Counting on You

Numbers 26

Ahh, Numbers. How I love it when you count.  Yep- it's census time.  As a former census worker, I wish there were more details from the eccentric of the clans- people who think the government comes in at night and silently move their property lines in- or folks who list "chicken chaser" as their profession on the form.  Alas, the account here is much less colorful.  If only Georgia had been the promised land.

We get a new count here.  I think the point is to see where we stand after the 40 extra years of wandering and to make sure that no one sneaks into Canaan that was denied entrance.  Also, it gives a sense of how they've progressed population-wise since the last great count.  Ah, what a fascinating passage that one was.

So the last plague happened killing off a bunch of Israelites and God tells Moses and Aaron's kid Eleazar to count these people by family.  They're counting those 20 years or older- and I would assume just the male folk since the age stipulation is there to determine their battle worth.  I'm guessing there weren't many co-ed battalions back in the day.  

So Moses and Eleazar stand by the Jordan and tell them to get it done.  That concludes the plot.  The rest is results.

Reuben's kin are named by generation- they number at 43,730.

In the Reuben section we are reminded that Dathan and Abiram were part of Korah's unsuccessful rebellion against Moses and Aaron that resulted in a fire killing 250 people.  Korah's line, however, didn't die out.  Dathan and Abiram's heritage is laid out- so his family is sure to not forget their link to the scandal.

Simeon's kin were numbered at 22,200.  No commentary for them.

Gad had 40,500.

Judah had 76,500.  Two of his sons Er and Onan were singled out.  They died in Canaan so apparently have no line behind them here.

Issachar had 64,300 in their number,

Zebulun had a slightly smaller count with 60,500.

As you may recall, Joseph got a double inheritance and so two sons get their own tribse,  Manasseh had 52,700 and Ephraim had 32,500.  

Benjamin had 45,600.

Dan apparently only had one son- or at least one son with children.  All of his line went through Shuham- and they had 64,400 in his clan.

Asher had 53,400.  It is also noted that Asher had a daughter named Serah.  It's only a parenthetical reference, but still a rarity to see a woman's name on a list like this.

Naphtali had 45,400.

This grand total (at least according to Moses) comes to 601,730.  God tells Moses to distribute land based on the size of the clans- but it is to be done by lots.  

The Levites weren't included in this group- they weren't soldier-types but there were 23,200 of them.  It says they weren't counted because they didn't receive a portion of the inheritance.  Similar to the Reuben section, we are reminded that Nadab and Abihu (and their strange, unauthorized fire) belonged to the Levite family.  However we are also reminded of Moses and Aaron's place in this line. Moses also names his mother Jochebed, and his sister Miriam.

None of the escapees were still alive except for Joshua and Caleb.  

It must have been a strange mixture of emotion for the wanderers as the last few former slaves neared death.  They couldn't enter the promised land until the last few died.  Would they have wanted Uncle Elhathazar to hang on for another couple of years- or would you just die already?  There's milk and honey waiting.

One thing I take away is that families aren't left unstained by the failures of their offspring.  We are truly in it together- when we stumble, others are forced to wander and to sometimes have our failure associated with their name for long periods of time.  

Maybe the answer is a help in carrying such burdens.  When my loved ones struggle- I shouldn't dread the association- but welcome the opportunity to lighten the load, to help the fight, to let the troubled know they aren't alone.  Let me help guide, let me support, let me comfort, let me share some of the aftermath.  You aren't facing this by yourself.  We've signed up to help you.