Counting God’s People

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Counting God’s People started as I was reading through Numbers. In Numbers, God has Moses count His people twice; once in Numbers 1 and then in Chapter 26. Many things were done with these totals, but I will focus on camp/marching order and then division of the land. These are at the beginning of their journey and then before they crossed the Jordan.

In Numbers 1 is the totals for the first census. This, I believe, was for Marching Order and camp placement around the Tabernacle. Numbers 26 is the second census; this is at the end of the journey before crossing the Jordan. Some Tribes increased and some had a decline. Ephraim and Manasseh switch places in the Family List in the second census. (Manasseh was the oldest but Jacob switched the blessing to Ephraim.)

  • Ruben – 46,500.                       43,730
  • Simeon – 59,300.                     22,200
  • Gad – 45,650.                          40,500
  • Judah – 74,600.                       76,500
  • Issachar – 54,400.                   64,300
  • Zebulun – 57,400.                   60,500
  • Joseph/Ephraim -40,500.        32,500
  • Joseph/Manasseh – 32,200.   52,700
  • Benjamin – 35,400.                 45,600
  • Dan – 62,700.                          64,400
  • Asher – 41,500.                       53,400
  • Naphtali – 53,400.                   45,400
  • First census total – 603,550.    601,730

Levi

  • Gershon – 7,500
  • Kohath – 8,600 The NIV has a footnote for – 8,300. This number evens the total to the stated 22,000.
  • Merari – 6,200

In Numbers 26 there is no breakdown of the families of Levi, just a total of 23,000. The second census was for the allotment of land for the tribe’s inheritance (26:64). The Levities would receive towns from the other tribes as their inheritance was the Lord.

Toledoth or toledot is the Hebrew term for a family list. These censuses are a toledot of God’s family through Jacob. Seth, Adam’s son, has a toledot in Genesis. Terah is at the end of this list but has his own that features Abram. Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 have the same list for the men who returned to repopulate Jerusalem and the Land. Matthew and Luke also have toledots for Jesus. 1 Chronicles has family list and some interesting narratives mixed in; these lists are just one of the things that validate the Bible as history and not a nice story.

David in 2 Samuel 24:1 orders a count of the men of Israel. David should not have done this as the people are the Lord’s; in ordering the count he was “claiming” the people as his. We know that ended with punishment and the purchase of the land for the Solomon’s Temple.

Appeared and Speak

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God talking and appearing to Old Testament characters has had my attention for some time. How and who did He use come first in my thoughts. Were there other “prophets” about? Did they hear audible voices? Many of them had no Scriptures to read, they were writing them. We belong in the Family of a supernatural God, and it is very clear they heard and saw something. These encounters were vivid enough to get them to know that they had heard and seen God.

As I read through Genesis His appearing to Abram/Abraham caught my attention, again. Some of these were dreams and visions, but with some of them a physical body appeared. Now, this also occurred with Issac and Jacob/Israel. God talked with them, had dinner, and even wrestled with Jacob. So, as I read through Exodus, I found some of the same activities happening, but this time with Moses.

We have “modern” terms to identify and explain some of these encounters. You can even say it was just an angel, think about that for a while. Sadducees, a religious branch of Judaism, who had many priests in their ranks, accepted the five Books of Moses; they however did not believe in angels, how did that work? God is not confined to your paradigms, but you are. We have the luxury of having His Word written for us to use to know God. Your experiences maybe limited, but my God is not. Did He speak to everyone the same, no. These men and women, however, knew they had heard God and acted on what they were told and saw.

Now when you read from Joshua to Mary and Joseph and then to John the Baptist observe the many times and varied ways that God talked to His people. God has not changed; Him speaking to His people picked up again in the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit was given to help us hear and know His voice and ways better.   

Moses

From the Burning Bush to the top of Mount Nebo, Moses heard, talked with, and saw God and His glory. He was given to Israel, not only as leader, but as an example for them and us on ways to hear and know God. Thank You, Father.

This will be more a research post for you. I am giving links to Bible Hub and their resources. An interesting fact for those of us who never took Hebrew, most concordances use a “root word”. Bible Hub does this also but list the various forms of the words you are looking for. So, these will have all of the similar words and where they are used. (As much as you think you know, there is always something else to learn.)

Exodus 4:5 Hebrew Text Analysis

Strong’s Hebrew: 7200. רָאָה (raah) — To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider

Hebrew Concordance: nir·’āh- — 22 Occurrences

Alright, just because it has to be said, not everyone who saw and heard God in the Book of Exodus listened and stayed faithful. God calls out ten times the people tested Him. The Book of Judges is a book of ups and downs. Even David and Solomon lost focus, unfortunately this is a very human condition; thank God for His grace and the finished work Jesus did on the cross.

