Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Numbers chapter 26 as we continue our study through the Word of God. Forty years have now passed by since the children of Israel have been delivered from their bondage in Egypt and now the children of Israel are camped on the east side of the Jordan River at a location known as Shittim or Acacia Grove, it is the same place. The Generation that refused to enter the Promise Land by faith some 38 years earlier has died in the wilderness in their unbelief. And now God is preparing the next generation to enter into the land of Canaan, the land that God had promised them. And that really is the focus of these remaining chapters here in Numbers as the children of Israel are waiting for God to call them to go forward and enter into the land. With that said, let’s begin reading in Numbers chapter 26, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us as we study His Word.
VERSES 1-4
So now we come to the second census of the children of Israel. The first census took place in Numbers chapter 1 some 38 years earlier or so and the total number of those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above was 603,550. Out of that number, 603,548 died in the wilderness, they would not enter the Promise Land. Only Joshua and Caleb from that group would enter in, they were men of faith. Thus, this census is counting the next generation of men who could go to war, 20 years old and above, and they would enter into the land.
VERSES 5-11
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Rueben were 43,730 as compared to the first census of 46,500. There was a loss of 2,770 men or a loss of 6%.
VERSES 12-14
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Simeon were 22,200 as compared to the first census of 59,300. There was a loss of 37,100 men or a loss of 63%. Why such a large number for this tribe? It could be that the tribe of Simeon was heavily involved in joining themselves to Baal of Peor and thus, God judged them for that. Keep in mind that the man who took the harlot to have sex with her in his tent, past Moses and the children of Israel who were weeping over this sin, was from the tribe of Simeon!
VERSES 15-18
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Gad were 40,500 as compared to the first census of 45,650. There was a loss of 5,150 men or a loss of 11%.
VERSES 19-22
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Judah were 76,500 as compared to the first census of 74, 600. There was a gain of 1,900 men or a 3% increase.
VERSES 23-25
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Issachar were 64,300 as compared to the first census of 54,400. There was a gain of 9,900 men or a 18% increase.
VERSES 26-27
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Zebulun were 60,500 as compared to the first census 57,400. There was a gain of 3,100 men or a 5% increase.
VERSES 28-34
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Manasseh were 52,700 a compared to the first census of 32,200. There was a gain of 20,500 men or a 64% increase.
VERSES 35-37
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Ephraim were 32,500 as compared to the first census of 40,500. Here we see a loss of 8,000 men or a loss of 20%.
VERSES 38-41
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Benjamin were 45,600 as compared to the first census of 35,400. There was a gain of 10,200 men or a 29% increase.
VERSES 42-43
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Dan were 64,400 as compared to the first census of 62,700. There was a gain of 1,700 men or a 3% increase.
VERSES 44-47
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Asher were 53,400 as compared to the first census of 41,500. There was a gain of 11,900 or a gain of 29%.
VERSES 48-50
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and above from the tribe of Naphtali were 45,400 as compared to the first census of 53,400. There was a loss of 8,000 men or a loss of 15%.
VERSE 51
All those men who could go to war, 20 years old and up form the 12 tribes of Israel were now 601,730 as compared to the first census of 603,550. There was a loss of 1,820 or a loss of 0.3%. In other words, during those 38 years there was a zero population growth for the nation.
Why was there a zero population growth in the nation when God said that He would multiply them? Because it was a reflection of their spiritual state that was stagnant as they wandered in circles all those years. They were truly barren, unfruitful until that older generation died out and the next generation was willing to walk by faith and enter into the Promise Land.
VERSES 52-56
The larger the tribe the larger portion of land they would get as an inheritance. That is interesting to me because half of the tribes had losses or gains of 15% men but Simeon lost 63% and Manasseh gained 64%. Why did God do that? I believe it was related to their abiding in Him, the blessing for abiding and the barrenness for not abiding. God still does that today, blessing those that walk by faith, those that are abiding in Him.
The specific area of land would be divided by lot, which comes from the Hebrew word GOWRUl (go-rawl’) and it speaks of a stone. Thus, many feel the high priest divided the land using the Urim and Thummim, those special stones spoken of in Exodus 28:30, “And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.” And when the land is being divided up by lot in the book of Joshua, we see Eleazar the high priest is involved, which seems to me that the Urim and Thummim were used in this process, (Joshua 14:1-2).
VERSES 57-62
Once again we see that the Levites were not numbered with the other men because they were not to go to war. Also, there was no inheritance given to them and as we have seen, the Lord was their inheritance. One last point here and that is that the Levites now have 23,000 males who were 1 month old and up but when they first were counted in Numbers chapter 3 they had 22,000 or they gained 1,000 males or an increase of 4.3%.
VERSES 63-65
That old generation all died in the wilderness because they refused to walk by faith, they died in unbelief. And thus, they obviously had no inheritance in the land, they never made it into the land, except for Joshua and Caleb, they will have an inheritance because they were men of faith. Thus, as I have said, out of the 603,550 men from the first census, only two will enter from that group into the land of Canaan, Joshua and Caleb!
