Numbers 26:1
The Bible says in Numbers
26:1-4, And it came to pass after the plague, that
the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of
Aaron the priest, saying,[2] Take the sum of all the congregation of the
children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their father's
house, all that are able to go to war in Israel.[3] And Moses and
Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of
Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,[4] Take the sum of the people, from
twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of
Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt. This chapter is
another one of the chapters in the book of Numbers for which the book gets its
name. In Numbers chapter 27 is a long list of names from each of the twelve
tribes of Israel. The reason that they were being listed is given in these four
verses: in preparation for war. The key verse is verse two that says, all that are able to go to war. Every nation
needs to be prepared for war. This was true in the Old Testament times and it
is also true in the times in which we live in the era of the New Testament.
Jesus said in Matthew chapter twenty-four that there shall be wars and rumors of wars in the age in which we live.
Jesus also told us why there will be wars. He said in Matthew 24:7, For nation shall rise against nation
In other
words, there will be aggressor nations who will start wars. That happened under
Hitler with Nazi Germany. Freedom-loving nations must be prepared to take on
the aggressors and defend themselves.
The Bible says in Numbers
26:5-11, Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the
children of Reuben; Hanoch, of whom cometh the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites:[6]
Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi,
the family of the Carmites.[7] These are the
families of the Reubenites: and they that were
numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty.[8]
And the sons of Pallu; Eliab.[9] And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and
Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the
congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of
Korah, when they strove against the LORD:[10] And the earth opened her
mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what
time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.[11]
Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not. In these verses the
important verse is verse eleven: Notwithstanding
the children of Korah died not. The children were not punished for the
sins of the parents. In other words each person is responsible for their own
actions and their own development as a human being. That is one of the problems
of reparations for slavery. Some of the ancestors of white people had slaves
and some did not. Since almost no white person today agrees with slavery, they
should not be held responsible for the errors of past generations. The same is
true from a religious perspective also. Just because your parents know Jesus as
Savior and are going to go to heaven, does not mean that you will. You will be
held responsible for your own sins and therefore, you must come to know Jesus
as your own personal Savior.
The Bible says in Numbers
26:12-22, The sons of Simeon after their families:
of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites: of Jamin,
the family of the Jaminites: of Jachin, the family of
the Jachinites:[13] Of Zerah, the family of
the Zarhites: of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.[14]
These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty and
two thousand and two hundred.[15] The children of Gad after their
families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites: of Haggi, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the family of the Shunites:[16]
Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the
family of the Erites:[17] Of Arod, the family
of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites.[18] These are the families of the children
of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five
hundred.[19] The sons of Judah were Er and Onan: and Er and Onan died in
the land of Canaan.[20] And the sons of Judah after their families were;
of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites: of Pharez,
the family of the Pharzites: of Zerah, the family of
the Zarhites.[21] And the sons of Pharez were; of Hezron, the family of
the Hezronites: of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.[22] These are the families of Judah
according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixteen thousand
and five hundred. Three tribes of Israel are mentioned in these verses:
Simeon, Gad, and Judah. Nothing out of the ordinary for any of the three is
mentioned except for verse nineteen that mentions about the sons of Judah, Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. Their
story can be found in Genesis chapter thirty-eight. Both of them were so wicked
that the Bible says that God killed them and took them off the earth before
their time. That can happen to anyone, even to Christians. It says in First
John 5:16,
There is a sin unto death
Another thing to notice
about Er and Onan is that their evil lives affected very negatively Tamar who
was married to Er and then to Onan after Er died. And then Tamar had twins as a result of incest with her father-in-law. What a
disastrous life for Tamar. But look what God did with that situation. One of
Tamars sons was named Phares, and Phares is mentioned in Matthew chapter one
as being in the lineage of Christ. Tamar is also mentioned in Matthew chapter
one no doubt to honor her and to make up for the terrible things that happened
to her in her life. Notice that abortion was not approved by God after incest,
and God made a good life out of one of the twins who were born: a descendent to
King David and a descendent to the Messiah Jesus Christ. Killing the baby would
not take away the pain that caused the pregnancy: it would only add more pain.
That baby is just as innocent as any other baby. Life can be tough, and hard,
and cruel. The goal is to overcome evil with good.
