too far into line with that servile press which indulges the habit of condoning, yea, even of commending, an army code that makes for criminal culture.
Sometime ago I went, in company with a veteran of 61 to 66, to hold a little service at the grave of two of his comrades. On our way we met another veteran of that bloody war, and as we looked into his bloated face, and listened to his drunken words, this clean, sober, Christian ex-soldier uttered some things about the necessity of better discipline in the army that were worthy of repetition, and ought to be heard by those officials who have it in their power to aid the young men of our present army to keep the commandments of God; but who too often lead them by example and precept to an utter repudiation of the same.
But the Church of God is Jehovahs army, and if we expect civilities from the unregenerate, we have a right to demand righteousness of the professedly redeemed. Much as discipline did for the purity and power of Israel, if rightly employed, it would accomplish even more for the purity and power of the present organized body of believers. Baron Stowe, a long time Bostons model pastor, in his Memoirs says, touching the importance of strict discipline, A church cannot prosper that connives at sin in its members; and that charity which shrinks from plain, faithful dealing with offenders, is false charity, and deeply injurious. A straightforward course in discipline, in accordance with the rules laid down by the Saviour, is the only one that will insure His approbation. Any serious student of the Scriptures must be often and profoundly impressed with the parallelisms, and even perfect agreements, of the Old Testament teachings with those of the New. Touching discipline, the Lord said unto Joshua,
Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant, which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
Therefore the Children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you (Jos 7:11-12).
When Paul found in the Corinthian Church a similar condition of transgression, he wrote,
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. * * Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person (1Co 5:11 f).
MARCH
The tenth chapter and thirty-third verse sets our organized army into motion. And they departed from the mount of the Lord, three days journey. Touching this march there are three things suggested by the Scripture, each of which is of the utmost importance.
First of all it was begun at Gods signal.
And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.
And the Children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.
And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the Lord, by the hand of Moses (Num 10:11-13).
Going back to the beginning of this tenth chapter you will find that the priests were to assemble the armies with the silver trumpets. A single blast called together the princesheads of the thousands of Israel. When they blew an alarm, the camps that lay on the East went forward. A second alarm summoned the camps from the South, and an additional blast brought the congregation together. The same God at whose signal Israel was to march, speaks in trumpet tones by His Spirit, and through the Word, to the present Church militant. When whole congregations go sadly wrong, much of the trouble will be found with the men whose business it is to. use the silver trumpet, and thereby voice the mind of God. Too many preachers have been snubbed into silence or cowed to uncertain sounds. The silver trumpets through which they ought to call the people to battle have been plugged up with gold pieces, and in all too many instances they are afraid to blow an alarm, calling to the camps that lie on the East, lest when they sound the second, those that lie on the South should refuse to respond.
Joseph Parker suggests that when ministers become the trumpeters of society again, there will be a mighty awakening in the whole nation. In Italy they have a saying to this effect, There has never been a revolution in Europe without a Monk at the bottom of it. And when the ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully fill up their offices, there will never be a division of Gods army, marching Canaan-ward, without a preacher at the head of it; and he will not be a man who has accommodated himself to the cry of the times in which we live Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, but rather one who will sound the alarm of Divine command, and whose word will be to the people, Gods signal. Every element of success enters into that assurance which comes from a conviction that one is marching according to the Divine command. The reason why public opinion, almost insuperable obstacles, and even royal counsellors, could not turn Joan of Arc from her purpose, existed in the fact that she kept hearing a voice saying, Daughter of God, go on, go on! And if we will listen, there is a voice behind us saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.
In this march Gods leadership was sought.
And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
And when it rested he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel (Num 10:33).
There is a simplicity and a sincerity in that prayer which is truly refreshing. There are plenty of men who consult their circumstances; who take into account all the factors that can affect the march of life, and who try to keep as their constant guide a well-balanced intellect; but Moses preferred God. He esteemed His presence above all favorable conditions, and above the highest human judgment. And the man who rises up in the morning, offering his prayer to God to be guided for that day, and who, when he lies down at night, prays again, Return, O Lord, unto me, and watch over my slumber, is the man who has no occasion to fear because even the fiercest foe will fall before him.
Lewis Albert Banks says that about the year 1600 a man by the name of Heddinger was chaplain to the Duke of Wartenberg. The Duke was a wayward, wicked man. Heddinger was one of these genuine, faithful souls like John the Baptist who would stand for the right and God. He rebuked the Duke for his great sins. This terribly enraged his Honor, and he sent for the brave chaplain thinking to punish him. Heddinger came from his closet of prayer with his face beaming. The Duke, seeing the shine in every feature, realized that he was enjoying the actual presence of the Lord, and after putting to him the question, Why did you not come alone? sent him away unharmed. Ah, beloved, whether we be on the march or at rest; whether we be fighting the battles of life or enjoying its victories; whether we be proclaiming the truth or are on trial for having taught it, we have no business being alone, for we seek the Divine presence. The Lord will lead us in the march and lift over us His banner when we lie down to rest.
Nor can one follow this march without being impressed with the fact that God was guiding His people Canaan-ward. By consulting a good map you will see that the line from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea was as direct as the lay of the land made possible. God never takes men by circuitous routes. These come in consequence of leaving the straight and narrow way for the more attractive but uncertain one of by-path meadow. Had they remained faithful to Divine leadership, forty days would have brought the whole company into Canaan. But when, through the discouragement of false reporters, they turned southward, putting their backs to God, they plunged into the wilderness fox a wandering of forty years, and even worse, to perish there without ever seeing the Land of Promise. What a lesson here for us! There is a sense in which every man determines his own destiny. It is within our power to trust to Divine leadership and enjoy it, and it is equally within our power to mistrust it, and lose it. One commenting upon this says, Israel declared that God had brought them into the wilderness to die there; and He took them at their word. Joshua and Caleb declared that He was able to bring them into the land, and He took them at their word. According to your faith be it unto you.
MURMURING
The eleventh chapter sounds for us a sad note. There the people fall to petty complaints and criticisms. And when the people complained. There are those who can complain without occasion. Criticism is the cheapest of intellectual commodities. And yet the critic always has a reason for his complaint, and however he may seek to hide the real cause, God is an expert in uncovering it. Here He lays it to the mixed multitude that was among themthey fell a lusting. That mixed multitude (or great mixture is the word in the original) consisted of Egyptians and others who had come out of Egypt with Israel, and whose Egyptian tastes were not being satisfied by enforced marches, holy services and manna from on High. It is a good thing to get Israel out of Egypt, to get the Church of God out of the world; but it is an essential thing also to get Egypt out of Israel, the unregenerate out of the Church of God, for if you do not they will fall a lusting, and the first complaint they will make is touching the food divinely provided for them. The Gospel of Jesus ChristGods provided mannanever did satisfy an unregenerate man, and it never will. What he wants is the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick. Yes, even the garlick of the world; and when you set before him manna, he insists that his soul is dried away.
I went to talk with a mother about her little daughters uniting with the church. She told me that she was opposed to it; and when I asked her why, she boldly replied that she united with the church herself when she was young, and thereby denied herself all the pleasures of the world. She had never ceased to regret it, and she proposed to save her girl from a similar experience. A lusting for the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick! If such is ones feeling, just as well go back to the world! It does not make an Egyptian an Israelite to go over into that camp, and it does not make an unregenerate man a Christian because you write his name on the church book.
This spirit of criticism spread to the officials and leaders. And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. Their complaint was slightly different from that of the mixed multitude, but directed against the same man.
From the complaint of these leading officials the trouble spread, and when the ten spies rendered their report of the land which God had promised, the whole congregation broke into revolt. That was the opportunity that Korah and Dathan and Abiram and On took advantage of.
And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the Children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown.
And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? (Num 16:2-3).
Here is the new complaint of the critics! Moses is domineering; his administration is that of a one-man power. He has not given sufficient attention to the princes of the assembly, and to the chief members of the congregation.
This is no ancient story. From that hour until this, the Church of God, whether in the form of Israel or that of the body of baptized believers, has experienced the same rebellion with the same reasons assigned. In Pauls day the Church at Corinth had to be counselled by the great Apostle and the members thereof reminded that they were of one body. The feet are enjoined not to complain of the hands, and the ear not to criticise the eye, and the eye not to envy the hand, nor yet the head the feet, that there should be no schism in the body, since when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and when one member is honored all the members should rejoice with it. In our own day the chief men have sometimes set aside the servant of God. Dr. Jonathan Edwards, once a man of the highest education and personal culture, honored by the members of his profession for his spirituality, and for the success that had attended his ministry, was set aside because he interfered with the Egyptian desires of the children of certain chief men of his congregation. Years ago, in New York, Americas most famous pastor and preacher, after passing through a series of sicknesses and bereavements in his family, came to the thirtieth anniversary of his pastorate to find himself retired from office by a few of the officials of the church who were influential. His reinstatement by the body at large came too late to save him from the collapse that attended this severe experience. A New York correspondent, writing of this, said, Such action makes every pastor in New York City feel sick at heart.
Attend to the way Moses met this! If the ministers of the present time learned his way, their course would be a more courageous one and their burdens better borne. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Children of Israel (Num 14:5). That is the way he met the first rebellion. When the rebellion of Korah came, it is written, And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will show who are His (Num 16:4-5). We may suggest here, prayer to God, the best possible reply to complaints and criticisms. If one has been guilty of that charged against him, such prayer will bring him to a knowledge of his guilt and give him an opportunity to correct it; and if he has not been guilty, such prayer will cause God to lift him up and establish his going, and put into his mouth a song.
Constantine the Great was one day looking at some statues of famed persons, and noting that they were all in standing position, he said, When mine is made Id like it in kneeling posture, for it is by going down before God I have risen to any eminence. Moses has taught us how to conquer all complaint, and all criticism, and come off victorious by falling on our faces and waiting until God shows who are His.
MERCY
The conclusion of this study presents a precious thought; in the midst of judgment, mercy appears.
At Moses intercession, God removes His hand. Every time there is a rebellion, and judgment is visited upon the people, Moses appears as intercessor, and when the people fell to lusting for the leeks, and the onions of Egypt, Moses cried unto God, Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in Thy sight, that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Their cries were the anguish of his soul! When Miriam and Aaron were in sedition against their brother, it was Moses who interceded, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee. And when the whole congregation lifted up their voices of murmuring at the report of the spies, Moses was on his face again in such an intercessory prayer as you could scarce find on another page of sacred Scripture. He was ready to die himself, if they could not be delivered and when Korah and his company attempted his overthrow, he plead with God until the plague was stayed. Therein is an example for every true Christian man.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord;
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. * *
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
This is what Christ said,
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite fully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven (Mat 5:44-45).
The richest symbol of Gods mercy is seen in this nineteenth chapterthe red heifer! She was preeminently the type of Gods provision against the defilement of the wilderness experience. She prefigured the death of Christ as the purification for sin and contained the promise of Gods mercy toward all men, however dreadful their rebellion or deep their stains. Who can read this nineteenth chapter and remember how this offering of the red heifer covers the most grievous sin of man without seeing how great is Gods mercy, and how Divine is His example. Henry Van Dyke says, When we see God forgiving all men who have sinned against Him, sparing them in his mercy, * * let us take the gracious lesson of forgiveness to our hearts. Why should we hate like Satan when we may forgive like God? Why should we cherish malice, envy, and all uncharitableness in our breasts? I know that some people use us despitefully and show themselves our enemies, but why should we fill our hearts with their bitterness and inflame our wounds with their poison? This world is too sweet and fair to darken it with the clouds of anger. This life is too short and precious to waste it in bearing that heaviest of all burdens, a grudge.
And you will see in this nineteenth chapter, also, a new emphasis laid upon the necessity of personal purity. The red heifer was provided for cleansing, and God imposed it upon the cleansed to keep themselves unspotted from the world. That is the major part of true religion to this day, to keep onesself unspotted from the world. This whole chapter is Gods attempt to so provide us with the blood of the slain, and surround us with the cleansing ceremonies, that we may be able to resist the floods of defilement that flow on every side. Realizing, as we must realize, the beauty and blessedness of a holy life, we can enter into a keen appreciation of that most beautiful beatitude, and sing with John Keble:
Blest are the pure in heart,
For they shall see their God:
The secret of the Lord is theirs;
Their soul is Christs abode.
The Lord, who left the heavens,
Our life and peace to bring,
To dwell in lowliness with men,
Their pattern and their King.
Still to the lowly soul
He doth Himself impart,
And for His dwelling and His throne
Chooseth the pure in heart.
Lord, we Thy presence seek;
May ours this blessing be;
Oh, give the pure and lowly heart,
A temple meet for Thee.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
THE NUMBERING OF THE PEOPLE
(Num. 1:1-3)
The object of the encampment at Sinai, says Perowne, has been accomplished. The Covenant has been made, the Law given, the Sanctuary set up, the Priests consecrated, the service of God appointed, and Jehovah dwells in the midst of His chosen people. It is now time to depart in order that the object may be achieved for which Israel has been sanctified. That object is the occupation of the Promised Land. But this is not to be accomplished by peaceable means, but by the forcible expulsion of its present inhabitants; for the iniquity of the Amorites is full, they are ripe for judgment, and this judgment Israel is to execute. Therefore Israel must be organised as Jehovahs army; and to this end a mustering of all who are capable of bearing arms is necessary. Hence the book opens with the numbering of the people.
Thrice were the people numbered in the wilderness. Nine months previous they were numbered for the purpose of collecting atonement-money from every male of twenty years old and upward (Comp. Exo. 30:11-16 with Exo. 38:25-26). On this occasion they were numbered with a view to war. And thirty-eight years afterwards, in the plains of Moab, they were again numbered, for the division of the Promised Land among the tribes, according to the number of their families (Comp. 26 and Num. 33:54).
Our text sets forth:
I. The Authority for this Numbering.
It was commanded by God. The Lord spake unto Moses Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel. Contrast this with the numbering of the people by David (1 Samuel 24, and 1 Chronicles 21). This was expressly commanded by the Lord: that was utterly devoid of Divine authority. This was done for wise and worthy reasons (as we shall see); that, from pride and vain reliance. Moses numbered the people to see the number of Gods subjects able to fight in the Lords battles. David seems to have desired to know the number of the people as his own subjects, and to display the extent of his own dominion and power. As the result of Davids sin, the Lord, by pestilence, slew seventy thousand men. It is of the utmost importance that the leaders of men should be well assured of two things in the movements which they inaugurate:
1. That they have the Divine approval of their undertakings. The movement which is approved by God, and well prosecuted, shall advance to splendid triumph. But that which He approves not must end in failure and disaster. Apply this test to our undertakings.
2. That they are actuated by worthy motives in their undertakings. A sinful, selfish, or mean motive will vitiate our enterprises and mar our works. The Lord looketh at the heart. Let us scrutinize our motives.
II. The Place of this Numbering.
In the wilderness of Sinai.
1. In a desert. The wilderness suggests
(1) the ideas of a life of Privation. Little or no food grows in the desert. There are no homes in the desert. Pleasant streams and refreshing shades are seldom found there.
(2) Peril. This would arise from the scorching heat of the sun; from the furious violence of the storm, and from the fierce attacks of savage beasts.
(3) Perplexity. The desert has no well-defined roads made through it. The traveller is very liable to lose his track, grow bewildered, and sink into utter perplexity. We have in this an illustration of the life of the good in this world. The world cannot supply the souls needs. We have needs and yearnings that the best things of this world are utterly inadequate to satisfy. We cannot find a home for the soul in anything here. This is not our rest. There are perils many and great in this present life and world. We, too, are in the desert.
2. In a desert where the tabernacle of God was. In the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation. They were in the desert; but the Lord also was there. His presence was a guarantee of
(1) Provision. He fed them with bread from heaven. His presence and power transformed the desert into a banquet hall. In obedience to His will the solid rock became a fountain, and the desert rejoiced in pleasant streams. In Him the homeless wanderers found a home and rest.
(2) Protection. He guarded them from the scorching heat of the sun by day by the pillar of cloud, and from the attacks of savage beasts by night by the pillar of fire. In the day of battle He was their shield and fortress.
(3) Direction. He led His people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. He guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. It matters not that this world is like a desert to the godly soul, if God be with us here. His presence will afford the most adequate and delightful supplies, the divinest satisfaction, the most impregnable defence, and the most infallible guidance.
Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,
Thy presence shall my pains beguile;
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden green and herbage crowned,
And streams shall murmur all around.
Addison.
III. The Time of this Numbering.
On the first of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt. That is, exactly one month after the setting up of the tabernacle (Exo. 40:2; Exo. 40:17) and about eleven months from the time of their arrival in the desert of Sinai. The people abode in this desert nearly a whole year (Comp. Exo. 19:1, with Num. 1:1; Num. 10:11). What was the reason of this protracted halt? With so great and inspiriting a destiny before them as the taking possession of the Promised Land, why did they not advance at once with eager resolution to their task? The design of this long stay was, that they might be instructed in their relations to God and to each other; that they might learn lessons of duty and worship; that they might be taught to reverence and obey God. The pause was for the purpose of promoting progress. There are times and circumstances in which standing still is the truest and speediest advance. It is well that the declaration of war should not be made until plans of operation are formed, equipments prepared, soldiers drilled and disciplined, etc. What a terrible reminder of this truth France received in her recent war with Prussia! It was well that the Apostles, with the commission to the most glorious task, and the world sorely needing their message, should, notwithstanding, tarry at Jerusalem in silence, until they were baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Let us learn the wisdom of waiting until circumstances, events, and agents are ripe for action; and while we wait, make diligent preparation, etc. (a)
IV. The Manner of this Numbering.
Take ye 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. They were to take account of
1. Only the males. All females were excluded from the reckoning.
2. Only the males above twenty years old. Those who were under that age were not taken into the account, being regarded as too young to endure the strain of military service.
3. Only the males above twenty ears old who were in vigorous health,able to go forth to war. The sick, the aged, the infirm, the maimed were exempted from this census, as unfit for war.
4. They were to be numbered after their families, that it might be known of what tribe, and of what particular house every able man was.
5. The numbering was to be individual, and by name. With the number of their names, every male by their polls. The census was particular and minute. From these directions as to the numbering we learn:
First: That the Lord chooses fit instruments for the accomplishment of His purposes. He here selects for war not women, or boys, or old men, or the infirm; but able men. He can use any instrumentality, even the feeblest, for the most arduous tasks. But such is not His method. He employs means adapted to the ends to be attained. Illustrations of this abound. Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Paul.
Second: That the Lord is perfectly acquainted with every one who is fitted for His work. He knows the tribe, the family, the name of every one who is able to go forth to war against ignorance, sin and misery. Ponder this ye able men who are at ease in Zion.
V. The Design of this Numbering.
1. The primary design was, the organization of the army. God had promised to give them the land of Canaan. He will certainly bestow it upon them; but not without their effort. Innumerable foes must be vanquished before they enter upon the land. They must do battle with the heathen nations that are now in possession, and conquer them. And to do this, they must organise an army, employing the fittest men for soldiers, making the wisest arrangements for marching, encamping, etc. Where ordinary means are adequate to accomplish the desired end, God never uses extraordinary. What man can do for himself, God never does for him. God has promised to us the victory over our spiritual foes, the possession of the inheritance of spiritual perfection and privileges, and heaven as the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. He will not fail to fulfil His promise. But we, too, must use the means. If we would enter into the restful activities of heaven, we must live the life of faith and of Divine service on earth. If we would gain the victory we must be valiant and persistent in the fight. If we would win the prize we must run with patience the race, etc. (b). But this numbering would serve other important purposes. It would tend
2. To manifest the Divine faithfulness. God had promised Abraham that his seed should be as the stars for multitude. This census shows how God was fulfilling that promise. Seventy-five souls went down into Egypt. And how wonderfully are they increased in 215 years! Now there are six hundred thousand men able to bear arms. And the whole population could not have been less than two millions, and this despite the oppression and persecutions of the Egyptians. He is faithful that promised.
3. To show forth the Divine power. We see this in His feeding and sustaining so immense a number in the desert, without harvest or husbandry, without planting or tilling, without sowing of corn, or without feeding and breeding of cattle.
4. To the promotion of order. It is a rout and a rabble, not an army, that is not mustered and put in order.
5. To exhibit, on the coming of the Messiah, the correspondence of the event with the predictions concerning it. He was predicted as to come of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah, of the house of David. Hence the importance of an accurate register of tribes and families.
6. To illustrate the care of God for His people generally and particularly. They were numbered individually and by name. The Lords care over His people is most minute and constant and tender. He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. The good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. The Lord knoweth them that are His. The very hairs of your head are all numbered.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) I warn those who have only lately found their Saviour from rushing before their fellow-men, and attempting to fill those posts in the service of Christ which demand a deeper experience and a more tried and tested Christianhood. The Lords retirement to the wilderness after He had been baptised and announced as the Messiah, after He was in a peculiar manner full of the Holy Ghost, gives to all of us not less humbling than profitable guidance as to the deliberation with which solemn work ought to be undertaken. Not up to Jerusalem, but away to the wilderness; not out to the multitude, but back to the solitude; not forth to the world to conquer, but away from it, impelled by the Spirit, to be tempted. Nor does this stand solitary in the history of the Church. You remember that strange, half-involuntary forty years of Moses in the wilderness of Midian, when he had fled from Egypt. You remember, too, the almost equally strange years of retirement in Arabia by Paul when, if ever, humanly speaking, instant action was needed. And pre-eminently you remember the amazing charge of the ascending Lord to the disciples: Tarry at Jerusalem. Speaking after the manner of men, one could not have wondered if out-spoken Peter, or fervid James, had said: Tarry, Lord! How long? Tarry, Lord! Is there not a perishing world groaning for the good news? Tarry! did we hear Thee aright, Lord? Was not the word, haste? Nay: Being assembled together with them, He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father.Grosart.
(b) We are here in every sense on a stage of probation; so that, having been once recovered from apostasy, we are candidates for a prize and wrestlers for a crown. It is not the mere admission into the kingdom for which we contend. When justified, there is open before us the widest field for a righteous ambitionand portions heightening in majesty, and deepening in brilliancy, rise on our vision to incite to unwearied endeavour. For I count it one of the glories of Christianity that, in place of repressing, it gives full scope to all the ardours of the spirit of man. Christianity tells her subjects that the rewards in eternity, though all purchased by Christ, and none merited by men, shall be rigidly apportioned to their works. She tells them that there are places of dignity, and stations of eminence, and crowns with more jewellery, and sceptres with more sway, in that glorious empire which Christ shall set up at His second appearing. And she bids them strive for a loftier recompense; she would not have them content with a lesser portion, though it infinitely outgrew human imagination as well as human desert. She sends them to wrestle for the loftiest, though unworthy of the lowest. She does not allow the believer to imagine that everything is done when a title to the kingdom is obtained. She shows him that the trials of the last great assize shall proceed most accurately by measure of works. There is no swerving in the Bible from this representation. And if one man become a ruler over ten cities, and another over five, and another over two, each receiving in exact proportion to his improvement of talents, then it is clear as demonstration can make it that our strivings will have a vast influence on our recompensethat there shall be no particle in the portion of the righteous which is not altogether an undeserved gift; still, in the arrangements of judgment there will be an accurate balancing of what is bestowed and what is performed. Oh! it shall not be said that because he is secure of admission to heaven, the Christian has nothing further to excite him to toil. He is to wrestle for a place amongst spirits of chief renown; he is to propose to himself a station close to the throne.H. Melvill, B.D.
IN THE DESERT: AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE LIFE OF THE GOOD IN THIS WORLD
(Num. 1:1)
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation.
In the Hebrew Bible this book is called = in the desert. By this name also the Jews generally speak of it. The tide is most appropriate for the book which records the history of Israel during the long wandering in the wilderness.
Consider:
I. The natural trials of the desert.
Deserts are generally characterised by
1. Barrenness. The general character of the wdvs, as well as of the mountains of Sinai, says Dean Stanley, is entire desolation. If the mountains are naked Alps, the valleys are dry rivers. The Israelites were brought into contact with a desolation to them the more remarkable by its contrast with the green valley of the Nile. And in another place he speaks of the whole wilderness as having a doubly dry and thirsty aspect. The world, with its wealth and pleasures, its honours and power, cannot afford satisfaction to the longing souls of men. It is clear from their very nature that temporal and material things cannot satisfy spiritual beings. (a)
2. Homelessness. Men do not as a rule establish homes in the desert. They may pitch their tent there for a little while, but they speedily move on to other scenes. The home of the soul is not here. Its rest is not here. If any man attempt to find the home of his soul in anything here he will find, sooner or later, that great has been his mistake, and sore will be his disappointment. Only in the spiritual, the personal, the perfect, and the permanent is the true home of the soul.
3. Painlessness. There were no well-defined roads in the desert. And the Israelites were strangers in it. Left to themselves they were liable and likely to go astray. And man if left to himself now, or to the worlds guidance, will not find the true path of life. And even when by Divine direction he has found it, the world presents many enticements to lure him from it.
4. Perilousness. They were exposed to danger from the scorching sun, from violent storms, from savage beasts, and from desperate bands of robbers. The perils to which the good are exposed in this world are many and great. They spring from the wiles of the devil, the depths of Satan, the seductions of the world, and the lusts of the flesh.
And in the case of Israel in the desert there seemed to be,
5. Aimlessness. How aimless and fruitless must the thirty-eight years of wandering, to which they were con-condemned for their unbelief and rebellion, have seemed to them! Inexpressibly weary and dreary must those years have been to the young generation. There are times in the spiritual life of good men when they pass through somewhat analogous experiences. The years pass, opportunities come and go, life hastens on towards its close; and so little seems accomplished, so little progress made in our character, so little true work done. We have toiled and struggled long, and at times painfully, and yet we have not attained, the goal of our ambition seems still so far off that the heart is prone to grow weary and despondent. Such are some of the trials of the desert.
II. The Divine Presence in the desert.
The Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation. They were in the desert; but God was with them there. We have here,
1. Divine communication in the desert. The Lord spake unto Moses, etc. And God is in constant communication with His people now. His voice is never silent; for in silence some of His most precious communications are made. The thoughtful and reverent spirit hears His voice in the sounds and silences of nature, and can say,
Cleon hears no anthem ringing in the sea
and sky:
Nature sings to me for everearnest
listener, I. (b)
God is also ever speaking through the Sacred Scriptures, and by His Holy Spirit.
2. Divine provision in the desert. The Lord fed the vast host of Israel with manna from heaven, and with water from the rock He supplied them. They were in the desert, but the resources of God never failed them. So now, The Lord will give grace and glory; no good will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
3. Divine shelter and rest in the desert. The people of Israel for forty years were homeless wanderers; but they found their rest and home in God. Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. God is the only true home and rest of souls.
3. Divine direction in the desert. The Lord went before them in the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night. Thus the desert was not really pathless, their tedious wanderings were not really aimless. And still the Lord directs His people He does so,
(1) By the leadings of His providence.
(2) By the teachings of the sacred Scriptures.
(3) By the influences of the Holy Spirit.
5. Divine protection in the desert. The Lord protected the Israelites from the heat of the sun by day by means of the pillar of cloud; and from the attacks of savage beasts by night by means of the pillar of fire. He also guarded them from the assaults of neighbouring nations, except in those instances in which they disregarded His counsel, and rebelled against Him. God is still the sure defence of all who put their trust in Him. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. If God be for us, who can be against us? Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? God is with us in our march through the desert; and His presence assures us of all good.
III. The Divine uses of the desert.
Why this wandering to and fro for thirty-eight years? What is the meaning of this tedious and painful delay? Of what use was it? To prepare a people for the inheritance of Canaan. God has not only to give them the inheritance, but to fit them for itfor its privileges, duties, etc. Time was needed for two things:
1. That the generation of slaves might pass away. Were the people that left Egypt fit to enter upon the privileges and duties connected with the independent possession of the Promised Land? Slavery had robbed them of their manhood. They were most persistent and provoking unbelievers, contemptible cowards, shrinking from any difficulty, quailing in the presence of any danger. They were the creatures of carnal appetites, preferring the fish, the cucumbers, the onions, and the melons of Egypt with slavery, rather than the manna of heaven and freedom. Emancipated in body, they are yet slaves in soul. And by reason of this, and of their murmurings and rebellions against God, they must live and die in the desert (see Num. 14:26-35). In this we have an illustration of Gods dealings with His people now. There is much in us that must die and be buried before we can enter upon the inheritance of spiritual perfection. Our craven-hearted fears, our carnal lusts, our miserable unbelief, must be buried in the desert. The slave nature must be put to death, etc. There are godly persons in this world who are past service, whose strength and health have long departed, whose life is one of constant weariness and pain, who long for the summons hence, and wonder why it is so long delayed. May it not be because the discipline of the desert is not yet ended? There is something of the old nature that is not yet dead and buried.
2. That a generation of free men might be educated. In the desert God was training the children into true manhood,into fitness for the place, the duties, and the privileges designed for them. And the education was remarkably successful. The generation that was trained in the wilderness and entered the Promised Land, was honourably distinguished for faithfulness, etc. (comp. Jos. 24:31; Jer. 2:2-3). So in this world God is educating us into calm, far-seeing faith, into high-souled courage, into reverent and hearty obedience, etc. This life, when truly lived, is not fruitless, aimless, or vain. Even its trials are designed to bless us. Its storms and strifes are intended to invigorate and nerve us. In the desert we are being trained by God into spiritual perfection and power, and educated for service and blessedness.
Conclusion:
Let us ponder well the Divine design of our life in this world. By the help of God let us seek its realization in ourselves.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) We might ask the statesman, and as we wished him a happy new year, Lord Dundas would answer, It had need to be happier than the last, for I never knew one happy day in it. We might ask the successful lawyer, and the wariest, luckiest, most self-complacent of them all would answer, as Lord Eldon was privately recording when the whole bar envied the Chancellor, A few weeks will send me to dear Encomb, as a short resting-place between vexation and the grave. You might say to the golden millionaire, You must be a happy man, Mr. Rothschild. Happy! me happy! What! happy! when just as you are going to dine you have a letter placed in your hand, saying, If you do not send me 500, I will blow your brains out! Happy! when you have to sleep with pistols at your pillow! We might ask the clever artist (David Scott), and our gifted countryman would answer, of whose latter days a brother writes, In the studio all the pictures seemed to stand up like enemies to receive me. This joy in labour, this desire for fame, what have they done for him? The walls of this gaunt sounding place, the frames, even some of the canvases, are furred with damp. In the little library where he painted last was the word Nepenthe, written interrogatively with white chalk on the wall. We might ask the world-famed warrior, and get for an answer the Miserere of the Emperor Monk, or the sigh of a broken heart from St. Helena. We might ask the brilliant courtier, and Lord Chesterfield would tell us, I have enjoyed all the pleasures of the world, and I do not regret their loss. I have been behind the scenes; I have seen all the coarse pulleys and dirty ropes which move the gaudy machines; and I have seen and smelt the tallow candles which illuminate the whole decorations to the astonishment of an ignorant audience. We might ask the dazzling wit, and faint with a glut of glory, yet disgusted with the creatures who adored him, Voltaire would condense the essence of his existence into one word Ennui. And we might ask the worlds poet, and we should be answered with an imprecation by that splendid genius, who
Drank every cup of joy, heard every trump
Of fame; drank early, deeply drank; drank draughts
That common millions might have quenched, then died
Of thirst, because there was no more to drink.Pollok.
DR. JAMES HAMILTON.
(b) God hath a voice that ever is heard,
In the peal of the thunder, the chirp of the bird;
It comes in the torrent, all rapid and strong,
In the streamlets soft gush as it ripples along;
It breathes in the zephyr, just kissing the bloom;
It lives in the rush of the sweeping simoom;
Let the hurricane whistle or warblers rejoice,
What do they tell thee, but God hath a voice?
God hath a presence, and that ye may see
In the fold of the flower, the leaf of the tree;
In the sun of the noon-day, the star of the night;
In the storm-cloud of darkness, the rainbow of light;
In the waves of the ocean, the furrows of land;
In the mountains of granite, the atoms of sand;
Turn where ye may, from the sky to the sod,
Where can ye gaze that ye see not a God?
Eliza Cook.
THE NUMBERED PEOPLE
(Num. 1:2-3)
These annals are an historic mirror. They image out a heavenly Fathers special dealings with each child of faith. The parallel is quickly drawn. They once groaned bitterly in cruel bondage. But Mercy set them free. Believer, you too were once a slave at Satans will. But now the chain is broken, etc. Israels tribes are journeying, as strangers, through a desert waste. And is not yours a wilderness career? But they are conveyed by a heavenly guide. So, too, a beckoning hand marks out your wanderings by dayby night, etc. They had heard the voice of wordsthe fiery law. This law has also pierced the deep recesses of your inner man. You have thus learned the glorious righteousness of God, etc. Was Israel Gods special portion? You, too, are not your own. You are a purchased property, etc. There is no novel thought in this. But common truthslike common blessingssoon lose their point. Colours soon fade without a renewing touch.
And now, before the people move, God speaks again. He gives command to register the number of each tribe. New instruction meets us here.
In common matters, men count possessions, which are choice, and dear, and prized. They whose mean joys are fixed on this worlds pelfthus calculate their gold. See, too, the watchful shepherds care. Do we, then, stray beyond sound limits when in Gods numbering we read Gods love? Do not clear characters here write, that His people are thus numbered, because lovedcounted, because prized? My God loves me; my name is in his heart. The knowledge of this fact is reached by happy steps. They are all Scripturally firm. Review them. Wherefore was Jesus sent to bear your sins, and deck you in his robe of righteousness? Why was Christ slain? Why are you spared?. Wherefore did the Spirit speed to arouse your sleeping conscienceto show selfs ruin and the remedy of the Cross?. How is it that your tottering feet are still upheld along the slippery hill, which leads to Zions heights? The strength is not your own. There can be only one reply, God loves you. Would that the eye of Faith for ever rested on this glorious truth. God loves you! What an amazing impulse to bear the willing servant over all mountains of doubt, and fear, and hindrance! What a strong shield to ward off Satans darts! It is victory, before one blow is struck! It is light in the dark day of trial! It is the holy wing to lift above the world!
Who are numbered? None are enrolled, but they whose age and strength enable them for war. Christs service is a mighty worka determined fight. Satan disputes each onward step. The world presents its countless troops, etc. The flesh is an internal foe, etc. Believer, yours is this warriors life. Fight, as one fighting for eternity. Strive, as one striving for a kingdom. Jesus commands, etc. Follow him boldly. No one will triumph who has never fought. No one who truly fights, will fail.
Each numbered soldier paid a ransom price (Exo. 30:12). The richthe poorwere equally assessed. All in Christs camp are ransomed by his blood. All plead one sacrifice.
Next comes the register. It presents a vast array of numbered warriors. Beyond six hundred thousand men (Num. 1:46). Whence is this marvellous increase? One family had entered Egypt. Hardship, and cruelty, and toil had done their worst to keep them low. But Gods early promise was their portion (Gen. 12:2). The numbered people prove that our God is Truth as well as Love.
Behold, again, this multitude. It is an emblem of a far larger host (Rev. 7:9). The fight is a prelude to the crown.
About a year has passed since the last numbering. The Levites then formed part of the collected mass. They are not now included. But the number then and now amounts exactly to the same. Israel has surrendered Levis tribe, but Israels forces are not thereby less. Here is a profitable lesson. We never lose by giving to the Lord. Selfishness is penury. Christian benevolence is wealth.
Once more survey the Numbered People. You are inclined to say, this band will safely reach the promised land. Alas! two only steadfastly adhere. The multitude distrusts the Lord. Their corpses strew the desert. An awful proof that outward privileges alone save not (Heb. 3:19). Unbelief is the bar which shuts out Christ. Unbelief rejects the Gospel, and so perishes.Henry Law, D.D.
RANK AND SERVICE
(Num. 1:4-16)
In these verses we have an illustration of
I. Co-operation in Divine Service.
One man of every tribe, being head of the house of his fathers, was to be associated with Moses and Aaron in numbering the people. By this arrangement
1. The toil of Moses and Aaron would be lessened. There is urgent need for the lessening of the labours of many overwrought Christian ministers to-day. And there are many things in which others may render them valuable assistance.
2. The accomplishment of the task would be facilitated. The cause of God in this world will advance with rapid strides when co-operation in Christian work shall become constant and universal amongst His people.
3. The envy of the princes would be prevented. We know that on a subsequent occasion certain princes of the assembly arose against Moses and Aaron, saying, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? Sore eyes, say Babington, cannot abide the clearness of the sun, and an evil stomach turneth the best nutriment to hurt. The greener the leaf is, the sooner the worms bite it. Probably, moved by envy, they would have murmured against Moses and Aaron at this time; but, being united with them in the business, all occasion thereof is removed. Co-operation in service is the best antidote to envy and complaint and carping criticism. Grumblers are seldom found among the workers of the Church.
We have in the text an illustration of
II. Societys need of leaders.
1. Because they are at present indispensable to social order and progress. These men were representatives of the people. Instead of the renowned, we should translate, the called of the congregation.Keil and Del.: In Num. 1:16 they are designated as called men of the congregation, because they were called to diets of the congregation, as representatives of the tribes, to regulate the affairs of the nation. And society in this age must have its leaders and representatives in politics, in military affairs and enterprises, in science, in religion, etc. Moreover, it is essential that some persons should be entrusted with the reins of government. Rulers are indispensable to order. Leaders are necessary also to secure unity in the pursuit of any great and comprehensive aim. Certain objects of utmost importance to society cannot possibly be attained without cohesion of purpose and effort on the part of a large number of men, and such cohesion is impossible without leaders. Amongst the masses, says Guizot, even in revolutions, aristocracy must ever exist; destroy it in nobility, and it becomes centred in the rich and powerful Houses of the Commons. Pull them down, and it still survives in the master and foreman of the workshop.
2. Because of the differences in the faculties of men. These men were princes from the nobility of their birth: and they were probably men distinguished also for their abilities. Speakers Comm.: The selection of the Princes of the Tribes appears from Num. 1:4 to have been made under Divine direction; but probably, as Num. 1:16 seems to suggest, they were for the most part the same persons as those chosen a few months previously at the counsel of Jethro (Exo. 18:21-26) Of those here named Naashon, prince of Judah, was brother-in-law of Aaron (Exo. 6:23), and ancestor of King David. Elishama, prince of Ephraim, was grandfather of Joshua (1Ch. 7:26-27). The peers of men like these, though nothing has been in fact preserved to us respecting them, were no doubt entitled, amongst their fellows, to the epithet renowned, Num. 1:16. Some men are born rulers. The governing faculty is innate in them. They have the extensive mental vision, the calmness of judgment, the promptitude in action, the love of order, the power of arrangement, the acquaintance with human nature, the skill in managing affairs, etc., which mark them off for leaders of men. But in others the qualifications of leadership are conspicuous by reason of their absence. And amongst those in whom the ruling faculty is innate it exists in different degrees of power. So they are fitted for different degrees of dominion. We must have kings, says Emerson, we must have nobles; nature is always providing such in every society; only let us have the real instead of the titular. In every society, some are born to rule, and some to advise. The chief is the chief all the world over, only not his cap and plume. It is only this dislike of the pretender which makes men sometimes unjust to the true and finished man. (a)
We have in the text an illustration of
III. The grand characteristic of true leaders.
They are pre-eminent in service. These princes of the tribes were to serve the tribes in this numbering of the people. Those that are honourable should study to be serviceable. Whosoever will be great among you, said our Lord, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. I am among you as He that serveth. The great God who is supreme over all is servant of all. And from the ministering of the archangel to the labour of the insect, the true rank and glory of a creature consist in the service which it renders in Gods universe, (b)
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Greatness is not a teachable nor gainable thing, but the expression of the mind of a God-made great man; teach or preach, or labour as you will, everlasting difference is set between one mans capacity and anothers, and this God-given supremacy is the priceless thing, always just as rare in the world at one time as another. What you can manufacture or communicate, you can lower the price of, but this mental supremacy is incommunicable: you will never multiply its quantity, nor lower its price; and nearly the best thing that men can generally do, is to set themselves not to the attainment, but the discovery of this: learning to know gold when we see it from iron-glance, and diamonds from flint-sand, being for most of us a more profitable employment than trying to make diamonds out of our own charcoal.John Ruskin.
(b) There is no dignity but of service. How different the whole notion of training is now from what it was in the middle ages. Service was honourable then. The first thing taught then was how to serve. No man could rise to the honour of knighthood without service. A noblemans son even had to wait on his father, or to go into the family of another nobleman, and wait upon him as a page, standing behind his chair at dinner. This was an honour. No notion of degradation was in it; it was a necessary step to higher honour. And what was the next higher honour? To be free from service? No. To serve in the harder service of the field; to be a squire to some noble knight, to tend his horse, to clean his armour, to see that every rivet was sound, every buckle true, every strap strong, to ride behind him and carry his spear, and if more than one attacked him to rush to his aid. This service was the more honourable because it was harder, and was the next step to higher honour yet. And what was this higher honour? That of knighthood. Wherein did this knighthood consist? The very word means simply service. And for what was the knight thus waited on by his squire? That he might be free to do as he pleased? No, but that he might be free to be the servant of all. By being a squire first, the servant of one, he learned to rise to the higher rank, that of servant of all. His horse was tended, his armour observed, his sword and spear and shield held to his hand, that he might have no trouble looking after himself, but might be free, strong, unwearied, to shoot like an arrow to the rescue of any and every one who needed his ready aid. There was a grand heart of Christianity in that old chivalry.George Macdonald.
GODS KNOWLEDGE OF HIS PEOPLE
(Num. 1:5)
These are the names of the men that shall stand with you.
The text teaches that the Lord knew these princes of the tribes of their fatherstheir names, their parentage, their fitness for the work in which they were to take part, etc. We infer that God is perfectly acquainted with His people.
Consider:
I. The great truth here implied.
God knows His people individually and altogether.
1. This is philosophical. If God is infinite, He must know all things. Nothing can be so great as to surpass His comprehension; nothing so small as to escape His notice. Great and small, generally and particularly, He knows all things and everything. The relation God holds to objects of knowledge, says Bushnell, is different in all respects, from that which is held by us. Our general terms, man tree, insect, flower, are the names of particular or single specimens, extended, on the ground of a perceived similarity, to kinds or species. They come, in this manner, to stand for millions of particular men, trees, insects, flowers, that we do not and never can know. But God does not generalise in this manner, getting up general terms under which to handle particulars, which, as particulars, He does not know. His knowledge of wholes is a real and complete knowledge. It is a knowledge of wholes as being a distinct knowledge of particulars. He knows the wholes in the particulars, the particulars in the wholes. History acquaints us, that Cyrus had so vast a memory, that he knew the name of every particular soldier in his army, which consisted of divers nations; shall it be too hard for an infinite understanding to know every one of that host that march under His banners? (a)
2. This is Scriptural. See 1Ki. 19:14-18; Psa. 1:6; Psa. 56:8; Psa. 147:3-4; Isa. 40:26-31; Mal. 3:16-17; Mat. 6:25-34; Mat. 10:29-30; Joh. 10:3; Joh. 10:14; Joh. 10:27; Php. 4:3; 2Ti. 2:19; Rev. 3:5; Rev. 21:27. No doubt but He that calls the stars of heaven by their names, knows the number of those living stars that sparkle in the firmament of His Church. He cannot be ignorant of their persons, when He numbers the hairs of their heads, and hath registered their names in the book of life. He knows them as a general to employ them, as a shepherd to preserve them. Gods knowledge of His people involves His favour towards them. It is a knowledge not of apprehension merely, but of approbation also. It implies affection for them, the exercise of care over them, etc., as in Amo. 3:2.
II. The practical bearings of this great truth.
The realization of this truth will tend,
1. To restrain from sin. The consideration of Gods perfect acquaintance with us is fitted to check any rising inclination to evil. The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all His goings.
2. To promote sincerity of life. He cannot he imposed upon by any empty forms or hollow pretences. Our thoughts and feelings are known to Him. And simulation and dissimulation are an abomination in His sight.
3. To promote humility. The consideration of Gods knowledge makes manifest the greatness of our ignorance, We are but of yesterday, and know nothing. God knows all our secret sins,all unholy desire, etc. Surely this should humble us.
4. To quicken reverence towards God. Great intelligence is a thing to command respect and admiration. But He in whom infinite intelligence is joined with infinite holiness should be admired and adored.
5. To comfort the godly under reproaches. So it proved to Job when misunderstood and falsely accused by his friends (Job. 16:19; Job. 23:10).
6. To sustain the godly in affliction and trial. He who thoroughly knows each and every one of His people will certainly support them in their afflictions, give them patience in their trials, and in His own time deliver them from all troubles.
7. To incite to hearty obedience. If He knows us always and altogether, shall we not endeavour to do those things which He approves? If He regards us with favour, shall we not seek to love and honour Him?
8. To strengthen trust in God. No plans that are formed against His people are unknown to Him. His own designs are formed in infinite wisdom. He knows all our temptation and weakness, all our danger and need. And His power to help is as great as His intelligence. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hands.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) A little child sits on the verandah and watches the worm. He is a voyager for his food on the leaf of the mulberry tree, and he goes eating, eating, eating. Let us suppose that some Divine Power enables that worm to be so far intelligent as to say, It is said that there are beings who can understand this whole tree; but it does not seem to me possible. I can comprehend how there might be beings that should understand this leaf, and the next three or four; but to take in all the million leaves on this tree is a thing that transcends my conception. I do not believe it possible for any magnified worm to understand so much. It is not possible for any worm. But there is a little Sunday-school child sitting on the verandah, who looks on the tree and sees the whole of it; and not only sees the whole of it, but can individualize the leaves at its pleasure. How easy it is for that little child to take in that whole tree! and how hard it is for that worm to take in more than three leaves! And let that child grow up, and be educated, and trained in landscape-gardening, and it will take in, not merely a tree, but a whole forest. If one leaf is coloured, if one twig is broken, if there is a dry branch, it does not escape his notice. Differences of hue, light, and shadow, the infinite diversities that come in forest lifehe takes them all in, and has a kind of omnipresence in his consciousness of the facts of this whole matter. What could a worm understand or imagine of a being that is competent to take in the realm of philosophy, and that makes himself the measure of creation? He says, It does not seem reasonable to me that anybody can understand more than twenty leaves. I cannot; and I do not see how anybody else can. And yet, do not you understand how a person can take in sections, and gradations, and ranks, and degrees infinitely above what a worm could understand? And have you anything more to do than to carry on that idea to imagine a Being before whom all eternity passes, and to whom all the infinite treasures of this eternity shall be just as simple as to you the leaves on the individual tree are? It only requires magnitude of being, infinity.H. W. Beecher.
The sun is a natural image of God; if the sun had an eye, it would see; if it had an understanding, it would know all visible things; it would see what it shines upon, and understand what it influenceth, in the most obscure bowels of the earth. Doth God excel His creature, the sun, in excellency and beauty, and not in light and understanding? certainly more than the sun excels an atom or grain of dust. We may yet make some representation of this knowledge of God by a lower thing, a picture, which seems to look upon every one, though there be never so great a multitude in the room where it hangs; no man can cast his eye upon it, but it seems to behold him in particular; and so exactly, as if there were none but him upon whom the eye of it were fixed; and every man finds the same cast of it: shall art frame a thing of that nature, and shall not the God of art and all knowledge, be much more in reality than that is in imagination? Shall not God have a far greater capacity to behold everything in the world, which is infinitely less to Him than a wide room to a picture?Charnocke.
THE CENSUS AND ITS TEACHINGS
(Num. 1:17-19.)
This census was taken as they were formed into a nation. In Egypt they were not a nation, but hordes of slaves. Now begins their national existence. God reduces them to order, consolidates them, that they might undertake the responsibilities and enjoy the privileges of nationhood.
Why did God give us this record? Paul writes that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable, etc. The Bible is a practical book; it is inspired for our profitall of it. True, some portions are more esteemed by us than others are. Look at the well-used Bible of an aged Christian. Some parts are more soiled than others. Is this right? Yes. It is compatible with reverence for the whole Bible, just as Christ, while loving all the disciples, had his three best-loved among them. But we ought not to neglect any part of the Bible. There is a blessing in all of it. In places we least expect it, we find it to be inspired for our profit. This chapter seems dry and profitless, but it is not so. Like some of the glens in South Wales,sterile, barren, unattractive, and, to the outward look, valueless; but underneath are coal mines and untold wealth. So with this chapter. Let us inquire, what this numbering was calculated to teach the people at the time, and in like manner to teach us at the present day?
I. It was calculated to teach them the grand fact that God was personally interested in and well acquainted with each one of them individually.
The object of the census was to individualize them, to separate each from the mass, to register each name that the record might be kept before God. He wanted them all to feel, that He knew them and was interested in them. There is a tendency in man to think that he is lost in the mass, and that the great God is not interested in him. This tendency is very pernicious; it leads to sin, and then to despair. The Bible all through combats it; and there is no doubt that it was one great design of this census. This chapter is to us like the microscope in naturerevealing to us Gods greatness by the interest He takes in the individual. It is a grand truth to feel, God sees me, knows all about me, cares for me. He is not some cold abstraction, indifferent, inaccessible, and unmindful of us. Far from it. The Bible and Christ bring Him near to us, showing Him to be full of interest in us. He feeds the fowls, clothes the lilies, knows the varying market-price of sparrows, numbers the hairs of our heads, knew the street, house, and person where Peter lodged. Struggling, anxious, suffering one, single yourself from the crowd. God knows, loves, cares for thee.
II. It was a vivid illustration of the faithfulness of God to His word.
He had said to Abraham that his seed should be numerous, that they should go to Egypt, etc. The figures of this chapter show how well He kept His word. To faith a fact is better than a hundred arguments. And anything that strengthens our faith in Gods Word is a great blessing to us. The worth of the Bible and its promises in a suffering, sinful world no one can tell. To shake ones faith in the promises is like going through a hospital and rudely tearing the pillows from under the heads of the sufferers. It is faithfulness that makes the promises precious. What a comfort to Israel to have confidence in the Word of God, to feel that they could trust Him! Nothing would impress His faithfulness more than this census, showing how well He Had kept His promise to Abraham. It also speaks to us, etc.
III. It afforded them striking proof of Gods power to keep His word.
God is not only true, but His arm is almighty. It was by this census that the people knew how many they were. God led them out of Egypt, rescued them at the Red Sea, protected and fed them thus far in the wilderness. Was there anything too hard for the Lord? Would not all this encourage them to lean on His arm? He had proved His power to keep His word. God is equal to all our wants. His word is true; His arm is strong. With such a God for our Friend we have nothing to fear, etc. Among the gods there is none like unto Thee, O Lord. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help.
This God is the God we adore.
Our faithful unchangeable Friend;
Whose love is as great as His power,
And knows neither measure nor end.
Tis Jesus, the First and the Last,
Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home:
Well praise Him for all that is past,
And trust Him for all thats to come.
Hart.
These figures then are eloquent. Let them lead us to trust more fully in God. The ungodly! what say they to you? They certify your doom, if ye repent not. The threatenings as well as the promises of the Bible rest on the word of the faithful and almighty God.David Lloyd.
THE FIRST ARMY OF ISRAEL, AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE CHURCH MILITANT
(Num. 1:20-46.)
In these verses we have the record of the number of men from twenty years old and upwards that were able to go forth to war in the respective tribes, and in the whole of the tribes united, with the exception of that of Levi. A consideration of the numbers of the respective tribes will be found in other commentaries. We propose to consider this first army of Israel as an illustration of the Church Militant.
Consider:
I. The necessity of this army.
Before the Children of Israel can take possession of the Promised Land the idolatrous Canaanitish nations must be dispossessed. To expel them from the country Israel must encounter them in battle and vanquish them. And to do this a large and brave army was necessary. It is necessary that the Christian Church should be militant. The individual Christian cannot attain the inheritance or spiritual perfection without conflict. And the Church cannot take its true place or fulfil its Divinely appointed mission without doing vigorous battle.
1. Internal foes have to be conquered. In ourselves there are carnal appetites which must be subdued, evil passions which must be quelled by the power and principles of Divine grace, etc. The Christian has to achieve self-conquest. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. The battle in which thoughts are the only swords, and purposes are the only spears, and tears are the only shotsthe inward struggles of mens soulsthese are, after all, the mightiest battles; and in the sight of God they are the most sublime.
2. External foes have to be conquered. God summons us to do battle with ignorance and superstition, with dirt and disease, with immorality and irreligion, with vice and crime. We need to guard against Satanic subtlety, and to resist Satanic influence. It is madness to make light of the adversaries with which the Church of Jesus Christ has to contend. It is to invite defeat, etc.
II. The authority for organising this army.
The Lord spake unto Moses, expressly commanding him to take the number of men able to do military duty. The first army of Israel was organised under Divine direction. May we not infer from this that there are possible circumstances in which war is justifiable? In itself war is unquestionably a terrible evil. (a). But it certainly appears to us that circumstances may arise in which a nation would be justified in having recourse to war. The arms are fair, says Shakspeare, when the intent of bearing them is just.
War is honourable
In those who do their native rights maintain;
In those whose swords an iron barrier are
Between the lawless spoiler and the weak,
But is, in those who draw the offensive blade
For added power or gain, sorded and despicable
As meanest office of the worldly churl.
Joanna Baillie. (b.)
III. The Composition of this Army.
1. It was composed of Israelites only. None of the mixed multitude were included. The warriors were men who could declare their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers. In fighting the battles of the Lord in this age thorough decision is required. Who is on the Lords side? The victorious Church must be composed of true Christians. Victories for truth and right demand the prowess of true and righteous men.
2. It was composed of able men only. Every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war. In accomplishing His purposes God uses fit instruments. He employs means adapted to the attainment of His ends. In the conflicts of the spiritual life and work every Christian may through Jesus Christ be an able warrior. Weak and timid in ourselves, we may be courageous and strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
3. It comprised all the able men. Every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war. No excuses were allowed. None were exempted. Altogether the army was very large: it consisted of six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men. Every Christian is called to be a soldier. The continuance and growth of the Christian life are impossible apart from vigorous conflict. We must either vanquish our spiritual enemies, or they will vanquish us. Neutrality is out of the question here. And no thought of truce can be entertained without loss and injury. Neither can we do our fighting by proxy. Every Christian must be a personal combatant in the great conflict.
IV. The conquering spirit of this Army.
Their leaders constantly endeavoured to inspire the soldiers with the spirit of intelligent trust in God. When this spirit animated them they achieved splendid triumphs: when it failed them they turned their backs to their enemies and fled in dismay. Victory in our spiritual conflicts is attainable only through faith. When our faith in God is strong, we are invincible. When it fails, we are overthrown by the first assault of the enemy. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. True faith gives glorious visions to the spirit, inspires us with heroic courage, girds us with all-sufficient strength, makes us more than conquerors through the Captain of our salvation. (c.)
Conclusion:
1. A call to decision. Who is on the Lords side?
2. A call to courage. Our arms are tried and true; our great Leader is invincible; let us then be strong and of a good courage.
3. A call to confidence. Our courage, to be true, must spring from faith. By trust we triumph.
Strong in the Lord of Hosts,
And in His mighty power;
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts
Is more than conqueror.
C. Wesley.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Wherever there is war, there must be injustice on one side or the other, or on both. There have been wars which were little more than trials of strength between friendly nations, and in which the injustice was not to each other, but to the God who gave them life. But in a malignant war of these present ages there is injustice of ignobler kind, at once to God and man, which must be stemmed for both their sakes. It may, indeed, be so involved with national prejudices, or ignorances, that neither of the contending nations can conceive it as attaching to their cause; nay, the constitution of their governments, and the clumsy crookedness of their political dealings with each other, may be such as to prevent either of them from knowing the actual cause for which they have gone to war.
John Ruskin.
(b) You may, perhaps, be surprised at my implying that war itself can be right, or necessary, or noble at all. Nor do I speak of all war as necessary, nor of all war as noble. Both peace and war are noble or ignoble according to their kind and occasion. No man has a pro-founder sense of the horror and guilt of ignoble war than I have. I have personally seen its effects upon nations, of unmitigated evil on soul and body, with perhaps as much pity and as much bitterness of indignation as any of those whom you will hear continually declaiming in the cause of peace. But peace may be sought in two ways. One way is as Gideon sought it, when he built his altar in Ophrah, naming it, God send peace, yet sought this peace that he loved as he was ordered to seek it and the peace was sent in Gods way:The country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. And the other way of seeking peace is as Menahem sought it, when he gave the King of Assyria a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him. That is, you may either win your peace or buy it:win it, by resistance to evil; buy it, by compromise with evil. You may buy your peace with silenced consciences; you may buy it with broken vows, buy it with lying words, buy it with base connivances, buy it with the blood of the slain, and the cry of the captive, and the silence of lost soulsover hemispheres of the earth, while you sit smiling at your serene hearths, lisping comfortable prayers evening and morning, and counting your pretty Protestant beads (which are flat, and of gold, instead of round, and of ebony, as the monks ones were), and so mutter continually to yourselves, Peace! peace! when there is no peace, but only captivity and death for you, as well as for those you leave unsavedand yours darker than theirs.Ibid.
I believe in war. I believe there are times when it must be taken. I believe in it as a medicine. Medicine is not good to eat, but when you are sick it is good to take. War is not a part of the Gospel; but while men and the world are travelling on a plain where they are not capable of comprehending the Gospel, a rude form of justice is indispensable, though it is very low down. If you go to a plain still higher, war seems to be a very poor instrumentality. And if you go yet higher and higher till you reach that sphere where the crowned Sufferer stands, how hateful and hideous war seems! In the earlier periods of society it is recognised as having a certain value; but its value is the very lowest, and at every step upward, till you come to this central Divine exhibition, it loses in value. Always it is a rude and uncertain police of nations. It is never good. It is simply better than something worse. Physical force is the alternative of moral influence; if you have not one, you must have the other.H. W. Beecher.
Few religious men could justify most of the wars of history. On one side or other war must be the greatest of all crimes, and the instances in which either side is right are but few. But this does not affect the principle. If but one can be instanced in which a people simply resisted aggression, conquest, violation of liberties, or wrong, it would suffice. If England were invaded by an unprovoked aggressor; if London were assailed, its homes in imminent peril of violation, the property of its merchants, the honour of its women, the lives of its children and citizens imperilled, what should I do? Go out and reason with the invader? appeal to to his sense of righteousness? Yes, it would be right to do that if it were practicable. Crowd into churches to pray? Yes, it would be eminently right to do that. But suppose the invader to be as ambitious, as false, and as conscienceless as Napoleon, to be sunk below any possible appeal to moral feeling, am I passively to let him work his devilryto burn my house, murder my children, and do worse to my wife and daughters? Am I to pray, and passively expect God to work a moral miracle? I think not. I am to employ righteous means to resist wrong, and to ask God to bless them. If only the magistrates sword will deter the robber and the murderer, I am to use that sword; and an army in its only lawful capacity is simply a power of magistracy. Some of the greatest deliverances that God wrought for His people were through armies. The most precious liberties of the world and the Church have been won by armed revolution and defence. From Marathon to the Armada, from the destruction of Sennacherib to that of Napoleon, from the revolt from under Pharaoh to that from under the Stuarts, or the King of Naples, the moral and religious sense of the world has approved the resistance of wrong by force. So long as force and the magistrate and the police are necessary to preserve righteousness and justice and liberty, they must be employed. The ideal of Christianity is peace and universal brotherhood, but it is not to be attained by permitting the ruffian and the robber and the tyrant to work their will unresistedthat would be to leave society to lawlessness and brutality.H. Allon, D.D.
(c) How often, through the worlds literature and history, have we heard some ambitious commander or emperor babbling, in his vain waking dreams, of a worlds conquest! We turn from these poor visions of cruelty and blood to the meek army of the living God; from the false victories of force to the true victories of faith. Here, on a lowly bed, in an English village by the sea,as I was lately reading,fades out the earthly life of one of Gods humblest, but noblest servants. Worn with the patient care of deserted prisoners and malefactors in the town jail for twenty-four years of unthanked service, earning her bread with her hands, and putting songs of worship on the lips of these penitent criminalsshe is dying; and as the night falls some friend asks, What shall I read? The answer of the short breath is one firm syllable, Praise! To the question, Are there no clouds? None; He never hides His face. It is our sins which form the clouds between us and Him. He is all love, all light. And when the hour of her departure was fully come, Thank God, thank God! And there,as I read againin his princely residence, surrounded with the insignia of power, but in equal weakness before God, expired a guileless statesman, nobleman by rank and character, calmly resigning back all his power into the Givers hands, spending his last days of pain, like many hours of all his days before it, with the Bible and Prayer-book in his feeble hand, saying, at the end, I have been the happiest of men, yet I feel that death will be gain to me, through Christ who died for me. Blessed be God for the manifold features of triumphant faith!that He suffers His children to walk towards Him through ways so various in their outward look;Sarah Martin from her cottage bed, Earl Spencer from his gorgeous couch, little children in their innocence, unpretending women in the quiet ministrations of faithful love, strong and useful and honoured men, whom suffering households and institutions and churches mourn. All bending their faces towards the Everlasting Light, in one faith, one cheering hope, called by one Lord, who has overcome the world, and dieth no more!
One army of the living God,
To His command we bow:
Part of His host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now.
The sun sets; the autumn fades; life hastens with us all. But we stand yet in our Masters vineyard. All the day of our appointed time, let us labour righteously, and pray and wait, till our change come, that we may change only from virtue to virtue, from faith to faith, and thus from glory to glory.F. D. Huntington, D.D.
THE LEVITES AND THEIR SERVICE AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
(Num. 1:47-54)
The tribe of Levi was not numbered with the other tribes. The Levites were exempted from military service, and set apart for the service of the tabernacle. In any wise and proper arrangement of the affairs of human society, provision will be made for the requirements of the spiritual nature of man. The chief features of the service of the Levites as here indicated may properly be regarded as illustrative of the work of the Christian ministry.
I. The true Christian minister should manifest some fitness for the work before he is designated thereto.
The Levites had manifested their zeal for the worship of God by slaying the worshippers of the golden calf at the command of Moses (Exo. 32:26-29). And, as a reward, the honour of this sacred calling is conferred upon them. They had already acted as assistants to the priests (Exo. 38:21), being of the same tribe as Moses and Aaron. And now they are expressly appointed to the charge of the tabernacle. But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. For the Lord spake (not had spoken) unto Moses, saying, etc. Singular services shall be recompensed with singular honours. That a person should manifest some fitness for the work of the Christian ministry before he is set apart to it seems so obvious and indisputable that it would be superfluous to call attention to it, were it not that in practice it is so often disregarded. There seems to be in some quarters an impression that almost anyone is competent for the sacred office of the ministry. In determining the trade which their sons shall learn, wise parents will consider their respective inclinations and aptitudes. An artist would, perhaps, make a poor minister; a successful merchant might utterly fail as a barrister. Is there less aptitude required in the work of the Gospel ministry than in the other pursuits of life? Unfitness should be tolerated in any sphere of life and activity rather than in this. There should be adaptation of voice, of mind, of character, etc.
II. That the true Christian minister is called of God to his work.
The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, etc. In addition to fitness for the office, the true minister will feel a conviction of moral obligation to enter upon the holy work: the impulsions of the Divine Spirit will urge him in the same direction, until the words of St. Paul truly express his condition, Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel. True ministers, says Hugh Miller, cannot be manufactured out of ordinary menmen ordinary in talent and characterin a given number of years, and then passed by the imposition of hands into the sacred office; ministers, when real, are all special creations of the grace of God. The Christian ministry is not a profession into which a man may or may not enter as he pleases; but a Divine vocation, which is solemnly binding upon those to whom it is addressed, and without which no man can enter upon it without sin.(a)
III. That the work of the Christian minister demands his entire devotion thereto.
The Levites were to be free from all other service, that they might give themselves unreservedly to the ministry of the tabernacle. There are men who are rendering (in preaching and otherwise) most useful and self-denying service to the Church of Christ, whose time and energy are not entirely devoted to it. They are worthy of high honour. But the work of the stated minister and pastor demands all his time and energy, if it is to be done well. His duties are so many, so great, and so unspeakably important, as to challenge all his powers. M. Henry:Those that minister about holy things should neither entangle themselves, nor be entangled, in secular affairs. The ministry is itself work enough for a whole man, and all little enough to be employed in it. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Christians at Rome, specifies their respective duties, and urges each one to diligence in the discharge of his own (Rom. 12:6; Rom. 12:8). And to Timothy he writes: No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, etc. (2Ti. 2:3-4). And considering the solemn issues of his work, in conscious weakness he cries, Who is sufficient for these things?
Tis not a cause of small import
The pastors care demands;
But what might fill an angels heart,
And filled a Saviours hands.
Doddridge.
IV. That a faithful discharge of the duties of the Christian minister is essential to the well-being of society.
The duties of the Levites are briefly stated in Num. 1:50-51; Num. 1:53. No one who was not of their tribe was in any way to intermeddle with their duties or encroach upon their position. If a stranger drew near to the tabernacle he was to be put to death. If the functions of the Levites were not properly discharged, wrath would be upon Israel. What was the intention of these strict regulations?
We suggest
1. That the sacred things might be decently kept and ordered. The Levites had charge over all the vessels of the tabernacle, and over all things that pertained to it. It is most important that everything which is used in connection with the worship and service of God should be appropriate to its sacred uses, and be well preserved. Gods service hallows even the meanest things which are employed in it; but we should devote our best things to it.
2. That the people might be inspired with reverence for sacred things. This to us, to a large extent, accounts for the stern penalty annexed to any intrusion upon the function of the Levites. Reverence is one of the highest attributes of mind. The Lord seeks to enkindle or increase it in Israel.
3. That the people might be impressed with the unworthiness of sinful man to approach unto the Most High. We sinners are utterly unfit to draw near unto Him who is glorious in holiness. The Levites were called to the charge of the sacred things. They alone could draw near to the tabernacle. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ all men may now draw near to God. (See Heb. 10:19-22.)
Now, these things are needful at the present time. Becoming worship, reverence for sacred things, and humility towards God are ever obligatory and beneficial to us. The true Christian minister in the faithful discharge of his duties confers the greatest benefit upon society.(b)
V. That personal holiness of heart and life are essential to the faithful discharge of the duties of the Christian Ministry.
The Levites were separated from the other tribes for their sacred work. Their outward separation was intended to show forth the separation from worldliness and sin which the Lord required of them. They who have to do with holy things should themselves be holy. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. (See Rom. 2:21-24; 1Ti. 4:16; Tit. 2:7.) Thus Goldsmith describes the Christian minister
In his duty prompt at every call,
He watched and wept, he prayed and felt for all;
And, as a bird each fond endearment tries
To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies,
He tried each art, reproved each dull delay,
Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way. (c)
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) The minister without a vocation is not only unhappy, he is guilty,he occupies a place, he exercises a right which does not belong to him. He is, as Jesus Christ said, a thief and a robber, who has not entered in through the gate, but climbed up some other way. The word vocation has, in other applications (that is to say, as applied to professions of a secular order), only a figurative significance,at least only a figurative significance is attributed to it. It is equivalent to aptitude, talent, taste. It is natural to represent these qualifications as voices, as appeals. But when applied to the ministry, the word returns to its proper sense. When conscience authorises and compels us to the discharge of a certain duty, we have that which, although out of the sphere of miracle, deserves most fully the name of vocation. In order to exercise the ministry legitimately, a man must be called to it.A Vinet.
