And all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service in Israel,
This verse closes the roll call of Numbers 1. It raises two questions. Why did God want a headcount of His own people? And why is readiness for battle the one qualification named?
Numbers opens in a different setting from the books before it.
Here we find ourselves, at once, "in the wilderness," where the only ones counted are those "able to go to war." This is clearly marked. In Genesis the seed of Israel was still in their father Abraham. In Exodus they were making bricks in Egypt. In Leviticus they were gathered round the tent of meeting. In Numbers they are seen in the wilderness... But as soon as we open the book of Numbers we read of men of war, of armies, of standards, of camps, and trumpets sounding alarm.
The care taken over the figures says something about the One who ordered the count.
The book opens with His command to Moses to take the number of the tribes, and it is done with great exactness and care... This was an expression of His rights as Lord of Israel. He had title to take their number, for they were all His own. If He had no right to them, and no prospects in them, He would not have counted them. His divine title is spoken of the same way in another part of His dominions: "He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names."
Being counted for heaven is easy to love. The present side of it is easy to forget.
We can all understand the sweetness of being numbered for heaven, and that is where most hearts turn. But even those who take the greatest comfort in the counsels of God that secure them for eternity are apt to forget the present interest the Lord takes in all our movements, ways, conflicts, and trials. This is the first thing with which the book opens.
This count was not the first thing God gave them.
The Passover marked the basis on which the people's redemption rested. That came first, and the numbering of the people followed. So this picture stresses the fact that God numbers and counts as His only those He has redeemed.
Being on this list came at a price: half a shekel of silver from each man.
Every one is numbered, for the Lord has a personal interest in each. That is the Lord's side of it. On the people's side there had to be an acknowledgment: only on the ground of atonement could anyone be counted among His people. Here there is no difference between rich and poor. All stand on the same ground. Each man acknowledges by his half shekel that only on the ground of ransom is he a living soul among the people of God.
Every man had to show where he came from, family by family. Others had attached themselves to the people along the way.
They had to declare their family line, family by family. Only those who could do that had a place in this count and could be warriors. They had to show their family line because of the mixed crowd who had joined themselves to the people of God... Our family line, which gives us a place among the people of God, is the new birth, by which we become children of God. And our calling is to a spiritual warfare, not with flesh and blood, but against the devil and his wiles and the wicked spirits (Eph. 6:11-12).
Certainty about that family line was what made a man steady in the ranks.
Not one man in that great host, camped "facing the tent of meeting," would have understood a single doubt, or the shadow of a doubt, about his own family line... Each of the six hundred thousand knew well where he had come from, and so where he was to take his stand. And just so with God's militant host now. Each member of it needs the clearest confidence about his relationship, or he will not be able to stand in the battle.
The census counted only men of twenty and over. That age line still teaches something about who fights today.
Today all of His saints are fit for spiritual warfare — women too, and young and old, though some are less active than others because of age. Yet the lesson is clear for us as well. Real conflict needs maturity, or full age, which comes through knowledge and growth in the word of God. To be "a good soldier of Christ Jesus" also calls for undivided devotion, and not getting tangled up in the affairs of this life (2 Tim. 2:3-4).
The figure that follows this verse lets us estimate the whole camp.
The total that were numbered amounted to 603,550, as we are told in verse 46... In this census the mixed multitude were eliminated and we have more detailed and accurate figures. Since all males under twenty and all females were omitted, we are safe in assuming that the host must have numbered over two millions.
- Redeemed — the Passover came before the census. God counts as His only those He has already ransomed, and every man's half shekel said so.
- Recognised — the exact count is a statement of ownership. He has title to number them because they are His own, as He numbers and names the stars.
- Registered — each man was entered by family. Only a man who could show where he came from joined the ranks. That kept the mixed crowd out.
- Ready — from twenty years old and upward, able to go to war. The age bar pictures maturity that comes by growth in God's word, plus undivided devotion.
- Right now — this count is not only about being safe for heaven. It shows God's present interest in every movement, conflict and trial of the road.
all they that were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
The verse closes the first census with one figure. Every man in Israel aged twenty and over, fit for war, came to 603,550. Two questions sit under it. Why did God want His people counted? And what does the total say about the camp He led into the desert?
This is not a population survey. It is a muster roll, and it sets the tone for the whole book.
Here we find ourselves at once "in the wilderness," where the only ones counted are those "able to go forth to war." This stands out clearly. In Genesis the offspring of Israel were still unborn, in their father Abraham. In Exodus they were in the brick-kilns of Egypt. In Leviticus they gathered round the tent of meeting. In Numbers we see them in the wilderness... But as soon as we open the book of Numbers, we read of men of war, of armies, of standards, of camps, and trumpets sounding the alarm.
Not everyone travelling with Israel was inside this figure. There was a test to pass first.
They had to declare their family line, and only those who could do that had a place in this mustering and could be warriors. This was necessary because of the mixed multitude who had joined themselves to the people of God. "A mixed multitude also went up with them" (Exod. 12:38)... Our family line, which gives us a place among the people of God, is the new birth, by which we become children of God. And our calling is to a spiritual warfare, not with flesh and blood, but against the devil and his schemes and the wicked spirits (Eph. 6:11-12).
So how many people were in the camp altogether?
Exodus 12:37-38 told us that about 600,000 men besides children left Egypt, and a "mixed multitude" went with them too... Since the count left out all males under twenty and all females, we can safely assume the whole company numbered over two million.
The count came with a payment attached, and one tribe stayed outside it.
At least 603,550 Israelite males, twenty years old and upward, paid the atonement money collected from the children of Israel in the wilderness, when God numbered His people. This number did not include the tribe of Levi (see Num. 1:46-47), which was set apart for the service of the tabernacle.
The money was not a tax. It answered a danger inside the counting itself.
The numbering gave flesh a chance to boast — about their numbers as a whole, and about each person being noticed. But they had to acknowledge this: the Lord could take account of them only on the ground of redemption. They had to be reminded that they belonged to God (Deut. 7:6), and each one had to pay a ransom for himself.
An owner counts what belongs to him. That is the reason behind this census.
This was an expression of His rights as Lord of Israel. He had the right to count them, for they were all His own. If He had no right to them, and no future purpose in them, He would not have counted them. Scripture says the same of His divine title in another part of His dominions: "He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names." This is the expression of His sovereignty among the heavenly hosts. (Psalm 147:4) So the Lord says of His saints, "They shall be Mine... in the day when I make up My treasured possession." (Mal. 3) He may make up, that is, number, and hide, and secure them, because they are His own.
The figure returns at the end of the journey — and the second count exposes what happened in between.
In it we have the record of the second numbering of the people, as they were about to enter upon the promised land. How sad to think that only two of the six hundred thousand men of war counted at the first census remain — Joshua and Caleb! All the rest lay in the dust, buried beneath the sand of the desert, all passed away. The two men of simple faith remained to have their faith rewarded. As for the men of unbelief, the inspired apostle tells us "their bodies fell in the wilderness."
- Counted — 603,550 men aged twenty and over were fit for war. Add women, children and younger males, and the camp likely passed two million.
- Claimed — God counted them because they were His own. He numbers what belongs to Him, just as He numbers and names the stars.
- Ransomed — that same total had paid the atonement money. No one entered the register except on the ground of redemption.
- Enlisted — every man counted had to declare his family line. That kept the mixed multitude out. This was a call-up for war, not a headcount.
- Tested — of that whole army, only Joshua and Caleb reached the land. The rest fell in the desert through unbelief.