Numbers - A Journey Through the Wilderness , Sarah Barry
REGISTERED AND COUNTED
Passage: Numbers 1:1~46  
Key verse: 3
The Census
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting(A) in the Desert of Sinai(B) on the first day of the second month(C) of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.(D) He said: 2 “Take a census(E) of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families,(F) listing every man by name,(G) one by one. 3 You and Aaron(H) are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more(I) and able to serve in the army.(J) 4 One man from each tribe,(K) each of them the head of his family,(L) is to help you.(M) 5 These are the names(N) of the men who are to assist you:
from Reuben,(O) Elizur son of Shedeur;(P)
6 from Simeon,(Q) Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;(R)
7 from Judah,(S) Nahshon son of Amminadab;(T)
8 from Issachar,(U) Nethanel son of Zuar;(V)
9 from Zebulun,(W) Eliab son of Helon;(X)
10 from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim,(Y) Elishama son of Ammihud;(Z)
from Manasseh,(AA) Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;(AB)
11 from Benjamin,(AC) Abidan son of Gideoni;(AD)
12 from Dan,(AE) Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;(AF)
13 from Asher,(AG) Pagiel son of Okran;(AH)
16 These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders(AM) of their ancestral tribes.(AN) They were the heads of the clans of Israel.(AO)
17 Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been specified, 18 and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month.(AP) The people registered their ancestry(AQ) by their clans and families,(AR) and the men twenty years old or more(AS) were listed by name, one by one, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted(AT) them in the Desert of Sinai:
20 From the descendants of Reuben(AU) the firstborn son(AV) of Israel:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 21 The number from the tribe of Reuben(AW) was 46,500.
22 From the descendants of Simeon:(AX)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 23 The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.(AY)
24 From the descendants of Gad:(AZ)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 25 The number from the tribe of Gad(BA) was 45,650.
26 From the descendants of Judah:(BB)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 27 The number from the tribe of Judah(BC) was 74,600.
28 From the descendants of Issachar:(BD)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 29 The number from the tribe of Issachar(BE) was 54,400.(BF)
30 From the descendants of Zebulun:(BG)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 31 The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.(BH)
32 From the sons of Joseph:(BI)
From the descendants of Ephraim:(BJ)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 33 The number from the tribe of Ephraim(BK) was 40,500.
34 From the descendants of Manasseh:(BL)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 35 The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.
36 From the descendants of Benjamin:(BM)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 37 The number from the tribe of Benjamin(BN) was 35,400.
38 From the descendants of Dan:(BO)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 39 The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.(BP)
40 From the descendants of Asher:(BQ)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 41 The number from the tribe of Asher(BR) was 41,500.
42 From the descendants of Naphtali:(BS)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 43 The number from the tribe of Naphtali(BT) was 53,400.(BU)
44 These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron(BV) and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more(BW) who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families.(BX) 46 The total number was 603,550.(BY)
Cross references
- Numbers 1:1 : S Ex 27:21; S 40:2
- Numbers 1:1 : S Ex 19:1
- Numbers 1:1 : ver 18
- Numbers 1:1 : S Ex 6:14
- Numbers 1:2 : Ex 30:11-16
- Numbers 1:2 : ver 18
- Numbers 1:2 : Nu 3:40
- Numbers 1:3 : Ex 4:14; Nu 17:3
- Numbers 1:3 : S Ex 30:14
- Numbers 1:3 : ver 20; Nu 26:2; Jos 5:4; 1Ch 5:18
- Numbers 1:4 : S Lev 24:11; S Jos 7:1
- Numbers 1:4 : ver 16; Nu 7:2; 30:1; 31:26
- Numbers 1:4 : Ex 18:21; Nu 34:18; Dt 1:15; Jos 22:14
- Numbers 1:5 : Nu 17:2
- Numbers 1:5 : S Ge 29:32; Rev 7:5
- Numbers 1:5 : Nu 2:10; 7:30; 10:18
- Numbers 1:6 : ver 22; Nu 25:14
- Numbers 1:6 : Nu 2:12; 7:36, 41; 10:19
- Numbers 1:7 : ver 26; S Ge 29:35; Ps 78:68
- Numbers 1:7 : Ex 6:23; Nu 7:12; Ru 4:20; 1Ch 2:10; Mt 1:4; Lk 3:32
- Numbers 1:8 : S Ge 30:18; Nu 10:15
- Numbers 1:8 : Nu 2:5; 7:18