(b) That a man stand and speak of spiritual things to men. It is beautiful,even in its great obscuration and decadence, it is among the beautifullest, most touching objects one sees on the earth. This Speaking Man has indeed, in these times, wandered terribly from the point; has, alas! as it were, totally lost sight of the point; yet, at bottom, whom have we to compare with him? Of all public functionaries boarded and lodged on the Industry of Modern Europe, is there one worthier of the board he has? A man even professing, and never so languidly making still some endeavour, to save the souls of men: contrast him with a man professing to do little but shoot the partridges of men! I wish he could find the point again, this Speaking One, and stick to it with tenacity, with deadly energy; for there is need of him yet! The Speaking Functionthis of Truth coming to us with a living voice, nay, in a living shape, and as a concrete practical exemplar: this, with all our Writings and Printing Functions, has a perennial place. Could he but find the point again,take the old spectacles off his nose, and looking up discover, almost in contact with him, what the real Satanas, and soul-devouring, world-devouring Devil, Now is.Thomas Carlyle.
(c) Beloved in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, it is a very monstrous thing that any man should have more tongues than hands; for God hath given us two hands and but one tongue, that we might do much and say but little. Yet many say so much and do so little, as though they had two tongues and but one hand: nay, three tongues and never a hand. Insomuch as that may be aptly applied to them which Pandulphus said to some in his time: You say much, but you do little; you say well, but you do ill. Again, you do little, but you say much; you do ill, but you say well. Such as these (which do either worse than they teach, or else less than they teach; teaching others to do well and to do much, but doing no whit themselves) may be resembled to diverse things. To a whetstone, which being blunt itself, makes a knife sharp; to a painter, which being deformed himself, makes a picture fair; to a sign, which being weather-beaten, and hanging without itself, directs passengers into the inn; to a bell, which being deaf and hearing not itself, calls the people into the church to hear; to a nightingale, which being restless and sitting upon a thorn herself, brings others by her singing into a sweet sleep; to a goldsmith, which being beggarly and having not one piece of plate to use himself, bath store for others which he shows and sells in his shop. Lastly, to a ridiculous actor in the city of Smyrna, which pronouncing O clum!O heaven!pointed with his finger toward the ground; which when Polemo, the chiefest man in the place, saw, he could abide to stay no longer, but went from the company in chafe, saying, This fool hath made a solecism with his hand; he hath spoken false Latin with his hand. Such are all they which teach one thing and do another; which teach well and do ill.Thomas Playfere.
The faithful minister is strict in ordering his conversation. As for those who cleanse blurs with blotted fingers they make it the worse. It was said of one who preached very well, and lived very ill, that when he was out of the pulpit it was a pity he should ever go into it; and when he was in the pulpit, it was a pity he should ever come out of it. But our minister lives sermons. And yet I deny not but dissolute men, like unskilful horsemen who open a gate on the wrong side, may, by the virtue of their office, open heaven for others, and shut themselves out,Thomas Fuller.
EVERY MAN BY HIS OWN STANDARD
(Num. 1:52)
The various tribes of Israel had to be placed in order, and the whole to be put under a strict regulation. This was needful for encampment, for march, for worship, for battle: without this, confusion, etc. Israel in many things typical of the Christian Church. We see it in this also,
I. The One Israel.
Observe:
1. Their real oneness of descent. The children of Abraham.
2. Their original condition. All bondsmen.
3. Their Divine, deliverance. Brought out of Egypt, etc.
4. In one Divine covenant. Promises, etc.
5 Journeying to the one inheritance.
6. Under one command. See how this all applies to the Church of the Saviour. All the children of God by faith, all heirs, all pilgrims, all of one covenant, one Saviour, etc.essentially one; one in Christ Jesus.
II. The various Tribes.
Observe:
1. Their different names. Necessary for distinctionrecognition.
2. Their different positions in the camp. See next chapter. East side, Num. 5:3; south side, Num. 5:10; west, Num. 5:18; north, Num. 5:25.
3. The various tribes were in one general accord and union. All one religious confederacy, absolutely one, worship one, etc.; in perils one, in warfare one, in prospects one.
III. The Special Directions to the different Tribes.
1. Each tribe had their own standard or banner to distinguish it from the rest. No order without.
2. Each man was to be by his own standard. Not a wanderer; not a visitor to all; but his own fixed, legitimate position.
3. Thus the duties of every tribe would be regarded and fulfilled.
4. Thus the interests of all would be sustained. Now, if this was important and necessary in the camp of Israel, how much more in the Church of the Lord Jesus! The thousands there: millions here. But let us see,
IV. The Spiritual Lessons the subject presents to us.
1. We see now the denominational tribes in the Kingdom of Christ. Christians of different conditions, education, training, leaders, etc.
2. Christians have a special interest in their own camp.
3. To devote themselves to these is the first duty and privilege. Just as families are constituted, so churches.
4. All the various denominational camps constitute the one Church of the Saviour. Only one Israel, one body, one army, etc. For particular purposes, every man by his own camp; for general purposes, all acting in conjunction and harmony. How absurd jealousies and envyings! How ridiculous isolation! How oppressive assumptions and priestly dictations! How suicidal strifes and contentions! How monstrous exclusions and anathemas! The great tabernacle of God is built four-square, and includes all the tribes. Christian denominations have special standards, and serve the whole best by every man being by his own standard. The glory of God is identified with the unity of the whole. Christs prayer to Him, etc.Jabez Burns, D.D.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Part One: The Census, and Final Days at Sinai
(Numbers 1:1-10:10)
I. INTRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONS (Num. 1:1-4)
A. SETTING OF THE EVENT Num. 1:1
TEXT
Num. 1:1. And the Lord spake unto 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,
PARAPHRASE
Num. 1:1. And the Lord told Moses, in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after Israel had left the land of Egypt,
COMMENTARY
With his usual brevity, Moses wastes no words in acquainting us with the background facts of who, when and where, or how: the text following will answer what and why. God Himself is the speaker, and Moses the audience. The message for the moment comes at Sinai, in the Tabernacle, soon after the beginning of the second year after coming from Egypt.
Moses had been and will continue to be dependent upon such direct messages. He will face decisions calling for wisdom far above his own, and he is both unwilling to make such decisions alone, and fully aware of the imminent counsel of God. When the Lords words come to him, he is responsible for seeing that they are brought to the people and, as far as he is able, that they are carried out. The commission for the mustering of Israel is of divine origin.
The term wilderness refers to any area which is uninhabited, and is not necessarily represented by our word desert. PHC, p. 4, suggests that the wilderness would connote Privation, Peril, and Perplexity; the Tent of Meeting would bring Provision, Protection, and Direction. The area of wandering was barren, pathless and perilous. But Israel had the constant promise of Gods leading via the cloud and the pillar. The time spent in these dire circumstances would become a time of stern discipline: adhering to the Law would bring its reward, while hating the commands of God would bring just retribution.
The wilderness of Sinai may include a district as large as the entire Sinaitic Peninsula; ordinarily, however, it is limited to the southern portion of the peninsula. It is primarily mountainous, with valleys interlaced at various angles. Extremely dry and barren today, there is much evidence that it was less so in the day of Moses, since the Midianites, Amalekites and others grazed their flocks here. However, there has never been a population of any size, with the exception of the incident we are considering.
The Tabernacle, prescribed and constructed in Exodus 25 ff., served as the central point of the nations worship. Here, too, Moses often received Gods instructions for his people. It had been erected on the first day of the first month (Exo. 40:2); hence, its use was yet quite new among the people. They were now just one year and two weeks out of Egypt, and would soon move toward Canaan. Numbers will cover the final nineteen days at Mount Sinai. The major event during this time will be the census.
QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS
1.
How does the book of Numbers follow, logically and chronologically, the previous book of history (Exodus)?
2.
How much time has elapsed between the two books?
3.
How long had the Israelites been at Sinai as the book of Numbers opens?
4.
Identify the Tent of Meeting of Num. 1:1, and describe it.
5.
Explain how Moses was properly permitted to enter and serve in the Tent of Meeting, since only priests qualified for such activities.
6.
Locate the Sinaitic Peninsula, the Wilderness of Sinai, the Wilderness of Sin, and Jebel Musa on a map. Find the approximate location of the encampment of the people while they were in the area.
7.
Compile a chronological list of events which occurred while Israel tented at Sinai, in order to introduce the
events of the book of Numbers.
8.
How long did the tribes remain here after the Tent of Meeting was erected?
9.
Discuss how life in the wilderness would prepare Israel for life in their new home, Canaan.
10.
How had their bondage and slavery in Egypt readied the people for a rugged period of travel, tenting, and rigid diet?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) In the tabernacle of the congregation.The tabernacle of the congregation, or tent of meeting, so called because it was there that God met with Moses (Num. 17:4; Exo. 25:22), had been set up one month previously (Exo. 40:17), nearly a year after the exodus.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. The Lord JEHOVAH. The ineffable name was translated into the Greek by the Seventy by the word , Lord. Our English translators unwisely followed the Septuagint, and adopted the appellative Lord for the significant, chosen, proper name Jehovah, the one eternal and immutable Being. We notify the reader that this is the ground of our preference of Jehovah to Lord throughout this Commentary. (See notes on Exodus 3, 14, and Num 6:2.)
Spake Either to the ear in audible words, as is strongly suggested in Exo 33:11, and Num 12:8; or by the urim and thummim, as in Exo 28:30; Num 27:21; or to the spiritual perception of Moses in such a manner as to give certainty to the communication. A consideration of the three places in which Jehovah spake to him and gave him audience inclines us to the theory of uttered words as the usual mode of communication. These three places were, 1.) The mercy-seat in the most holy place, the principal abode of the oracle. Num 7:89. We believe that it was from the mercy-seat between the cherubim that Moses was addressed in this chapter. 2.) At the door of the tabernacle, near the altar of burnt offering. Exo 29:42. 3.) Out of the cloudy pillar. Exo 33:9; Num 12:5-6; Psa 99:7.
Moses The reader of the three preceding books has already become too well acquainted with this great man to need an introduction. His character is above eulogy, his great deeds are too numerous for recital. He is the embodiment of the Old Testament as Jesus is of the New. “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ.” His agency in the religious instruction and spiritual elevation of mankind will have grateful mention in the anthems of the blood-washed throng in heaven, for they shall sing “the song of Moses and the Lamb.” See Exodus 2, Introductory, (3.)
Wilderness of Sinai A wild and mountainous region in Arabia Petraea, between the two branching gulfs of the Red Sea. It is a heap of lofty granite rocks, with steep gorges and deep valleys, abounding in water and luxuriant vegetation in the rainy season. These valleys are then beautiful. The Israelites sojourned in that part of the desert which lies north of Mount Sinai.
“Long as the Desert of Sinai has been known to Christian pilgrims, yet it may almost be said never to have been explored before the beginning of this century. We are still at the threshold of our knowledge concerning it. The older travellers never troubled themselves to compare the general features of the desert with the indications of the sacred narrative, and therefore they missed the cardinal points of dispute. We are still, therefore, in the condition of discoverers; and if we are thus compelled to abstain from positive conclusions, it is a suspense which we need not be afraid to avow, and which in this instance is the less inconvenient, because the very uniformity of nature by which it is occasioned, also enables us to form an image of the general scenes, even where the particular scene is unknown; and many will feel at a distance what many, I doubt not, have felt on the spot, that in speaking of such sacred events, uncertainty is the best safeguard for reverence, and suspense, as to the exact details of form and locality, is the most fitting approach for the consideration of the presence of Him who made darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him, with dark water and thick ‘clouds to cover them.’” STANLEY’S Sinai and Palestine.
Tabernacle of the congregation Literally, the tent of appointment, or stated meeting, (with Jehovah.) The Septuagint calls it “the tent of witness,” and the Vulgate “the tent of the covenant.” The book of the Law, the witness of the covenant, was kept here. The tabernacle had been standing one month. Exo 40:17. To distinguish it from the more temporary tent, the dwelling of Moses during the first year of the Exodus the ante-Sinaitic tabernacle this second structure is called the Sinaitic tabernacle. It was constructed by Bezaleel and Aholiab after the model shown to Moses on the mount. Exo 26:30. It was a portable mansion-house and temple, the miniature of the great temple of Solomon. Its position was significant and commanding. On the east, between it and the camp under the lead of Judah, were the tents of the priests; southward, between it and the camp of Reuben, were the Kohathites placed; on the west, between it and the camp of Ephraim, the Gershonites had their abodes; and on the north, between it and the camp of Dan, was the station of the Merarites. In proportion to the wealth of the people, it was more costly and magnificent than the world-renowned edifice at Jerusalem. For a minute description see Exodus 36-38.
Second month This gives a clew to the period of time occupied by the events narrated in Leviticus, namely, one month, during the encampment at Mount Sinai.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
GENEALOGICAL ENROLMENT AND MUSTER OF THE ADULT MALES, Num 1:1-46.
At the close of the third book of Moses the temple in the wilderness the tabernacle had been erected, the law of sacrifices instituted, the Aaronic priesthood inducted into their sacred office, and rules for holiness of life, and for the isolation of Israel from the Gentile world, had been ordained.
At the opening of the present book the tabernacle has been standing one month. The purpose of the Sinaitic sojourn has now been accomplished, and the vast host must begin their eastward and northward march toward the Land of Promise. From childhood they had been taught to turn their eyes from the banks of the Nile towards the hills of Canaan, where Abraham, their national father, was buried. Thither had their ancestors borne, in princely procession, the embalmed body of the patriarch Jacob to find a resting place, and to that land of the covenant were the Hebrews now bearing the mortal part of Joseph, the benefactor of his father’s family. But mighty foes are intrenched in that land, and other strong enemies will stand in their path to bar their entrance. Even the desert swarms with foes. War is imminent. Bloody battle fields must be trodden before they can sit down in houses which they have not builded, and pluck the fruit of olive yards which they have not planted. Out of the crowd of fugitives hastening from the yoke of Egypt there must emerge a compact military organization; for though Jehovah, the God of battles, the Man of war, is leading them to victory, he purposes to employ human allies, and he wishes to put them into the condition of the highest efficiency. For the military organization a census must be taken. The census in this chapter is not an enumeration de novo, but rather a muster on the basis of numerical and genealogical data already in the possession of the tribes. This is shown by the accordance of the number who have paid the atonement money with the total number enrolled in this chapter as fighting men.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Call To Number The Tribes and To Prepare for War, excluding Levi ( Num 1:1-46 ).
Num 1:1
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,’
From the commencement the book stresses that in it we are dealing with what results from the word of Yahweh given to Moses, spoken in the Tent of Meeting. Thus this heading to the record declares whom the record is about. It then gives place and date. It is a typical heading to a written record from those days, as can be seen by comparison with other written records discovered. Note the immediate reference to the land of Egypt. This is the continuing story of deliverance from Egypt.
Taking place one month after the Dwellingplace had been consecrated, it stresses that the people of Israel are setting out from the wilderness of Sinai, where they have spent a year in their dealings with Yahweh. They had commenced their journey from Egypt in the first month of the first year, and had arrived at the wilderness of Sinai in the third month of the first year (Exo 19:1). Now in the second month of the second year the army is to be mustered (‘numbered’) ready for going forward.
A glance ahead to Num 3:1 reveals there a typical closing colophon to a document, whereas this is a typical heading. It would appear therefore that at one stage this record from Num 1:1 to Num 3:1 originally stood on its own as a record of the military mobilisation and organisation of the troops readied for going forward, a record made at the time. It was then later incorporated into Numbers.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The First Census Num 1:1-54 records the first census that the Lord commanded the children of Israel to take before they departed from Mount Sinai. The purpose of this census was to organize the people for war (1:3, 20), which was the first step in possessing the Promise Land. Only men twenty years old and upward, who were able to go to war, were numbered. The tribe of Levi was not numbered with the other twelve tribes. They were numbered in 3:1-39, with a count of 22,000 men.
Note that this order of numbering the tribes is similar to the order of encampment around the tabernacle. Note the comparison of the two numbering of the children of Israel in the book of Numbers:
First Numbering Second Numbering Reuben (Leah’s 1st) 46,500 43,730 Simeon (Leah’s 2nd) 59,300 22,200 Gad (Zilpah’s 1st) 45,650 40,500 Judah (Leah’s 4th) 74,600 76,500 Issachar (Leah’s 5th) 54,400 64,300 Zebulum (Leah’s 6th) 57,400 60,500 Joseph: Ephraim 40,500 52,700 Joseph: Manasseh 32,200 32,500 Benjamin (Rachel’s 2nd) 35,400 45,600 Dan (Bilhah’s 1st) 62,700 64,400 Asher (Zilpah’s 2nd) 41,500 53,400 Naphtali (Bilhah’s 2nd) 53,400 45,400 Total 603,550 601,730 1:5-16 The Captains Over the Tribes are Chosen – The head of these armies (a captain over each tribe) are listed in Num 1:5-16. These leaders were chosen by God, and not appointed by lot or by Moses.
Num 1:46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
Num 1:46
Exo 12:37, “And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.”
Num 1:47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.
Num 1:47
Num 3:39, “All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand .”
Num 26:62, “And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand , all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.”
Num 26:63-64, “These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.”
Num 1:53 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.
Num 1:53
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Muster of the People
v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, v. 2. Take ye, Moses and his assistants, the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel after their families, v. 3. from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel. Thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies, v. 4. And with you, v. 5. And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben: Elizur, the son of Shedur.
v. 6. of Simeon: Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.
v. 7. of Judah: Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.
v. 8. of Issachar: Nethaneel, the son of Zuar.
v. 9. of Zebulunr Eliab, the son of Helon.
v. 10. of the children of Joseph, v. 11. of Benjamin: Abidan, the son of Gideoni.
v. 12. of Dan; Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.
v. 13. of Asher: Pagiel, the son of Ocran.
v. 14. of Gad: Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.
v. 15. of Naphtali: Ahira, the son of Enan.
v. 16. These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel, v. 17. And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names, v. 18. and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they, v. 19. As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.
v. 20. 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: v. 21. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
v. 22. 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: v. 23. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
v. 24. 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: v. 25. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
v. 26. 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: v. 27. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
v. 28. 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: v. 29. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
v. 30. 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: v. 31. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
v. 32. of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, 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: v. 33. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
v. 34. 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: v. 35. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
v. 36. 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: v. 37. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
v. 38. 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: v. 39. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
v. 40. of the children of Asher, 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: v. 41. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
v. 42. 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: v. 43. those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
v. 44. 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.
v. 45. 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: v. 46. even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
THE CENSUS OF SINAI (Num 1:1-54).
EXPOSITION
THE CENSUS DIVINELY COMMANDED (Num 1:1-16).
Num 1:1
In the tabernacle of the congregationwhere the Lord spake with Moses “face to face” (Exo 33:11), and where all the laws of Leviticus had been given (Lev 1:1). On the first day of the second month, in the second year. On the first day of Zif (or Ijar); a year and a fortnight since the exodus, ten months and a half since their arrival at Sinai, and a month since the tabernacle had been set up.
Num 1:2
Take ye the sum of all the congregation. The census here ordered had clearly been anticipated, as far as the numbers were concerned, by the results of the half-shekel poll-tax for the service of the sanctuary levied some time before on all adult males on pain of Divine displeasure (Exo 30:11, sq.). Since all who were liable had paid that tax (Exo 38:25, Exo 38:26), it would only have been requisite to make slight; corrections for death or coming of age during the interval. The totals, however, in the two eases being exactly the same, it is evident that no such corrections were made, and that the round numbers already obtained were accepted as sufficiently accurate for all practical purposes. After their families. This was to be a registration as well as a census. No doubt the lists and pedigrees collected at this time laid the foundation of that exact and careful genealogical lore which played so important a part both in the religious and in the secular history of the Jews down to the final dispersion. Every Jew had not only his national, but also (and often even more) his tribal and family, associations, traditions, and sympathies. Unity, but not uniformity,unity in all deepest interests and highest purposes, combined with great variety of character, of tradition, and even of tendency,was the ideal of the life of Israel. The number of their names. It is impossible to help thinking of the parallel expression in Act 1:15, of the similarity in position of the two peoples, of the contrast between their numbers and apparent chances of success, of the more striking contrast between their actual achievements.
Num 1:3
By their armies. Every citizen was a soldier. The military monarchies of mediaeval or of modern days, with their universal obligation to service in the ranks, have (so far) but followed the example of ancient Israel.
Num 1:4
A man of every tribe. The former census, which was for religious purposes only, was made with the assistance of the Levites. This, which was rather for political and military purposes, was supervised by the lay heads of the people.
Num 1:5
These are the names of the men. The tribes are here mentioned (through their princes) very nearly in the order of their subsequent encampmentsouth, east, west, and north. Gad alone is displaced, in order that he may be classed with the other sons of the handmaids after the sons of the free women.
Num 1:7
Nahshonthe brother-in-law of Aaron (Exo 6:23), and ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ (Mat 1:4).
Num 1:10
Elishamagrandfather of Joshua (1Ch 7:26). All the rest are unnamed elsewhere.
Num 1:16
Heads of thousands. Septuagint, chiliarchs; but the word is used for families (see Jdg 6:15), and, like all such words, it rapidly lost its numerical significance.
HOMILETICS
Num 1:1-16
THE NUMBERING OF GOD’S PEOPLE
We have here, spiritually, the Church of God militant here on earth, “drawn up unto eternal life (Act 13:48), numbered and counted and ordered by the Great Captain of the Lord’s host; man by man, soul by soul, to be his valiant soldiers and servants in the march and the conflict, and the manifold trials and temptations of this probation. Consider, therefore
I. That this numbering of all his soldiers by name was MADE AT THE EXPRESS AND PARTICULAR COMMAND OF GOD, as it were for the Divine information; herein contrasting with that other numbering so sorely avenged under David, because made to feed his own pride. Even so the Lord is exceeding careful of the number of his own; one of the two sacred mottoes stamped upon his Church is, “The Lord knoweth them that are his” (2Ti 2:19); “The Good Shepherd calleth his own sheep by name” (Joh 10:3); and every one of them is expressed by name in his book (Rev 3:5). We are “numbered” in the census of a great nation; every one of us is something stronger, holds his head somewhat higher, for the thought that he is numbered amongst the thirty millions of a great country, the ninety millions of a greater people. Are we also “numbered” among the innumerable and ever-victorious hosts of the Lord? Are we included in his census? If so, are we mindful of the condition? (2Ti 2:3, 2Ti 2:4). Are we tremblingly hopeful of the promise? (Rev 3:5).
II. That it was IN THE SECOND YEAR that they were thus numbered “by their armies:” first came the great deliverance unto Sinai, the mount of God; then came the teaching of the moral law; then came the instructions of outward religion; thenand not till thenthe command to number into the ranks. Even so the soldiers of the cross are not called at once to arms; the deliverance came first of course, the decease, “the exodus” (Luk 9:31) which he accomplished at Jerusalem; after that came to each the inculcation of the immutable laws of moral conduct; after that the ordinances of public and private worship; and then only, after such training, with such aids, is each believer numbered unto active service, and called, as it were, by name to approve himself as a trusty soldier of Jesus Christ.
III. That only those were “numbered,” and entered, as it were, on the roll-call of the Lord, who WERE “ABLE TO GO FORTH TO WAR in Israel;” all the others, the women and the children, etc; remained unspecified and unnoted. Even so all the Lord’s people whose names are written in the Book of Life must be combatants. They need not indeed be men, but they must “quit” themselves “like men” (1Co 16:13). They may be weak women, or even tender children, for such have shown themselves (and do show) to the full as valiant for Christ as any men. But they must be combatants, for that is the one condition on which we are received into that “multitude which no man can number” (but the Lord can), and the promise is “to him that overcometh,” and to none other.
IV. That of these names in Num 1:16, renowned amongst men and chosen of God to honour and dignity, ALL BUT TWO ARE TOTALLY UNKNOWN TO US, and those two only through their descendants. So in the Church, those that are the greatest with God are often the obscurest in the annals of men. As “Antipas” was expressly called (by a singular honour), “my faithful martyr” by Christ; yet is there no knowledge of him, not even a legend concerning him, in the Church.
HOMILIES BY W. BINNIE
Num 1:1, Num 1:2
A HOMILY FOR THE CENSUS DAY.
THE NUMBERING OF THE PEOPLE
I. A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE CENSUS which is being taken to-day in every town, every hamlet, every remote habitation of the United Kingdom, from the English Channel to the seas that surge round the Shetland Islands. There are still some peoplenot many, let us hopewho have a scruple about filling up the census papers. They are haunted with an apprehension that there is something wrong, something dangerous, about the business. “Did not King David transgress in numbering the people? Did he not by so doing bring God’s wrath upon his kingdom? Would that which brought guilt and sorrow on David be right or safe for us?” What are we to say to these scrupulous persons? I have not time to go into the questions that have been raised about the real nature of David’s sin. One thing is plain: the evil lay not in the taking of a census, but in the intention of that particular census. David was a man of war. In his hands the kingdom was in danger of becoming a despotic and military monarchy, such as the nations of the world have had occasion to know too well. And there can be little doubt that the census he projected was meant to subserve the ends of such a monarchy. It was meant to be just such an instrument of oppression in Israel as William the Conqueror’s Domesday Book was in England. The design of the compilation seems to have been, in both cases, very much the same. Anyhow, it is certain that the simple numbering of the people was not forbidden by the law of God. On the contrary, the Bible is dead against such a barbarous and hazardous style of national administration as is inevitable when the national governors are in the dark regarding the statistics of the people. The Israelites dealt largely in statistics; to a surprising degree they anticipated the practice of the nineteenth century in this matter. At all the great turning-points in their history a census was taken. This Book of NUMBERS owes its name to the fact that it records two census-takings, one at the beginning, the other at the close, of the forty years’ sojourn in the wilderness. So long as the Bible has a Book of Numbers in it, intelligent Bible readers will see in it an admonition to fill up their census papers with exactness and for conscience sake.
II. MEDITATIONS PROPER TO THE CENSUS DAY. The filling up of a census paper is, in itself, a piece of secular business. Yet I do not envy the man who can perform it without being visited with a touch of holy feeling. The setting down of the names of one’s household brings up many tragic memories. The setting down one’s own age, after a lapse of ten yearssurely it summons us to count our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. It is not often observed that the law of Moses prescribed a religious service for the occasion of a census-taking (Exo 30:11-16). This the children of Israel are to perform, “that there be no plague among them when thou numberest them.” A measure may be right in itself, and yet may be apt to become to us an occasion of sin. When a nation is reckoning up the number of its sons, it will be apt to harbour proud confidence in their valour; and proud confidence in man God will not bear. When Nebuchadnezzar begins to say, “Is not this great Babylon which I have built for the house of my kingdom?” God’s humbling stroke is near. On the census day the Israelites were to bring “every man a ransom for his soul.'” The act was as much as to say, “I am not worthy to be registered among the living in Israel, the holy nation, the kingdom of priests. I am a sinful man, O Lord; but I believe that there is forgiveness with thee. Forgive me, therefore, O Lord reject me not. Remember me with the favour thou bearest unto thy people, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, and glory with thine inheritance.” The ransom money required from every Israelite on the census day was a poll-tax of half a shekel. The rich paid no more, the poor paid no less. The law of Moses did not often impose this sort of tax; for With a show of equality, it is the most unequal of taxes. Ordinarily the law invited princes to bring princely gifts, while it suffered the poor man’s pair of turtle-doves to come up with acceptance on the altar. The poll-tax of the census day was altogether exceptional. Nor is it difficult to understand why the exception should have been made on this one occasion. It was very significant. Religion does not abrogate all social inequalities; but the non-recognition of these in the atonement-money admonishes us that the inequalities which find place among men in regard to wealth, station, intellectual gifts, are as nothing in comparison with their essential equality as creatures made in the image of God. It admonishes us also that all who have obtained an inheritance among God’s people are on one level with regard to their right to be there. “There is no difference; for all have sinned, and all are justified freely.” Yet another reflection. The Lord keeps an exact register of his people. There is a Book of Life in which are inscribed the names of all whom he has chosen, and caused to approach unto him, that they may dwell in his house. How true this is, the whole Scripture bears witness (see Exo 32:32; Isa 4:3; Eze 13:9; Luk 10:20; Php 4:3; Heb 12:23; Rev 13:8). We commonly think of this as a book which is shut and sealed. No man on earth can take it into his hand and read out the names inscribed in it. The Lord only knoweth them that are his; we may not sit in judgment on one another’s state before God. All this is true. Yet the truth has another side: if the seventy are to rejoice because their names are written in heaven, it must be possible for them to ascertain the fact. A man may ascertain his own acceptance with God. Not only so. If the Apostle was confident regarding certain of the early Christians that their names were in the Book of Life, we also may, without prying into God’s secrets, attain to a similar persuasion respecting such of our brethren as bear Christ’s image, and abound in his work. Who bear Christ’s image, and abound in his workI use these words advisedly; they express the evidence which avails to prove that a given name is in the Book of Life. The census-table compiled by Moses contained only the names of such as were, by birth or adoption, the sons of Jacob. The Book of Life contains only the names of those whom God has “predestinated to the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ.” To make sure that I am a sonthat God has brought me home to himself by his Word and Spiritthis is the only way of making sure that my name has a place in the Lamb’s Book of Life.B.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Num 1:1-3
GOD COMMANDS A CENSUS
I. THE PLACE AND TIME OF THE COMMAND. God spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. Many wildernesses, though uncultivated, were fertile and well watered, but the wilderness of Sinai was a desolate place. Moses calls it “the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions and drought, where there was no water;” and, again, “a desert land, a waste howling wilderness” (see Stanley’s Sinai and Palestine’). Very different from the riches of Egypt left behind, and the riches of Canaan lying before. But though a wilderness, the tabernacle of the congregation was there, made by God’s appointment and direction, even down to its minutest arrangements and furniture. As long as the tabernacle in their midst was honoured, the people could dwell safely even in the wilderness.
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE NUMBERING. To ascertain the strength of the people for war. Canaan, towards which they were advancing, was in the possession of enemies, who appreciated all its riches, and would not relinquish them without a severe struggle. At the time of the census the Israelites had not brought on themselves the penalty of the forty years’ wandering. The census was meant to be one preparation for immediate conquest, as the mission of the spies was another. There was everything to give them courage and strength of mind when they remembered that there were more than 600,000 fighting men amongst them. And as they counted up their resources for war, so we may be sure Christ would ever have his militant Church on earth to do the same. The tone of the New Testament is not less warlike than of the Old, our Canaanites being principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
III. THE METHOD OF THE NUMBERING. The method was determined by the purpose. Note, first, the exclusions. The women and the children were left out. In counting the Levites the children were not left out. Every male from a month old was numbered, for theirs was a constant service, and even the youngest was looked on as in training for it. But when war is imminent we can only count on such as can be ready at once, those from twenty years old and upward. The Church of Christ still divisible in the same waythose who can fight, and those who cannot; the men who are strong, because of the solid food they take, and the babes who are still hanging on milk and spoon meat. The Levites also were left out. A numerical loss may yet be a real gain. The Israelites were strong in their 600,000 only as long as they served God, according to his statutes and commandments. For the Levites to go to battle meant that all would go to neglect and disorder in the tabernacle. God obeyed and honoured is God on our side, and who then can be against us? The man who keeps his fifty-two sabbaths every year for God has not lost them, and the weekly contribution set aside for God’s cause is not wasted. Secondly, the order observed in the numbering. By each tribe and family the result would be more speedily and correctly arrived at. Nature, even under the curse of sin, has its order, and will help us, if we are observant of it, to do the work of grace in an orderly way. Though there is a limit at the one end of life, there is none mentioned at the other. A man is never too old to fight for God, directing and inspiring the stronger arm of younger men. There is room for a Nestor as well as an Achilles, and Venice loved to keep the fame of
“Blind old Dandolo,
Th’ octogenarian chief,
Byzantium’s conquering foe.”
Thirdly, with all the information gained, there was much unknown. Those fit for fight by age could be counted up; but what of disposition? who could sift out the Korahs, Dathans, and Abirams, and the people whose hearts lingered after the fleshpots of Egypt?Y.
Num 1:5-16
THE MEN OF RENOWN WHO MANAGED THE CENSUS
I. THEY ARE MERE NAMES TO US. Were we asked who Eliab was, we should say the eldest, envious, angry brother of David, not the census-taker for Zebulun; or Gamaliel, he who stood up in the council, not the census-taker for Manasseh. High as they may have been once, their position in human history is little better than oblivion.
“The long, proud tale of swelling fame
Dried to a brief and barren name.”
II. Yet though mere names now, they WERE ONCE WELL KNOWN. Every child of Zebulun would be taught to look up to Eliab.
III. Though mere names to us, THEY DID A USEFUL WORK IN THEIR TIME. It would be no small satisfaction to them, if they looked at the thing rightly, to consider that they had been able to undertake for Moses such an important work as making sure of the fighting strength of each tribe.
IV. There was doubtless some appreciation of their services AT THE TIME, both by Moses and the sober-minded of the people.
V. But in any case GOD HAS MARKED WHAT THEY DID. He has the record of all the faithful and the holy who have only their names in human history, and the far greater part of them not even that.Y.
Num 1:3
FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD AND UPWARD.