The Bible says in Numbers
26:23-37, Of the sons of Issachar after their
families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites: of
Pua, the family of the Punites:[24] Of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites: of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.[25] These are the families of Issachar
according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and four thousand and
three hundred.[26] Of the sons of Zebulun after their families: of
Sered, the family of the Sardites: of Elon, the family of the Elonites: of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.[27]
These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those that were numbered
of them, threescore thousand and five hundred.
[28] The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim.[29]
Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites:
and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites.[30]
These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of
Helek, the family of the Helekites:[31] And of
Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites:[32] And of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.[33] And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had
no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were
Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.[34] These are the families
of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and
seven hundred.[35] These are the sons of Ephraim after their families:
of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthalhites: of
Becher, the family of the Bachrites: of Tahan, the
family of the Tahanites.[36] And these are the
sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.[37]
These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those that were
numbered of them, thirty and two thousand and five hundred. These are the sons
of Joseph after their families. Manasseh and Ephraim were the two sons
of Joseph. Jacob, knowing Gods will, spoke to Joseph about Ephraim and
Manasseh in Genesis 48;20-22, And he blessed them
that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim
and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.[21] And Israel said
unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto
the land of your fathers.[22] Moreover I have given to thee one
portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite
with my sword and with my bow. The land of Israel was divided up into
twelve parcels of land, but Levi was not given one of those parcels because the
sons of Levi were given the responsibility and opportunity to take care of the
temple and all the sacrifices and rituals of Judaism. Gods plan always fits together
so well. What about the twelfth parcel of land? Instead of giving one parcel to
Joseph, God gave two parcels of land: one for Josephs son Ephraim and one for
Josephs son Manasseh. And thus, Joseph received one
portion above his brethren. The prophecy was fulfilled, and Joseph
was recompensed for what he suffered at the hands of his brothers.
The Bible says in Numbers
26:38-46, The sons of Benjamin after their
families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites: of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites: of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites:[39] Of Shupham,
the family of the Shuphamites: of Hupham, the family
of the Huphamites.[40] And the sons of Bela
were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites:
and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.[41]
These are the sons of Benjamin after their families: and they that were
numbered of them were forty and five thousand and six hundred.[42] These
are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their
families.[43] All the families of the Shuhamites,
according to those that were numbered of them, were threescore and four
thousand and four hundred.[44] Of the children of Asher after their
families: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites: of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites:
of Beriah, the family of the Beriites.[45] Of
the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites:
of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.[46]
And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah. Notice that the last
of these verses says, And the name of the daughter
of Asher was Sarah. The Bible elevates women over and over again. This
is a list of mens names. Why include a woman? Women need to be included
because they are equal to men. Notice what it says about Christians in
Galatians 3:28, There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye
are all one in Christ Jesus.
The Bible says in Numbers
26:47-56, These are the families of the sons of
Asher according to those that were numbered of them; who were fifty and three
thousand and four hundred.[48] Of the sons of Naphtali after their
families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites:
of Guni, the family of the Gunites:[49] Of
Jezer, the family of the Jezerites: of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites.[50] These are the families of Naphtali
according to their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and
five thousand and four hundred.[51] These were the numbered of the
children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and
thirty.[52] And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying,[53] Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance
according to the number of names.[54] To many thou shalt give the more
inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one
shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him.[55]
Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the
tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.[56] According to the lot
shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few. After
listing the descendants of eleven sons of Jacob, and how the country of Israel
would be divided into twelve parcels of land, notice that God gives an
important principle for how the land would be divided: fairly, as it is
summarized in verse fifty-six, According to the
lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few. In
other words a small number of people would not be given a large piece of land,
and a large number of people would not be given a small piece of land. That
would not be fair. Benjamin was given a smaller piece of land because they were
fewer in number. Ephraim and Manasseh were each given a larger piece of land
because their descendants were larger in number. This was a little bit similar
to the Homestead Act of 1862 in the United States where families were given 160
acres of land each. When there is land that needs to be settled and developed,
out of necessity that land is divided up and parceled out. That happened in the
beginning of the nation of Israel, and that happened in the early days of the
United States of America. Hopefully, the United States will not end up with the
same destiny as Israel: conquered and destroyed by an invading army because
they forgot how much God blessed them, and they turned away from God.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2019 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved