Lesson 84 dclm adults sts Census of Israel and duties of the Levites
MEMORY VERSE: “Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls” (Numbers 1:2).
TEXT: Numbers chapters 1 to 4
This study introduces us to the book of Numbers, the fourth section of the Pentateuch. The events recorded in the book spanned a period of about 38 years, starting from the second year after Israel’s departure from Egypt till the fortieth year when they arrived at Canaan’s border. The book portrays the patience and faithfulness of God towards His chosen people. Also, it warns against the consequences of unbelief, murmuring and disobedience. The Israelites learnt their lesson the hard way and their experiences are written for our learning and admonition (Romans 15:4).
Exactly one month after the completion of the tabernacle of the congregation, God commanded Moses to number Israel. The census ushered in another milestone in the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land. Census is a count for official purposes, especially one to count the number of people living in a country and to collect information about them. The word “census” is depicted with words like “number”, “numbered”, “numbering”, and “numberest“ in the Holy Bible. The book of Numbers is so named based on the two numberings of the children of Israel recorded in it: the first being in our text, at Mount Sinai and the second at the plains of Moab (chapter 26). This study describes the strict adherence of Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the tribes of Israel to the details of the divine instruction for the numbering procedure. It includes details of the layout of Israel’s camp, their tactical formation while in transit and the responsibilities assigned to the Levites. CENSUS AND
- THE PECULIAR INSTRUCTION CONCERNING THE LEVITES (Numbers 1:1-54; 3:1- 51; Psalm 87:4-6; 1 Samuel 3:4,6,8,10; 1 Kings 19:9; Acts 10:13; 22:7; 26:14)
Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies” (Numbers 1:2,3). The primary purpose of this census is ascertained The by the repetition of the phrase “...all that are able to go forth to war...” fourteen times in the first chapter of Numbers. Israel had left Egypt over two years now. There was a need to raise an army to fight battles in times of war. God did not want His people to be caught unawares by the intrusion of the enemy. So, He gave Moses the benchmarks for raising armies from the various tribes of Israel. The yardsticks were age, gender and ability to fight. In a nutshell, all the three criteria must be met before being enlisted. They were to count and document every name in a book. This teaches the need for accurate record keeping and reporting as we do God’s work.
The assignment was too much for Moses and Aaron to prosecute. So, God specifically named twelve leaders across the tribes to facilitate the work. “And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur” (Numbers 1:4,5). God does not want His servants to operate as lone rangers. Whenever He calls a man or a woman into a ministry, He raises up specific people with different spiritual gifts and talents to complement their ministries. Operating without interacting with other believers of like-precious faith and calling could lead to carelessness and destruction. The inhabitants of Laish perished because they failed to connect with potential deliverers (Judges 18:27,28). A ministry that operates is an example. He raised no army, had no assistant nor in isolation will soon go into oblivion. Samson’s ministry intercessor; he mentored no one and eventually died with none to carry on his ministry.
In a bid to recruit an army for Israel through a census procedure, God gave Moses a pattern that involved narrowing down from a broad perspective. He was required to select from all the tribes, individuals who met the age criteria of twenty years old and upwards (Numbers 1:3). This is likened to a sieving process that systematically edges out the irrelevant. By practice, God has operated this way in the Scripture at different times “...ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family… shall come by households; and the household… shall come man by man” (Joshua 7:14,15). The same practice was adopted when Samuel was to choose a king for the children of Israel which led to the selection of Saul the son of Kish (1 Samuel 10:20,21).
The outcome of the census indicated a striking fulfilment of Jacob’s prophecies concerning his children The tribe of Judah had the largest number of soldiers Joseph had taken a double portion inheritance among the tribes through Ephraim and Manasseh. Then, Ephraim the younger had a larger population than Manasseh (Genesis 48:17-19; 49:8). The implication of all these is that the promises of God concerning our lives will be fulfilled. Also, parents should recognise that what they say concerning their children may turn out to be prophetic. Therefore, all negative utterances should be avoided.
God commanded Moses not to number the Levites among Israel. They were numbered separately and given the responsibility over the tabernacle of Testimony, the vessels and all that belonged to it. They were to encamp round about it before the camps of the other tribes. In a nutshell, they were to complement the physical warfare of the recruited armies with spiritual warfare (Exodus 17:9-13). This is a balanced arrangement.
2. ASSIGNMENT OF THE HOST INTO WARFARE RANKS (Numbers 2:1-34; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 2:11)
The army of Israel was grouped into warfare ranks and distributed in the four cardinal points as follows: Judah, Issachar and Zebulun with an army strength of one hundred and eighty-six thousand, four hundred (186,400) occupied the East; Reuben, Simeon and Gad with an army strength of one hundred and fifty one thousand, four hundred and fifty (151,450) occupied the South; Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin with a military strength of one hundred and eight thousand, one hundred (108,100) occupied the West while Dan, Asher and Naphtali had a military strength of one hundred and fifty-seven thousand, six hundred (157,600) and occupied the North.