By this census all the young men of Israel were urged to the consideration of a possible claim upon them. It is to the young men that a country looks when her integrity and liberties are in danger. Young men are wanted still to take a brave and intelligent part in the strife of the Church militant. “I have written unto you young men because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” So Paul to Timothy: “Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” God’s people have to deal with the Canaanites, Amorites, and all the rest of the hostile nations. Many iniquities are in possession of the earth. Old men, who have struggled against them and done something to diminish them, ask who will take up the sword and shield and go forth against the mighty. The word comes to us. “You are fit to fight. Will you fight?” Young men dazzled with the visions of military glory, here is a campaign where not men are slaughtered, but the evils that ruin men. Our Lord, the Captain of our salvation, will richly equip us with weapons mighty for the pulling down of strongholds, the armour of righteousness on the right hand and the left.Y.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Num 1:1. And the Lord spake unto Moses The Israelites had now left Egypt about thirteen months, and had resided near Mount Sinai almost a year, (compare Exo 19:1 with this verse) receiving all the foregoing laws and injunctions before they left this place. The Almighty orders a general muster to be made, and an exact poll to be taken of all the Israelitish men, from twenty years old and upwards, the Levites excepted; and a careful distinction to be observed in the tribes, families, and households; for these reasons: 1st, That every one might know, and deliver to his posterity, a clear account from what tribe he descended, and to what family he belonged: 2nd, That the Israelites might see how fully he had made good his promise to Abraham, of multiplying his seed: 3rdly, That they might know what strength they had for war, in case of any attack from their enemies: 4thly, That they might better dispose of their camp about the tabernacle, now that it was erected, and march more regularly when they removed from mount Sinai: and, 5thly, That hereby the genealogy of the Messiah, who was to be born of this nation, might be fully ascertained. It appears from Exo 40:17 that the tabernacle was erected on the first day of the first month of the second year after their coming out of Egypt; and, as this muster was to be taken on the first day of the second month of the same year, it appears, that what is related in the foregoing book, must have passed in the space of that first month.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
FIRST PART
THE KINGLY HOST OF JEHOVAH
Numbers 1-10
____________________
FIRST SECTION
THE ARMY OF THE LORD. THE ENUMERATION OR MUSTER OF THE WARRIORS. THE ARMYS ORDER OF ENCAMPMENT AND MARCH
Numbers 1, 2
Moses and Aaron with twelve princes muster the men of war. Levites exempted and retained to serve the tabernacle
Num 1:1-54
Moses, Aaron, and the Twelve Princes
1And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in 1the 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, 2Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel after their families, by 2the house of their fathers, with the 3number of their names, every male by their polls; 3From twenty years old and upward, 4all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall xnumber them by their 5armies. 4And with you there shall be a man of every 5tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. 6Of Simeon; Shemuliel the son of Zurishaddai. 7Of Judah; Nahshon the son of 8Amminadab. Of Isaachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 9Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon. 10Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 11Of Benjamin; Abidan 12, 13the son of Gideoni. Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. Of Asher; 14, 15Pagiel the son of Ocran. Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. Of Naphtali; 16Ahira the son of Enan. These 6 were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.
The Muster
17And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names: 18And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and 7they declared their pedigrees after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, 19by their polls.8 As the Lord commanded Moses, 9so he xnumbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20And the children of Reuben, Israels 10eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 21Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
22Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, those that were xnumbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 23Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
24Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 25Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
26Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 27Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
28Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 29Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
30Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 31Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
32Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 33Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
34Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 35Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
36Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 37Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
38Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, byb the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 39Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
40Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 41Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
42Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by bthe house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war; 43Those that were xnumbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 44These are those that were xnumbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men; each one was for bthe house of his fathers.
45So were all those that were xnumbered of the children of Israel, by bthe house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, call that were able to go forth to war in Israel; 46Even all they that were xnumbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. 47But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not xnumbered among them.
The Levites exempted
4811For the Lord had spoken unto Moses, saying, 49Only thou shalt not xnumber 50the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel: But 12thou shalt xappoint 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; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. 51And when the tabernacle setteth 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 cometh nigh shall be put to death. 52And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, 13throughout their hosts. 53But 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. 54And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Num 1:1. . The of itself gives no proof of our book having a special or organic connection with Leviticus. Were that the case, then a similar inference must be made of a relation between Joshua and Deuteronomy, and between Judges and Joshua. In cases like the present, the Vav. conversive simply introduces what is related as a sequel to events preceding. It is left to the reader to recall what precedes. . The with the inf. const. has here the force of the genitive, as appears from its conjunction with . See Fuerst sub. voc. A, 9. It is common in giving dates; comp. Gen 7:11; Exo 19:1. The inf. is used here as a noun == their exodus.
[Num 1:2. The before three different nouns in this verse is distributive; comp. Jos 7:14; Jos 7:16 according to your tribes, by their tribes.By would be a good rendering here. . This phrase, that occurs so frequently in what follows, has a grammatical peculiarity, or even oddity. expresses a single notion fathers-house, the plural of which is fathers-houses. The Hebrew forms the plural by giving a plural ending to the second noun, much as in English it is common to say the Miss Smiths. On this and other examples, see Ewald, 270, c.
Num 1:10. . On the quiescent in the middle of the word see Greens Gram., 13 b. But some MSS. and editions read .
Num 1:16. The Kri needlessly suggests conf. Num 16:2, Maurer. They are designated as called men of the congregation, because they were called to the diets of the congregation, as representatives of the tribes. Keil.
Num 1:18. an expressive . ., Lange, to announce themselves as born, i. e., to have themselves entered in genealogical registers (Keil).
Num 1:22. The before , in this and the following verses, seems to mean the same as the German auf, to, used in counting. Lange.
Num 1:47. . On the see Green Gr., 96, a.Tr.].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
I. 14. And the LORD spake.The date of the divine command. See the Text. The purpose of the command to muster the people.The whole congregation is to be a host of the King Jehovah, a people in arms; nevertheless human nature requires that the whole people be represented by the selection of its men able to bear arms. To which end every one who is twenty years old must enter upon military duty; no term is fixed at which military service should cease. The infirm, the women, the children, the unclean must be added to those few who were of course invalidated by age. But the Levites are not here made free from military duty; on the contrary, they form the ideal power of the army, in that it is their office to carry the tabernacle as the banner of Jehovah, as the Theocratic banner of victory. On account of its importance the time of their service is therefore fixed definitely, from twenty-five, relatively thirty, to fifty years. The natural organization of the people served as a basis for the muster; tribes, tribal-branches or clans, fathers-houses, and finally their sum-total by individuals, all registered by name. Moses and Aaron were to attend to this business of the muster by having in every tribe a captain chosen from the same to act for them.
[In the wilderness of Sinai.Exo 19:1-2, (comp. itinerary Num 33:15) shows the order of stations reached in the march to Sinai, to have been: Rephidim, the entrance into the wilderness of Sinai, and then the approach to the mountain. Lev 7:38 shows the proximity of the wilderness of Sinai to the mountain; Num 10:12 and Num 33:16, show that the wilderness of Sinai stretches as far as the wilderness of Paran. The Ordnance Survey Expedition to the Peninsula of Sinai in 186869, has confirmed in great part the conclusions of Robinson and Stanley, and therefore of tradition. All the members of the expedition, save Mr. Holland, concluded that Rephidim is in the Wady Feiran at Hesy el Khattatin. Mr. Holland alone places it at the narrow pass of El Watiyeh in Wady es Sheikh. They were unanimous in deciding that the primary camping ground of the wilderness of Sinai was the great plain Er Raheh, and that Mount Sinai is Jebel Musa while the mountain from which the law was delivered, the one which can be touched, is a peak of Jebel Musa, Res Sufsafeh. In Er Raheh there would be ample room for the entire mass of the people when they gave audience to the law. A calculation made by Capt. Palmer, from the actual measurements taken on the spot, proves that the space extending from the base of the mountain to the water-shed or crest of the plain, is large enough to have accommodated the entire host of the Israelites, estimated at two million souls, with an allowance of about a square yard for each individual. (The Desert of the Exodus, Palmer, ch. vi.). The plain itself is upward of two miles long, and half a mile broad, and slopes gradually down from the water-shed on the north to the foot of Ras Sufsafeh. About three hundred yards from the actual base of the mountain there runs across the plain a low, semicircular mound, which forms a kind of natural theatre, while farther distant on either side of the plain the slopes of the enclosing mountains would afford seats to an almost unlimited number of spectators. (Recovery of Jerusalem, pp. 411, 412). There are good camping places in the neighboring glens, valleys and mountain sides, especially at the mouth of Wady Leja where there is an extensive recess, about a mile and a half long by three-quarters of a mile broad (ibid. p. 412). It is exceedingly well watered by four running streams, and there are innumerable fountains and wells. Comp. Robinson, Vol. 1, p. 95 sqq., 100107, 119122. Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, pp. 4044, 7376.
The Tabernacle of the congregation.The A. V. renders it, the Tabernacle of congregation, as if the notion to meet underlying the word must refer to the people, and thus the word itself mean the gathering of the people together. The proper signification is Tent of Meeting, as appears from Exo 29:42-43, which reads: This shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before the Lord; where I will meet you () to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet () with the children of Israel. The same is suggested by Exo 30:36, and Num 17:19, (A. V., 4). Hither then the Lord summoned those whom He would meet, and to whom He would make special communications, and ordered, Num 10:3, that trumpets should be sounded to gather the people as well () to the Tent of Meeting. Hence God not only comes down to meet His people, but they come up to meet Him. See Smiths Bib. Dict., article Tabernacle.
On the first day of the second month, i.e., the month Ziph, which in the Talmud is called , lyar. It corresponds with our April. Ziph = the month of blossoms; but see Smiths Bib. Dict.
The following data given in the Book of Numbers, are here arranged in their chronological order, according to Keil and others. But see Lange on vii. 1.
(1) The gifts of the oxen and wagons by the princes; their gifts for the altar on the day of its anointing, continuing for twelve days, chap. 7, and the cloud covering the Tabernacle (Num 9:15) on the day of its erection; this date is given in Exo 40:17 : comp. Lev 8:10-11 :
2 yr.,
1 m.,
1 day.
(2) The celebration of the passover, Num 9:1-5 :
2
1
14
(3) The order for the muster, Num 1:1 :
2
2
1
(4) Celebration of the Little Passover, Num 9:6-14 :
2
2
14
(5) Departure from Sinai, Num 10:11 :
2
2
20
The following points are noteworthy: In the period between the erection of the tabernacle and the order for the muster the following matters took place; The proclamation of the laws of sacrifice, for they were first enunciated in the tent of meeting, Lev 1:1; the consecration of Aarons sons in the day of the anointing of the Tabernacle, which took seven days; the first rites by the priesthood on the eighth day; the trespass by Nadab and Abihu; the remaining body of Levitical law; the princely gifts for moving the Tabernacle and for the dedication of the altar; the descent of the cloud upon the tabernacle; the order for the observance of the passover; its commemoration. This was in the time from one new moon () to the other.
In the period between the order for the muster and the departure from Sinai, the following events took place: The muster itself; the disposition of the camp, the body of law for its regulation; the celebration of the Little Passover; the census of the first-born and consecration of the Levites; all of which occurred in twenty days. A brisk and crowded season.
We observe further in this chronology that events which occurred at an earlier date are placed after the muster; the gifts by the princes and the passover really having preceded the muster. Why? Keil finds a reason in the desire not to interrupt the essential connection of Sinaitic law; and this opinion is of weight. In the legal books of the Trilogy, chronology is made secondary. As the idea of Leviticus was to give the body of Sacerdotal legislation, and such incidents as related to it, so the object of the Book of Numbers is to give the national organization, in all its theocratic features, and thus what is uppermost for the proper constitution of the immovable state, of course comes first.
Num 1:2. The sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel. On the three accounts of taking the census see above Introduction, 7, a, c, and Smiths Bib. Dict. art. Census. On the congregation see ibid. under the word. The data are wanting for a clear analysis of the subdivisions of the congregation represented by the following terms, families (), fathers-houses ( ). The latter is a subdivision of the former, while in Num 1:4 it appears as a subdivision of the tribe (). The former is thus the grand subdivision of the tribe. This agrees with Num 10:4 (comp. Jos 22:14) where the thousands () appear as equivalent to the families (), the latter designating them according to their social constitution, the former with respect to their proportion of men fit for war and liable to tax. See Introd., 6.
Num 1:3. means to muster, marshal, and has reference more to disposition or arrangement than numbering. See a discussion of the word in Bush in loc.Tr.].
Num 1:5-19. Roll of the captains who were called to aid in numbering the tribes. We furnish their names and the names of their fathers also, with their conjectural significations, since the names of the Israelites attest the religious mind of the people. See above Introd., 6. Upon the three qualifications of the chief men, (1) , (2) , (3) see above, Introd. 6. synonymous with families (comp. Num 10:4; Jos 22:14, et al.), because the number of heads of families in the branches of a tribe amounted to at least a thousand (Keil). Even if the thousands were in a greater or less degree independent of the number 1,000, yet it does not then follow that they should always coincide with the tribe-branches.
They were not passively pressed into service, but took it upon them voluntarily, like the volunteers of Deborah (Judges 21) and of the Messianic King (Psalms 110); and that was, so to speak, their new birth in the higher sense. [These princes were likely a selection from those of highest rank among the appointments made according to Exo 18:21-26, which occurred only a few months before this.Tr.]
Num 1:20-47. Number of the fighting men in the tribes see above, Introd. 6. They were mustered in representation of the supreme Commander himself; hence .
Num 1:48-54. The prohibition against mustering the Levites and adding their number to the sum of the other tribes indicates no exemption from the military service, but an inherited calling to the discharge of the highest service of defence, the care of the headquarters (Num 1:53) and of the ensign of the army, the Tabernacle. Therefore, notwithstanding their being so numerous, they were to encamp around the sanctuary and prevent all who were not Levites from approaching on pain of death. All the other divisions of the army were to encamp by their special standards.
[The reason for the peculiar service of the Levites that the text gives is that in Num 1:51; Num 1:53. It ought thus to have precedence. The Levites were to guard the Tabernacle against the intrusion of the other Israelites. By the stranger (), for whom it would be death to come nigh, is meant a non-Levite (Lev 22:10). The Levites were to guard against trespasses within that would be more ruinous than foes without.Tr.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
On the whole book
The name Numbers gives no presentiment of the rich significance of this third book [of the Trilogy], unless one were to ascribe to the idea of number a Pythagorean notion, or, better still, one that belongs to Biblical philosophy of religion.
For, of course, the champions of Jehovah are numbered, as were the intimates or heroes of Odin, and as the latter were selected out to march forth with Odin to conflict at the end of time, so the former are chosen out, numbered and mustered so as to form an army of God, which is destined in a sacred campaign to make the conquest of the holy inheritance of God, Canaan, the promised land, for Gods people.
As significant individual types are to be noted especially the persons fit for war; for here, too, the proper estimate of personal life is the signature of true religion and of the kingdom of truth founded on it. But with the persons must be noted the most exact regard for their number, the typical numbering, as it is continued down to the Apocalypse (Revelation 7), not excepting the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. Moreover, the characteristic diversities of nations, or even of churches and states in the kingdom of God, find their type in the organization of the army of God, the order of Israels encampment under its princes, the Sanctuary in the midst of the army as the mysterious headquarters of the heavenly sentinel, the Commander in Chief, and the distribution of labor among His servants. Furthermore an important element appears in keeping the camp of the army pure, in which connection is to be considered the restitution for trespass which is too much overlooked [Num 5:1-10]; also in contrast with this keeping pure, the higher consecration of the Lords volunteer heroes, the Nazarites [Num 6:1-21].
A particularly significant jewel is the Aaronic blessing [Num 6:22-27]. The invisible substance of Israel must, however, be visibly represented to the nation by a rich temple-treasure, assured by the cheerful offerings of its princes, demonstrated by a grand festive procession of the donors with their gifts [Num 7:1-89]. But in the midst of the Sanctuary the golden candlestick must illumine the night; the Levites, as watchmen and servants, must surround the centre of the camp [8]. That no defect or scruple may arise in regard to the holy communion and the right of all to it, the Little Passover is instituted [Num 9:1-14] as the same is also perpetuated in its counterparts in the divine service of the church. The pillar of cloud and fire over the Tabernacle is the sign of the promise that the Lord will never depart from His people [Num 9:15-23]. The army is completed by the instruments of sacred signals, the silver trumpets [Num 10:1-10]; their echoes are the sounds of bells, the peals of organs, Christian hymns, but also every righteous summons to the defence of our country.
[On Num 1:53. The meaning of Levite is joined to, adhesion. See Num 18:4. The location of the Levites in the camp was symbolical of this accepted relation by their being attached to Moses and Aaron and the sanctuary. In Isa 56:3; Isa 56:6-7 a participation in the priesthood of Gods people is promised to Gentiles, kindred to the relation of the Levites to the priests. See Naegelsbach in loc. and Bush on our ver.Tr.]
HOMILETICAL HINTS
See General Homiletic Remarks in the vol. on Exodus, p. 167.
On chap. 1. The army of the Lord in particular. Its significance. Its destination. The mustering of the army.
On the whole book.
The aim of the Holy Spirit in general is to show how God brought ever nearer to fulfilment His promises of inheriting the land of Canaan, spite of all the difficulties that stood in the way of it, and brought His people from Mt. Sinai to the borders of Canaan; also how they had God for their guide on the whole journey, which serves to prove that the religion of this people is the true religion. Starke.
The use to be derived from it is this: Whoever carefully and exactly considers all the historical circumstances will be led on every account to maintain a Christian walk in this journey through the world. The countless benefits that God showed His people in the wilderness assure us of the divine goodness, and comfort us in times of distress, and when we suffer want and often know not where to turn. The many rebellious conspiracies, murmurings, insurrections, etc., convince us of human depravity, and of mans ingratitude toward his greatest Benefactor, and of the corruption of our hearts, which are presumptuous in fortune, and despondent in misfortune, and admonish us to take note of indwelling sin, that we may not become like Israel in sinning. Gods punishment of His perverse people represents to us His anger and justice, from which we ought to learn to be suitably afraid. The steadfastness, prudence, patience and meekness of Moses are a mirror into which we should diligently gaze, and pattern after his example in every thing that befalls us. In general we must not contemplate our life as different from the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt through the desert to the land of Canaan (1 Ch 30:15). The round-about ways that God leads us are wonderful; we must go through thick and thin, over mountains and through valleys, now a straight path, then a crooked (Psa 4:4). Our progress is marked by mournful monuments that we leave behind in our conscience, which reproaches us with a Meriba, where we strove with God and were not content with His guidance; the graves of lust, where we gave way to evil desires, etc. Still God provides us with manna, quails and water (Psalms 33; Isa 30:20). He gives us victory when enemies assail us, He bears us on the way we go (Deu 1:31). Jesus is the pillar of cloud and fire that abides with us, even when it is evening (Luk 24:29), unto the end of the world (Mat 28:20). The sacrament of holy Baptism is the cloud (1Co 10:2). The sacrament of the Lords Supper is the manna, the food and drink of life. Whoever, then, would be a true Israelite, let him learn from this book to depart out of the Egypt of this world and of his sinful flesh, to disregard the Red Sea of dismay that Satan makes, furthermore to press through the wilderness of this world, where there is danger enough, and all looks dreadful, where Amalekites and Ammonites, where serpents and wild beasts make the passage hard, until at last he comes to the stern-flowing Jordan, and draws near the heavenly Canaan. Thus we may every way edify our life from this book, and sooth our sorrows and cares. And this, too, is Gods aim and object in the histories that are found here. Starke.
[Gods particular providence over His people illustrated by the numbering. (1) It proved His faithfulness to His promise to Abraham and to Jacob (Gen 28:14). It was not left to be guessed at. (2) It was an intimation of how God meant to care for His people in the future, and meant that Moses and the inferior rulers should care for them. As the Shepherd of Israel (Psa 80:1), he would, like other shepherds, keep count of his flocks and deliver them by number to their under-shepherds, that they might know if any were missing. (3) It was in order to their being marshalled into several districts for the more easy administration of justice, and their more regular march through the desert. It is a rout and a rabble, not an army, that is not mustered and put in order. After M. Henry.
Leviticus precedes Numbers. The laws of offering to God precede the military organization and the march against enemies and to the conquest of Canaan. This is the ideal realization of the motto: Be sure youre right, then go ahead. To be right, in the highest sense, is to be right with God. If God be for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31. Let every one find time first for religion and reconciliation to God through the offering of Jesus Christ, before even preparing for the march and warfare of life. Let him do the same for every day.
On Num 1:47-54. The Levites exempted from military service. So with ministers. If exempted from secular concerns, it is in order that they may be the more given up to the study and preaching of the word of God, and to prayer, which are the chief weapons of their warfare; for by these means they may endeavor to avert the wrath of God from the people. As Christians are separated from the world, so ministers should be still more detached from its pursuits and employments, and examples to the flock; not, says M. Henry, affecting to seem greater, but aiming to be really better, every way better, than others. Scott. The position and service of the Levites was according to the maxim: Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Mat 20:27.Tr.]
Footnotes:
[1]the Tent of Meeting.
[2]their fathers houses.
[3]mustered, muster.
[4]all who went forth to the army.
[5]hosts.
[6]are they that were called of.
[7]they had themselves inscribed in the birth-registers.
[8]comma.
[9]and.
[10]first-born.
[11]And the LORD spake.
[12]omit thou shalt.
[13]according to.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
This sacred volume opens in this Chapter, with the Lord’s command to Moses, for the numbering the people: the persons appointed to this service; and exception of the Levites.
Num 1:1
The period in which the Lord gave this commandment is not unmeriting notice. The Reader, by calculating the intermediate space, from Israel’s going down into Egypt to this time, will see how the Lord’s promise had been graciously accomplishing. In the space of 215 years, from 75 souls Israel was now multiplied to the vast number this chapter expresses, of so many hundred thousands. Well may we exclaim what hath God wrought! Read that scripture, and see what application you can make of it to your own experience: Jos 23:14 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“In the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation” Num 1:1
The wonderful conjunction of names and situations in life. Here we have “wilderness” and “tabernacle.” We cannot be blind to the “wilderness”; sometimes a teacher is required to point out the “tabernacle.” The “tabernacle” is always to be found by the earnest searcher. The wilderness, as to mere space is incomparably larger than the tabernacle, but the tabernacle as to its quality and radiance destroys the unhappiest aspects and influences of the wilderness. The wilderness may represent what nature can do for man; the tabernacle is the peculiar and distinctive work of God, showing how the supernatural subdues and glorifies everything with which it comes in contact. Sometimes the tabernacle is in the man’s heart; if indeed its spirit is not there no outside building can supply its place or offer such security as cither reason or feeling can really enjoy. Be afraid of no wilderness in which there is a tabernacle. By setting up his tabernacle God means to make the wilderness blossom as the rose. Life itself may often assume the desolation of a wilderness; this it must do in the absence of supernatural influences; decorate it as we may, scatter upon it all the wild flowers that hands can gather, it is a wilderness still: in such circumstances the traveller must cry out for the living God, and yearn for a dwelling place not made with hands. The tabernacle may be some quickening thought, or sacred memory, or inspiring promise, or the companionship of a kindred soul; the tabernacle of God has a thousand aspects, and is consequently different in its representation according to the circumstances in which every man looks upon it. The tabernacle is never so beautiful as when seen in contrast with the wilderness. As the weary night makes the dawn doubly welcome, so the great wilderness develops in the tabernacle a beauty and a splendour which would be otherwise unrecognised. As in darkness we see the stars, so in the wilderness we ought to see the spiritual glory of the tabernacle.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
The Census and Its Meaning
Num 1
How long is it since the Tabernacle was set up? From some points of view it would seem to be years at least. Time is variously estimated: it is long, it is short, it is a flying wing, it is a mountain of lead, according to the circumstances under which we view and reckon it. Just one month has elapsed since the Tabernacle was set up, and during that month the whole ritual of Leviticus has been wrought out. Leviticus was not a manual for a year; it was a ritual for a month. It would wear some of us out; we have lived ourselves into shortening days. What a busy month! Read the whole Book of Leviticus, from the first chapter to the last, and then remember that every word of it was to be carried out in critical detail within the compass of a single month, and when the month was over the ritual was to be begun again. All life was one Sabbath then. In very deed the days were well-filled in with labour pressed down, heaped up, running over. Life meant something then. Poor are our services, poor to begin with, run through perfunctorily, leaving behind not so much a thought as a faint impression not an unconquerable inspiration, but a memory of partial weariness.
“And the Lord spake .” He was always speaking in the olden times; he never speaks now. How foolish is such reasoning! how vicious and degrading such a sophism! We first misinterpret the terms, and then declare the conditions are never repeated. We bar out good things from ourselves not only by sin but by impious ignorance, by narrow-mindedness, by superstition meant for veneration. God is always speaking wherever he can find a Moses. Surely, he will not speak to stocks and stones, and deaf men and callous hearts: he will call up a child at midnight to whisper in his ear. It is the hearer that is wanting, not the speaker. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith. “And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying .” It is our consciousness that is dull afflicted, indeed, with incurable stupidity; it is our will that is ironed in unholy obstinacy; otherwise, we should write down in plain ink, in open letters, in our mother tongue, “The Lord spake unto me, saying .” We have to fight the ghost of superstition; we have lost spiritual health; we are in a diseased condition of mind and heart To set up the Lord in ancient history, or exalt him into the inaccessible heavens, is mistaken for veneration. How suddenly the subject is changed! We have been reading about the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, the shedding of blood, the consecration of priests; and our whole mind has, so to say, been steeped in religious thought and sacred phraseology, and now, by the overturning of one page, we come upon the divinely-appointed and divinely-directed census of Israel: Number the people: mark them out in their families and tribes: arrange them according to a plan, and let us know the sum-total of the war force of Israel. We have been thinking, if not talking, of prayer, suddenly the word battle is put into the history. Thus the chapter of life changes; the Author is the same, the writing continuous, with the same noble fluency, the same intellectual dignity, the same imaginative vividness, the same marvellous dramatic change of point and colour; but the subject is organisation for battle, a call for soldiers, words that might have been spoken through a trumpet; yet the speaking God, the hearing Moses, the obedient Israel, are the unchanged quantities of the story. The Lord could have counted the people himself: why did he set others to do the numbering? It is part of his providence. He could do everything himself; but he trains us by criticism, by the use of our faculties, by the discharge of manifold duties and responsibilities. We need not pray to God as the mere necessity of informing him of our wants, because he knows every one of them better than the suppliant can know his own necessities; but this is educational: our prayer is part of our schooling; to project our heart’s necessity into words is a marvellous thing to keep the tongue in balance of the heart, so that the speech shall not run out the need, or the argument be in excess of the conviction; so God cleanses the tongue and subdues it, bringing it into harmony with the whole movement of his own purpose and will. Reluctant, lying tongue! double-speaking tongue! how canst thou be turned and chastened into noble service but by being charged with prayer? This is God’s wise way. How was the numbering to proceed? Every man was of consequence. We think we honour God by speaking of him only as the Lord of Creation, the God of Hosts, the Ruler of incalculable armies stretching over spaces infinite; it is our poverty of thought that so strains itself as to lay hold of what to us are great numbers; God rather seeks to glorify himself in counting men one by one. “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Looking round his banqueting-table, he says, Yet there is room. He seems to notice the vacancies as certainly and as clearly as he notices the occupations. To us, numbers are alone of consequence; to our Father, the one child is of great importance: saith he, One is wanting: go fetch him; call more loudly for him: the next appeal may strike his ear and elicit the response of his heart; go out again, and again, and rather blame the darkness of the night than the unwillingness of the child; give him one more opportunity. This is the philosophy: that the little is always striving to make up for its littleness by conceptions of infinite numbers; and the great the divinely and essentially great shows its quality by lighting a candle and sweeping the house diligently till it finds the piece that was lost. We owe ourselves to God’s condescension. The men were to be registered for battle according to “the number of their names… from twenty years old and upward.” Do we begin life at twenty? Are the nineteen years gone, forgotten, unreckoned? “Twenty years old” is the harvest time of preparatory education. At twenty a man should be able to give some account of himself; he ought to have read some books; he ought to know the figure of the world, and to have acquired, at least, a general outline of the little scheme of things within which he lives a little fluttering wing of a world just one little tuft of smoke whirled by infinite rapidity into an earth, a school-house, a preparation-place; yea, “the great globe itself” is but a handful of smoke whirled into rotundity and made use of, until we become “twenty years old and upward.” Let us have no frivolity even in the nineteen preparatory years. Every man is getting ready for war; every boy at school is a soldier in possibility. The children will be greater than we were: otherwise, they will have lost their foot-hold upon the line of progress, and have dropped out of the noble traditions of their species. Some men are long in beginning; they are not wholly to be blamed: men ripen in various degrees of rapidity; “Soon ripe, soon rot,” is the old proverb, not wanting in wisdom. Others come to maturity slowly, but having reached maturity no wind can shake their deep roots.
There are some remarkable things about the census: for example, what high titles we find here! Following the first list of names, we read in the sixteenth verse: “These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.” So Egyptian bondage did not stamp out Israelitish pedigree and claim upon the past. Our bondage need not destroy our manhood. Israel recovered its noblest memories and reclaimed divine purposes and covenants which had fallen into desuetude and into the formality of a dead letter. We may go back over the period of our banishment and humiliating captivity and claim to bear the image and likeness of God; we, who went astray, may return unto the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, and may become kings and priests unto God and the Father. Why should the mind plunge itself into the despair of guilt, rather than avail itself of God’s ministry and mediation in Christ to project itself to earlier times and original policies and begin with the purpose and intent of God? There are, too, some singular fulfilments of prophecy in the numbering of the tribes. Judah had the most to set in array. Was this a mere accident? Not according to Gen 49:8 : “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise.” So we find, in the numbering, Judah stood first the largest of the host. We find, too, that Ephraim had a number larger than Manasseh. Was this a mere incident, hardly to be accounted for? There are no such incidents in life: everything is accounted for, or to be accounted for, by those who search into roots, beginnings, motives, and divine intentions. In Gen 48:20 , we find how Israel blessed the sons of Joseph, “And he blessed them that day, saying,… God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh,” Joseph said, No; but the old father said, Yes! Manasseh “also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he,” and now that the census is taken Ephraim stands at the head of Manasseh! The details are given critically from verse to verse: “the tribe of Reuben were, forty and six thousand and five hundred”; “the tribe of Simeon were, fifty and nine thousand and three hundred”; “the tribe of Gad were, forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty”; “the tribe of Judah were, three-score and fourteen thousand and six hundred.” These are petty details, what is the sum-total? “… all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty”! That is what we wanted to ascertain! The tribes might exchange friendly challenges and criticisms as to their varying numbers as between and amongst themselves, a little boasting might be permitted, a little religious pride; but leaving the details as amongst the tribes themselves we come to the broad and grand truth that in relation to any enemy, rise where he might, there were six hundred thousand men ready to dispute the ground with him inch by inch. To-day the Christian denominations are talking to one another about their various thousands: they take a melancholy pride in saying that one denomination has made five per cent. more progress than some other denomination. This is what they have to suggest in place of love and in place of prayer! Simeon takes his census, and Gad reports his figures, and Issachar reminds the other denominations that he has fifty-four thousand enrolled under his banner, and Zebulun tells Issachar that his fifty-four are not equal to Zebulun’s fifty-seven. These figures are interesting up to a certain degree and within given boundaries; but how many men can Christ put on the field against the devil and his angels? Do not be chaffering to one another and boasting as between fifty-four thousand and fifty-seven thousand; but stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and say: All for Christ; the enemy must not fight one tribe, but the consolidated hosts of God. It was but detailed and vexatious reading up to the forty-fifth and forty-sixth verses. we longed to know the sum-total of the strength on which Christ could reckon; that is what we want to know to-day. A little friendly emulation, as between the various Christian communions, may relieve the monotony and inactivity of our modern piety; but what Christ would know is on what military strength he can reckon when he is challenged to the battle of Armageddon. These men whose names and tribes are given were men qualified to be sent forth to war. At that period of history war was an unhappy necessity: it was the school in which men were trained. We must read history in its own light and grow with its growth, if we would understand its philosophy and its purpose. If we deny the writing that is before us as an inspiration, we have still to confront the fact that social classes are precisely divided to-day as they were distributed in the pages of the Bible; when we have denied the inspiration, we have still to deal with the fact. What is the distribution of society to-day? Military, commercial, educational; these classes could not be interchanged. The true soldier can be nothing but a soldier: to bind him down to anything else is to invert his destiny. Men have the call of God in them. No man is at liberty to say what he is going to be and going to do. He has nothing “to do” but to obey. It may please him to talk about his “freedom,” but it is the freedom of a cage. “Train up a child in the way he should go,” in the way of God’s purpose, according to the predestination of his life, “and when he is old, he will not depart from it” he will know at the end that all his life-pulses have been throbbing in harmony with the infinite music of the divine purpose. The true merchant could never be a soldier: he must buy and sell, he must make a little profit if he would sleep well at night; it is in his blood; he cannot retire to rest until he has bartered, discounted, added up, and given and taken receipts in full. If you suggested to him to go out to battle you would but distress his timid soul; men of his temperature of blood were meant to buy and sell and to live in the awful tumult of a controversy across the counter. The scholar could never be a merchant; he must inquire and he must communicate; a book is a treasure to him; a new thought drives him well-nigh mad, it may be true: if true, it would set back the horizon, heighten the dome of heaven, and make all things new; he does not want to buy and sell, but to peruse, to examine, to criticise, to compare, to amass information, and to communicate his intelligence to others; he is a philosopher and a teacher, not a bagman or a banker. There is the fact. Why quarrel with the Book of Numbers and raise a noisy discussion as to whether Moses wrote it? The Book of Numbers is being written to-day: a million hands are doing the clerical work; we are standing yet in this grand organisation and distribution of labour.
But some were not permitted to go to battle; who were they? They were the Levites: “… the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered” among the warriors. They were appointed to be near “the tabernacle of testimony,” and were set “over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it”; they were to “bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof”; and they were to “minister unto it,” and to “encamp round about the tabernacle”; and when the tabernacle was set forth, the Levites were to “take it down”; and when the tabernacle was to be pitched in a new place, the Levites were to “set it up”; “and the children of Israel” were to “pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.” Then the Levites were not soldiers? Not in the narrow construction of the term; but all truly religious men are soldiers. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.” The Sunday-school teachers of the land are its most powerful constabulary; the truly Christian ministry is the very spirit of militancy not urged against flesh and blood, visible substances, and nameable human enemies; but against the whole spirit of perdition and against the whole genius of darkness. “Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armour on!” That is the heroic call, may every man stand up and say, Here am I: send me!
Prayer
The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice. To us there is but one God Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven; not our will but thine be done. Thou hast wrought in us this grace. We own thy power; thy law to us is liberty. We have no will: thy will be done is the cry of the heart made right. It is well. Thou knowest all things; thou seest the end from the beginning. We cannot tell what a day may bring forth; we have no ground of evidence or argument, or reckoning; we are shut up in the darkness. Thou knowest all eternity. Thy will be done. This is the Lord’s prayer; this is the prayer he taught us in the time of his bloody sweat, in the agony intolerable. We would hear the prayer; we would adore the suppliant; we would endeavour to repeat the glorious utterance; but thy Spirit alone can enable us to do this; we want our heart to say it our whole spirit without keeping back one feeling, one word, one reserve. This would be the sacrifice preceding resurrection, triumph, heaven. Thy will be done. Thou dost raise up men from the dung-hill, and set them among princes. It is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. Thou dost make the first last and the last first, and fix the places at the banquet-table without consulting any guest; thy will be done. One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet; another in the bitterness of his soul, who never eateth with pleasure, whose days are nights and whose nights are wildernesses; it is the Lord: let him do what seemeth good in his sight. Thou dost permit the old man to live until he becomes a burden unto himself; thou dost pluck the young blossom when it is the chief beauty of the garden: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. We would stand in the assurance that the Judge of all the earth will do right; that the very hairs of our head are all numbered; that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and though he fall he shall rise again. Herein is peace; herein is eternal Sabbath day. Give us this confidence in larger measure until it shall consummate itself in heaven’s own peace. Thou knowest our impatience, our wildness of impulse, the difficulty we have in stopping to reason well the Lord pity us! This is the pressure of the time which is so very short: we see the descending sun, and we want to do so much before the twilight of evening. We know not what we do; we are poor at the richest, weak at the strongest, ignorant in our utmost knowledge. We will rest in the Christ of God; labouring and heavy laden, we will come to him, and he will give us rest; his peace he will give unto us: not as the world giveth will he give, but otherwise an eternal and infinite donation. Keep us in the love of God, always seeking for truth, welcoming wider knowledge, enjoying the enlargement of our liberty; but knowing always that Christ is first and last and midst, the dawn and the day, the star of the evening, the hope of the midnight; on the Cross, on the throne; suffering, praying, teaching, reigning; the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. O, Lord Christ Jesus, take us closely to thyself, and speak to us words which will make us live! Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
II
INTRODUCTION
Numbers 1-4
We now commence the introduction to the book of Numbers. The first thing is the name. In the Hebrew there are two names. One takes the first word and the other takes the first most important word. In the Septuagint the name is Arithmoi; in the Vulgate, Numeri, both meaning the same as our word Numbers. These names are derived from the numbering recorded in Num 1 and the second numbering thirty-eight years later in Num 26 ; the first, prior to the first start on the great march, and the second, at the second start.
Next is the period of time covered by the book of Numbers. We will notice the following points: Num 1:1 , “Second year, second month, first day.” One year and one month after leaving Rameses in Egypt, they leave Sinai. You have another date, viz.: The death of Aaron, Num 20:22 ; Num 33:38 . Aaron’s death is in the fortieth year, and fifth month, the first day, from the time they left Egypt and thirty-ninth year from the time they left Sinai.
Next, Deuteronomy I, which commences the fortieth year and the eleventh month, making exactly six months after Aaron’s death before Deuteronomy commences. If you add these periods together, they make thirty-eight years and nine months. It takes them a little over a year at Sinai and then nearly thirty-nine years to close up this book. Deuteronomy occupies not over a month, bringing us to the death of Moses forty years from the time they left Egypt. I will give you a brief outline and then a more extended outline of this book. The brief outline consists of only four points:
1. Preparation for the march, extending from Num 1:1-10:10 . The preparation will include not only the census and some legislation which follows it, but also some other things necessary to the start.
2. The march from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, close to the border of the Holy Land Num 10:11-14 a brief period of time. They had only three stopping places of any length, recorded again in Num 33 . That chapter gives the entire itinerary, or order of the march, from the day they left Rameses in Egypt to the time they reached the Jordan River.
3. Period of aimless wandering, Num 15:19 , the longest part of the book of Moses as to time, including the wanderings and the legislation during that time. It covers more space than any other part.
4. From Kadesh-barnea to the camp opposite Jericho and the events on the plains of Moab Numbers 20-36. In this book are some of the most interesting incidents in the history of the Jewish people, some of the most thrilling themes for the preacher, new laws of a particular kind, especially concerning those about the red heifer, which have a deep significance in the New Testament. In this book you have an account of the sins committed by the people that excluded every grown man from entering the Promised Land with the exception of two, including the special sin of Moses and Aaron.
Now follows the more elaborate analysis:
Sec. I. Preparation for the great march (Numbers 1-4). In these chapters we have the first census, the order in which the tribes shall camp and march, the special numbering of the firstborn and the exchange of the firstborn males of all the people for the tribe of Levi, the special duties that the Levites are to perform and their order of march.
Sec. II. Some legislation (Numbers 5-6), divided into five parts:
(1) The exclusion of the unclean; (2) the law of recompense and of offerings; (3) the trial of jealousy, a strange and horrible thing (I imagine it would scare any woman to death to be put to that test) ; (4) the Nazarite vow; (5) the words that the priest shall use in his benediction, one of the most beautiful benedictions.
Sec. III. Further preparation for the march (Num 7:1-10:10 ), consisting of the following items: Offerings of the princes at the dedication, the voice in the sanctuary, the lamps lighted in the tabernacle, the consecration of the Levites, the second passover and the supplemental passover, the cloud on the tabernacle, and the silver trumpet for governing the march. So the preparation consists of two parts between which comes that special legislation, and so these three sections correspond to the first part of the short outline.
Sec. IV. (Which corresponds to the second in the short outline.) The march from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, with the following incidents (Num 10:11-14:45 ): The start and the order of the march, the invitation to Hobab, the journey, sin and chastisement at Kibroth, the sedition of Miriam and Aaron and the sending of the spies and the rejection of the people. That ends that probation. They had violated the covenant. They have to make a new start. In answer to the prayer of Moses God gives them another probation, on the condition that every grown man that left Egypt shall perish and that they must wander until that generation has died. The period of that wandering is divided into the three following sections:
Sec. V. Num 15 only: Legislation on offerings, firstfruits, trespass offering, the presumptuous sin, with the incident of the sabbath breaker and the law of fringes.
Sec. VI. Numbers 16-17. An account of the rebellion of Korah and his confederates against the Aaronic priesthood, and the memorial that follows.
Sec. VII. Further legislation, charge and emoluments of priest, the law of the red heifer and the pollution of death Numbers 18-19). All of the other sections will come in the fourth item of the short outline.
Sec. VIII. This includes the water of Menbah, the brazen serpent, the last marches and the first victories.
Sec. IX. Numbers 22-24. The coming of Balaam and the prophecies of Balaam.
Sec. X. Gives an account of the events that took place on the plains of Moab on the banks of the Jordan (Numbers 25-27). Those events were as follows. The second census of Israel, with a view to allotment of land, the petition of Zelophehad’s daughters and finally the supersession of Moses by Joshua.
Sec. XI. Further legislation. The annual routine of sacrifices Numbers 28-29. The thirtieth chapter tells us about vows like that last section of Leviticus giving us the exception of vows made by women.
Sec. XII. Further events in the plains of Moab, (Numbers 31-32) extirpation of Midian and the settlement of the tribes east of the Jordan.
Sec. XIII. Num 33:1-49 . The great itinerary, showing every stopping place of any length from the time they left Egypt to the river Jordan a remarkable historical document.
Sec. XIV. Num 33:50 , to the end of the book, Final instruction with a view to the conquest of Canaan, as follows: Clearance of the Holy Land, boundaries of the Holy Land, allotment of the Holy Land, reservation of cities for the Levites, cities of refuge and the law of homicides, law of the marriage of heiresses, which relates back to Zeiophehad’s daughters.
Just here you need to read Trumbull’s Kadesh-Barnea. The central place of the book of Numbers is Kadesh-bamea. This is the great camping place they reached after they left Sinai and just before they made their attempt to enter the Holy Land. There occurred the sin of the people, the rejection of the report of the spies, the condemnation to wander thirty eight years, revolving around Kadesh-barnea. Hence explorers have tried harder to locate Kadesh-barnea than any other one place except Sinai.
The census discussed in the first chapter is dated the second year, second month and first day, after they left Egypt. The second census was with reference to the allotment, for they expected in a few days to get to the Holy Land. Of course when they forfeited their right and all those men died of the first census, they had to take a new census, and that is why the name of the book is plural. The census applies to eleven of the tribes, Levi not included, and takes account of the males from twenty years upwards who are able to go to war. That census amounted to 603,550. They took the census of Levi separately and took it twice. First, every male in the tribe of Levi, from one month old up, amounted to 22,000, which was less than any other tribe had from twenty years old up, showing that the tribe of Levi was by all odds the smallest of the tribes. When they took the next census of Levi, they took it of the men from thirty to fifty, to get the men capable of service around the sanctuary. That census amounted to 8,580 males. It seems to me that if there were 8,580 from thirty to fifty, there ought to have been more than 22,000 from one month up.
The next item is the order of camp. The enclosure around the tabernacle faced the east. The whole tribe of Levi, including Moses and Aaron, would occupy the space around the tabernacle just outside of the enclosure. Then on the east of them were Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Judah carrying the banner and leading off. On the west, the tribes descended from Rachel: Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh, Ephraim carrying the banner. The other six tribes occupied the north and south sides. Whenever the pillar of cloud would stop, the Levites would advance and set up the tabernacle just beneath it. I got my first ideas of real organization from the book of Numbers. Moses was a great general, tactician, and strategist. He had commanded the armies of Egypt and knew that one could not move three millions of people without interminable confusion if there was not organization to the smallest detail. All of these details are set forth in the second chapter so far as the tribes are concerned.
The only other item apart from the numbering of the Levites, which I have already given you, is the special direction to number them so that an exchange could be made. All the males of the firstborn belonged to God. When they took the list of all the firstborn of the eleven tribes, they amounted to 22,273, whereas the males from one month old up in Levi, amounted to 22,000. To make the exchange complete, so as to take the tribe of Levi over instead of the firstborn of all the tribes, a compensation had to be paid for the surplus. Levi lacked 273 of coming up to the measure. That compensation was paid to the children of Levi, five shekels for each one of the 273. That covers the third and fourth chapters.
QUESTIONS
1. Give origin of the name “Numbers.”
2. What period of time is covered by the book? (Work out answer from dates given in book.)
3. Give a brief outline of the book.
4. Give a more elaborate analysis of the book.
5. What is the central place of the book of Numbers, and why locate it.
6. Why is the name of the book plural?
7. Why more than one census?
8. Give result of the first census of the twelve secular tribes, comparing it with the second census many years later.
9. Why a separate census of Levi?
10. Why double census of Levi, first, from one month old upward, and second, from thirty years old to fifty?
11. How was the exchange of the firstborn males of Israel for the tribe of Levi made?
12. Describe the order of the entire encampment. (See your Atlas.)
13. What were the duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites, respectively?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Num 1:1 And the LORD spake unto 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,
Ver. 1. In the wilderness of Sinai. ] Here God held his people well nigh a year. Here they received the law, both moral and ceremonial: the moral drove them to the ceremonial, which was then Christ in figure; as it doth now drive us to Christ in truth. The ceremonial law, saith one, was their gospel. We must also pass by Sinai to Sion, unless we like rather to be carnally secured than soundly comforted. See Trapp on “ Exo 19:1 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
AND. Numbers begins with “And”, as all the books of the Pentateuch do. It is therefore one whole in five sections, rather than separate books.
the LORD spake = Jehovah (the Covenant God) spake to His own People. He spake fifty-six “sundry times” (7 x 8) in Numbers, and in thirteen “divers manners” (twelve to Moses, once to Aaron), and four times indefinite:.
(1) To Moses alone (Num 1:1, Num 1:48; Num 3:5, Num 3:11, Num 3:14, Num 3:44; Num 4:21; Num 7:4; Num 8:5, Num 8:23; Num 10:1; Num 11:25; Num 13:1; Num 16:44; Num 25:10, Num 25:16; Num 26:52; Num 27:6; Num 31:1, Num 31:25; Num 34:16.
(2) To Moses, to speak to Aaron (Num 8:1).
(3) To Moses, to speak to Aaron and his sons (Num 6:22).
(4) To Moses, to speak to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest (Num 16:36).
(5) To Moses, to speak to the Levites (Num 18:25).
(6) To Moses, to speak to the congregation (Num 16:23).
(7) To Moses, to speak to the children of Israel (Num 5:1, Num 5:5, Num 5:11; Num 6:1; Num 9:1 (Compare Num 1:4), 9; Num 15:1, Num 15:17, Num 15:37; Num 17:1; Num 28:1 (Compare Num 1:2); Num 33:50; Num 34:1; Num 35:1, Num 35:9).
(8) To Moses, to speak to the rock (Num 20:7).
(9) To Moses and Aaron (Num 2:1; Num 4:1, Num 4:17; Num 14:26; Num 16:20; Num 20:12, Num 20:23).
(10) To Moses and Aaron, to speak to the children of Israel (Num 19:1).
(11) To Moses and Aaron and Miriam (Num 12:4).
(12) To Moses and Eleazar (Num 26:1).
(13) To Aaron (Num 18:8). (Num 1:20 should be “said”.)
(14) Jehovah spake (indefinite) (Num 1:19; Num 3:1; Num 14:35; Num 27:23).
For “the LORD said”, see note on Num 3:40 (sixteen times, making seventy-two in all).
Sinai. To which they had come on the third month after the exodus (Exo 19:1), and where they abode till the twentieth day of the second month of the second year (Num 10:11). The numbering (Num 1) began on the first day of that month (Num 1:18).
tabernacle = tent (Hebrew. ‘ohel). See App-40.
come = gone.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
This time lets turn to the book of Numbers, so called because twice in the book the children of Israel were numbered. Once at the beginning of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness and then at their coming of the place of entering into the Promise Land. So in the two numberings of the children of Israel this book got its name. And we’re not going to belabor ourselves with all of the families and the numbers on an individual basis, but we’ll be making some interesting comparisons showing you that the wilderness experience was tough, that not as many came out of the end of the forty years as went into it. There was a population depletion during this period of time.
It’s like my little grandson awhile back was saying, “Grandpa, I want to stay at your house a long time. I don’t wanna go home. I want to stay at your house, grandpa.” And I said, “Well, I’d like to have you stay for a long time, William. Grandpa would love to have you just move in with him and just stay with him.” And he said, “Great, grandpa, because I’d like to do that because I don’t wanna go home.” And I said, “But why don’t ya wanna go home?” He said, “It’s tough living at home, grandpa.” And compare the way grandpa treats him and all I imagine it would be tough living at home, but it was tough living in the wilderness. And the children of Israel suffered from the ravages of the wilderness. And we’ll be making a quick comparison as we look at the numbers who went in and how many fewer came out of the end of that forty years of wandering than went into it.
So, as we get into the book of Numbers, as I say the name of the book implies the two census that were taken and beginning with verse one,
The LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, of the second year ( Num 1:1 )
Now the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year so this is one month after the tabernacle had been established.
And the Lord told him to take the sum of all of the congregation of the children of Israel, and their families, and they were to number the men who were above twenty years of age, those that would be able to go to battle in case of warfare ( Num 1:2-3 ).
So not the children or not the women were counted in this census but only those men who were above the age of twenty.
Now, of the various tribes there were chief men in each of these tribes and in verse seventeen,
And Moses and Aaron took these men which were expressed by their names: And assembled all the congregation together ( Num 1:17-18 )
So these names of these men are expressive of the men. Notice, “which are expressed by their names.” Now all of the names actually had meanings in those days. They say that names today have meanings, and though you wanna, you know, you find out that your wife is pregnant and you wanna name the child and so you go to a dictionary or something and you start looking at all the names and look at the meaning of the names. And there are some names, though they have beautiful meanings, for certain reasons have never been used for children to any great extent. I think of the name Lucifer, son of the morning, really is a beautiful name and yet it isn’t a desirable name because of someone else who is already born that name. But with these men their names were expressions. They were expressed by their names.
So let’s take a look at the names of these men. In verse five Elizur is the first one and Elizur means, “my God is a rock.” In verse six, Shelumiel; his name means “at peace with God.” In verse seven, Nahshon means “a diviner.” In verse eight, Nathaneel means “the gift of God.” In verse nine, Eliab means, “my God is Father.” In verse ten, Elishama means, “my God has heard” and then also in verse ten, Gamaliel means, “my God is a rewarder.” And in verse eleven, Abidan means, “my Father is judge.” In verse twelve, Ahiezer means “brother of health.” In verse thirteen, Pagiel means “event of God.” Verse fourteen, Eliasaph means “God addeth” and then the last guy, Ahira doesn’t have too good a name. It is “brother, his brother is evil.” So, he probably had an older brother that wasn’t of too good a reputation so he picked up the name “his brother is evil.”
So these are the twelve men who are to be, more or less, the captains or the leaders, the princes over the various tribes. And so, the tribes are listed with their names and you can go back and look over, if you are so inclined, the tribes that each of these men represented and were princes over these particular tribes.
So, now we begin the numbering of the tribes.
And of the tribe of Reuben [in verse twenty-one, of these adult males over twenty years of age there were], forty-six thousand five hundred ( Num 1:21 ).
In the second numbering, after the end of the forty years there were only forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. And so there was a diminishing of almost three thousand men of the tribe.
Of the tribe of Simeon, [verse twenty-two, of the number of Simeon, verse twenty-three,] were fifty-nine thousand three hundred ( Num 1:23 ).
At the end of the forty years there were only twenty-two thousand, two hundred of the tribe of Simeon. It was more than halved. Of the tribe of Gad, forty-five thousand, six hundred and fifty. At the end of the forty years only forty thousand five hundred, a loss of five thousand, a hundred and fifty. Of the tribe of Judah, verse twenty-seven, there were seventy-four thousand six hundred. The tribe of Judah increased in the wilderness wanderings to seventy-six thousand five hundred. So it’s one of the few that had an increase. In verse twenty-nine, Issacar, fifty-four thousand four hundred. There was an increase of Issacar of almost ten thousand. At the end of the wandering there were sixty-four thousand three hundred. Of the tribe of Zebulun, fifty-seven thousand four hundred. It increased to sixty thousand five hundred.
Of the tribe of Ephraim, [verse thirty-three] forty thousand five hundred ( Num 1:33 ).
It was cut down to thirty-two thousand five hundred and so a loss of eight thousand in the tribe of Ephraim. Of the tribe of Manasseh, thirty-two thousand and two hundred and it increased to fifty-two thousand seven hundred. Of the tribe of Benjamin, thirty-five thousand four hundred which increased to forty-five thousand six hundred. Verse thirty-nine of the tribe of Dan, there were sixty-two thousand seven hundred. They increased to sixty-four thousand four hundred. Of the tribe of Asher, forty-one thousand five hundred increased to fifty-three thousand four hundred.
And so the total number of the men that they numbered [verse forty-six] were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty ( Num 1:46 ).
And so those are the men above twenty years of age, those that were able to bare a sphere and go on to war, who entered into the forty years of wandering in the wilderness and that whole generation died. Only two of those men were left to go into the Promise Land. The two were Joshua and Caleb, of which we will get next week, the faithful spies bringing the good report.
Now, the Levites and the tribe of the Levites were not numbered because they were not to go to battle. They were to not be counted with the number of the men of Israel but they were to be appointed over the tabernacle to take care of the tabernacle, and the vessels and they shall bare the tabernacle and the vessels, and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp around about the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle goes forward, the Levites shall take it down: when it is to be pitched, they’re to set it up ( Num 1:47-51 ):
The tribe of Levi had as its responsibility the taking care of the tabernacle, the moving of it, the setting up of it and of course through Aaron and the priests, the services within the tabernacle.
“
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
The Book of Numbers deals with the wilderness. It is the story of a long discipline resulting from disobedience. History moves forward, for God ever protects His own purposes from the failure of His chosen instruments. The story begins and ends on the margin of the land.
The Book opens with the command of God to number the men of war from twenty years and upwards, and then contains the census of the fighting forces of the nation. The total reached 603,550. The Levites were carefully exempt from this numbering because of their consecration to the sacred service of the Tabernacle, all of which is more particularly dealt with afterwards.
Here, then, we have the first movement in preparation for the coming of the people into the land which God had given to them. As we have constantly seen, the nation had been created to carry out a larger divine purpose.
This purpose was, first, necessarily punitive. Corrupt peoples were to be swept out in the interests of purity and the people of God were to be the instrument of the divine visitation. They must be prepared for warfare, which was the reason for taking the census of the men of war.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Numbered for War; Set Apart for Worship
Num 1:1-4
This book records two numberings of the host; the first, at Sinai; and the second, thirty-eight years after, on the threshold of Canaan. It is also the book of the Wilderness wanderings, and contains the story of journeys, service, and vicissitude. It is therefore a valuable guide book to the Church in her present stage.
For us, too, there is a census. God numbers His jewels. He keeps an inventory of His people. Not one of them is omitted, however weak or unworthy. In thy book all my members are written. We must be able to tell our pedigree; i.e., we must be assured of our regeneration into Gods family. If we are doubtful about our childship to God, we shall be fit for neither campaigning nor fighting. The secret of failure always lies here. The Levites were not included because, in a very special sense, they belonged to God. He therefore was responsible for their well-being as He is for all of us who are united by faith with Christ-the true Aaron.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Analysis and Annotations
I. THE PREPARATION FOR THE JOURNEY
1. The People Numbered
CHAPTER 1
1. The command to number (Num 1:1-4)
2. The appointed helpers for the work (Num 1:5-16)
3. The congregation assembled (Num 1:17-19)
4. The twelve tribes numbered (Num 1:20-46)
5. The Levites separated unto the tabernacle service (Num 1:47-54)
It was exactly one month after the erection of the tabernacle that the Lord gave the commandment to Moses to number the people. This is seen by comparing the first verse of Numbers with Exo 40:17. It must not be overlooked that there was a previous numbering of the people in connection with the atonement money. Then all who were twenty years and above, the same as in this census, were numbered. This took place nine months before, and the number of men twenty years and over was 603,550. The same number is given in this first chapter. See Exo 38:25-26 and Num 1:46.
The numbering was after their families by the house of their fathers. And those to be numbered were all from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel. They had to declare their pedigrees after their families, and only those who could do that had a place in this mustering and could be warriors. This showing of their pedigree was necessary on account of the mixed multitude which had joined themselves to the people of God. And a mixed multitude went up also with them (Exo 12:38). This mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting (Num 11:4). Therefore only those who could show by their pedigree their rightful place among the people of God were mustered and could go to war. Our pedigree, which gives us a place among the people of God, is the new birth, by which we become children of God. And our calling is to a spiritual warfare, not with flesh and blood, but against the devil and his wiles and the wicked spirits (Eph 6:11-12).
The significance of the statement all that are able to go forth to war in Israel must not be overlooked. God wanted His people to go forward and reach in a few days the land of promise, enter in and conquer that land. How this plan was frustrated by their unbelief, and the men of twenty years and over died in the wilderness, without seeing the land is the sad history of this book.
Moses and Aaron were called to be the leaders in numbering the people by their armies. As we saw in Exodus, both Moses and Aaron are typical of Christ. He knoweth His people and His watchful eye rests upon each. With Moses and Aaron were associated the princes of the tribes mentioned in verses 5-16. The names of these princes are of deep interest when we translate them into English. The prince of Reuben is Elizur, My God is a rock. The Prince of Simeon, Shelumiel, At peace with God. The Prince of Judah, Nahshon, A diviner. Then comes Nathaniel, The gift of God. The Prince of issachar, Zebulun, is represented by Eliab, My God is father. Joseph has his double portion and Ephraim has Elishama, My God hath heart. Manassehs Prince is Gamaliel, My God is a rewarder. Benjamin has Abidan, My father is judge. The Prince of Dan is Ahiezer, Brother of help. Asher has Pagiel, Event of God. Gads Prince is Eliasaph, God addeth, and Naphtali is represented by Ahira, Brother is evil. Nearly all these names are an encouragement to faith. These helpers in forming the mighty army speak by their names of the victory and blessing in store for His people if they go forward in faith. (The deeper lessons connected with it are pointed out in an excellent manner in the Numerical Bible.)
The different tribes, except Levi, were then numbered. We give a table which gives the result of this numbering and also the second numbering thirty-eight years later. The comparison is interesting:
The tribe of Levi is not included. The end of this chapter gives the reason. They were not to be among the warriors, but appointed over the tabernacle of testimony, over all the vessels, and what belonged to it. They were to bear it and their place was round about the tabernacle. Their service, divinely appointed and the beautiful lessons connected with it, we shall follow more fully in our annotations of the third and fourth chapters.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
wilderness: Num 10:11, Num 10:12, Exo 19:1, Lev 27:34
tabernacle: Exo 25:22, Lev 1:1
on the first day: As the tabernacle was erected on the first day of the first month, in the second year of their departure from Egypt – Exo 40:17, and this happened on the first day of the second month, in the same year, it is evident that the transactions related in the preceding book must all have taken place in the space of one month, and during the time the Israelites were encamped at mount Sinai. Num 9:1, Num 10:11, Exo 40:17, 1Ki 6:1
Reciprocal: Gen 17:4 – a father Gen 35:11 – a nation Gen 42:13 – Thy servants Gen 46:15 – Leah Exo 3:12 – ye shall Exo 12:3 – an house Lev 25:1 – General Num 3:1 – spake Num 7:89 – he heard Num 26:4 – General Num 26:64 – General Deu 23:12 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
As we pass to the consideration of the Book of Numbers we note that there is no real division between it and Leviticus, as indicated by the fact that the first word is, “And.”
In a little over a year from the Exodus there had to be a numbering of the people. When we come to Num 26:1-65 we find there had to be another numbering just before they entered the land; and from these two occasions the book gets its name. It is the Book however in which we get details of the journeyings of the people in the wilderness. If it opens at the end of the first year in the wilderness after the law had been given, it closes with the people on the border of the promised land at the end of the forty years.
As a prelude to their journeys several things had to take place. The first of these we find in Num 1:1-54. God would take an account of His people, and more particularly of the men from twenty years old and upward, who were “able to go forth to war.” We must remember that God’s plan was to carry them straight into the land of promise, though “not through the way of the land of the Philistines although that was near” (Exo 13:17). The people who from their very beginning had seen no war were not to face it within a few days of their deliverance; yet they had to be prepared for it. Indeed Amalek attacked them within a couple of months and came under God’s undying curse for so doing. As yet the sin recorded in Num 13:1-33 and Num 14:1-45 had not taken place, and had God’s original plan not been set aside the conflict in the land would soon have been upon them.
Our chapter records that as a preliminary a “head” or prince of each tribe was selected. The choice was not left to the people, or even to Moses. The word to him was, “These are the names of the men that shall stand with you….” God chose His own leader for each tribe, and this may usefully remind us that God today chooses His own servants and leaders, and does not submit the matter to a popular vote.
These men, expressed by name, then assisted in the census. All had to be enrolled, when “they declared their pedigrees after their families,” so that every man counted was without a doubt a genuine child of Israel. A present-day application of this lies on the surface. The test today is not that of natural descent but of spiritual. Even a Nicodemus whose natural pedigree could not be impeached, had to discover that the necessary spiritual pedigree would only be his as he was “born of the Spirit.” In Php 3:1-21, we see that Paul, who was “an Hebrew of the Hebrews,” not a drop of Gentile blood having come into his pedigree, counted all to be loss that he might have Christ as his gain and be “found in Him.” To be “in Christ” is the pedigree of supreme value.
The total that were numbered amounted to 603,550, as we are told in verse 46. We were told in Exo 12:37, Exo 12:38, that about 600,000 men beside children left Egypt, and also a “mixed multitude” went with them. In this census the mixed multitude were eliminated and we have more detailed and accurate figures. Since all males under twenty and all females were omitted, we are safe in assuming that the host must have numbered over two millions.
Also the tribe of Levi was wholly excluded from this numbering. In Num 3:1-51 we get the reason for this. As a tribe they were to be set apart wholly for the service of God, and out of their midst came the family chosen for the priesthood. This fact indeed comes out in the closing verses of the first chapter. They were to serve the tabernacle, while the children of Israel were to pitch their tents in relation to it, at a certain distance; the Levites pitching theirs more closely round about it, as keeping it in charge.
We may say therefore that God not only called the warriors who were to take possession of the land but also the workers who were to take charge of His sanctuary, and the Aaronic family, who were to be the worshippers. But though the three callings were separate in Israel, the Christian of today finds them coalesced in himself, though the occasions of their exercise be separate. The Apostle Paul was called to be the pattern saint, and we certainly see in him the worshipper, the worker, and the warrior, as the occasion suited.
The people having been numbered, we learn in Num 2:1-34 that each tribe had its appointed place, when there were stationary periods and they pitched their tents. We notice in the first place that the tabernacle, where was to be seen the cloud indicating the presence of God, was at the centre of everything. So much so that it could be truly said that when Israel was gathered together in a state of repose there was the token of the presence of God in the midst of them. It was visible as befitted that dispensation. It was not so manifest to them, as it is to us today, that “the things which are seen are temporal.” Our attention is to be fixed on the unseen things which are eternal. The presence of God amongst His people today is not visible; nevertheless if the church of God be convoked, and the indwelling Holy Spirit acting unhinderedly in power, an unbeliever coming in would be constrained to confess, “that God is in you of a truth” (1Co 14:25). We have also that great word of our Lord “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mat 18:20).
In verse Num 1:2 the words, “far off,” must be noted. It is true of course that in Ephesians we read of Gentiles being “far off” in contrast to Jews, who were “nigh.” But Israel’s nearness was relative only – in contrast to the distance in which Gentiles dwelt. Priests and Levites pitched their tents round about the tabernacle and the people had to remain on the fringe of things, for there was always fear of wrath coming upon them, as stated in verse Num 1:53 of Num 1:1-54. The whole system was evidently designed to show that, “the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest” (Heb 9:8).
Though the tribe of Levi had been severed from the rest, the division of the tribe of Joseph into two maintained twelve as their number so that on each side of the tabernacle three tribes pitched their tents. The group under Judah faced toward the entrance into the court. That under Ephraim was on the west side, and therefore nearest to the holy place with the cloud of the Divine Presence. This explains the reference in Psa 80:1-19, to God shining forth “before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.” We notice that the order in which the tribes were to march, when they set forth on their journeys, was commanded by God, equally with the order of their tents, when they rested. Arrangements were not left to their discretion or desires. Had they disobeyed, under the mistaken notion that they knew of some better order, they would simply have produced disorder.
In this we see a typical lesson for us. In 1Co 14:1-40, we have the Apostle Paul instructing as to order in the Christian assembly, and saying that what he has written “are the commandments of the Lord.” Much disorder has been produced by the setting aside or ignoring of these commandments.
In Num 3:1-51 we get details of God’s order as to the tribe of Levi. This tribe was taken by God for the service of His house, under the hand of the priests, instead of all the firstborn throughout the tribes, which He had claimed for Himself. Levi had three sons, Gershon, Kohath and Merari, and each of them became the head of a section of the tribe. To each section was allotted a special service in connection with the tabernacle, and each had their tents in a specified position round the tabernacle. Nothing was left to their own devising.
Out of Kohath came Aaron and the priestly family, and the sons of Kohath had special charge of the ark and the other vessels of the sanctuary. Kohath was to pitch tent on the south side of the sanctuary, and Aaron and the priests together with Moses had to dwell on the east side, facing the entrance to the court, keeping charge there, with strangers excluded under the penalty of death.
One thing more we notice in Num 3:1-51. When the census was taken, the number of the firstborn in Israel exceeded the number of the Levites by 273. These God claimed equally with the 22,000 for whom a Levite was found as a substitute, and hence five shekels apiece had to be paid for these as redemption money. According to Exo 13:1-22 the firstborn were to be redeemed at their birth. In our chapter the principle of redemption as the preliminary to the service of God is again emphasized. Whether the Levites during Israel’s history realized that it was only as redeemed people that they were brought into the service of God, may perhaps be open to question, but we should not miss this fact, which is typically set forth here.
The redemption money was handed to Aaron for the service of God, showing that it met His claims upon the redeemed. Let us never forget that as redeemed we belong to God, and that upon this fact is based the life of service to His Name, to which we are committed.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Subdivision 1. (Num 1:1-54; Num 2:1-34.)
The organization and muster.
The first two chapters are the first subdivision, the mustering of the people as a whole, even the place of the Levites being indicated in the second chapter, though these are separated from the body of the nation for a prescribed service in connection with the sanctuary. Apart from them, the number of the tribes is maintained by the incorporation of Joseph’s two sons as tribal heads according to Gen 48:1-22. In this muster the organization carried out is the natural one, by families or “fathers’ houses:” two terms which appear to be co-extensive, contrary as this is to the usual thought.* The difference between them is, that the word for “family” implies subjection to authority,** while the father’s house shows that this authority has its grounds in the natural relation. Such is God’s relationship to His people, of which the father is the image. Here rule should be as easy as obedience delightful. In family groups they were thus linked together in God’s host, brother fighting alongside of brother, an army so compacted as to be, one might suppose, invincible. And what a means of encouragement, and of the impartation of energy, has God provided for us as Christians, who are members of one family, owning a common. Father, and embarked together in a common cause! Alas! how much feebleness has come in through God’s order having been departed from: so many among us who cannot show their names upon the register, and so few together of those undoubtedly akin! And yet, with all this, we are still able to realize in measure the blessedness of the divine thought for us, and the comfort and power that result from this family organization, such as we find it in Israel.