- Numbers 1:9 : ver 30; Nu 10:16
- Numbers 1:9 : Nu 2:7; 7:24
- Numbers 1:10 : ver 32
- Numbers 1:10 : Nu 2:18; 7:48, 53; 10:22
- Numbers 1:10 : ver 34; Nu 10:23
- Numbers 1:10 : Nu 2:20; 7:54
- Numbers 1:11 : Nu 10:24
- Numbers 1:11 : Nu 2:22; 7:60; Ps 68:27
- Numbers 1:12 : ver 38
- Numbers 1:12 : Nu 2:25; 7:66; 10:25
- Numbers 1:13 : ver 40; Nu 10:26
- Numbers 1:13 : Nu 2:27; 7:72
- Numbers 1:14 : ver 24; Nu 10:20
- Numbers 1:14 : Nu 2:14; 7:42
- Numbers 1:15 : ver 42; Nu 10:27
- Numbers 1:15 : Nu 2:29; 7:78
- Numbers 1:16 : S Ex 18:25
- Numbers 1:16 : Nu 32:28
- Numbers 1:16 : S ver 4
- Numbers 1:18 : ver 1
- Numbers 1:18 : Ezr 2:59; Heb 7:3
- Numbers 1:18 : ver 2
- Numbers 1:18 : S Ex 30:14
- Numbers 1:19 : Ex 30:12; Nu 26:63; 31:49
- Numbers 1:20 : S Ge 29:32; S 46:9; Rev 7:5
- Numbers 1:20 : S Ge 10:15
- Numbers 1:21 : Nu 26:7
- Numbers 1:22 : S Ge 29:33; Rev 7:7
- Numbers 1:23 : Nu 26:14
- Numbers 1:24 : S Ge 30:11; S Jos 13:24-28; Rev 7:5
- Numbers 1:25 : Ge 46:16; Nu 26:18; 1Ch 5:11
- Numbers 1:26 : S ver 7; Mt 1:2; Rev 7:5
- Numbers 1:27 : Nu 26:22
- Numbers 1:28 : S Ge 30:18; Rev 7:7
- Numbers 1:29 : S Ge 30:18
- Numbers 1:29 : Nu 26:25
- Numbers 1:30 : S Ge 30:20; Rev 7:8
- Numbers 1:31 : Nu 26:27
- Numbers 1:32 : Ge 49:26
- Numbers 1:32 : S Ge 41:52
- Numbers 1:33 : Nu 26:37; 1Ch 7:20
- Numbers 1:34 : S Ge 41:51; Rev 7:6
- Numbers 1:36 : S Ge 35:18; 2Ch 17:17; Jer 32:44; Ob 1:19; Rev 7:8
- Numbers 1:37 : Nu 26:41
- Numbers 1:38 : Ge 30:6; Dt 33:22
- Numbers 1:39 : Nu 26:43
- Numbers 1:40 : S Ge 30:13; Nu 26:44; Rev 7:6
- Numbers 1:41 : Nu 26:47
- Numbers 1:42 : S Ge 30:8; Rev 7:6
- Numbers 1:43 : Nu 26:50
- Numbers 1:43 : S Ex 1:1-4
- Numbers 1:44 : Nu 26:64
- Numbers 1:45 : ver 3; Nu 14:29
- Numbers 1:45 : Nu 2:32
- Numbers 1:46 : S Ex 12:37; 2Sa 24:9
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
Numbers is the fourth book of the five books of Moses. The book gets its English name from the two censuses recorded in it (Ch 1, 26). The Hebrew name for Numbers is “In the Wilderness.” Numbers begins in the wilderness, thirteen months after the Israelites come out of Egypt. God commands a census be taken to build an army for the taking of Canaan. However, Numbers ends forty years later with the Israelites still in the wilderness, again preparing to take Canaan. The book may feel inconclusive on the surface, but it is rich in spiritual lessons. We can learn much about God and the life of faith that can be applied today.
Numbers covers two generations of Israelites as they wander in the wilderness for forty years. The first generation experienced God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt firsthand as well as many other miracles. But they perished in the wilderness because of unbelief. The second generation knew only the wilderness and had to depend on God for everything. God allowed them to take Canaan because of their faith.
As God set the Israelites free from slavery and promised to give them Canaan, Jesus has set us free from sin and has promised us eternal life and the kingdom of God. Like the Israelites, we Christians can feel as though we are wandering in the wilderness of this world. Numbers shows us how to—and not to—respond in this wilderness. As God leads his people through the wilderness, he leads our Christian journey until we reach God’s kingdom. May God enrich our faith in him as we study Numbers.
Thirteen months after the LORD miraculously delivered the Israelites from bondage to the Egyptians, he commanded Moses and Aaron to take a census of the people. God had already given them the Law, established the priesthood, provided their daily needs, and revealed himself as holy and merciful. The time had come for his people to form an army and take the Promised Land.
The LORD appointed tribal leaders to help in this huge task. People registered by their clans and families. Excluding the Levites, 603,550 were counted to serve in Israel’s army, all physical and spiritual descendants of Jacob and Abraham. The census revealed how God was both fulfilling his promises to Abraham (Gn 15:5) and also looking forward to even greater fulfillment (Gn 22:17-18). How has God been fulfilling his promises to you? Are you trusting God to fulfill his promises to you in even greater ways?
Large or small, every tribe was counted and contributed to the army. There were no bystander tribes. The people served side-by-side for the LORD and for each other. Can you be counted upon to serve the LORD? May we each, by faith, also be “registered” and “counted” in our churches and fellowships in active service to the LORD.
Prayer: Father, thank you for fulfilling your promises. Count me among those who serve you.
One Word: Be counted