Numbers 26:52

Numbers 26:52 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse fifty-three adds, Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.  God instructed Moses on how to divide the land, though he himself would not divide it, but Joshua would, and we should trust God today to divide His blessings on us according to His will.  Verse fifty-four continues, 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.  God said the inheritance was to be given in accordance to the number of people in the tribe.  Those with more people would receive more and those with fewer would receive less.  We today are rewarded according to our faith and not our numbers.  Verse fifty-five continues further, Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.  Even though the land was to be divided by the size of the families, it was to be done by lot, which left God in charge and not the people themselves.  We need to leave God in charge of our material blessings today instead of attempting to decide for ourselves what we want and then expecting Him to give it to us.  Verse fifty-six concludes, According to the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few.  Even though decided by lot, the land would still be divided by the size of the tribe.  We need to depend on God to divide His blessings on us today in accordance with His will.  Verse fifty-three states, And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites.  The Levites had not been numbered as a part of the overall number of the people of Israel, since they were set aside for service to God and would receive no inheritance of land.  We as followers of Christ are set aside from the world for service to God and will receive no lasting inheritance in this world, yet we often act like that is the most important thing.  Verse fifty-eight adds, These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram.  There were seven sons of Levi listed in the family, all of whom were set aside to God's service in the tabernacle.  Amram, a grandson, was also listed.  Verse fifty-nine continues, And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.  Amram's wife was named Jochebed, who was the mother of Aaron and Moses.  Verse sixty aays, And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.  Verse sixty-one adds, And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD.  Aaron had four sons, two of which had died for offering strange offerings before the LORD.  We are not saved because of who our parents are, but by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse sixty-two continues, And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.  The number of men who were of the tribe of Levi from birth on were twenty-three thousand, an increase of  a thousand.  Verse sixty-three says, These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.  Moses and Eleazar numbered the people this time, since Aaron had died.  When one leader in God's family dies, He will raise up another.  Verse sixty-four adds, But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.  None of those numbered by Moses and Aaron were a part of this number, since they died in the wilderness as God had said they would.  Verse sixty-five continues, For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.  The only exception of those who had doubted God and died in the wilderness were Caleb and Joshua, who had stood firm in their faith in God by telling the people that with God on their side they could defeat the people in the Promised Land.  We need to have faith in God today to be able to defeat all our enemies if we stand firm in our faith in Him.

Numbers 26:38

Numbers 26:38 says, 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:  Verse thirty-nine adds, Of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites: of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites.  Verse forty continues, And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites: and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.  We have the five sons and two grandsons of Benjamin listed.  Verse forty-one concludes, These are the sons of Benjamin after their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and six hundred.  There were a total of forty-five thousand, six hundred men over the age of twenty who were able to go to war in the tribe of Benjamin, an increase of ten thousand, two hundred.  Verse forty-two states, 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.  Dan had but one son listed.  Verse forty-three adds, All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those that were numbered of them, were threescore and four thousand and four hundred.  There were sixty-four thousand, four hundred men of fighting ability over the age of twenty in the tribe of Dan, an increase of seventeen hundred.  Verse forty-four says, 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.  Verse forty-five continues, Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites: of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. We have two sons an two grandsons of Asher listed.  Verse forty-six adds, And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah.  We also have the name of the daughter of Asher listed, but we have no list of any of her children.  Verse forty-seven concludes, These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them; who were fifty and three thousand, four hundred.  There were fifty-three thousand four hundred men who were over twenty and able to go to war in the family of Asher, an increase of eleven thousand, nine hundred.  Verse forty-eight states, Of the sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites: of Guni, the family of the Gunites:  Verse forty-nine adds, Of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites: of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites.  We have four sons of Naphtali listed next.  Verse fifty continues 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.  There were forty-five thousand, four hundred men over the age of twenty who were able to go to war in the tribe of Naphtali, a decrease of eight thousand.  Not all the tribes of Israel fared the same during the wilderness wanderings, and not all the families of Christians today fare the same as we wander through this sinful world.  Verses fifty-one declares,  These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.  The total number of the people of Israel that was numbered, which were only men over twenty who were able to go to war, was six hundred one thousand seven hundred and twenty,  which was a decrease of eighteen hundred twenty . The total number remained almost the same, though the numbers in the various tribes varied from a little to a lot.  