As they journeyed towards the Promised Land, the armies of the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun on the eastern part were commissioned to lead the whole congregation. Others were to follow in the order stated above with the combined tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali protecting them from behind. The Levites were stationed between the South and West groups of armies. The arrangement was divinely given. It provided a robust security for everybody in the camp because every probable soft spot of invasion was blocked with security network. The distribution of the armies ensured that the larger number of trained soldiers were stationed at the front and back of the congregation. The implication this is that the children of Israel could not be easily overpowered at the front or from behind by the enemy The contemporary application of this sis that we should beef up security in our various churches, camp meetings and conferences without taking chances or being ignorant of the devices of the enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11). The fact that God directed Moses to raise an army despite His presence among the Israelites teaches that man must do his part and not be passive about his own welfare.
The promptness and accuracy with which Moses, Aaron and the captains of the tribes carried out the Lord’s instruction is noteworthy (Numbers 1:54; 2:34; 3:51; 4:49). Moses was able to do this because of the divine approval, respect, favour and cooperation he enjoyed from the captains and the congregation in the course of supervising the task committed to his care. The work entrusted to the church is enormous. Church leaders need prayer and cooperation to fulfil their divine mandate. All saved members of the church need to assist and cooperate with their leaders if the mandate of the great commission will be fulfilled.
3. CENSUS OF THE LEVITES AND THEIR DUTIES (Numbers 3:1-51; 4:1-49; Leviticus 10:1-10; 1 Chronicles 21:1-30; Deuteronomy 4:24)
Numbers chapters three and four focus on the Levites. They were not numbered with the other tribes and were not included in any of the ranks. They were gathered and organised in their own team as an honour to them because of their peculiar service.
Aaron and his sons had been consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. The mention of it here is a confirmation of their appointment (Numbers 3:2,3). Aaron’s sons were mentioned: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. The first two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, had died after offering a strange fire before the Lord. Strange fire here refers to unapproved source of fire for sacrifice in the presence of God. Their mention here can serve as a reminder to the other priests and contemporary believers of the need to avoid a similar error by approaching divine assignment with dignity and respect and not with pride and presumptuousness. “For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24). David was provoked by Satan to number Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1). Therefore, wrath came upon the people. It was like a strange fire because David was not instructed by God to carry out the census. He does not want His servants to act irrationally.
The Levites, aside the priests, were to be presented to Aaron”...that they may minister unto him” (Numbers 3:6) in the place of the firstborn in Israel. “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD” (Numbers 3:12,13).
Right from the night of the Passover, God claimed the firstborn of all Israel as His. But at this time, He planned to replace all the firstborn with the Levites so they could assist the priests in their work. So, a census had to be taken to ascertain the numerical strength of the Levites in comparison with all the firstborn. The Lord commanded Moses to number the Levites in two categories: firstly, the census involved every male from a month old and upwards (Numbers 3:15) and secondly, the males from thirty to fifty years old (Numbers 4:3,23,30). The first category was for the purpose of identifying the number of the firstborn males of the Levites which should be taken in the place of the firstborn males of the children of Israel. The number was found to be twenty-two thousand (22,000). The number of the first born males of the children of Israel was also taken at the commandment of the Lord and it was found to be twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three (22,273). Comparing the figures, the firstborn of all Israel were 273 more than the Levites. The extra two hundred and seventy-three of the children of Israel were redeemed (Numbers 3:39,40-51).
The second category of the Levites that were numbered includes those that qualified to work in the Tabernacle of the congregation. The Lord instructed Moses to “take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation” (Numbers 4:2,3). Under the new dispensation, all genuinely saved children of God are qualified for service in the church of the living God irrespective of age. However, the Lord requires that His children be holy for acceptable and enduring ministry (2 Timothy 2:21).
The duty of the various families of the Levites was spelt out. There was no competition, carnal comparison or complaints among them. The Kohathites were to carry the Ark of the Covenant, the table, candlestick, altars and instruments of the sanctuary. They were to be supervised by Eleazar. The Gershonites were given the charge of the entire curtains including those of the tabernacle, hangings and the coverings of badgers’ skins (Numbers 4:22-26). Ithamar, the son of Aaron, was to take the charge of them (Numbers 4:28). The Merarites were responsible for the heavy burdens: the boards and bars, the pillars and sockets, the pins and cords (Numbers 4:31,32). They had the record of every material so that there will be no confusion when the tabernacle was to be set up again.
In the church today, there are different ministries. All are important; none is superior. Ministers who have a public ministry should not despise others because we are co-labourers in the vineyard of the Lord. We shall be rewarded according to the quality of the services that we offer. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is“ (1 Corinthians 3:13).
Questions for review:
- 1 Mention the rationale behind the census of Israel
- What were the criteria for raising the armies?
- What do we learn from the appointment of some individuals to assist Moses and Aaron in the census?
- What can we learn from the outcome of the census and what implication does it pose to us?
- Comment on the importance of security in the assembling of God’s people as implied in this study.
- What can we learn from the death of Nadab and Abihu?
- What is the implication of the variation in the duties of the Levites to present-day believers?