NUMBERS LESSON 2


     We will begin this lesson in Numbers 1:17  "And Moses and Aaron
took these men which are expressed by [their] names:"

     In the last lesson, we saw the names of the various tribes
mentioned, and the princes who would be the leaders of each tribe.
Moses and Aarom are in charge of this numbering. All the men 20 years
and older, who could go to war, are to be counted.

     Numbers 1:18 "And they assembled all the congregation together on
the first [day] of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees
after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the
number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their
polls."

     The "pedigrees" are speaking of their right by birth to be of a
certain tribe. They were separated into groups, who represented the
families of the 12 tribes of Israel. In the group who were equipped
for war, there was no mention of the Levitical tribe. That tribe is
set aside for God's purposes. This number closely coincides with the
number that had been polled for the tax in the tabernacle.

     Numbers 1:19 "As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in
the wilderness of Sinai."

     This command is no different than what we read about in Exodus.
God gave the message to Moses, Moses gave the message to Aaron, and
Aaron gave the message to the people. The numbering was done in the
wilderness of Sinai.

     Numbers 1:20 "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;"

     We discussed in lesson one, that Reuben was the first son of
Jacob's wife, Leah.

     Numbers 1:21 "Those that were numbered of them, [even] of the
tribe of Reuben, [were] forty and six thousand and five hundred."

     We, also, discussed that the number is, probably, not accurate to
the last man, but was very close. Perhaps, that is why the number is
rounded to 46,500.

     Numbers 1:22  "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;"  Numbers 1:23 "Those that were numbered of them,
[even] of the tribe of Simeon, [were] fifty and nine thousand and
three hundred."

     All of the same things apply here, as in the verses before, but
the number is different. There were 59,300. Simeon was Leah's second
son.

     Numbers 1:24  "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;" Numbers 1:25 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Gad, [were] forty and five thousand six
hundred and fifty."

     The number of Gad's family was not rounded to the nearest
hundred, but to the nearest fifty. There were 45,650 in Gad's tribe.
You will notice, this is in a different order than the listings
earlier. Gad was encamped with Reuben and Simeon, and perhaps, that is
the reason for this order here. Gad was from the handmaid Zilpah.

     Numbers 1:26  "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;" Numbers 1:27 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Judah, [were] threescore and fourteen
thousand and six hundred."

     The tribe of Judah is the tribe that Jesus was born into. Judah
is the fourth son of Leah. Those that were numbered of the tribe of
Judah were 74,600.

     Numbers 1:28  "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;" Numbers 1:29 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Issachar, [were] fifty and four thousand
and four hundred."

     Issachar was the fifth son of Leah, Jacob's first wife. Those
that were numbered of them are 54,400. We must remember all of these
children are of Jacob. All 12 tribes stem from him. Jacob's name was
changed to Israel by God.

     Numbers 1:30  "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;" Numbers 1:31 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Zebulun, [were] fifty and seven thousand
and four hundred."

     Zebulun was the sixth and last of the sons of Leah. Those that
were numbered of Zebulun's tribe were 57,400.

     Numbers 1:32  "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;"
Numbers 1:33 "Those that were numbered of them, [even] of the tribe of
Ephraim, [were] forty thousand and five hundred."

     We find, in this, a separation of the tribe of Joseph. Of the
tribe of Ephraim of the tribe of Joseph, they counted 40,500. Joseph
was the favorite son of Jacob.

     Numbers 1:34  "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;"  Numbers 1:35 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Manasseh, [were] thirty and two thousand
and two hundred."

     Manasseh is another son of Joseph. This tribe of Manasseh is,
also, from the root tribe of Joseph. Those that were numbered of
Manasseh's tribe were 32,200.

     Numbers 1:36  "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;" Numbers 1:37 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Benjamin, [were] thirty and five thousand
and four hundred."

     Benjamin was the younger brother of Joseph. Rachel was their
mother and Jacob their father. Those numbered of his tribe were
35,400.

     Numbers 1:38  "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;" Numbers 1:39 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Dan, [were] threescore and two thousand
and seven hundred."

     It is very strange that the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in
chapter 7 of Revelation, where they are sealed for protection. His
tribe, above, numbers  62,700.

     Numbers 1:40  "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;"  Numbers 1:41 "Those that were numbered of
them, [even] of the tribe of Asher, [were] forty and one thousand and
five hundred."