Numbers 26;26

Numbers 26:26 says, 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.  Next to be counted was the tribe of Zebulun, from his three sons.  Verse twenty-seven adds, These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those that were numbered of them, threescore thousand and five hundred. There were sixty thousand five hundred of the men men over twenty who were able to go to war, an increase of three thousand, one hundred in the wilderness wanderings.  Verse twenty-eight states, The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim.  Joseph's sons were Manasseh and Ephraim and they were counted in his place.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites.  Verse thirty says, These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites:  Evidently, the grandsons were named in the count as well.  Verse thirty-one adds, And of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites:  Verse thirty-two continues, And of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.  Verse thirty-three states, 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.  We even have daughters named in thectribe of Zebulun, which is unusual.  Verse thirty-four adds, These are the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred.  There was a total of fifty-two thousand seven hundred men twenty or over who were able to fight in the tribe of Manasseh, an increase of twenty thousand five hundred.  Verse thirty-five says, 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.  Now we have the sons of Ephraim listed.  Verse thirty-six adds, And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.  Verse thirty-seven continues, 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.  There were thirty-two thousand, five hundred men over twenty who were able to go to war in the tribe of Ephraim, a decrease of eight thousand.  We are again reminded that Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph.  Joseph had not been left out of the people of Israel, even though he couldn't go with them physically to the Promised Land. and neither will we be left out of God's kingdom as followers of Christ, even if we cannot go physically to heaven, our promised land.

Numbers 26:12

Numbers 26:12 says, 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:  Next to be counted were the tribe of Simeon.  Verse rwelve adds,  Of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites: of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.  There were four tribes from Simeon.  Verse fourteen continues, These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred.  There were a total of twenty-two thousand, two hundred men of the tribe of Simeon who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war.  This was a decreaase of thirty-seven thousand one hundred from the original count.  They had decreased more than any other tribe, partly because one whole family, that of Obed, had died in the wilderness.   I wonder if the number of Christians were counted today as opposed to a generation ago, would our number be more or less, especially of the men.  Verse fifteen states, 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:  Next to be counted were the tribe of Gad, by the particular families of his sons.  Verse sixteen adds, Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites:  Verse seventeen continues, Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites. Verse eighteen concludes, These are the families of the children of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred.   There was now a total of forty thousand five hundred of the tribe of Gad, a decrease of five thousand, one hundred and fifty.   Verse nineteen says, The sons of Judah were Er and Onan: and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.  The next counted were the tribe of Judah, through his sons, which did not include Er and Onan, who had died in the wilderness.  Being physically born into God's chosen people did not ensure entrance into the Promised Land, just as being physically born into a Christian family today does not ensure entrance into heaven.  It was and is dependent on obedience to God, starting with putting ones faith in Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah then and the Messiah Who has come now.  Verse twenty adds, And the sons of Judah after their families were; of Shelah, the family of the Shelanit, Pharez, the family of the Pharzites: of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites.  Verse twenty-one continues, And the sons of Pharez were; of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.  Ths sons of Pharez were also counted.  Verse twenty-two concludes, These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixteen thousand and five hundred. There was now seventy-six thousand, five hundred men of Judah over the age of twenty who were able to go war, an increase of nineteen hundred.  Verse twenty-three states,  Of the sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites: of Pua, the family of the Punites:   Next to be counted was the tribe of Issachar, by the families of his sons.  Verse twenty-four adds, Of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites: of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.  Verse twenty-five continues, These are the families of Issachar according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and four thousand and three hundred.  There was total of sixty-four thousand, three hundred men over twenty who were capable of going to war in the tribe of Issachar, an increase of nine thousand, nine hundred. 

Numbers 26:1

Numbers 26:1 says, And it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,  Verse two adds, Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers’ house, all that are able to go to war in Israel.  Once again, Moses was to count the number of the men of Israel, from twenty years old and up who could go to war, but this time he was to do it with Eleazar, who was now the head of the priests.  When one of God's people dies, as Aaron had, there is always another to take their place.as long as we listen to Him.  Verse three states, And Moses and Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,  Verse four adds, 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. Moses and Eleazar assembled the people in the plains of Moab, near Jordan, near Jerico and told them once more to count those men above twenty by tribe according to God's command.  If God tells us to do something again that we have already done before, we don't need to question Him or grumble, we just need to do it.  Verse five says, 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:   Verse six adds, Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.  Rueben, the oldest son of Israel and his sons were the first to be counted.  Verse seven continues, These are the families of the Reubenites: and they that were numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty.  This was two thousand, seven hundred and seventy fewer than the first count.  Verse nine states, And the sons of Pallu; Eliab. 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;  Verse ten adds,, 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.  One reason that the number of people in the tribe of Rueben decreased was because of the prideful rebellion against God by Dathan and Abiram, with Korah who had rebelled against God, and the earth had swallowed them up.  The number of Christians in the world today may decease. because fewer people are willing to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, but it should never be because those who profess to believe in Him have rebelled against Him.   Verse eleven continues, Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not. The children of Korah were still counted, because they had not joined in the rebellion against God.  Even if others who profess to be followers of Christ rebel against God, we must never join them.  