{*The “fathers’ houses” are generally considered to be subdivisions of the “families;” but they are used in a way which would seem to forbid this. Thus, although the usual order here is “by families, by fathers’ houses,” yet we find this order reversed also (Num 3:15; Num 4:22); and while on the one hand the numbering is sometimes by fathers’ houses only, (as Num 1:45; Num 32:1-42; Num 26:2,) in the second registration there are specified families alone. Both terms are used also in the most general way, even for a whole tribe (Num 1:4; Num 2:2; Num 17:2; Jos 7:17; Jdg 17:7). Num 3:20, “These are the families of the Levites, according to their fathers’ houses,” seems to identify them as certainly the account to which it is appended only mentions “families;” and their identity is plainly stated, according to my translation of Num 4:38; Num 4:46.
** Mishpach, (from shaphach, to humble, to subject,) is so denominated from being. subject to or under the authority of the master of the family. So in Latin, familia, a family, is from famulus, a servant. -(Parkhurst.)}
1. The first chapter gives this enrolling, “the sum of all the assembly of the children of Israel,” but only their effective force, those fit for warfare, not women or babes, but grown men. In Christ of course there is neither male nor female, and women do not escape from spiritual warfare: but the thought conveyed to us here is none the less plain and significant. It is not the simple fact of being Christians that makes us practically fit to be warriors. Any that are Christ’s may of course have to fight, but to be properly a warrior is a different thing. For this we must have two things which indeed come near together, and are both covered by the number which marks the section. First of all, maturity, which in the Greek stands as “perfectness,” “wholeness,” (teleiotes,) the full harmony of all the faculties. For this as saints we need to be nourished up by the Word of God. And secondly, what the apostle gives as necessary for a good soldier of Christ,” devotedness, not to be entangled with the affairs of this life, which from another side brings us again to the thought of entireness, oneness. Thus to the Corinthians he complains that their carnality kept them still “babes in Christ.” Here then is our title to enrollment among those “fit for war” in the spiritual Israel.
(1) The persons able to do the work of numbering are, first of all, Moses and Aaron, the double type of Christ as King and Priest. He is indeed the One who knoweth them that are His, and under whose eye His servants are: the Lord who rules, and He who intercedes for and sustains them. Good it is to be under an eye like this!
Under Moses and Aaron there are certain princes of the people, each identified with his own tribe, and in due time coming to be head over it. Of these we have nothing noted but their own and their fathers’ names, but just for that reason, if there could otherwise be doubt, we may be sure that their names are intended to speak to us. All these Bible names should speak and their connection with the several tribes which they represent must be of importance: there must be a reason why Elizur, rather than Shelumiel or Nahshon, should be prince of Reuben; and it is in exploring Reuben’s history that we should find it.
That history of Reuben, as of the other tribes, we shall find in a prophetic summary in Jacob’s dying words, where divine wisdom has given the moral of it, the character of Reuben as therein shown, and the lessons we are to derive from it. We may turn then with confidence to the words of this grand prophecy, with which we are already familiar, to gather aid in the understanding of what is now before us.
Reuben stands first then here as in Genesis, and Reuben’s prince is Elizur the son of Shedeur. The first of these names is unquestionable in its meaning, as it is beautiful, -“God is a Rock.” And this seems at once plain when connected with the character which Jacob gives to his first-born, “unstable, -boiling over -as water, thou shalt not excel.” How grandly in opposition to the instability of Reuben is the rock-like stability of God! And it is the learning of this, and how to build upon it, that imparts stability to the unstable. In ourselves there is never strength, and the way of strength for us is to know this: “when I am weak, then am I strong.” An Abraham with whom the body is now dead, needs -and finds because he needs -the Almighty God.
Thus it is plain why Elizur is Reuben’s prince and leader. He is one of God’s royal family of overcomers, and he overcomes the evil, native in the tribe he represents. Faith with him has found refuge from himself, and found it in God. He is then the suited captain for the men fit for war in the tribe of the first-born.
But this is not the whole: for Reuben’s instability is more than weakness. Too many excuse as that what is in fact willfulness, the lust of the flesh; and though there is weakness necessarily in such a case, nevertheless that word does not describe the case. So we have seen it to be in what is before us: lust and will characterize the first-born of Jacob, as they do the first outcome of man in general; and so, before one can find one’s strength in God, the holiness of God must be known, and our wills must be brought into conformity with His holiness. And this is accomplished more or less for us all in the fire of purification, the fire at which He sits as a Refiner of silver, purifying to Himself His people from their dross. No marvel then is it that the Reubenite Elizur is “the son of Shedeur:” that is, “the Almighty is fire.” Yes, “our God is a consuming fire;” and He truly is the Almighty who is this, so that there is no escape out of His hands, when in love He takes up with us this His gracious work. Thus is the lesson learned, and how good when one has learned it! yea, “the knowledge of the Holy is” indeed “understanding.”
The next tribe, in birth order, perhaps in character, is Simeon; and the prince of Simeon is Shelumiel, “at peace with God.” Again, how significant if we turn back to Jacob’s prophecy, and hear him denounce on God’s part Simeon’s cruel wrath! His paths had not been peace, nor with Him who is “the God of peace:” hence peace with God, the deep, sweet rest of a mind conformed to His mind, Simeon could not know. Now with the Simeonite prince all this is changed; as to Simeon’s special evil he too is an overcomer, and his also is the victory of faith: there is no evil which faith cannot overcome, because He with whom it links itself is the Almighty. And so in the process indicated here, Shelumiel is the son of Zurishaddai, -that is, “My rock is the Almighty.”
We have had much this thought already in Elizur, for the very simplest truths that faith embraces are of the widest reach and deepest import. Here, though the thought is much the same, the connection is different, just as Simeon is different from Reuben in his character. While Reuben is, as Jacob says, “the topmost of my strength,” Simeon’s very alliance with his brother is the confession of weakness, but a weakness which he would remedy by a recourse to that to which at present so many are betaking themselves -confederacy. And here he does find it indeed, but only to make cruel use of it, and to walk in separation from God. On his part therefore it brings in the end division and scattering. This is a necessity for him, if he is to be saved from himself; that, having found what the strength of nature betrays one to, he may turn to Him in whom there is all-sufficiency and with whom is holiness. This is now the Simeonite prince’s alliance, and such an one needs never to be broken up again. Out of such have all great movements come; and here in such an alliance, as nowhere else, that individuality which is essential to the integrity and perfection of all true manhood is maintained; heart, conscience, the moral nature, are exercised and developed. Thus Shelumiel, that true peace with God which is the result of communion, springs from Zurishaddai, the known and enjoyed strength of the Almighty.
In the third place we have Judah, and here a condition very different from that of the two preceding tribes. In Judah we find the worshiper, and the strength implied in the spirit of praise. For the lesson of the two former histories is learnt in this: the heart that rejoices in God Himself has ceased from its own will and found communion in the path of obedience. Thus there is strength: but here we may seem to have no room for the overcomer. Is it so in fact? and does the prince of Judah no more exemplify what we have found to be in the former ones? We may as well ask, what room is there for the overcomer in the church of Philadelphia, where (as in the other churches) there is a distinct promise to one? But the answer is, there is in Philadelphia, as elsewhere, still a tendency to slip away, -not to hold fast that which they have; and here then at least there is a need for overcoming. Just so with that which characterizes Judah. The spirit of praise may all too easily be lost, and Nahshon may teach us how to retain it. He may be in this sense an overcomer.
Nahshon then means “a diviner,” not necessarily in a bad sense. It is a word used for diligent observation (1Ki 20:33); and divining, apart from the heathenism so much associated with it, is but the discernment in the present of the future: and so may the child of God divine. In that which makes him a worshiper he may find what will give him prophetic insight into the future. Nahshon is therefore the son of Amminadab, or, as the last word means, of “the people of the Liberal Giver.” Here faith gets then its foresight, in the knowledge of His free grace to whom we belong. How beautiful is this genealogy of a prophet! and how this spirit breathes throughout the psalms, so largely Judah’s! Still more should we be able to take as the ground of a happy confidence, “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Thus the spirit of praise is nursed within us.
Issachar’s prince comes fourth in the list, Nathaniel, the “gift of God:” again exactly suited to him whose name speaks of hire, and whose tendency is to stoop his shoulder to foreign yokes, and to pay his tribute from the love of ease. The spirit of legality takes up readily with such strange service, as it is self which it really serves, and a bribe will turn it from its true Master. Yet, though God may hire a Nebuchadnezzar (Eze 29:18), the bread in our Father’s house is not for hirelings, though in the far-off country one might think so. As we have seen, at His redemption-feast no hireling sits (Exo 12:45). Yet the hireling spirit in the people of God themselves would turn His grace into legal compensation, and a true overcomer is this Nathaniel who has learnt that the “gift of God” cannot be purchased. Here, too, the genealogy speaks very simply of how grace is apprehended: he is the son of Zuar, -that is “Little.” For he who thinks of hire values himself necessarily at too high a rate, and he who estimates himself as really “little” is ready to appreciate the gift of God.
Yet there is a right thought of recompense -a reward, of “mercy” (2Ti 1:18) which love will not be denied in giving, -which is really but the gift of God. This can never become to the soul as hire, the motive to service, and for this reason, that it is the reward of true devotedness alone, and not self-seeking: to work for the reward is to lose it. Issachar’s captain must in this way also be Nathaniel.
In the fifth place here we find Zebulon; and in Zebulon we have seen Israel forgetting her separation to God, and stretching out toward the Gentiles. How sadly has this tendency to departure shown itself in the Church with regard to her more vital and wider separation from the world! and who can sufficiently estimate the evil resulting? When Balaam afterward sees the people in the “vision of the Almighty,” the first thing that he sees is a people that dwell “alone, and are not reckoned among the nations.” When with satanic craft he is laboring to injure whom he cannot destroy, he seeks to seduce them from this position by Midianitish women. In the Church the “unequal yoke” was very early brought in, and the apostle’s words show the magnitude of the evil resulting. “For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an unbeliever? . . . . Where: fore come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2Co 6:14-18.)
God is the Father of His believing people; but if they mix themselves with the world in forgetfulness of whose they are, they force Him, as it were, to forget their special relation to Himself. He cannot be to them. a Father as He would. How terrible is this loss, then, little as many regard it! And how powerfully does Zebulon’s captain witness to us in this way -Eliab, “God is a Father!” May it speak with all its solemnity, and with all its precious encouragement, to His people’s hearts! Thus Zebulon, “dwelling,” gets its right significance.*
{*Of Helon, -the second name -the interpretation is so little assured, that I think it safer here to pass it by.}
Leah’s children end with this, save Levi, whose place is elsewhere. We have now Rachel’s, Joseph first claiming his double portion in his two sons. Of these, Ephraim comes first according to Jacob’s prophetic destination to this place of the younger born. Ephraim’s prince is Elishama, “God hath heard;” for the very “fruitfulness” of which Ephraim speaks may be a snare to us if we have not learnt reverently to ascribe it to One who heareth His people’s prayer. The second name, Ammihud, “the people of Majesty,” may intimate that conscious relationship to the infinite Greatness which is the warrant and stimulus of successful prayer. All these names breath a spirit of dependence and of nearness, -of lowliness, yet of intimacy, -things that go necessarily together. There is abundant access for the humble-hearted; “the proud He beholdeth afar off.” The nearest intimacy with God cannot minister to pride or go with it: the assumption of nearness, where the will is not subdued, and the spirit is unchastened, is but a false assumption. Who that has fairly measured himself in the presence of God but must carry with him the crippling of his human strength, as Jacob carried from Peniel his halting thigh?
And now we come to Manasseh: “Manasseh” means, as we know, “forgetting.” “God has made me to forget,” says Joseph, “all my kindred, and my father’s house.” It is translated into Christian experience, the spirit of the racer, who sees no more what is once behind him, as he presses on toward the prize before. And this last thought Manasseh’s prince supplies. His name is Gamaliel, -“God is a rewarder.” As it is said of Moses, He had respect to the recompense of the reward.” (Heb 11:26. )
Here the interlacing of divine truth brings us back to Issachar; yet, as approaching it from another side, the truth itself is different. The danger is not now of legality: rather, as the future is faced thus, there is need of what shall give competency to meet with assurance of heart the thought of recompense. That competency is here in the second name, Pedahzur, “the Rock hath redeemed.” Only from the conviction of the strength of our salvation can we start for the goal of divine recompense, -forgetting the things behind in the consciousness of what Eye rests upon us, and of a heart that forgets never: may we so press on!
Then follows Benjamin, who wherever we find him is the warrior, type of Christ Himself in the power that will put down evil in the earth in a day to come. For ourselves also in the meantime, -for us who are to be among the white-robed hosts that follow Him, when He comes forth as the white-horsed warrior to the judgment of that day, -a conflict with evil is appointed, not with carnal weapons, but so real and well-contested that we need all the panoply of God. From this no one that is Christ’s can escape, save only by desertion of his post. How can he fittingly be with Christ in that day, who has never contended in the strife of this?
It will be said, perhaps, that all the tribes here are warriors, and just because the warfare is appointed to all, it would seem as if there could be no special warrior type among them; but Benjamin’s presence here is sufficient proof that this is a mistake. Not only, as has been already said, may those be in the conflict who are not warriors, but there are also different kinds of warfare, -defensive as well as offensive, in the fort and in the field. Benjamin is the type of the aggressive soldier, not the shield-bearer, but the swordsman or the slinger, such as there were in Benjamin at another day, -“seven hundred chosen men, . . . . every one could sling stones at a hair’s breadth, and not miss” (Jdg 20:16). This God would have in His people also, not the mere holding of the fort, but the going out to war, as when the land is to be won, or brethren are to be delivered.
This, then, is the Benjamite, and the prince of Benjamin is Abidan, “My father is judge.” Not according to men’s judgment merely, least of all our own, but according to God’s judgment, must every thing be conducted here; but not merely that even: the Father’s judgment is what we who are His children are ourselves under, as the apostle admonishes us: “If ye call on the Father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here with fear.” (1Pe 1:17.)
What more needful admonition in the controversy with evil than this, to re member that we ourselves are under our Father’s holy eye! How can we contend elsewhere with that whose power we are ignoring over our own hearts and ways? In the dark days which so quickly followed Israel’s possession of the land, the judge was the deliverer: “and when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; . . . and it came to pass when the judge was dead, that they returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, . . . and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel.” This then was the twofold office of the judge: as it was said of Othniel, “He judged Israel, and went out to war.” Benjamin’s prince then is Abidan.
But Abidan also is the son of Gideoni, -“the cutter down.” For that from which proceeds all true after-judgment is the acceptance of that first judgment at the cross in which the tree of humanity had to be felled in order to construct the ark of salvation. Christ crucified is our deliverance, but Christ crucified is also the judgment of the flesh: “our old man was crucified with Him.” Thus it is because Christ died to sin we are to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin; and to be so reckoning is power over it. If there be shoots from the stump, the knife and the axe have still their place; but for intelligent faith Gideoni has well done his woodman’s work. We have not to die to sin; we are dead: not in experience, but “with Christ,” therefore for faith. All self-judgment afterward proceeds upon this judgment of God upon us, -a judgment which when accepted by us is ability for all the rest. Gideoni is the father of Abidan.
The children of the two wives are now told out, and we come to the children of the bondmaids. The first of these is Dan, “judgment,” the spirit of rule, which, as Dan’s origin points out, is really service. Yet in man’s hand how readily it is turned from this! “Man being in honor abideth not.” Instead of using his place for the blessing of those entrusted to his care, he uses it for himself, feeds with it his ambition or his greed in some form, and becomes a rebel to the One from whom he derives authority. Thus in Dan, as we have seen in Jacob’s prophecy, is found the apostate. But for this, as for all else, there is a remedy with God, and Dan is here in his place with his captain Ahiezer, -“brother of help,” the son of Ammishaddai, -“the people of the Almighty.” Let them be realized in this relation, and the ruler becomes according to God’s design, the “helping brother” of those over whom he is appointed. Thus do the hills after their nature minister to the valleys, and God in His love serves all: for this is true greatness ever: “without contradiction the less is blessed of the better,” and “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Heb 7:7; Act 20:35.)
Asher follows Dan: his prince is Pagiel, -“event of God,” the son of Ocran, -“afflicted.” Strange names these in connection with Asher, -the “happy,” and whose portion in Jacob’s prophecy answers to his name. Yet “He maketh all things work together for good to them that love Him,” and sorrow in His hands is turned into joy. To true happiness here, as well as. for a guard against the dangers of it, some strain of sorrow seems of necessity to mingle with it, something wherein the soul has to submit itself to God, -to say it is the Lord, “the event is of God.” The apostle’s thorn in the flesh after his ecstasy in the third heaven may tell us this as to the most spiritual joys. Asher’s prince is often a Pagiel, as Pagiel is truly Ocran’s child: “tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.”
And now we have Gad, whose prince is Eliasaph, -“God hath added;” he is the son of Deuel, -“known of God.” How good a thing it is to be known of God! For this does not of course mean merely such knowledge as God has of every thing, but the knowledge we have of one with whom we are intimate, and which implies approval. And this is truly the secret of spiritual increase such as Eliasaph speaks of, the last part of whose name is the same word as “Joseph.” Leah’s exclamation when Gad is born shows that this is the thought also in his name. Need we be told that increase is to be looked for in a child of God? Or how sad a proof it is of the lack of divine intimacy when there is not this? And yet there are those whose stagnant condition would imply that they have no thought of this: if they are safe, it is enough; they do not “grow in grace,” they remain babes, a condition which the apostle traces in the Corinthians to their carnality.
We have but one tribe more, that of Naphtali. His prince is Ahira, “brother of evil,” the son of Enan, which means apparently “eyed,” or “having eyes.” This is the most difficult name perhaps to interpret of all that we have had; the words also being susceptible of other meanings, though these are the simplest ones. May it be that in Ahira we find one whose eyes have affected his heart, like another Jeremiah (Lam 3:51), and made him a man of sorrows in sympathy with the sorrow around? Such a spirit one would suppose to need expression among these leaders of Israel, and thus the “brother of evil” would come to be the “brother born for adversity,” of which Proverbs speaks (Pro 17:17). And this would not suit ill with the character of that Naphtali, whose own name is a memorial of “struggling,” and whose “pleasant words” are noted in that prophecy of Jacob to which there seems constant reference all through.
These, then, are Israel’s princes, able to muster and lead to victory the hosts of the redeemed, as being personally overcomers in regard to their surroundings or the tendencies to failure amid which they are. In the constant battle-field which this world is for us, we must indeed be overcomers or overcome. All the men fit for war must be ranged under these leaders, as in the addresses to the seven churches of Revelation, the promises are all for overcomers. Here is the test for us, and we cannot excuse ourselves from it: blessed be God, if we have the spirit of the overcomer, the evil round can never master us, any more than the darkness of night can keep the stars from shining. The darkness is their opportunity to shine!
(2) As to the number of the tribes which is now given to us, we must learn better the symbolism of numbers and the meaning of these tribal divisions themselves, before we can expect to find what is hid in it. Yet we may be well assured that there is here, as elsewhere, such deeper meaning, which should en courage attempt to seek it. God has forbidden idle words: can there be such in His own book? Assuredly not; it is impossible; and the first condition of successful search is the faith that accredits Him with a wisdom and love which has every where hidden in it the treasures which are to reward this.
(3) The separation of the Levites to God for the work of the tabernacle is now declared. They are to be the body-guard of the divine King, and as the priests go in to God to perform their intercessory service in behalf of the people, so the Levites keep them from the wrath that would follow the intrusion of the stranger into the tabernacle of God, the holy things of which they bear through the desert in all their journeyings. They are thus the distinct types of ministry which addresses itself from God to man, as priesthood does from man to God. These things will, however, come fully before us in a little while, and we shall till then defer the discussion of them.
2. The people, being numbered, are next ranged round the sanctuary, the Levites, as we have seen, being in the innermost circle, and the rest of the tribes arranged in four large camps, three tribes in each camp, under the standard of one of them as chief. Here, as so commonly then, the twelve divide into 4 x 3, not with less significance here than elsewhere: the number of manifest sovereignty -for the Lord is in the midst of His people -may show how God transforms the place of trial into the means of the display of Himself in power over it.
The four camps lie to the four quarters, east, south, west, and north, from which come the outside influences, which, in a world like this may be any of them adverse, and which the people of God must meet in the power of Him who is among them. They must be independent of circumstances, carrying their resources, in this sense, within themselves. The whole order has reference to these outside influences, as we may see more shortly, the entire wilderness journey being a warfare, and the people’s dwelling-place a camp.
The divisions and associations of the tribes can only be understood aright as we study them in detail.
(1) The first division is that of Judah, with whom, under his standard, are Issachar and Zebulon. The position of his camp is doubly indicated as “eastward, toward the sunrising,” two expressions which we may be sure are not mere tautology, for there is nothing of this kind in the Word of God; and inquiry here, as elsewhere, will not be without result.
In fact the two expressions are in a sense in contrast. They both speak of the east, where of course the sun rises; but while the sunrise always conveys the idea of joy and blessing as connected with the returning day, the other word implies rather the opposite of this. This word is qedem, what faces,” or “confronts you,” and thus as nearly as may be resembles our word adversity from the Latin, “what is toward” you, only in a hostile manner. The qadim, the “east wind,” is the dry and parching wind from the desert, as the west wind is literally the sea-wind, bringing moisture and rain. Judah’s position, then, contemplates two opposite things, the world as the place of malign influence, and the uprising of the Sun of Righteousness, which for us is the end of this. These two contrary thoughts to us as Christians so suggest one another that there is no difficulty in their connection. He who faces in earnest the evil of the world will have proportionately before him that appearing of Christ which will bring its long disorder to an end forever. The night is fir spent, and the day is at hand; blessed be God, we who believe in Him are children of the day; therefore,” says the apostle, “let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” (Rom 13:12.) Here we are in Judah’s camp toward the sunrise.
But why Judah foremost, the leader of all. Israel in this way? His name and what we have seen of his history account for this. We have seen the light of the prophet in his eyes, and are all familiar with the fulfillment of the prophecy in his name in the psalms of his descendant David. We have read too his motto in the words of Jacob, “The spirit of praise is the spirit of power.” Judah is foremost here for the same reason that Jehoshaphat in a later day put his singers and trumpeters in the forefront of the battle against the enemy; and when they began to sing and praise, the Lord went out against the foe and smote them. (2Ch 20:1-37.) So then it is here.
For the spirit of praise is the spirit also of obedience, and thus Judah is qualified to be the law-giver (Psa 60:7). Wherever the heart is filled with God His throne will be in the heart, and what an irresistible power is in this spirit of obedience to the all-wise “Captain of salvation”! Who or what can defeat the King’s army, so long as it obeys orders? And what a triumphant enthusiasm, the presage of victory, swells in these loyal songs in the face of the battle!
This is what characterizes Judah, the spirit of obedience rising into the joyous spirit of praise, as with him who says, Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.” (Psa 119:54.) This is the “shout of a King” which Balaam heard at a somewhat later day than this, and before which Moab quailed. How beautiful is this position of Judah, meeting the edge of the east wind with the song of loyal devotedness, his camp thrown forward into the darkness to meet the first rays of the coming day; his captain he with the prophet’s eyes, and of the race of those who know the Liberal Giver as their God!
The last thought connects with Issachar, who, with Zebulon, fights under Judah’s banner, with his captain Nathaniel, “the gift of God.” They are both under the best of leadership evidently. The one will not seek his own, nor the other stray off to the world, while Judah leads.
Taken as a whole, then, the camp of Judah is the expression of the spirit of righteousness, the standard under which he gathers is that of righteousness, a spirit to which statutes are songs, free therefore from legality, and which maintains the enjoyment of relationship to God as Father, where Issachar and Zebulon give the complementary thoughts. How full and sweet an expression is it; and how clearly the New Testament shines out here in the Old!
(2) The next camp is that of Reuben, in which the rejected first-born takes humbly the second place. The subjugated will of man shows itself now, as we have seen in him, in the dependent cleaving to God, which is indeed “strength” and stability. “God is a rock” -(Elizur) is the principle which now victoriously leads him on. His place is on the south, which literally is “the right hand,” the place of power and dignity, though in dependence: how completely does this mark the position of Reuben, again the child’s place (Reuben, “see, a son!”)
But he needs this place, for the influences of the south are relaxing ones. How good that he has to lean only upon Another! that the place of his strength is inaccessible to any possible attack! It is indeed in resisting the relaxing influences of what men count prosperity that the power of faith is most distinctly shown. How beautiful an example is that of Moses, who, “when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt”! This was the resolute will of faith, the spirit of the prince of Reuben, in the face of the world. And in truth, though the influences of the south are pleasant for a season, they end in fierce and furnace heat before which the fruits of the earth are dried up and perish. How many have found the hot breath of worldly prosperity to be the destruction of spiritual fruit! The camp of Reuben if it be well maintained, is indeed here a place of honor, and the subjugated will of a Reubenite the first necessity to face the south.
Here, then, Reuben is foremost, and under him are Simeon and Gad. Simeon too has learned dependence upon the prayer-hearing God, and has the peace of conformity of his mind to God’s. If Reuben’s prince is Elizur (“God is a rock”), the father of the prince of Simeon is Zurishaddai, -“my rock is the Almighty.” Thus they are suited companions. But the communion which Simeon represents must be under the lead of Reuben’s will of adherence and subjection to God, that it may abide the desert warfare, and thus he fills exactly his place here. Gad also is in the same line of dependence with his captain Eliasaph, -God hath added,” -growth through faith, that is, by virtue of what faith embraces. Thus Reuben’s camp is finished and furnished. Upon his standard we may read “faith.”
(3) In the centre of the camp we have next the tent of meeting, with its Levite guard. As with Jerusalem at an after-day, “God is in the midst of her: she shall not be moved.” (Psa 46:5.) The Levites, devoted to the sanctuary and surrounding it, present the thought of consecration: and this is at the heart of all successful warfare. There is little said about Levi here: it is his glory to be overshadowed by the glory of God. And this is morally the character of all true consecration: that which vaunts itself is none.
Westward was the camp of Ephraim: “westward” being, in Hebrew, “toward the sea.” And the sea is pre-eminently in Scripture, as in nature, the type of trouble and unrest, which the word itself implies in the original. We have seen it in the six day’s work the type of the evil within us, and which remains in us though regenerate, limited, however, by divine grace. It is the evil, moreover, in its negative rather than its positive aspect, and the west wind, as the sea-wind, differs from the east wind, the wind of the desert in this way. It comes not to wither, but rather loaded with the moisture which revives and refreshes the earth. This is the answer of heaven to the appeal of man’s misery, even though that misery be in a sense identified with his sin. As the heaven draws from the bosom of the sea itself the vapors which it pours out again upon the land, so grace is that with which God in sovereign goodness has answered our sin, and the occasion of which has been the very sin itself; for only in a world of sinners could He show grace. How full and exact are these natural types, when we come to analyze them!
Ephraim’s camp, then, lies toward the sea,* and his name reads easily in this connection; for “fruitfulness” is dependent on the showers of heaven, spiritually as much as naturally. Nor only this, but plainly also the result of that which the heaving and stormy sea suggests -still under divine control -is what the apostle has affirmed for us, that “tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.” (Rom 5:3-4.) Here is the key-word, I doubt not, to Ephraim’s position among Israel’s hosts. His camp is the fourth camp, and the standard under which it marches is that of experience.
{*In the desert it must have been north-west to do this; but these distinctions are not made in Scripture, and the figure is more exact as Scripture gives it. We have not to consider the changes of locality to get the spiritual instruction, which is ever what is aimed at.}
In a warfare such as this, experience must needs have an important place: in deed such an one as that which we have just heard from inspired lips itself implies the wilderness warfare and the victory of grace. The “fruitfulness” of which Ephraim’s name tells is also an experience of which another apostle makes use in his conflict with those who were seeking to seduce those to whom he writes (1Jn 2:26). The consciousness of what the gospel works, arms us against those who would deprive us of it. The consciousness of our love to the brethren reassures us as to our having passed from death unto life (1Jn 3:14). “Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1Jn 2:3). And “hereby do we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit” (1Jn 4:13). These of course are not the things that give us peace at first, nor the foundation on which we build at any time. Christ alone is the foundation. And yet in the day of conflict we may find “Ephraim the strength of the head” (Psa 60:7): the experience of the fruitfulness of grace is like a helmet to resist the blows of skeptical argument, and preserve the mind quiet and undizzy amid the assaults of error.
Quite suited to this is the name of Ephraim’s prince. “God hath heard” may be the conviction of faith, but it is also the realization of experience; just as Manasseh’s prince, “God is a rewarder,” may speak the confidence of hope, but may speak as well what is present realization. Indeed, it will be almost necessarily both, since God thus is continually meeting us with pledges and anticipations of the final recompense. Benjamin’s Abidan, “my father is judge,” implies also a practical experience.
Manasseh comes naturally under Ephraim’s headship, according to Jacob’s prophecy. Manasseh -“forgetfulness,” is but negative when alone: as a means to an end it must be connected with and governed by the end, in order to have its proper character. The spouse of the psalms is bidden, like another Joseph, to forget all her people and her father’s house, but it is in the absorption of her heart with her divine King and Bridegroom (Psa 45:10). So that to me to live is Christ,” of him who proclaimed himself a Manassite, “forgetting that which is behind” (Php 1:21; Php 3:13). It was not asceticism; it was absorption: a “counting all things but dung, that” he “might win Christ” (Php 3:8).
Benjamin also would lack the true spirit if not found under Ephraim. The spirit of controversy, apart from the eager desire of fruit for God, would be but that of Ishmael -warfare for its own sake, -a spirit to be abhorred. How different when it is a burning zeal for Christ and for His glory that animates one, and, as we have seen, Abidan is the captain of the host!
But Ephraim leads Benjamin also, because the experience of the fruit of grace as realized in the soul is necessary for the conflict in its behalf. This we have seen in the apostle’s appeal to its testimony as against seducers. And all truth that is to be maintained in the face of an evil world must have like witness in the hearts and lives of its professors. The Benjamite warriors must be found in the camp of Ephraim under the standard of experience.
(5) And now we come to the last camp, fifth in order here -that of Dan. It lies to the north, and as we have found the other quarters of the heaven with significant names, so it is also here. The north (tsaphon) means “what is hidden,” and the reason why the north is called so is because to those living in the northern hemisphere the sun travels through the southern heavens, and the north side of any thing is the dark side. Naturally the north itself would be contemplated as the seat of darkness, the abode of gloom and mystery. Striking it is, then, that the camp of Dan falls into the fifth place, the number five speaking, as we have so often seen, of exercise in connection with God’s governmental ways. In this respect Scripture itself recognizes, and the heart of every man bears witness to, the mystery with which they are encompassed. Here still, as with Moses upon the mount, it is impossible to see God’s face. Only after He has passed by can we see the glory of His back parts.
And this mystery, how it assaults us! From the north came the most frequent attacks upon the land, and from it will come the final attack. (Eze 38:1-23; Eze 39:1-29.) In the sides of the north the Babylonian apostate makes his seat and utters his defiance of the Almighty. (Isa 14:1-32.) We must not imagine this to be without significance. Nothing in Scripture is; and it is by putting things together that we perceive a meaning which taken by themselves such things might seem to lack. Certainly in the place of mystery it is that apostasy and infidelity entrench themselves most securely; while upon the forehead of Babylon the great there is also written, “Mystery.”
Dan, who fills the fifth position here, was also the fifth son of Jacob. Child of the handmaid as he is, he represents the spirit of rule or judgment. Strangely enough, in Jacob’s prophecy he shows, as we may say, the northern character; and unites in his serpent symbol the two ideas of assailant and apostate. Is this when the influences of his position, which is by and by in the extreme north of Israel, have overcome and carried him away? Here, however, all is different: he is in his place every way, and his prince is Ahiezer, “brother of help.” Dan is here, therefore, nearly connected with Abidan, prince of the tribe before him, Benjamin, and speaks similarly of that judgment of one’s self according to God which is indeed the only spirit in which to meet without damage the mysteries which confront us. Where intellect merely is only perplexed and baffled, and speculation betrays us into error, or into that pride which is the most fatal error, there the spirit of self-judgment escapes without an effort, finding safe footing where the other falls. This is easily understood. An exercised conscience is the true remedy for over-exercise of mind, just as the apostle tells us of those on the other hand who, not “holding faith and a good conscience,” “concerning faith have made shipwreck.” (1Ti 1:19.) Here, too, Ahiezer finds his place: those in practical lowly service to others are not easily mastered by the subtleties which carry away the theorist.
Dan, who fills the fifth position here, was also the fifth son of Jacob. Child of the handmaid as he is, he represents the spirit of rule or judgment. Strangely enough, in Jacob’s prophecy he shows, as we may say, the northern character; and unites in his serpent symbol the two ideas of assailant and apostate. Is this when the influences of his position, which is by and by in the extreme north of Israel, have overcome and carried him away? Here, however, all is different: he is in his place every way, and his prince is Ahiezer, “brother of help.” Dan is here, therefore, nearly connected with Abidan, prince of the tribe before him, Benjamin, and speaks similarly of that judgment of one’s self according to God which is indeed the only spirit in which to meet without damage the mysteries which confront us. Where intellect merely is only perplexed and baffled, and speculation betrays us into error, or into that pride which is the most fatal error, there the spirit of self-judgment escapes without an effort, finding safe footing where the other falls. This is easily understood. An exercised conscience is the true remedy for over-exercise of mind, just as the apostle tells us of those on the other hand who, not “holding faith and a good conscience,” “concerning faith have made shipwreck.” (1Ti 1:19.) Here, too, Ahiezer finds his place: those in practical lowly service to others are not easily mastered by the subtleties which carry away the theorist.
Dan’s standard, then, is truly that of exercise, and under and next to him comes Asher, the “happy:” for happiness clearly depends upon this awakened conscience, and is found in the way of such brotherly helpfulness as Ahiezer speaks of: “if ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (Joh 13:17.) We have seen that Asher’s captain indicates how God maintains us in happiness by the ministry of a chastening sorrow, which sufficiently accounts for Asher being under the standard of “exercise.” All is simple here for those that have proved it even in a small measure, and what child of God has not? Only may we heed the admonition of it!