Scholars have sorted, collected, and analyzed every word in the Bible, both First and Second Covenant. They have set the words in context and argue about the exact meaning. For me just looking at the same word everywhere it is used has given me better insight to the word. Please understand that there are times when a form of a word is used only once in all of Scripture. I also wonder why, and are we really getting the depth of meaning God wants us to have. In the New Testament in the Lord’s Prayer is the word epiousious, and there are some of these single-use or limited-use words with God appearing in our Old Testament.

Here are some other times when it is noted that God visited men:

King David in his disobedience set into motion an appearance of an angel that was visible and about to destroy Jerusalem. See 2 Samuel 24:16 and 1 Chronicles 21:15 for the story of the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite that became the site for Solomon’s Temple. Celtic Christians might refer to this location as a “Thin Place”; that is where it just seems you are closer to God. This story extends to God appearing to Solomon after he sacrificed at Gibeon (2 Chronicles 3:1 and 1 Kings 3:5), and then how the glory of God filled the new Temple as it was being dedicated (Just like He did in Leviticus 9 for the Tabernacle). We all know that even with these visits Solomon lost focus and strayed from God. Did he come back, I think so, the end of Ecclesiastes makes you think he returned to what was important.

Righteousness is an idea that carries two meanings. The first one is a judicial concept and is frequently found with the word justice. The second meaning is a relational practice of spending time with God. Yes, God will and does appear and speaks to humanity, He wants to do that.

Bible 911 – 1 Corinthians

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1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? (KJV)
1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have planted the spiritual seed that has been of benefit to you, is it too much if we receive part of the harvest from your earthly goods? (NOG – Names of God Bible)

Why two translations? 400-year-old English may not give you a large amount of understanding. Actually, take a look at several translations, I found that it helped.

For 1 Corinthians 9:11 I feel the thoughts for Chapter 9 start in Chapter 8. Paul did an amazing job of weaving several problems together. He started with food and idols then ended Chapter 9 with running your race with discipline in order to win the prize. The story of the Corinthian Church starts in Acts 18, it will give you a feel for these two Letters. I know it is hard to believe, but the first century Christian churches had problems; just read the start of the Book of Revelations. Chapter 9 builds on 2:1,6; 3:1; and 4:1,6. It seems that the Corinthians were preferring other ministers and giving Paul a bad time for a number of reasons.

FREE and FOOD These two themes are the root of the sharing in Chapters 8 and 9 with Paul’s teachings stemming from them.

Free – Paul talks about “free” quite a bit in Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians. You may want to want to check more than one translation as the number of verses using that word changes a lot. Remember, this is Paul who has a deep understanding of grace and being bound to the Lord for the purpose of spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom. We get lost in the idea of free and forget to look at the lives of Jesus and those He commissioned to spread His message.

A word for “free” was used twice in Chapter 9: 9:1 and 9:19. Paul inferred he was free several times. He was free:

  • To live for God and Jesus
  • From the fear of the Law
  • To eat what is put in front of him
  • Not to cause weak Christians to stumble
  • To be equal with other Christians
  • Not to use his rights as an apostle
  • To boast about not using his rights
  • To be available to be used by God
  • To discipline himself to be useful

Food – 1 Corinthians 9:11 in “modern times” translates to money. Programs, staff, and buildings are expensive; if you enjoy the church community, bearing those burdens are necessary. Paul starts his discourse on food talking about knowledge. Paul tempers what you think you know versus your responsibility towards weak members of Christ’s Body. Animal sacrifice was part of life in the first century, we have some knowledge and understanding of the practice. The Corinthians, however, were not ignorant and neither were Jews. Part of Jewish sacrifice was to have a family meal before God. I have heard it said that the meat market was next to the neighborhood pagan temple in large Gentile cities. Exodus 34:15 and Numbers 25:1-3 are passages about sacrificing to idols, eating the offering, and being led away from God and frequently into sexual sin. Paul did not sacrifice to idols, but he knew food was just food. It seems he had a good understanding of Jesus’ words about “what goes in the mouth does not defile, it is what comes out”. Now, use the knowledge you have right now from the Lord and switch from food to money. What are you sacrificing, eating, and teaching others about your freedom?