VERSES 1-5
We just spoke about the land inheritance and now a problem. Zelopehad died in the wilderness, not in the rebellion of Korah but due to his own sin and most likely the sin of unbelief, of not wanting to enter the Promise Land because of fear. And Zelopehad did not have any sons, only five daughters. Thus, they would not get any land for it was passed on to the sons, not the daughters, so they bring this problem to Moses.
Now it seems obvious what should be done, Moses should give them the land that is due them. But Moses doesn’t do that; he brings it before the Lord to see what the Lord would say. What a great lesson for us to learn because the obvious is not always the correct response. It may not be what the Lord desires.
VERSES 6-11
God tells Moses that if there are no sons then the inheritance shall go to the daughters and if no daughters then to his brothers, and-so-on so the land would stay in the family. Now this is great but if a woman was to get married, then what happens? God will deal with that in Numbers chapter 36 but the basic idea is this, “Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.” Numbers 36:9.
Talk about faith, they had it! Why do I say that? Because they are concerned about the land before they even took a step into it. They believed God would bring them in and thus; they wanted to make sure they would receive their father’s inheritance!
VERSES 12-14
God told Moses back in Numbers chapter 20 that because he did not represent Him before the people correctly at the waters of Meribah that he would not enter into the land of Canaan, the Promise Land but would die in the wilderness. But the Lord does allow Moses to see the land of promise. He tells Moses to go up on Mount Abarim, which was a chain of mountains in that area. Specifically it was Mount Nebo and this was the head of the summit of Mount Pisgah. It will be in this area that Moses will be buried. We see this in Deuteronomy 34:1-6, where we are told, “Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, ‘This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, “I will give it to your descendants.” I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.’ So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.”
VERSES 15-17
That truly is the heart of a man of God, a servant of God. Moses could have been mad, he could have been angry with God, but he wasn’t. God said to Moses to look at the land, you will not enter in and Moses responded by asking the Lord who will lead the people, who will shepherd them. You see, sheep without a shepherd will die and Moses is concerned for the people, that God would raise up a man to lead them. To have a heart that is not concerned for his own well-being or status, but for others, that truly is the heart of Jesus and what He desires for us to manifest in our own lives. Paul, in Philippians 2:1-4 tells it like this as he wrote, “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
VERSES 18-23
Now it was time for Moses to fade off the scene and Joshua to be raised up. What I want you to notice here is that the Spirit of the LORD was upon Joshua already; he was a man of God. It wasn’t that Joshua was picked and hopefully he will rise to the occasion. He was already involved in the work of God and all Moses did was recognize what God was already doing in him. And as he laid his hands on Joshua he was letting the nation know that they were now to follow him, he will be their shepherd.
The same is true here at Calvary Chapel. I don’t look for leaders who are never around. I look for people that God is using, ones that the Spirit of the LORD is upon already and then, I just acknowledge what God is already doing in their lives. Some feel that they should be placed in a position because that is just what they want; they want the title or whatever. I remember several years ago we needed someone to oversee the Sunday School program and there was the pressure of filling the position because there was a need, but I would not do it. Someone came forward, wanting to oversee the program but my spirit was not settled and I just waited to see.
As I waited I saw that he would come to church sometimes and sometimes he wouldn’t and when asked about it he would tell me that he had company over last night and they were up late so they stayed home. That is a big red flag to me. And after a while, I should have told him no sooner, but I did wait, he was mad at me. And I explained about not being consistent in coming to church and he felt I was being legalistic about it. That he did not have to come to church. Which is true, but if you are over a ministry, you do! How would you feel if I felt like that and just came when it was convenient for me. First of all if I did wait till then, I would never be here. But I am here, not because I have to be, but I get to be, I get to serve the Lord and what a privilege it is. I can’t imagine being any other place than with God’s people and worshiping Him, right!
Thus, I watch people, I watch what God is doing in their lives and as God leads, then I will lay hands on them and just acknowledge what God has already done in their lives and is doing in their lives! And keep in mind, if you want a title, you all have one if you are in leadership or not, it is called servants, bond slaves for Christ!
VERSES 1-8
Here we see the daily burnt offerings, one lamb in the morning and one in the evening, with a grain offering and drink offering. We saw this back in Exodus chapter 29. And the idea here is that they were to begin and end their day with this devotion to the Lord. Folks, we should also begin and end our day with devotion to the Lord for providing our atonement, not through the many sacrifices but the sacrifice, Jesus Christ. In fact, we should seek the Lord all the time as the Psalmist said in Psalm 55:17, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.”
VERSES 9-10
So on top of the morning and evening sacrifices, 2 more lambs were sacrificed with the grain and drink offerings every Sabbath day.
VERSES 11-15
Also, at the beginning of the month, a lunar month, they would sacrifice 2 bulls, 1 ram, 7 lambs, with the appropriate grain and drink offerings. And in verse 15 we see the goat that was sacrificed for the sin offering.
VERSES 16-25
Now God is once again instructing them on the feast days and the sacrifices that were to be made. This was covered in Leviticus 23:5-8 regarding the spring feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits.