Finally, Naphtali comes under the same banner, his captain also, Ahira, manifestly near akin to Ahiezer. And here every thing tells of exercise, so that there is scarcely need to enlarge upon it. Thus the order of the camps is complete.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
NUMBER AND ORDER OF THE TRIBES
A secondary name for Numbers might be The Book of the Journeyings since it gives the story of Israel from Sinai to the arrival on the border of Canaan. Examine Num 1:1 and perceive that the time covered by Exodus and Leviticus was not more than fourteen months, while that of Numbers is over thirty-eight years. You will doubtless find a map in the back of your Bible which will aid in mastering this book. The journey will be seen to be first northwest as far as Kadesh, then south to the fork of the Red Sea, and finally northwest as before, around the land of Edom to Moab.
We will keep this geographical outline in mind, considering first the principal events at Sinai before they start, then what occurred between Sinai and Kadesh, and finally between Kadesh and Moab.
THE BOOK OF THE MURMURINGS
The book might be called the book of the murmurings as well as journeyings, for it is pervaded with a spirit of disobedience and rebellion against God, justifying the abstract given of the period in Psa 95:10.
While annals of many powerful nations of this period are entirely forgotten, these of a comparative handful of people are preserved (despite their ungrateful spirit) because of the relation they bear to the redemption of the world through Jesus Christ. This accounts for the divine long-suffering towards them, and all the exhibits of divine love the book contains. We have rehearsed this before, but it is well to keep it in mind as we pursue our studies. Read 1 Corinthians 10 to discover how their history is a kind of object lesson illustrating Gods dealings with us spiritually.
THE TRIBES NUMBERED (Numbers 1)
What was Moses commanded to do, and when was he commanded to do it (Num 1:1-2)? What people were thus to be numbered, and why (Num 1:2-3)?
Comparing 4 and 16, what description is given of the heads of houses who were to be with Moses and Aaron in this matter?
Renowned means them that were called out of the different tribes for leadership; and princes stands for the same thing. These were usually the oldest son in each tribe after the manner of the nomads of the East today.
On what basis was the numbering conducted (Num 1:18)? This reference to pedigrees is important, as showing the care taken about genealogies. This was to keep the Aaronic order intact, but especially as a provision for tracing the descent of the Messiah through Judah.
Which tribe was the most numerous (Num 1:27)? Can you recall how this fulfills Jacobs prophecy (Genesis 49)? What prophecy of his is fulfilled in Num 1:32-35? What was the sum of the enrollment (Num 1:46)? What an increase from the seventy-five who went down into Egypt 215 years before! And yet this did not include the women and children, nor the old men, nor the tribe of Levi! It is estimated there were two and a half million in all.
About the Levites. What direction is given concerning them (Num 1:47-49)? What were they to do, and where were they to camp, and why (Num 1:50-53)?
THE TRIBES ARRANGED (Numbers 2)
What was the rallying point for each family in the camp (Num 2:2)? We do not know the colors or forms of these ensigns, but possibly they were copied after Egypt minus their idolatrous symbols, and were of a fan-like form made of feathers, shawls, etc., and lifted on long poles. Some think they were symbols borrowed from Jacobs blessing on the tribes, and that Judahs ensign was a lion, Benjamins a wolf, and so on. Perhaps the color was determined by the precious stone representing the tribe in the high priests breastplate.
Were the tribes, other than the Levites, allowed to pitch their tents near the tabernacle (Num 2:2)? Which tribes took the lead on the march (Num 2:3-9)? What seems to have formed the central company (Num 2:17)?
THE LEVITES SERVICE (Numbers 3-4)
What genealogy is given at the opening of this chapter (Num 3:1-4)? What shows the subordination of the rest of the Levites to the family of Aaron (Num 3:6-7)? Give the history of the choice of this tribe in Num 3:12-13. Who chose them? In substitution for whom? On what ground were the latter taken by the Lord?
On what different principle were the Levites numbered from the other tribes (Num 3:15)? Can you give a reason for this? Name the three sub-divisions of this tribe (Num 3:17). What was the particular place and charge of each (Num 3:23; Num 3:25-26; Num 3:29; Num 3:31; Num 3:35-37)? Who was Eleazar and what official position had he (Num 3:32)? Compare 1Ki 4:4 and 2Ki 25:18. What location was assigned Moses and the family of Aaron (Num 3:38)?
Why was a new reckoning of all the males to be made (Num 3:40-46)? How much was the ransom money (Num 3:47)? (A shekel was equal to about 60 cents.) What was the age limit of Levitical service (Num 4:3)? Compare Num 8:23-26. What precautions were necessary in the case of the Kohathites (Num 4:15)? Compare also verses 17-20. What carrying work was assigned the Gershonites (Num 4:24-26)? Which of the sons of Aaron had the immediate charge of them (Num 4:28)? What was assigned the Merarites (Num 4:31-32)? What word in Num 4:32 indicates that an inventory was kept of all the little things that nothing might be lost? What a lesson this teaches as to Gods regard for the details of His service, and His interest in trivial things. What a strong light it flashes on the meaning of obedience.
QUESTIONS
1. What threefold geographical division of Numbers might be made?
2. What secondary name might be given to the book? Why?
3. Interpret renowned and princes.
4. How many Israelites in the gross are supposed to have come out of Egypt?
5. Give an illustration of obedience in this lesson.
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
Num 1:1. In the wilderness of Sinai Where now they had been a full year or near it, having left Egypt about thirteen months. Compare this place with Exo 19:1; Exo 40:17.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 1:2. Take ye the sum. The Israelites had been numbered, for the purpose of subscribing half a shekel towards the erection of the tabernacle. Now they are numbered for war; and were afterwards numbered in the plains of Moab for the purpose of entering the land, and dividing it by lot and fair proportions.Every male by their poll. This is a general rule with Moses, as with other historians, to name the males only; the females are rarely named, except on some particular occasions.
Num 1:4. Head of the house of his fathers. The princes of the patriarchs by birth seem to have kept their dignity of seniority till after the time of king Saul, when promotions at court caused it to fall into disuse. This custom was prevalent among gentile tribes.
Num 1:27. The tribe of Judah were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred; men fit for war, women, children and strangers not being counted here. It appears from Genesis 38. that Judah left his fathers house, and married very young; he had also a son by Tamar, which accounts for the superior increase of his tribe.
Num 1:47. But the leviteswere not numbered. As the number before the erection of the tabernacle, and the number now were exactly the same, it is evident that they now used the same rolls of genealogy, and that the levites were exempt from paying the half shekel on account of their services. But if not, the Israelites in less than a year must have increased twenty two thousand; besides replacing the three thousand slain in the revolt of idolatry, when they worshipped the calf.
Num 1:50. Appointlevites over the tabernacle. For these services they were exempt from war, but were required to accompany the Ark, and bore it to the camp when Elis sons were slain. When the priests fought, it was of necessity, or of their own will. The Maccabees were illustrious, and were aided by other priests, as well as levites. Abiathar also was with David in all his exile.
REFLECTIONS.
It was now but two hundred and seventeen years since Jacobs family amounted to no more than seventy or seventy five males, and they at this time exceeded a population of two millions and a half. Sixty eight males in six generations, allowing them to have but five sons in each family, will produce one million twelve thousand and five hundred males.
We however most evidently see the hand of providence in this increase of population, for God very much preserved his people while in Egypt from disease and death. He kept his eye constantly fixed on the promise made to Abraham, to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven, and as the dust of the earth which cannot be counted. And he kept his eye, not less fixed on the redemption of the world; for of Abrahams seed he resolved to raise up the Messiah. And if God, through all the vicissitudes of Israels affliction, has ever kept his gracious promises in view, we should never for a moment lose sight of them. They are our star of direction, and cheering hope in the desert land. The fidelity of God, so long tried and so long approved, cannot be doubted now. These promises are an anchor of hope till the storms of passion, and the tempests of life are overpast.
The review of mercies, and of Gods fidelity to Israel, affords not less comfort to those families who declare for God, and refuse sinful conformities to the world. Whether they be oppressed, as Israel in Egypt; whether they want food and raiment, ways and means of living, God, who delivered Jacob in the day of trouble, will surely save them when they cry in affliction.
God numbered his people with a view to extend his care and government to each; and with a view to their being appointed and equipped for marching, defence, and war. So we, like Israel, are called to be a militant church, and go through the pilgrimage of life ready armed before the Lord. May our pastors, leaders and guides, be wise and valiant men, and embolden their flocks by nobly vanquishing the temptations of sin; and when the Lord shall make up his jewels, and number or mark his faithful people, may all our names be enrolled in the book of life.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Numbers 1 – 2
We now enter upon the study of the fourth grand division of the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses; and we shall find the leading characteristic of this book quite as strongly marked as that of any of the three books which have already engaged our attention. In the Book of Genesis, after the record of creation, the deluge, and the Babel dispersion, we have God’s election of the seed of Abraham. In the book of Exodus, we have redemption. Leviticus gives us priestly worship and communion. In Numbers we have the walk and warfare of the wilderness. Such are the prominent subjects of these most precious sections of inspiration, while, as might be expected, many other points of deepest interest are collaterally introduced. the Lord, in His great mercy, has led us through the study of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus; and we can reckon on Him, with confidence, to conduct as through the Book of Numbers. May His Spirit lead the thoughts, and guide the pen, so that not a sentence may be committed to writing that is not in strict accordance with His holy mind! May every page and every paragraph bear the stamp of His approval, and be, at once, conducive to His glory, and the permanent profit of the reader!
“And the Lord spake unto 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 ye 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; thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.” Num. 1: 1-3.
Here we find ourselves, at once, “in the wilderness, where those only are to be taken account of who are “able to go forth to war.” This is strongly marked. In the book of Genesis the seed of Israel were in the loins of their father Abraham. In the Book of Exodus they were in the brick-kilns of Egypt. In Leviticus they were gathered round the tabernacle of the congregation. In Numbers they are seen in the wilderness. Then, again, in full keeping with the above, and in confirmation thereof, in Genesis we hearken to the call of God in election; in Exodus we gaze upon the blood of the Lamb in redemption; in Leviticus we are almost entirely occupied with the worship, and service of the sanctuary. But no sooner have we opened the book of Numbers than we read of men of war, of armies, of standards, of camps, and trumpets sounding alarm.
All this is highly characteristic, and marks off the book on which we are now entering as one of special interest, value, and importance to the Christian. Each book of the Bible, each section of the inspired canon, has its own distinct place and object. Each has its own niche assigned to it by its divine Author. We must not entertain, for a moment, the thought of instituting any comparison in point of intrinsic value, interest, and importance. all is divine, and therefore perfect. The Christian reader fully and heartily believes this. He reverently sets his seal to the truth of the plenary inspiration of holy scripture – of all scripture, and of the Pentateuch amongst the rest; nor is he to be moved, one hairs breadth, from this by the bold and impious attacks of infidels, ancient, medieval, or modern. Infidels and rationalists may traffic in their unhallowed reasonings. They may exhibit their enmity against the book and its author; but the pious “Christian rests, not withstanding all, in the simple and happy belief that “All scripture is given by inspiration God.”
But while we must utterly reject the idea of any comparison as to authority and value, we may, with, much profit, compare the contents, design, and scope of the various books of the Bible. And the more profoundly we meditate upon these, the more forcibly shall we be struck with the exquisite beauty, infinite wisdom, and wonderful precision of the volume a whole, and of each distinct division the thereof. The inspired writer never swerves from the direct object of the book, whatever that object may be. You will never find anything in any one book of the Bible which is not in the most perfect harmony with the main design of that book;. To prove and illustrate this statement would lead us through the entire canon of holy scripture, and hence we shall not attempt it. The intelligent Christian does not need the proof, however much he might be interested in the illustration. He takes his stand upon the great fact that the book, as a whole, and in all its parts, is from God; and His heart reposes in the conclusion, that in that whole, and in each of those parts, there is not a jot or a tittle which is not in every way worthy of the divine Author.
Hear the following words from the pen of one who expresses himself as “deeply convinced of the divine inspiration of the scriptures, given to us of God, and confirmed in this conviction by daily and growing discoveries of their fullness, depth, and perfectness, ever more sensible, through grace, of the admirable perfection of the parts, and the wonderful connection of the whole.” “The scriptures,” says this writer, “have a living source, and living power has pervaded their composition: hence their infiniteness of bearing, and the impossibility of separating any one part from the whole, because one God is the living centre from which all flows; one Christ the living centre round which all its truth circles, and to which it refers, though in various glory; and one Spirit the divine sap which carries its power from its source in God to the minutest branches of the all-uniting truth, testifying of the glory, the grace, and the truth of Him whom God sets forth as the object, and centre, and head of all that is in connection with Himself, of Him who is, withal, God over all, blessed for evermore. …..The more – beginning from the utmost leaves and branches of this revelation of the mind of God, by which we have been reached when far from Him – we have traced it up towards its centre, and thence looked down again towards its extent and diversity, the more we learn its infiniteness, and our own feebleness of apprehension. We learn, blessed be God, this, that the love which is its source is found in unmingled perfectness and fullest display of those manifestations of it which have reached us even in our ruined state. The same perfect God of love is in it all. But the unfoldings of divine wisdom in the counsels in which God has displayed Himself remain ever to us a subject of research, in which every new discovery, by increasing our spiritual intelligence, makes the infiniteness of the whole, and the way in which it surpasses all our thoughts, only more and more clear to us.”
It is truly refreshing to transcribe such lines from the pen of one who has been a profound student of scripture for forty years. They are of unspeakable value, of a moment when so many are ready to cast a slight upon the sacred volume. Not that we are, in any wise, dependent upon human testimony in forming our conclusions as to the divine origin of the Bible, inasmuch as these conclusions rest upon a foundation furnished by the Bible itself. God’s word, as well as His work, speaks for itself; it carries its own credentials with it; it speaks to the heart; it reaches down to the great moral roots of our being; it penetrates the very innermost chambers of the soul; it shows us what we are; it speaks to us as no other book can speak; and, as the woman of Sychar argued that Jesus must be the Christ because He told her all things that ever she did, so may we say in reference to the Bible, It tells us all that ever we did, is not this the word of God? No doubt it is only by the Spirit’s teaching that we can discern and appreciate the evidence and credentials with which holy scripture presents itself before us; but still it does speak for itself, and needs not human testimony to make it of value to the soul. We should no more think of having our faith in the Bible established upon man’s testimony in its favour than we should think of having it shaken by his testimony against it.
It is of the very last possible importance, at all times, but more especially at a moment like the present, to have the heart and mind established in the sound truth of the divine authority of holy scripture – its plenary inspiration – its all-sufficiency for all purposes, for all people, at all times. There are two hostile influences abroad, namely, infidelity, on the one hand, and superstition, on the other. The former denies that God has spoken to us in His word. The latter admits that He has spoken, but it denies that we can understand what He says, save by the interpretation of the Church.
Now, while there are very many who recoil with horror from the impiety and audacity of infidelity, they do not see that superstition, just as completely, deprives them of the scriptures. For wherein, let us ask, lies the difference between denying that God has spoken, and denying that we can understand what He says? In either case: are we not deprived of the word of God? Unquestionably. If God cannot make me understand what He says – if He cannot give me the assurance that it is He Himself who speaks, I am, in no wise, better off than if He had not spoken at all. If God’s word is not sufficient, without human interpretation, then it cannot be God’s word at all. That which is insufficient is not God’s word. We must admit either of two things, namely, that God has not spoken at all, or if He has spoken, His word is perfect. There is no neutral ground in reference to this question. Has God given us a revelation? Infidelity says, “No.” superstition says, “Yes, but you cannot understand it without human authority.” Thus are we, in the one case as well as in the other, deprived of the priceless treasure of God’s own precious word; and thus, too, infidelity and superstition, though apparently so unlike, meet in the one point of depriving us of a divine revelation. But, blessed be God, He has given us a revelation. He has spoken, and His word is able to teach the heart and the understanding also. God is able to give the certainty that it is He who speaks, and we do not want any human authority to intervene. We do not want a poor rush-light to enable us to see that the sun is shining. The beams of that glorious Luminary are quite enough without any such miserable addition. All we want is to stand in the sunshine and we shall be convinced that the sun shines. If we retire into a vault or into a tunnel, we shall not feel his influence; and just so is it with regard to scripture, if we place ourselves beneath the chilling and darkening influences of superstition or infidelity, we shall not experience the genial and enlightening power of that divine revelation.
Having said thus much as to the divine volume as a whole, we shall now proceed to consider the contents of the section which lies open before us. In Numbers 1 we have the declaration of the pedigree;” and in Numbers 2, the recognition of the “standard.” “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.” Num. 1: 17-19.
Has this any voice for us? Does it convey any great spiritual lesson to our understanding? assuredly it does. In the first place, it suggests this important question to the reader, “Can I declare my pedigree?” It is greatly to be feared there are hundreds, if not thousands, of professing Christians who are wholly incompetent to do so. They cannot say with clearness and decision, “Now are we the sons of God.” (1 John 3: 2) “We are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” ” And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 3: 26, 29) ” For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God…..The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the sons of God.” Rom. 8: 14, 16.
This is the Christian’s “pedigree,” and it is his privilege to be able to “declare” it. He is born from above – born again – born of water and the spirit, i.e., by the word and by the Holy Ghost. (Compare, diligently, John 3: 5; James 1: 18; 1 Peter 1: 23; Eph. 5: 26) The believer traces his pedigree directly up to a risen Christ in glory. This is Christian genealogy. So far as our natural pedigree is concerned, if we trace it up to its source, and then declare it honestly, we must see and admit that we are sprung from a ruined stock. Ours is a fallen family. Our fortunes are gone; our very blood attainted; we are irrecoverably ruined; we can never regain our original position; our former status and the inheritance which belonged to it are irretrievably lost. A man may be able to trace his genealogical line throughout a race Of nobles, of princes, or of kings; but is he is finally to “declare his pedigree,” he cannot stop short of a fallen, ruined, outcast head. We must get to the source of a thing to know what it really is. It is thus God looks at and judges of things, and we must think with Him if we would think aright. His judgement of men and things must be dominant for ever. Man’s judgement is only ephemeral, it lasts but for a day; and hence, according to faith’s estimate, the estimate of sound sense, “It is a small thing to be judged of man’s day.” (1 Cor. 4: 3) Oh! how small! Would that we felt more deeply how small a thing it is to be judged of man’s judgement, or, as the margin reads it, of man’s day! Would that we walked, habitually, in the real sense of the smallness thereof! It would impart a calm elevation and a holy dignity which would lift us above the influence of the scene through which we are passing. what is rank in this life? What importance can attach to a pedigree which, if honestly traced, and faithfully declared, is derived from a ruined stock? A man can only be proud of his birth when he stops short of his real Origin: as born in sin and shapen in iniquity.” Such is man’s origin – such his birth. Who can think of being proud of such a birth, of such an origin? Who but one whose mind the god of this world hath blinded?
But how different with the Christian! His pedigree is heavenly. His “genealogical tree strikes its roots into the soil of the new creation. Death can never break the line, inasmuch as it is formed in resurrection. We cannot be too simple as to this. It is of the utmost importance that the reader should be thoroughly clear on this foundation point. We can easily see from this first chapter of Numbers, how, essential it was that every member of the congregation of Israel should be able to declare his pedigree Uncertainty, on this point, would have proved disastrous; it would have produced hopeless confusion. We can hardly imagine an Israelite, when called to declare his pedigree, expressing himself in the doubtful manner adopted by many Christians now-a-days. We cannot conceive his saying, well, I am not quite sure. Sometimes I cherish the hope that I am of the stock of Israel, but at other times, I am full of fear that I do not belong to the congregation Of the Lord at all. I am all in uncertainty and darkness. Can we conceive of such language. Assuredly not. Much less could we imagine anyone maintaining the monstrous notion that no one could possibly be sure as to whether he was a true Israelite or not until the day of judgement.
All such ideas and reasonings – all such doubts, fears, and questions, we may rest assured, were foreign to the mind of the Israelite. Every member of the congregation was called to declare his pedigree, ere taking his place in the ranks as a man of war. Each one was able to say, like Saul of Tarsus, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel,” &c. All was settled and clear, and necessarily so if there was to be any real entrance upon the walk and warfare of the wilderness.
Now, may we not legitimately ask, “If a Jew could be certain as to his pedigree, why may not a Christian be certain as to his? Reader, weigh this question, and if you are one of that large class of persons who are never able to arrive at the blessed certainty of their heavenly lineage, their spiritual birth, pause, we beseech you, and let us reason with you on this momentous point. It may be you are disposed to ask, “How can I be sure that I am, really and truly, a child of God, a member of Christ, born of the word and Spirit of God? I would give worlds, were they mine, to be certain as to this most weighty question.”
Well, then, we would earnestly desire to help you in this matter. Indeed one special object before us in penning these “Notes” is to assist anxious souls, by answering, as the Lord may enable us, their questions, solving their difficulties, and removing the stumbling-blocks out of their way.
And, first of all, let as point out one special feature which belongs to all the children of God, without exception. It is a very simple, but a very blessed feature. If we do not possess it, in some degree, it is most certain we are not of the heavenly race; but if we do possess it, it is just as certain that we are, and we may, therefore, without any difficulty or reserve, “declare our pedigree.” now what is this feature? What is this great family characteristic? Our Lord Jesus Christ supplies the answer. He tells as that “Wisdom is justified of all her children.” (Luke 7: 35; Matt. 11: 19) all the children of Wisdom, from the days of Abel down to the present moment, have been marked by this great family trait. There is not so much as a single exception. All God’s children – all the sons of Wisdom have always exhibited, in some degree, this moral feature – they have justified God. Let the reader consider this. It may be he finds it hard to understand what is meant by justifying God; but a passage or two of holy scripture will, we trust, make it quite plain. We read in Luke 7 that “all the people that heard Jesus, and the publicans, justified God, being baptised with the baptism of John. But, the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptised of him.” (ver. 29, 30) Here we have the two generations brought, as it were, face to face. The publicans justified God and condemned themselves. The Pharisees justified themselves and judged God. The former submitted to the baptism of John – the baptism of repentance. The latter refused that baptism – refused to repent – refused to humble and to judge themselves.
Here we have the two great classes into which the whole human family has been divided, from the days of Abel and Cain down to the present day; and here, too, we have the simplest possible test by which to try our “pedigree.” Have we taken the place of self-condemnation? Have we bowed in true repentance before God? This is to justify God. The two things go together – yea, they are one and the same. The man who condemns himself justifies God; and the man who justifies God condemns himself. On the other hand, the man who justifies himself judges God; and the man who judges God justifies himself.
Thus it stands in every case. And be it observed that the very moment we take the ground of repentance and self judgement, God takes the ground of a Justifier. God always justifies those who condemn themselves. All His children justify Him, and He justifies all His children. The moment David said, “I have sinned against the Lord,” the answer was, “the Lord hath put away thy sin.” Divine forgiveness follows, with the most intense rapidity, human confession.
Hence it follows that nothing can be more foolish than for any one to justify himself, inasmuch as God must be justified in His sayings, and overcome when He is judged. (Comp. Psalm 51: 4; Rom. 3: 4) God must have the upper hand in the end, and then all self justification shall be seen in its true light. The wisest thing therefore is to condemn ourselves. This is what all the children of wisdom do. Nothing is more characteristic of the true members of wisdom’s family then the habit and spirit of self-judgement. Whereas, on the other hand, nothing so marks all those who are not of this family as a spirit of self-vindication.
These things are worthy of our most earnest attention. Nature will blame anything and everything, any one and every one but itself. But where grace is at work, there is ever a readiness to judge self, and take the lowly place. This is the true secret of blessing and peace. All God’s children have stood on this blessed ground, exhibited this lovely moral trait, and reached this grand result. we cannot find so much as a single exception in the entire history of Wisdom’s happy family; and we may safely say, that if the reader has been led, in truth and reality, to own himself lost – to condemn himself – to take the place of true repentance-then is he, in very deed, one of the children of Wisdom, and he may therefore, with boldness and decision, “declare his pedigree.”
We would urge this point at the outset. It is impossible for any one to recognise and rally round the proper “standard” unless he can declare his “pedigree.” In short, it is impossible to take up a true position in the wilderness so long as there is any uncertainty as to this great question. How could an Israelite of old have taken his place in the assembly – how could he have stood in the ranks – how could he expect to make any progress through the wilderness, if he could not distinctly declare his pedigree? Impossible. Just so is it with Christians now. Progress in wilderness life – success in spiritual warfare, is out of the question if there be any uncertainty as to the spiritual pedigree. We must be able to say, “we know that we have passed from death unto life” – “We know that we are of God” – “We believe and are sure, ere there can be any real advance in the life and walk of a Christian.
Reader, say, can you declare your pedigree? Is this a thoroughly settled point with you? Are you clear as to this in the very depths of your soul? When you are all alone with God, is it a perfectly settled question between you and Him? Search and see. Make sure work of it. Do not slur the matter over. Build not upon mere profession. Say not “I am a member of such a church; I receive the Lord’s supper; I hold such and such doctrines; I have been religiously brought up I live a moral life; I have done nobody any harm; I read the Bible and say my prayers; I have family worship in my house; I give largely in the cause of philanthropy and religion.” All this may be perfectly true of you, and yet you may not have a single pulse of divine life, a single ray of divine light. Not one of these things, not all of them put together, could be accepted as a declaration of spiritual pedigree. There must be the witness of the spirit that you are a child of God, and this witness always accompanies simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “He that believeth in the Son of God hath the witness in himself.” (1 John 5: 10) It is not, by any means, a question of looking into your own heart for evidences. It is not a building upon frames, feelings, and experiences. Nothing of the sort. It is a childlike faith in Christ. It is having eternal life in the Son of God. It is the imperishable record of the Holy Ghost. It is taking God at His word. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement (krisin), but is passed from death unto life.” John 5: 24.
This is the true way to declare your pedigree; and be assured of it, you must be able to declare it ere you can “go forth to war.” We do not mean to say you cannot be saved without this. God forbid we should say any such thing. We believe there are hundreds of the true Spiritual Israel who are not able to declare their pedigree. But we ask, Are such able to go forth to war? Are they vigorous military men? Far from it. They cannot even know what true conflict is; on the contrary, persons of this class mistake their doubts and fears, their dark and cloudy seasons , for true Christian conflict This is a most serious mistake; but alas! a very common one. We continually find a, low, dark, legal condition of soul defended on the ground of Christian conflict, whereas, according to the New Testament, true Christian conflict or warfare is carried on in a region were doubts and fears are unknown. It is when we stand in the clear daylight of God’s full salvation-salvation in a risen Christ – that we really enter upon the warfare proper to us as Christians. Are we to suppose, for a moment, that our legal struggles, our culpable unbelief, our refusal to submit to the righteousness of God, our questionings and reasonings, can be viewed as Christian conflict? By no means. All these things must be regarded as conflict with God; whereas Christian conflict is carried on with Satan. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places.” Eph. 6: 12.
This is Christian conflict. But can such conflict be waged by those who are continually doubting whether they are Christians or not? We do not believe it. Could we imagine an Israelite in conflict with Amalek in the wilderness, or with the Canaanites in the land of promise, while yet unable to “declare his pedigree” or recognise his “standard?” The thing is inconceivable. No, no; every member of the congregation, who was able to go forth to war was perfectly clear and settled as to those two points. Indeed he could not go forth if he were not so.
And, while on the important subject of Christian conflict, it may be well to call the reader’s attention to the three portions of New Testament scripture in which we have three distinct characters of conflict presented, namely, Romans 7: 7-24; Galatians v. 17; Ephesians 6: 10-17. If the reader will just turn, for a moment, to the above scriptures, we shall seek to point out the true character of each.
In Romans 7: 7-24 we have the struggle of a soul quickened but not emancipated – a regenerated soul under the law. The proof that we have before us, here, a quickened soul is found in such utterances as these, “That which I do, I allow not” – “to will is present with me” – “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” None but a regenerated soul could speak thus. The disallowance of the wrong, the will to do right, the inward delight in the law of God – all these are the distinct marks of the new life – the precious fruits of regeneration. No unconverted person could truthfully use such language
But, on the other hand, the proofs that we have before us, in this scripture, a soul not fully emancipated, not in the joy of known deliverance, not in the full consciousness of victory, not in the assured possession of spiritual power – the plain proofs of all this we have in such utterances as the following, “I am carnal, sold under sin” – “what I would that do I not; but what I hate that do I” – “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?” Now, we know that a Christian is not “carnal,” but spiritual; he is not “sold under sin,” but redeemed from its power; he is not a “wretched man” sighing for deliverance, but a happy man who knows himself delivered. He is not an impotent slave, unable to do the right thing, and ever compelled to do the wrong; he is a free man! endowed with power in the Holy Ghost, and able to say, “I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4.
We cannot here attempt to enter upon a full exposition of this most important scripture; we merely offer a suggestion or two which may help the reader to seize its scope and import. We are fully aware that many Christians differ widely as to the interpretation of this chapter. Some deny that it presents the exercises of a quickened soul; others maintain that it sets forth the experiences proper to a Christian. We cannot accept either conclusion. We believe it exhibits to our view the exercises of a truly regenerated soul, but of a soul not set free by the knowledge of its union with a risen Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost. Hundreds of Christians are actually in the seventh of Romans but their proper place is in the eighth. They are, as to their experience, under the law. They do not know themselves as sealed by the Holy Ghost. They are not in possession of full victory in a risen and glorified Christ. They have doubts and fears, and are ever disposed to cry out “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver we? But is not a Christian delivered? Is he not saved? Is he not accepted in the Beloved? Is he not sealed by that Holy Spirit of promise? Is he not united to Christ? Ought he not to know and enjoy, and to confess all this? Unquestionably. Well then he is no longer, as to his standing, in the seventh of Romans. It is his privilege to sing the song of victory at heaven’s side of the empty tomb of Jesus, and to walk in the holy liberty wherewith Christ makes His people free. The seventh of Romans is not liberty at all, but bondage, except indeed at the very close, where the soul is able to say, “I thank God.” No doubt, it may be a very wholesome exercise to pass through all that is here detailed for us with such marvellous vividness and power; and, furthermore, we must declare that we should vastly prefer being honestly in the seventh of Romans to being falsely in the eighth. But all this leaves wholly untouched the question as to the proper application of this profoundly interesting passage of scripture.
We shall now glance, for a moment, at the conflict in Galatians 5: 17 we shall quote the passage. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.* This passage is often quoted to account for continual defeat, whereas it really contains the secret of perpetual victory. In verse 16 we read, “This I say, then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” This makes it all so clear. The presence of the Holy Ghost secures power. We are assured that God is stronger than the flesh, and therefore, where He is in conflict the triumph is secured. And be it carefully noted that Galatians 5: 17 does not speak of the conflict between the Two natures, the old and the new, but between the Holy Ghost and the flesh. This is the reason why it is added, “In order that ye may not do the things that ye would.” If the Holy Ghost were not dwelling in us, we should be sure to fulfil the lust of the flesh; but, inasmuch as He is in us to carry on the warfare, we are no longer obliged to do wrong, but blessedly enabled to do right.
{*We ought, perhaps, to inform the reader that many able scholars render the last clause of Galatians 5: 17 thus, “In order that we may not do the things that we would.” We assuredly believe this rendering.. to be in full keeping with the spirit of the context; though we are, each day, more convinced of the unrivalled excellence of our precious English Bible.}
Now this precisely marks the point of difference between Romans 7: 14, 15 and Galatians 5.17. In the former we have the new nature, but not the power of the indwelling Spirit. In the latter, we have not only the new nature, but also the power of the Holy Ghost. we must ever bear in mind that the new nature in a believer is dependent. It is dependent upon the Spirit for power, and upon the word for guidance. But, clearly, where God The Holy Ghost is, there must be power. He may be grieved and hindered; but Galatians 5: 16 distinctly teaches that if we walk in the Spirit, we shall have sure and constant victory over the flesh. Hence, therefore, it would be a very serious mistake indeed to quote Galatians 5: 17 as a reason for a low and carnal walk. Its teaching is designed to produce the direct opposite.
And now one word on Ephesians 6: 10-17. where we have the conflict between the Christian and wicked spirits in heavenly places. The Church belongs to heaven, and should ever maintain a heavenly walk and conversation. It should be our constant aim to make good our heavenly standing – to plant the foot firmly upon our heavenly inheritance, and keep it there. This the devil seeks to hinder, in every possible way, and hence the conflict; hence too “the whole armour of God,” by which alone we can stand against our powerful spiritual foe.
It is not our purpose to dwell upon the armour, as we here merely called the reader’s attention to the above three scriptures in order that he may have the subject of conflict, in all its phases, fully before his mind, in connection with the opening lines of the Book of Numbers. Nothing can be more interesting; nor can we possibly over estimate the importance of being clear as to the real nature and ground of Christian conflict. If we go forth to war without knowing what the war is about, and in a state of uncertainty as to whether our “pedigree” is all right, we Shall not make much headway against the enemy,
But, as has been already remarked, there was another thing quite as necessary for the man of war as the clear declaration of his pedigree, and that was the distinct recognition of his standard. The two things were essential for the walk and warfare of the wilderness. Moreover, they were inseparable. If a man did not know his pedigree, he could not recognise his standard, and thus all would have been plunged in hopeless confusion. In place of keeping rank, and making steady progress, they would have been in each other’s way, and treading one upon another. Each had to know his post and keep it – to know his standard and abide by it. Thus they moved on together; thus progress was made, work done. and warfare carried on. The Benjaminite had his post, and the Ephraimite had his, and neither was to interfere with, or cross the path of, the other. Thus with all the tribes, throughout the camp of the Israel of God. Each had his pedigree, and each had his post; and neither the one nor the other was according to their own thoughts; all was of God. He gave the pedigree, and He assigned the standard. Nor was there any need of comparing one with another, or any ground of jealousy one of another; each had his place to fill, and his work to do, and there was work enough and room enough for all. There was the greatest possible variety, and yet the most perfect unity. “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house.” “and the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.” (Num. 2: 2, 34)
Thus, in the camp of old, as well as in the Church now, we learn that “God is not the author of confusion.” Nothing could be more exquisitely arranged than the four camps, of three tribes each, forming a perfect square, each side of the square exhibiting its own specific standard. “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: over against the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.” The God of the armies of Israel knew how to marshal His hosts. It would be a great mistake to suppose that God’s warriors were not ordered according to the most perfect system of military tactics. We may plume ourselves upon our progress in arts and sciences, and we may fancy that the host of Israel presented a spectacle of rude disorder and wild confusion, compared with what may be seen in modern times. But this would be an empty conceit. We may rest assured that the camp of Israel was ordered and furnished in the most perfect manner, for the simplest and most conclusive of all reasons, namely, that it was ordered and furnished by the hand of God. Grant us but this, that God has done anything, and we argue, with the most perfect confidence, that it has been perfectly done.