Paul offers several examples for 9:11 starting in verse 7 and ends with a question in 12. Why do you support others and not the ones who brought you the Gospel? I would like to offer two other references/examples for Paul’s boasting and behavior:

  • In Genesis 14 Abram gathers an army and rescues Lot. In verse 21 he refuses to take anything from King Bera of Sodom, except the tenth to Melchizedek and the share for allies who went with him.
  • Jesus in Luke 10:4-8 commissions seventy-two apostles/missionaries and sends them out. He told them to go out and that the people they preach to should take care of their needs. This is a food and funds focus from Jesus.  

Lord’s Prayer – Forever

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Matthew 6: 13b – For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen 

Well, this sentence appears to have been added to the copies of Matthew and Luke. If you start reading the internet the theories abound as to why. One that was echoed several times was it made Luke sound more like the prayer in Matthew. The denomination I grew up in used this line. I want to say there was an additional “ever” at the end, but that might just have been me.

Yes, there are differences in the manuscripts of the Gospels over the centuries. Check your footnotes as many times these slight additions or missing words will be noted. The NIV (1984) documents lines and phrases that appear to have been added or not in all ancient manuscripts – Matthew 24:36, 23:13, 21:44, 19:29, 18:15, 17:20, 16:2 and 3, 15:14, and 6, 12:47, 6:13, 5:44 and 22, 26:28, 27:35 and 46. (Guess how I explored that thought?)

Another fact I looked into this morning was the original languages the Gospels were written in. Since I have pointed out in 6:11 about epiousious and how special of a word it is; I will point out that Matthew’s first copies were written in Hebrew.

Here are some resources:

John’s first manuscripts are in Greek.

People have definite opinions on the meaning of Revelation 22:18 and 19. With this prayer I see a well-traveled and often said petition to the Father. The slight variations, I feel, reflect years of repetition through various cultures and languages. It is hard to image that the prayer was used from Ireland to India and the Arctic Circle to the Equator hundreds of years before the Great Bible ever made it to paper.

Appeared and Went Up

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As I read Genesis 17 and 18 the words “appeared” and “went up” (NIV) were used of God visiting Abram/Abraham. They reminded me just how important Abraham was in God’s plan for mankind.

First a little background: In Chapter 15 Abraham God brought Abram into Covenant. Chapter 16 Sarai “helped” God out by encouraging Abram to have a child with Hagar. Thirteen years later in Chapter 17 God added circumcision as a sign to confirm the covenant in Chapter 15, plus the promise of the land of Canaan, and a son born of Sarai. This is also the chapter where God changed the couple’s names to Abraham and Sarah. The narrative in Chapter 18 tells of God’s second visit to Abraham, which included a meal, Sarah laughing at the thought of being a mother, and the dickering Abraham did with God over Sodom.

APPEARED

God had spoken to Abram, given him visions, and had a smoking firepot and a blazing torch be visible to represent Him. (The firepot and torch became a pillar of fire and cloud with Moses and the Children in the desert.) But in Chapter 17:1 and 18:1 God came and showed Himself to Abraham. The Hebrew word is way·yê·rā and was first used in Genesis 12:7; the root word is raah. Hebrew Concordance: way·yê·rā — 20 Occurrences

Strong’s Hebrew: 7200. רָאָה (raah) — To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider

If you look at the twenty times way·yê·rā is used, it is clear that God showed Himself to Abraham. This is a great Bible study by itself, so use the Bible Hub link and explore this thought. Yes, all of those appearance have a term we have given them and a lot of ink has been used in explaining them. Don’t miss the fact that God showed Himself to this man, the father of faith.

He Left  

What grabbed my attention was that He appeared and then the text also adds that He left. In 17:22 the word is wayyaal and it comes from the root word alah.

Hebrew Concordance: way·ya·‘al — 110 Occurrences

Strong’s Hebrew: 5927. עָלָה (alah) — To go up, ascend, climb, bring up, offer

In 18:33 the word used when God left is wayyelek. Hebrew Concordance: way·yê·leḵ — 212 Occurrences 

God accomplished many things in His appearing and leaving, but I think the message to Abram in 17:1 “to walk with Him” was the most important part. That word is hithallek. Hebrew Concordance: hiṯ·hal·leḵ- — 4 Occurrences. Noah and David are the others that this word is associated with. The root word is Strong’s Hebrew: 1980. הָלַך (halak) — To go, walk, come, proceed, move. If I read Genesis correctly, Adam and Eve and Enoch also experienced walking with God. I think God wants us to walk with Him and fellowship with Him in righteousness.