VERSES 26-31
The next feast, occurring in the summer, was the feast of Weeks or Pentecost. And we looked at that in Leviticus 23:15-22.
VERSES 1-6
Now we begin the three fall feasts of Israel. The first is the feast of Trumpets and we looked at that in Leviticus 23:23-25.
VERSES 7-11
The next fall feast was the Day of Atonement and we covered that in Leviticus 23:26-32.
VERSES 12-39
The feast of Tabernacles is the last fall feast and it lasted for seven days. And we covered that in Leviticus 23:33-43.
Also, if you want to look at the feasts of Israel more in-depth, we did a Sunday morning 3 part series on the feasts when we were in the book of Leviticus that you can check out on our web page or check out the CD’s in the library.
VERSE 40
Moses is preparing this next generation to enter into the Promise Land, showing them what they needed to do in regards to the atonement, the sacrifices, the feasts and-so-on. Thus, every year in their sacrifices they used about 1 ton of flour; 1,000 gallons of wine and oil; some 1657 lambs; 101 bulls; 31 rams and 21 goats! And that was just what the priests offered; this did not include the sacrifices made by individuals and households! And do you know what? After all this, it was never enough. Day in and day out, year after year they offered these sacrifices until Christ came and He was THE sacrifice that made atonement for us and thus, the sacrifices were not needed any longer!
Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 10:1-14 this very thing. He wrote, “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come — In the volume of the book it is written of Me — To do Your will, O God.”’ Previously saying, ‘Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them"(which are offered according to the law), then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
Thus, as God became flesh and dwelt among us, as He fulfilled the Father’s will, as He gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins, the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant and in that our sins are paid in full, paid completely as He has sanctified us or set us apart by the shedding of His blood! Now that word “sanctified” or “made holy” is the Greek word, HEGIASMENOI and it speaks of an accomplished fact, not a progressive sanctification in a practical sense where God is still working in us. But in a positional sense that as God looks at us He sees us as perfect, He sees the finished product! That is what Paul is saying here. Positionally in Christ we are seen as perfect now!
And Paul moves from the lesser - the animal sacrifices, to the greater – Jesus Christ. These Jewish believers understood the ministry of the priests as they offered their sacrifices for sins. These sacrifices were offered daily and repeatedly because they could not take away a person’s sins. And as they read this letter from Paul I’m sure they pictured this continual work of the priests in the temple.
Then he moves to Jesus, the greater sacrifice, who not only shed His blood as the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world but He then sat down showing the work was completed, it was finished once and for all! The priests never sat down because their work was never finished. Yes, Jesus still ministers in heaven for us as our intercessor but it is this ministry that flows out of His completed work. Thus, He sat down at the right hand of the Father! The perfect sacrifice was made!
VERSE 1
God gave this information to Moses and he was passing it on to the heads of the tribes in Israel who then were to pass it on to the people.
VERSE 2
So often we make foolish vows and we do not come through with that vow we promised the Lord. Folks, the idea here is integrity, if you say something, then do it. Let your yes be “yes” and your no be “no.” It is not that we should never make a vow, but don’t make a foolish vow. In Psalm 56:12 we are told, “Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You.” And in Psalm 61:8 the psalmist wrote, “So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.” These are good vows; we should vow to praise the Lord with every breath that is in us!
VERSES 3-5
An unmarried woman living in her father’s house can have her vow overruled by her father, why? Because he is the spiritual leader of the family, of the home and he should see if this was a good vow or a foolish one to protect his daughter.
VERSES 6-8
A husband can also negate the vow made by his wife and again the idea here is that he is the spiritual leader of the family and should help correct any foolish vow made by his wife, or if it was a good vow to, in a sense, ratify it, encouraging her to fulfill it.
VERSE 9
Here we see that a widow or divorced woman, one who has no male head of her household, is bound by her vows. The idea here, since there is no male head in her home that God is her head or will guide her.
VERSES 10-16
The idea here is that the man of the home was responsible for the women in his home. Thus, if they made a vow and he did not stop it, it was his responsibility to see that she carried her vow through!
As I close this evening, this may be a sore subject for some of you, your husband being the spiritual leader in the family, and-so-on. Let me put this into perspective for you. The picture here is of our Lord, the Bridegroom who is watching over His bride, and folks, that is speaking of you and me! Our Lord lives to make intercession for us, He watches over us as John tells us in I John 2:1, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
And this picture continues on today as the New Testament shows us that the man is the spiritual leader in the family. Now, you can disagree and try to ruin the picture that God is painting but Moses tried that and it did not work out for him. Folks, a home that is based upon the Lord Jesus Christ and has the man as the spiritual head is a home that God desires. I have been married for almost 30 years now and I can tell you this, and you can ask my wife, I am not a dictator in my home but I am a servant, I am there to care for my wife for I am to be a picture of Jesus to her! And folks, that is what God desires and I don’t always do a good job, but my hearts desire is to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave His life for it. I hope you feel the same way.