This in a very simple, but a very blessed principle. Of course it would not satisfy an infidel or a sceptic; what would? It is the province and prerogative of a sceptic to doubt everything, to believe nothing. He measures everything by his own standard, and rejects whatever he cannot reconcile with his own notions. He lays down, with marvellous coolness, his own premises, and then proceeds to draw his own conclusions. But if the premises are false, the conclusions must be false likewise. And there is this invariable feature attaching to the premises of all sceptics, rationalists, and infidels, they always leave out God; and hence all their conclusion’s must be fatally false. On the other hand, the humble believer starts with this great first principle, that God Is; and not only that He is, but that He has to do with His creatures; that He interests Himself in, and occupies Himself about, the affairs of men.
What consolation for the Christian! But infidelity will not allow this at all. To bring God in is to upset all the reasonings of the sceptic, for they are based upon the thorough exclusion of God.
However, we are not now writing in order to meet infidels, but the edification of believers, and it is sometimes well to call attention to the thorough rottenness of the whole system of infidelity; and surely in no way can this be more clearly or forcibly shown than by the fact that it rests entirely upon the exclusion of God. Let this fact be seized, and the whole system crumbles into dust at our feet. If we believe that God is, then, assuredly, everything must be wicked in relation to Him. We must look at all from His point of view. Nor is this all. If we believe that God is, then we must see that man cannot judge Him. God must be the judge of right or wrong, of what is and what is not worthy of Himself. So also in reference to God’s word. If it be true that God is, and that He has spoken to us, He has given us a revelation, then, assuredly, that revelation is not to be judged by man’s reason. It is above and beyond any such tribunal. Only think of measuring God’s word by the rules of human arithmetic! and yet this is precisely what has been done in our own day, with this blessed Book of Numbers with which we are now engaged, and with which we shall proceed, leaving infidelity and its arithmetic aside.
We feel it very needful, in our notes and reflections on this book, as well as on every other book, to remember two things, namely, first, the book; and secondly, the soul: the book and its contents the soul and its necessities. There is a danger of becoming so occupied with the former as to forget the latter. And, on the other hand, there is the danger of becoming so wholly engrossed with the latter as to forget the former. Both must be attended to. And we may say that what constitutes an efficient ministry, whether written or oral, is the proper adjustment of these two things. There are some ministers who study the word very diligently, and, it may be, very profoundly. They are well versed in biblical knowledge; they have drunk; deeply at the fountain of inspiration. All this is of the utmost importance, and of the very highest value. A ministry without this will be barren indeed. If a man does not study his Bible diligently and prayerfully, he will have little to give to his readers or his hearers; at least little worth their having. Those who minister in the word must dig for themselves, and “dig deep.”
But then the soul must be considered – its condition anticipated, and its necessities met. If this be lost sight of, the ministry will lack point, pungency, and power. It will be inefficient and unfruitful. In short, the two things must be combined and properly adjusted. A man who merely studies the book will be unpractical, a man who merely studies the soul will be unfurnished. A man who duly studies both will be a good minister of Jesus Christ.
Now, we desire, in our measure, to be this to the reader; and hence as we travel, in his company, through the marvellous book which lies open before us, we would not only seek to point out its moral beauties, and unfold its holy lessons, but we would also feel it to be our bounden duty to put an occasional question to him or her, as to how far those lessons are being learnt, and those beauties appreciated. We trust the reader will not object to this, and hence, ere we close this our first section, we would ask him a question or two thereon.
And first, then, dear friend, art thou clear and settled as to thy “pedigree?” Is it a settled thing that thou art on the Lord’s side? Do not, we beseech thee, leave this grand question unsettled. We have asked it before, and we ask it again. Dost thou know – canst thou declare thy spiritual pedigree? It is the first thing for God’s warrior. It is of no use to think of entering the militant host so long as you are unsettled as to this point. We say not that a man cannot be saved without this. Far be the thought. But he cannot take rank as a man of war. He cannot do battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil, so long as he is filled with doubts and fears as to whether he belongs to the true spiritual stock. If there is to be any progress, if there is to be that decision, so essential to a spiritual warrior, we must be able to say, “We know that we have passed from death unto life” – “We know that we are of God.”
This is the proper language of a man of war. Not one of that mighty host that mustered “over against the tabernacle of the congregation” would have understood such a thing as a single doubt, or shadow of a doubt as to his own very pedigree. Doubtless, he would have smiled, had any one raised a question on the subject. Each one of the six hundred thousand knew well whence he had sprung, and, therefore, where he was to take his stand. And just so with God’s militant host now. Each member thereof will need to possess the most unclouded confidence as to his relationship, else he will not be able to stand in the battle.
And then as to the “standard.” What is it? Is it a doctrine? Nay. Is it a theological system? Nay. Is it an ecclesiastical polity? Nay. Is it a system of ordinances, rites, or ceremonies. Nothing of the sort, God’s warriors do not fight under any such banner. What is the standard of God’s militant host? Let us hear and remember. It is Christ. This is the only standard of God and the only standard of that warrior band which musters in this wilderness world, to wage war with the hosts of evil, and fight the battles of the Lord. Christ is the standard for everything. To have any other would only unfit us for that spiritual conflict to which we are called. What have we, as Christians, to do with contending for any system of theology church organisation? Of what account, is our estimation, are ordinances, ceremonies, or ritualistic observances? are we going to fight under such banners as these? God forbid! Our theology is the Bible. Our church organisation is the one God, formed by the presence of the Holy Ghost, and united to the living and exalted Head in the heavens. To contend for anything less than these is entirely below the mark of a true spiritual warrior.
Alas! alas! that so many who profess to belong to the Church of God should so forget their proper standard, and be found fighting under another banner. we may rest assured it super-induces weakness, falsifies the testimony, and hinders progress. If we would stand in the day of battle, we must acknowledge no standard whatsoever but Christ and His word – the living Word, and the written word. Here lies our security in the face of all our spiritual foes. The more closely we adhere to Christ and to Him alone the stronger and safer we shall be. To have Him as a perfect covering for our eyes – to keep close to Him – fast by His side, this is our grand moral safeguard. “The Children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard throughout their hosts.”
Oh! that thus it may be throughout all the host of the Church of God! May all be laid aside for Christ! may He be enough for our hearts. As we trace our “pedigree” up to Him, may His name be inscribed on the “standard” round which we encamp in this wilderness, through which we are passing home to our eternal rest above! Reader, see to it, we beseech thee, that there be not one jot or tittle inscribed on thy banner save Jesus Christ – that name which is above every name, and which shall yet be exalted for ever throughout the wide universe of God.
Fuente: Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch
Num 1:1-46 (from P, which is used uninterruptedly as far as Num 10:28). The Numbering of the Secular Tribes.The date of this census is about eleven months after the arrival at Mt. Sinai (Exo 19:1), and exactly a month after the erection of the Tabernacle (Exo 40:17). The numbering, which was to proceed by families (i.e. by clans) and by fathers houses (i.e. by families), was to embrace all men over twenty (who might be thought capable of bearing arms). In the undertaking, Moses and Aaron were to be assisted by a representative of each of the tribes. Since the method by which a large proportion of the names affixed to these representatives are formed is characteristic of a late date, the list is probably unhistorical. The total number, which is given as 603,550 (in round numbers 600,000, Num 11:21, Exo 12:37*). implies a population of both sexes and all ages of more than 2,000,000 (assuming that those capable of bearing arms formed one-fourth of the whole, cf. Csar, Bell. Gall. i. 29). This, according to the data given elsewhere, represents the increase, in the third generation, of the twelve sons of Jacob who settled in Egypt (see Exo 6:16-22, Num 16:1 (Levi), Exo 6:14, Num 26:5-9 (Reuben)), and is beyond all belief. It is, of course, possible and even probable that the numbers of the Hebrew immigrants into Egypt were in excess of what is recorded; but the numbers of those that accompanied Moses into the wilderness at the Exodus cannot possibly have amounted to the sum here mentioned. A body of 2,000,000 persons is far beyond the capacity of the Sinaitic peninsula to support, for the country is largely desert (as described in Num 20:14 f., Deu 8:15, Jer 2:6), broken only by occasional spots of verdure, where the soil is irrigated by springs; and its present population is calculated to be only 4000 or 6000. The incredibility of the figures in Nu. is increased by the fact that the Israelites are not regarded as dispersing over the country to seek pasture for their flocks, but as marching in a compact body, close enough together for their movements to be directed by signals conveyed by two trumpets (Num 10:1-10). A camp comprising 2,000,000 persons would cover several square miles; and it has been reckoned that the same number on the march, if arranged 50 abreast, with a yard between each rank, would constitute a column 22 miles long. Elsewhere, the people are regarded as few in number (Deu 7:22), as too weak to subdue all the Canaanites (Jdg 1:19; Jdg 1:27-35), and as not numerous enough to occupy Canaan, even if vacant (Exo 23:28 f.); whilst the fighting men that could be furnished at a much later period by half the tribes are estimated at only 40,000 (Jdg 5:8). The total of 603,550 here given must be fictitious. It has been suggested that the figure 603 has been got from the sum of the numerals denoted by the Hebrew for the children of Israel, the 550 being arbitrary. The numbers assigned to the separate tribes seem to have been reached by dividing the total by 12, and then adding to, or deducting from, the quotient various figures at discretion. It is significant that of the 12 tribes six are above and six below 50,000.
2. names: i.e. individuals; cf. Act 1:15, Rev 3:4.
Num 1:16. thousands: the term was used to denote tribal divisions of varying size; here it is equivalent to clans or families (Num 1:4).
Num 1:44. Read, and the princes of Israel were twelve men, each one for a tribe, every one head of his fathers house.
Num 1:47-54. The Functions of the Tribe of Levi.The omission of the Levites from the census was due to the circumstance that the Levites were a consecrated body, whose duty it was to surround the Tabernacle and so safeguard the secular tribes from incurring danger by coming in contact with so holy an object.
Num 1:48. For Yahweh spake: in the Heb., And Yahweh spake. The direction not to number the Levites (Num 1:48-54) should logically precede the actual numbering of the other tribes (Num 1:17-46).
Num 1:50. the tabernacle of the testimony: Exo 38:21; cf. Exo 25:9 mg., Num 1:16.
Num 1:51. stranger: i.e. any (including Israelites) who did not belong to the tribe of Levi; cf. Num 3:10.
Num 1:52. by his own standard: better, by his own company (see Num 2:2*).
Num 1:53. wrath: cf. Num 16:46 Num 18:5, Jos 22:20.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
THE FIRST CENSUS OF ISRAEL
(vs.1-46)
After Israel’s leaving Egypt, over a year passed before we read of this census being taken. In David’s time, when he determined to number the people (2Sa 24:2-10), his motives were those of pride in reigning over a great nation, and this resulted in the death of 70,000 people. But God’s census in Numbers indicates His own vital interest in each one of His people Israel, an interest that is no less true in regard to His saints today. The difference is that in Israel only the males over 20 years of age were numbered. There would be a cut-off age also, for this involved only those who were fit for military service. Today all of His saints are fitted for spiritual warfare, women and young and old too, though by reason of age some are less active than others. Yet the lesson is also clear for us that to engage in practical conflict we require maturity or full age such as comes through knowledge and growth in the word of God. To be “a good soldier of Jesus Christ” also calls for undivided devotion, not being entangled with the affairs of this life (2Ti 2:3-4), for we have been called to the exclusive service of our Lord, therefore should please Him.
God Himself chose the leaders of each of these tribes, with good spiritual reasons. We must learn these reasons from the names given, for this is all scripture supplies. The leader of the tribe of Reuben was Elizur the son of Shedeur. Elizur means “God is a Rock.” what a contrast to his father Reuben, of whom we read, “Unstable as water, you shall not excel” (Gen 49:4). Reuben in the flesh was abject weakness, just as the flesh proves in all of us. But the strength and stability of God is the portion of the new nature, that which all believers are “in Christ Jesus.” Shedeur means “the Almighty is fire,” which adds the thought of God’s consuming holiness judging the flesh and all of its works. For if we are rightly to know the strength and stabilizing energy of God, we must be “partakers of His holiness,” of which the fire speaks, — holiness which must judge Reuben’s sin. It is beautifully fitting therefore that the lessons Shedeur teaches should be of first importance in enabling us for spiritual conflict.
In order of birth the tribe of Simeon is next, and the prince of Simeon was Shelumiel (v.6), meaning “at peace with God.” This too is a striking contrast to Simeon’s character as described by his father Jacob in Gen 49:5-7, who, together with Levi, was guilty of cruel vicious enmity in the murder of the men of Shechem (Gen 34:25-26). Only the grace of God could make any difference in this atrocious case. Is the flesh in us any better than in Simeon and Levi? Not at all: “the mind of the flesh is enmity against God” (Rom 8:7 –JND). Yet God has in pure grace reconciled all believers to Himself (2Co 5:18), and we are “at peace with God,” as Rom 5:1 declares.
Shelumiel was the son Zurishaddai, meaning “My rock is the Almighty.” This reminds us that peace with God depends on the stability of God Himself, the Almighty; and in this case not only is God the Rock, by “my rock.” How good it is for us if we appropriate to ourselves this living truth! This is a wonderful sustenance in warfare.
The tribe of Levi is passed over here, for that tribe was separated from the others for sanctuary service. Therefore Judah is next mentioned, with Nahshon, the son of Amminidab its prince (v.7). Nahshon means “a diviner.” some diviners were satanically inspired, but others were inspired by God, and the latter is intended here, for Judah’s name means “praise” and one who is a true worshiper of God will be given grace to divine, or discern all things, even the future, as he takes in the word of God. this place of nearness to God is important too in regard to spiritual warfare. Amminidab (the father of Nahshon) means “the people of the liberal giver.” Certainly God is the Liberal Giver. Praise and discernment of God’s ways are always associated with the realization of God’s grace freely giving us all things to enjoy.
The prince of Issachar was Nethanel (v.8), meaning “the gift of God.” This is a contrast to Issachar’s character as described in Gen 49:14-15 as a donkey brought under bondage for hire, just as Israel under law really served for hire rather than receiving every blessing as a gift from God. In the millennium this will be beautifully reversed. Nethanel was the son of Zuar, meaning “little.” How true it is that when we receive every blessing simply as a gift of God our pride will be brought low, no longer to think highly of ourselves, but like Paul, whose name means “little,” to consider ourselves “less than the least of all saints” (Eph 3:8).
Listed next is the prince of Zebulon, who was Eliab, his name meaning “God is a Father.” In Gen 49:13 Zebulon pictures Israel in close proximity to the Gentiles, being a haven for ships, therefore compromising her proper separation to God. In beautiful contrast to this, the expression “God is a Father” reminds us of 2Co 6:14-18, where believers are exhorted to come Out from unholy associations, for in so doing they are assured by God, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters.” Such godly separation from evil is another requisite if we are to be “good soldiers of Jesus Christ,” so Eliab infers the work of God in changing us from evil associations to those pleasing to the Father. Eliab was the son of Helon, but the meaning of his name is so doubtful that we cannot be certain of its significance.
Joseph was given two tribes for his sons, to make up 12 tribes when Levi was separated for tabernacle service. Ephraim’s prince was Elishama, “God has heard” (v.10). Gen 49:1-33 does not tell us Ephraim’s character naturally, but this leader, “God has heard” intimates a prayerful dependence consistent with the place of spiritual conflict that is emphasized in this chapter. His father’s name, Ammihud means “the people of majesty,” which surely speaks of the calm dignity that prayer gives in enabling us to face warfare in some measure as the Lord Jesus did (Joh 18:3-11).
Manasseh’s prince was Gamaliel, meaning “God is a Rewarder.” In time of conflict this is a wonderful encouragement. There is no reason to look for men’s approval or rewards, for if we wage war with the motive of simply desiring to please God, we shall be fully content to wait for God’s time of rewards. Gamaliel’s father, Pedahzur, “the rock has redeemed” is a reminder that the rewards of service must not be occasions of pride on our part, for we must remember that we are only sinners redeemed by Him who is the one stable Rock.
Abidan was the prince of Benjamin, his name meaning “My father is judge” (v.11). In Gen 49:27 Benjamin is called “a ravening wolf.” In other words he was naturally a warrior. But it is not natural fighters the Lord needs, as Peter found when he used a sword to cut off the ear of the High priest’s servant (Joh 18:10-11), and was reproved by the Lord, who healed the man’s ear. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2Co 10:4). So let us remember the lesson of Abidan, “my Father is judge.” God as a Father judges according to every person’s work (1Pe 1:17). It is He who judges the value of our warfare, with perfect spiritual discernment.
Ahidan’s father was Gideoni, “the cutter down.” This shows us the becoming result of our recognizing the Father’s judgment. When we bow to this, we learn to cut down all fleshly activity: we judge the sin of our own hearts and every idolatrous tendency. A man of similar name, Gideon, in the book of Judges, was the cutter down when he demolished his father’s idols (Jdg 6:25-28). In deed, only in a state of true self-judgment are we ready for spiritual conflict.
This completes the list of Jacob’s sons by his two wives, Leah and Rachel.
The sons of Jacob’s bondmaids are considered now, Dan being first mentioned. The prince of Dan was Ahiezer, meaning “brother of help.” What a contrast to this is the character of Dan mentioned in Gen 49:17, “Dan shall be a serpent by the way. Rather than giving brotherly help, he would give satanic harm. Again, God makes a wonderful change by His pure grace, so that Dan would be a help in conflict. Ahiezer was the son of Ammishaddai, meaning “the people of the Almighty.” A brother relationship is to be expected when the people’s relationship to the Almighty is established.
Asher prince was Pagiel (v.13), which means “event of God” and his father’s name Ocran, means “afflicted.” Gen 49:20 tells us, “Bread from Asher shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.” Asher means “happy.” But even the blessing of Asher has to be tempered with God’s dealings — events of God — to bring affliction. For true happiness always comes through suffering, little as we might at first appreciate this. How well Paul understood this when he wrote, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2Co 12:10).
Eliasaph, meaning “God has added” was the prince of Gad. Gen 49:19 says, “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, but he shall triumph at last.” This is a prophecy of recovery and triumph, so that Eliasaph’s name indicates that triumph will be accomplished by God’s giving the increase. His father’s name, Deuel, means “known of God.” The sense of God’s knowing us thus leads to spiritual increase in practical life. this too is connected with preparation for conflict. But God is the source of all.
Naphtali’s prince (v.15), Ahira, “brother of evil” is the most difficult as regards interpretation. Gen 49:21 reads, “Naphtali is a deer let loose; he uses beautiful words.” “Brother of evil” can then be understood only in the sense of “brother of trouble,” and could refer to the sympathetic character of the believer in bearing the burden of others. This would be in some contrast to the deer let loose, but would remind us of Paul’s words, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all” (1Co 9:19). Ahira’s father was Enan, meaning “having eyes,” and may speak of the concern that looks on the sorrows of others.
The tribes were then assembled, each under the authority of its chosen leader (v.18), and their numbering is seen in verses 20 to 46. We should have absolute confidence that there is spiritual significance in all these numbers, for “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable” (2Ti 3:16). Our inability to discern the significance of these things is therefore our own ignorance. The total number of men over 20 in the twelve tribes was 603,550.
THE TRIBE OF LEVI SEPARATED
(vs.47-54)
The numbering did not include the tribe of Levi, for the Lord had told Moses before that the Levites were to be appointed to care for the tabernacle and its furnishings, both while it remained stationery and when it was in process of moving. They were to take the tabernacle down when it was time to move, and set it up again at each destination (v.51). No one else was allowed any part in this work, under penalty of death.
The Levites were therefore servants of the priests of the priests who were Aaron’s family. In one very real sense all believers today are priests and all are Levites, that is, as priests they present acceptable sacrifices to God; as Levites they serve the needs of people. As the priests are worshipers, so the Levites have the privilege of ministry, but the two functions are distinct.
The twelve tribes were to encamp, three on each side of the tabernacle, while the tribe of Levi was inside of these, surrounding the tabernacle (v.53).
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
1:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of {a} Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first [day] of the {b} second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
(a) In the place in the wilderness that was near mount Sinai.
(b) Which is part of April and part of May.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
I. EXPERIENCES OF THE OLDER GENERATION IN THE WILDERNESS CHS. 1-25
This first main section of the book records how God prepared the Israelites to enter the Promised Land from Kadesh Barnea and why they failed to achieve that goal.
A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-10
The first 10 chapters in Numbers describe Israel’s preparation for entering the land.
". . . just as the way from Goshen to Sinai was a preparation of the chosen people for their reception into the covenant with God, so the way from Sinai to Canaan was also a preparation for the possession of the promised land." [Note: C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Pentateuch, 3:1.]
1. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-4
"The two censuses (chs. 1-4, 26) are key to understanding the structure of the book. The first census (chs. 1-4) concerns the first generation of the Exodus community; the second census (ch. 26) focuses on the experiences of the second generation, the people for whom this book is primarily directed. The first generation of the redeemed were prepared for triumph but ended in disaster. The second generation has an opportunity for greatness-if only they will learn from the failures of their fathers and mothers the absolute necessity for robust faithfulness to the Lord despite all obstacles." [Note: Allen, p. 701.]
The muster of the tribes except Levi ch. 1
The purpose of this tally of the adult males 20 years of age and older was to identify those who would serve in battle when Israel entered the land (Num 1:3). [Note: See Gershon Brin, "The Formulae ’From . . . and Onward/Upward’ (m . . . whl’h/wmslh)," Journal of Biblical Literature 99:2 (1980):161-71.] Entrance into the land should have been only a few weeks from the taking of this census. Moses had taken another census nine months before this one (Exo 30:11-16; Exo 38:25-26), but the purpose of that count was to determine how many adult males owed atonement money. The census described in Numbers 1 excluded the Levites, all of whom God exempted from typical military service in Israel (Num 1:49-50).
The number of fighting men in each tribe counted was as follows.
|
Reuben |
46,500 |
Ephraim |
40,500 |
|
|
Simeon |
59,300 |
Manasseh |
32,200 |
|
|
Gad |
45,650 |
Benjamin |
35,400 |
|
|
Judah |
74,600 |
Dan |
62,700 |
|
|
Issachar |
54,400 |
Asher |
41,500 |
|
|
Zebulun |
57,400 |
Naphtali |
53,400 |
The total was 603,550 men (Num 1:46). Since each figure ends in zero it appears that Moses rounded off these numbers. God was already well on the way to making the patriarchs’ descendants innumerable (cf. Gen 15:5). However, the large census numbers have posed a problem for thoughtful Bible students. How could so many people have survived in the desert for so long? Many scholars have tried to explain these very large numbers as much smaller. [Note: For a summary of the ways commentators have sought to explain the very large census numbers as smaller, see R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, pp. 631-64; Allen, pp. 680-91; Philip J. Budd, Numbers, pp. 6-9; Wenham, pp. 60-66; Timothy R. Ashley, The Book of Numbers, pp. 60-66; Merrill, "Numbers," in The Bible, . . ., p. 217; David M. Fouts, "A Defense of the Hyperbolic Interpretation of Large Numbers in the Old Testament," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40:3 (September 1997):377-87; idem, "The Incredible Numbers of the Hebrew Kings," in Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts, pp. 283-99; idem, "The Use of Large Numbers in the Old Testament with Particular Emphasis on the Use of ’elep," (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1992); K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, pp. 263-65; the note on 1:21 in the NET Bible.; and John W. Wenham, "The Large Numbers in the Old Testament," Tyndale Bulletin 18 (1967):19-53.] The problem involves the meaning of the Hebrew word eleph. This word has been translated "thousand," "unit," "clan," etc. in various contexts.
"In short, there is no obvious solution to the problems posed by these census figures." [Note: Idem, Numbers, p. 66.]
I believe we should take eleph in census contexts as thousands until further investigation clearly indicates that we should interpret it differently.
"It is in the context of developing a military organization for war that the Levites are assigned their tasks in relation to the tabernacle. In a sense, their military assignment is the care and transportation of the religious shrine. Num 1:49-53 clearly outlines the requirements for the militaristic protection of the tabernacle by the Levites." [Note: John R. Spencer, "The Tasks of the Levites: smr and sb’," Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wessenschaft 96:2 (1984):270.]
The total impression of Israel’s God that this chapter projects is that He is a God of order rather than chaos and confusion (cf. Genesis 1; 1Co 14:40).
The phrase "the Lord spoke to Moses" (Num 1:1) occurs over 80 times in the Book of Numbers. [Note: Walter Riggans, Numbers, p. 6.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE CENSUS AND THE CAMP
1. THE MUSTERING
Num 1:1-46
FROM the place of high spiritual knowledge, where through the revelation of God in covenant and law Israel has been constituted His nation and His Church, the tribes must now march with due order and dignity. The sense of a Divine calling and of responsibility to the Highest will react on the whole arrangements made for the ordinary tasks and activities of men. Social aims may unite those who have them in common, and the emergencies of a nation will lay constraint on patriotic souls. But nothing so binds men together as a common vocation to do Gods will and maintain His faith. These ideas are to be traced in the whole account of the mustering of the warriors and the organisation of the camp. We review it feeling that the dominating thought. of a Divine call to spiritual duty and progress is far from having control of modern Christendom. Under the New Covenant there is a distribution of grace to every one, an endowment of each. according to his faith with priestly and even kingly powers. No chief men swear fealty to Christ on behalf of the tribes that gather to His standard; but each believer devotes himself to the service and receives his own commission. Yet, while the first thought is that of personal honour and liberty, there should follow at once the desire, the determination, to find ones fit place in the camp, in the march, in the war. The unity is imperative, for there is one body and one spirit, even as we are called in one hope of our calling. The commission each receives is not to be a freelance in the Divine warfare, but to take his right place in the ranks; and that place he must find.
The enumeration, as recorded in chapter 1, was not to be of all Israelites, but of men from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war. From Sinai to Canaan was no long journey, and fighting might soon be required. The muster was by way of preparation for conflicts in the wilderness and for the final struggle. It is significant that Aaron is shown associated with Moses in gathering the results. We see not only a preparation for war, but also for the poll tax or tithe to be levied in support of the priests and Levites. A sequel to the enumeration is to be found in Num 18:21 : “And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting.” The Levites again were to give, out of what they received, a tenth part for the maintenance of the priests. The enactment when carried into effect would make the support of those who ministered in holy things a term of the national constitution.
Now taking the census as intended to impress the personal duties of service in war and contribution for religious ends, we find in it a valuable lesson for all who acknowledge the Divine authority. Not remotely may the command be interpreted thus. Take the sum of them, that they may realise that God takes the sum of them and expects of every man service commensurate with his powers. The claim of Jehovah went side by side with the claim on behalf of the nation, for He was Head of the nation. But God is equally the Head of all who have their life from Him; and this numbering of the Hebrews points to a census which is accurately registered and never falls short of the sum of a people by a single unit. Whoever can fight the battle of righteousness, serve the truth by witness-bearing, aid in relieving the weak, or help religion by personal example and willing gift-every possible servant of God, who is also by the very possession of life and privilege a debtor of God, is numbered in the daily census of His providence. The measure of the ability of each is known. “To whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required.” The Divine regard of our lives and estimate of our powers, and the accompanying claim made upon us, are indeed far from being understood; even members of the Church are strangely ignorant of their duty. But is it thought that because no Sinai shrouded in awful smoke towers above us, and now we are encamped at the foot of Calvary, where one great offering was made for our redemption, therefore we are free in any sense from the service Israel was expected to render? Do any hold themselves relieved from the tithe because they are Christs freemen, and shirk the warfare because they already enjoy the privileges of the victors? These are the ignorant, whose complacent excuses show that they do not understand the law of Divine religion.
True, the position of the Church among us is not of the kind which the Mosaic law gave to the priesthood in Israel. Tithes are gathered, not from those only who are numbered within the Church and acknowledge obligations, but also from those outside, and always by another authority than that of Divine commandment. In this way the whole matter of the support of religion is confused in these lands both for members of the national Churches and for those beyond their borders. Successfully as the old Hebrew scheme may once have wrought, it is now hopelessly out of line with the development of society. The census does not in any way determine what a national Church can claim. Aaron does not stand beside Moses to watch the enrollment of the tribes, families, and households as they come to be numbered. Yet, by the highest law of all, which neither Church nor State can alter, the demand for service is enforced. There is a warlike duty from which none are exempt, from which there is no discharge. Although the ideal of an organised humanity appears as yet far off in our schemes of government and social melioration, providentially it is being carried into effect. Laws are at work that need no human administration. By the Divine ordinance generous effort for the common good and the ends of religion is made imperative. Obedience brings its reward: “The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand.” Neglect is also punished: the sure result of selfishness is an impoverished life.
The census is described as having been thoroughly organised. Keil and Delitzsch think that the registering may have taken place “according to the classification adopted at Jethros suggestion for the administration of justice-viz., in thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.” They also defend the total of six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty, which is precisely the same as that reached apparently nine months before. It is an obvious explanation of what appears a perplexing agreement, that the enumeration may have occupied nine months. But the number is certainly large, much larger than the muster-rolls of the Book of Judges would lead us to expect, if we reckon back from them. Nor can any explanation be given that is satisfactory in all respects. We may shrink from interfering with these numerical statements carefully set down thousands of years ago. Yet we feel that the haze of remoteness hangs over this roll of the tribes and all after-reckonings based upon it.
Of the twelve princes named in Num 1:5-15, as overseers of the census, Nahshon, son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah, has peculiar. distinction. His name is found in the genealogy of David given in the Book of Ruth {Rth 4:20}. It also appears in the “book of the generation of Jesus Christ” {Mat 1:1-25} and the roll of Josephs ancestry recorded by St. Luke. One after another in that honourable line which gave the Hebrews their Psalmist and the world its Saviour is but a name to us. Yet the life represented by the name Nahshon, spent mainly in the wilderness, had its part in far-off results; and so had many a life, not even named-the hard lives of brave fathers and burdened mothers in Israel, who, on the weary march through the desert, had their sorrow and pain, their scanty joy and hope. Far away is the endurance of those Hebrew men and women, yet it is related to our own religion, our salvation. The discipline of the wilderness made men of courage, women great in faith. Beneath their feet the Arabian sand burned, above them the sun flamed; they heard alarms of war, and followed the pillar of smoke for their appointed time, looking, even when they knew they looked in vain, for the land beyond of which Jehovah had spoken. Unaware of their nations destiny, they toiled and suffered to serve a great Divine plan which in the course of the ages came to ripeness. And the thought brings help to ourselves. We too have our desert journey, our duty and hardship, with an outlook not merely personal. It is our privilege, if we will take it so, to aid the Divine plan for the humanity that is to be, the great brotherhood in which Christ shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. Like a prince of Judah, or a humble nameless mother in Israel, each may find abiding dignity of life in doing well some allotted part in the great enterprise.
The age of service fixed for the men of the tribes may yield suggestions for our time. It is not of warlike service we have to think, but of that which depends on spiritual influence and intellectual power. And we may ask whether the limits on one side and the other have any parallel for us. Young men and women, having reached the age of bodily and mental vigour, are to hold themselves enrolled in the ranks of the army of God. There is a time of learning and preparation, when knowledge is to be acquired, when the principles of life are to be grasped, and the soul is to find its inspiration through personal faith. Then there should come that self-consecration by which response is made to the claim of God. Neither should that be premature, nor should it be deferred. When an aimless, irresolute adolescence is followed by years of drifting and experimenting without clear religious purpose, the best opportunity of life is thrown away. And this far too frequently occurs among those on whom parental influence and the finest Christian teaching have been expended. The time arrives when such young men and women should begin to serve the Church and the world: but they are still unprepared because they have not considered the great questions of duty, and seen that they have a part to play on the field of endeavor. It is true, no time can be fixed. The public service of Christ has been begun by some in very early youth: and the results have justified their adventure. From the humble tasks they first undertook they have gone on steadily to places of high responsibility, never once looking back, learning while they taught, gaining faith while they imparted it to others. Each for himself or herself, in this matter of supreme importance, must seek the guidance and realise the vocation of God. But delay is often indulged, and the twentieth, even the thirtieth year, passes without a single effort in the holy service. One could wish for a Divine conscription, a command laid on every one in youth to be ready at a certain day and hour to take the sword of the Spirit.
On the other side also many need to reconsider. No time was fixed for the end of the service to which the Israelites were summoned. As long as a man could carry arms he was to hold himself ready for the field. Not the increasing cares of his family, not the disinclination which comes with years, was to weigh against the ordinance of Jehovah. But service now, however cheerfully it may be rendered in early manhood and womanhood, is often renounced altogether when knowledge and power are coming to ripeness with the experience of life. Doubtless there are many excuses to be made for heads of households who are leaving their young folk to represent them in religion, and pretty much in everything outside the mere maintaining of existence or the enjoyment of it. The demands of public service all round are sometimes quite out of proportion to the available time and strength. Yet the Christian duty never lapses; and it is a great evil when the balance is wanting between old and young, tried and untried.