     The tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

     Numbers 1:42  "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;" Numbers 1:43 "Those
that were numbered of them, [even] of the tribe of Naphtali, [were]
fifty and three thousand and four hundred."

     Naphtali's tribe numbered 53,400.

     Numbers 1:44 "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."

     The princes mentioned here are 12. We know that this list does
not exactly follow the list of the sons of Jacob, because Levi is left
out. They were not to go to war. The sons of Joseph {Ephraim and
Manasseh} take up the space of the Levitical tribe.

     Numbers 1:45 "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;"

     We must remember that the women and children, both male and
female, were not numbered. They were not warriors. We may safely
assume the really old men were not counted, as well.

     Numbers 1:46 "Even all they that were numbered were six hundred
thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty."

     The total of all the young men counted from all of the tribes
was counted 603,550. This number has increased about 13,000 people
since the Exodus. We can safely assume from this, that the entire
population count of all the Israelites would be somewhere between 2
and 3 million. From the spiritual standpoint, we can easily see that
God's army is a large number of people. Every person who proclaims
Christianity is in God's army.

     Numbers 1:47  "But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers
were not numbered among them."

     The Levites were to care for things of the tabernacle, and were
not to be weighted down with serving in war. They were the spiritual
leaders of their people.

     Numbers 1:48 "For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying,"

     Again, we see that every detail is given to Moses directly from
God.

     Numbers 1:49 "Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi,
neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:"

     God had strictly forbidden the numbering of the Levites with the
warriors.

     Numbers 1:50 "But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the
tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over
all things that [belong] to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and
all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall
encamp round about the tabernacle."

     We see that special care is to be given to the tabernacle. God
has chosen this tribe for the purpose of serving Him in and around the
tabernacle. The presence of God was over the mercy seat. The
tabernacle was to be kept holy inside, and was, also, to be protected
from the entering of the worldly, as well. They were anointed of God
to serve Him and the people. They must not be mixed in with the world.

     Numbers 1:51 "And 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."

     "Stranger", here, means someone who has not been authorized of
God to do this work. The Levites were set aside for this purpose, in
the book of Leviticus. No one with unclean hands was to touch anything
of the tabernacle. God had given specific instructions on how all of
this was to be handled. Even the sons of Aaron, who brought strange
fire into the tabernacle, were killed. All of the things of God are
holy.

     Numbers 1:52 "And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents,
every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard,
throughout their hosts."

     Each tribe was assigned their place in the camp. They were
assigned a place to march, as well. Only the Levitical tribe was
gathered around the tabernacle. The others were settled out in the
east, west, north, or south. With close to 3 million people, you can
see the necessity for order.

     Numbers 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."

     One of the things the Levites were to do, was to set up an area
around the tabernacle, and keep all others out of that area. Someone
might wander in this area and be killed, if it were not safely
guarded.

     Numbers 1:54 "And the children of Israel did according to all
that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they."

     It is important for us, as well as for the tribes of Israel, to
heed the wishes of the LORD. God had promised to bless them, if they
obeyed His commandments.




                        Numbers 2 Questions


1.  Who was in charge of the numbering?
2.  When did they assemble the people?
3.  What are "pedigrees" speaking of?
4.  Who were numbered?
5.  God gave the message to Moses, and Moses gave it to whom?
6.  Who was Israel's oldest son?
7.  Who was his mother?
8.  How many of the tribe of Reuben were numbered?
9.  How many of Simeon's tribe were numbered?
10. Why is the order given here different from the order in the first
    lesson?
11. What tribe was Jesus birthed into?
12. Who was Jacob's first wife?
13. Who was the last son birthed to Leah?
14. What was different about the tribe of Joseph?
15. Who was the favorite son of Jacob?
16. ____________ was the younger brother of Joseph.
17. Who was their mother?
18. What is peculiar about the tribe of Dan?
19. How many princes were there?
20. Why was the tribe of Levi left out of this list?
21. How many men, over 20, of all the tribes were there?
22. Approximately how many Israelites all together were there
    including women and children?
23. The Levites were appointed over the __________ of _________.
24. What purpose had God chosen the Levites for?
25. "Stranger", in verse 51, means what?
26. Where were they to pitch their tents?
27. Where were the Levites to pitch their tents?
28. Did they obey God's wishes?