Num 1:23 | KingComments | STEP | Whoever wants to belong to the numbered must declare his origin, as the Darby translation translates, “and they declared their pedigrees”. Declaring goes beyond an inner conviction. Someone who is taken by the Lord into His army must testify for others of his faith and not be ashamed of it or uncertain about it ( ). Those who are in uncertainty about their salvation struggle with themselves and are not able to struggle with others. This is not a struggle or battle God is calling for. Believing God on His word puts an end to that struggle. This declaration of their origin is necessary because of “a mixed multitude” ( ; ) who are among them. People who are not Israelites went with them out of Egypt. This can be applied to people who have joined the company of Christians but do not have life from God. They are not able to declare before God that they belong to Him, nor can they fight for Him. They don’t want that either. If we make the numbers more readable, the table looks like this: 1 Rueben 46,500 2 Simeon 59,300 3 Gad 45,650 4 Judah 74,600 5 Issachar 54,400 6 Zebulun 57,400 7 Ephraim 40,500 8 Manasseh 32,200 9 Benjamin 35,400 10 Dan 62,700 11 Asher 41,500 12 Naphtali 53,400 Total 603,550 This number corresponds to a previous census, about nine months earlier ( ). In that census, each numbered person had to pay half a shekel of silver as ransom. By the silver the Israelite was redeemed. Therefore, silver is a picture of the price of redemption.

‏ Numbers 1:23

The Census

Whoever wants to belong to the numbered must declare his origin, as the Darby translation translates, “and they declared their pedigrees”. Declaring goes beyond an inner conviction. Someone who is taken by the Lord into His army must testify for others of his faith and not be ashamed of it or uncertain about it (2Tim 1:8 ; 12). Those who are in uncertainty about their salvation struggle with themselves and are not able to struggle with others. This is not a struggle or battle God is calling for. Believing God on His word puts an end to that struggle.

This declaration of their origin is necessary because of “a mixed multitude” (Exo 12:38; Num 11:4) who are among them. People who are not Israelites went with them out of Egypt. This can be applied to people who have joined the company of Christians but do not have life from God. They are not able to declare before God that they belong to Him, nor can they fight for Him. They don’t want that either.

If we make the numbers more readable, the table looks like this:

1 Rueben 46,500

2 Simeon 59,300

3 Gad 45,650

4 Judah 74,600

5 Issachar 54,400

6 Zebulun 57,400

7 Ephraim 40,500

8 Manasseh 32,200

9 Benjamin 35,400

10 Dan 62,700

11 Asher 41,500

12 Naphtali 53,400

Total 603,550

This number corresponds to a previous census, about nine months earlier (Exo 38:25-26). In that census, each numbered person had to pay half a shekel of silver as ransom. By the silver the Israelite was redeemed. Therefore, silver is a picture of the price of redemption.