Numbers 25:10

Numbers 25:10 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse eleven adds, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.  God told Moses that the actions of Phineas, the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, the family designated to be priests, on behalf of God, had turned His wrath away from Israel.  Our actions on behalf of God should be like those of Phinehas and turn God's wrath away from people, especially those who are supposed to be God's people, though this doesn't mean we are to kill some of them.  Verse twelve continues, Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:  God said He gave Phinehas His covenant of peace, just as He does to us today if we are followers of Christ and are obedient to Him. Verse thirteen concludes, And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.  God said that since Phinehas was zealous for Him and made atonement for the people of Israel, He would make Phinehas and his descendants an everlasting priesthood.  Though we must accept Him individually, Jesus Christ made atonement for us, and once we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we are a part of an everlasting priesthood.  Verse fourteen states, Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. The man who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri, who was the son of the prince of the house of the tribe of Simeon.  No matter how important we may be in the eyes of the world, if we are sinners who have not accepted God's gift of salvation, we are no better than the poorest of sinners.  All will one day go away to everlasting punishment, forever separated trom God's grace and forgiveness.  Verse fifteen adds, And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.  The Midianite woman was the daughter of Zur, who was the chief over the house of Midian, so she would have also been an important person to the Midianites.  No matter how important a person may view themself in the world, they are not exempt from God's word, and if they do not accept Him as the only God, they will one day face His judgment.  Verse sixteen declares, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse seventeen adds, Vex the Midianites, and smite them:  God told Moses to vex the Midianites and slay them.  God had punished the Israelites with a plague for their defiance of Him, but He was going to punish the Midianites with destruction, because they were leading the people of God into idolatry.  Those guilty of idolatry, whether they call themselves God's people are not, will always face God's judgment.  Verse eighteen continues, For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.  God told Moses that he was to destroy the Midianites because they were leading God's people away from Him.  The world today will try to lead us away from God's will, but we must never allow them to do so.  Still, instead of trying to kill them, we are to reach out to them with the gospel of Christ. 

Numbers 25:1

Numbers 25:1 says, And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.  In Shittim, the people of Israel stayed for awhile and began to be sexually involved with the women there, which was against God's command.  If we became too closely involved with the people who are not Christians it may lead us away from following God's commandments.  Matthew Henry says that since Balak could not defeat the people of Israel in a war, he chose to defeat them by subtlety.  Verse two adds, And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.  These women called on the men of Israel to engage in the sacrifices to their gods, and the men of Israel bowed down to these false gods.  After all that God had done for them, they were easily led away from Him.  As followers of Christ, we cannot let feelings for someone lead us away from Him, no matter how strong those feelings may be.  Verse three continues, And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.  The people of Israel began to worship Baalpeor, and Godcwas not pleased with them.  If we as Christians begin to allow other gods into our lives and begin to worship them more than God, we can be certain that God will not be pleased with us.  Verse four states, And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.  Though it is not specified, evidently a plague came upon Israel, and Moses was also commanded to kill the leaders of those who rebelled against God and hang their bodies up for all to see.  We cannot allow any idolatry into our lives as followers of Christ and nor expect God to be angry with us.  Verse five adds And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.  Moses instructed the judges of Israel to slay all the men who had committed idolatry with Baalpeor.  These men were on the edge of the Promised Land, and they turned away from God to worship a false god.  We as followers of Christ are on the edge of the Promised Land, Heaven, every day and we cannot allow ourselves to be pulled away from God to chase after false gods, which do not have to be actual idols.  These false gods can be anything that becomes more important to us than God.  Verse six says, And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  One of the men didn't just go out of the camp to become involved with one of the Midianite women, but even as the people of Israel were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation over the death of those who had committed idolatry, he boldly brought her into the camp of Israel.  Some people today boldly stand in defiance to God, even some that call themselves a part ot His people.  Verse seven adds, And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;  Phinehas, Eleazar's son, who was a part of the priesthood, saw what the man was doing and took a javelin in his hand.  We must, as a part of the priesthood of believers, be ready to root out all idolatry from our midst.  Verse eight continues, And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.  Phinehas went onto the tent of this man and ran his javelin through both the man of Israel andthewoman, killing them, and the plague was stopped.  If we have allowed idolatry into the church or even our life individually, we must kill it off in order to be faithful to God.  Verse nine concludes, And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.  This had been a widespread idolatry, since twenty-four thousand had died from the plague.  Idolatry is widespread today, though hopefully not in the church, God's people, and the penalty is not physical death, but everlasting separation from God spiritually.