The Berean Pursuit
On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai. He said: "Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.
You and Aaron are to number those who are twenty years of age or older by their divisions-everyone who can serve in Israel's army. And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.
These are the names of the men who are to assist you:
From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud,
and from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;
from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
and from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan."
These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.
So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation and recorded their ancestry by clans and families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years of age or older, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
So Moses numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:
From the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.
From the sons of Simeon, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.
From the sons of Gad, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.
From the sons of Judah, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.
From the sons of Issachar, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.
From the sons of Zebulun, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.
From the sons of Joseph:
From the sons of Ephraim, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.
And from the sons of Manasseh, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
From the sons of Benjamin, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.
From the sons of Dan, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.
From the sons of Asher, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.
From the sons of Naphtali, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered to the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.
These were the men numbered by Moses and Aaron, with the assistance of the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. So all the Israelites twenty years of age or older who could serve in Israel's army were counted according to their families. And all those counted totaled 603,550.
The Levites, however, were not numbered along with them by the tribe of their fathers. For the LORD had said to Moses: "Do not number the tribe of Levi in the census with the other Israelites. Instead, you are to appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its articles, care for it, and camp around it.
Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death.
The Israelites are to camp by their divisions, each man in his own camp and under his own standard. But the Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the congregation of Israel. So the Levites are responsible for the tabernacle of the Testimony."
Thus the Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance from it, each man under his standard, with the banners of his family.
On the east side, toward the sunrise, the divisions of Judah are to camp under their standard:
The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab, and his division numbers 74,600.
The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar, and his division numbers 54,400.
Next will be the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon, and his division numbers 57,400.
The total number of men in the divisions of the camp of Judah is 186,400; they shall set out first.
On the south side, the divisions of Reuben are to camp under their standard:
The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur, and his division numbers 46,500.
The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, and his division numbers 59,300.
Next will be the tribe of Gad. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel, and his division numbers 45,650.
The total number of men in the divisions of the camp of Reuben is 151,450; they shall set out second.
In the middle of the camps, the Tent of Meeting is to travel with the camp of the Levites. They are to set out in the order they encamped, each in his own place under his standard.
On the west side, the divisions of Ephraim are to camp under their standard:
The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud, and his division numbers 40,500.
The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, and his division numbers 32,200.
Next will be the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the Benjamites is Abidan son of Gideoni, and his division numbers 35,400.
The total number of men in the divisions of the camp of Ephraim is 108,100; they shall set out third.
On the north side, the divisions of Dan are to camp under their standard:
The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, and his division numbers 62,700.
The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ocran, and his division numbers 41,500.
Next will be the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan, and his division numbers 53,400.
The total number of men in the camp of Dan is 157,600; they shall set out last, under their standards."
These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. The total of those counted in the camps, by their divisions, was 603,550. But the Levites were not counted among the other Israelites, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; they camped under their standards in this way and set out in the same way, each man with his clan and his family.
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
Hear, O God, my voice of complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
Hide me from the scheming of the wicked,
from the mob of workers of iniquity,
who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their bitter words like arrows,
ambushing the innocent in seclusion,
shooting suddenly, without fear.
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they speak of hiding their snares.
"Who will see them?" they say.
They devise injustice and say,
"We have perfected a secret plan."
For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.
But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly they will be wounded.
They will be made to stumble,
their own tongues turned against them.
All who see will shake their heads.
Then all mankind will fear
and proclaim the work of God;
so they will ponder what He has done.
Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in Him;
let all the upright in heart exult.
Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. This is why the ancients were commended.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: "He could not be found, because God had taken him away." For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.
By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king's edict.
By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to suffer oppression with God's people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.
By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel's own firstborn.
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.