A list of names might seem like an old skeleton, but don’t be shocked if it makes some exciting moves!
Numbers 26 is the second longest chapter in the book. At first glance, it may be as uninteresting as an old phone book—all cast and no plot! But, on closer examination, that isn’t the case at all. In our studies so far, traveling from Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus to this point in God’s history book, we’ve met many of these characters. Like a box of old photos, they may seem uninteresting, but in the hands of a family matriarch, every picture elicits another fascinating tale. In this list, there’s “Reuben…the firstborn of Israel” (v 5). His instability doesn’t bode well (Gen 49:4), and we see Dathan and Abiram in his lineage (v 9) who perished with Korah. But hear Moses’ prayer: “Let Reuben live, and not die, nor let his men be few” (Deut 33:6). Sure enough, several tribes are smaller than his. And what a blessed footnote to Numbers 16, “Nevertheless the children of Korah did not die” (v 11). They certainly didn’t! In fact, with King David, their family became renowned musicians in Israel. Often, where sin abounds, grace superabounds. Another difference between the first census and the last regards the Levites. They were numbered separately in the first because they were excluded from military responsibilities. They were numbered apart in this one because their inheritance in the land was not a separate piece of real estate. “The Lord said to Aaron: ‘You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance…’” (18:20). Christian, can you say with Elizabeth Clephane, “Content to let the world go by, To know no gain nor loss”? Can you join with Jeremiah and say, “The Lord is my portion…Therefore I hope in Him!” (Lam 3:24)? Is He enough for you?