Numbers – Chapter 26

Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war. Numbers 26:2 – All those who were to die in the wilderness due to their sin (except one, Moses) had now died with the plague in the previous chapter. It was now the younger generation’s turn to enter into the Promised Land. As God did with the first generation, He called for a census to be taken to see how many men there were ready to go to war. We see in verse 51 that the difference from the first census was only a loss of 1,820 men. Yet remember why they were counted, these were the men who would be going to war to conquer Canaan and possess the Promised Land. After reading this passage, Spurgeon had a solid question about the church today. Essentially he asked how many congregations today could be counted as “ready to go to war” for the Lord? God’s mercy has taken care of us and blessed us, yet are we a people ready to fight for the Lord? Has our churches fostered soldiers who are ready to boldly fight for what God calls us to fight for, or have we fostered only children in the faith that aren’t ready yet to stand how the Lord needs His people to stand? While I certainly am not saying our churches need to look like boot camp, I am saying that if church life is so tailored to the peoples’ comforts and preferences, that we can miss the opportunities to sharpen our brothers and sisters for the work God is calling them to. Church should push us out of our comfort zone and convict us of any sin in our life. If we can walk out of church not challenged in any way or not sharpened in our faith at all, then maybe we need to find a new church that will for the Lord’s work is too important to remain children in the faith not ready to fight. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3376

This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730. Numbers 26:51 – I was curious how this number differed from the first census that was taken of the people in the first chapter of Numbers. That count was 603,550 (Numbers 1:46). At first it looks like the people only lost a couple thousand along the journey, but that’s note the case at all. They lost 603,550 people, (Or close to at least). See in verse 64 of our passage today we see God remind us that none of those who came out of Egypt that were counted in the first census would be allowed into the promise land. Only their children, who made the new number taken up in the new census. What we see here is how sin shows no mercy in keeping us from having to deal with its consequences. Sin will keep you far from God’s promise and can even have the effect of keeping others around you from seeing it too. So don’t be deceived in thinking there won’t be a consequence attached to the sin in front of you. There always is and often it causes us to miss the beauty of God’s promise in the next step. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1442

Numbers 26 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Numbers 26:64-65 – Another census was to be taken of the people of Israel. The first was in the beginning of their wilderness time, now one at the end. What was the resulting head counts of both? Census at the beginning = 603,550. Census at the end = 601,730 (Keeping in mind both were counting those 20 years old and up who were able to go to war, and not the tribe of Levi). The difference? 1,820 people less than when they started. Yet we read in Numbers so many times destruction came on the people, how are the numbers so close? For God kept His word, and the rebellious generation that was not allowed into the promise land were the ones destroyed. What’s beautiful though is despite so many lost, and so many turning to sin, God still raised up a people for Himself in the wilderness. While we may read stories of the death of the rebellious, see that life was being birthed even in the wilderness. These are passages we must keep in mind when we read other passages, or even see events in our own life, that seem to counter the character of God we know. When we read and see things that make us question His love or His goodness or His grace, be willing to dwell on the truth God is working on a much bigger frame than we are. He is able to show condemnation to sin and provision to faithfulness at the same time. He is able to bring death and life. His work, while to our eyes may seem too heavy-handed or simply absent of love, is what is needed to bring life and promise. When then the Lord is moving and working, and it just doesn’t make sense how this could be the loving or even righteous thing to do, trust if God’s hand is behind it, its is. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2307