Moses, under God’s direction, named various persons from each tribe that would be there to assist him in taking the census of all the people of Israel. Only men are mentioned in this list because it was a census for war. The women did not go to war with the men. During my 27 years in the Navy, women did not serve in combat roles for the United States either. They were considered too valuable as the carriers of the next generation. This is one of the major issues that feminists have against the bible as a whole. They argue that the Bible is misogynistic. But you might just notice that the whole tribe of Levi is excluded here as well. They had a religious function. Their function was considered too valuable to go to war with the nation as well. Numbers 1:4-16 tells us, “And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur, the son of Shedeur; from Simeon, Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai; from Judah, Nahshon, the son of Amminadab; from Issachar, Nethanel, the son of Zuar; from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; from Naphtali, Ahira, the son of Enan., These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.” Allen comments, “By having a representative from each tribe assist Moses and Aaron, not only would the task be made somewhat more manageable, but the resultant count would be regarded as legitimate by all. No tribe would have a reason to suggest it was under or over-represented in the census since a worthy man from each tribe was a partner with Moses and Aaron in accomplishing the task.”[1]
It is this passage, along with a few others like it, that gives the book of Numbers its name. Of all the thoughts that come from reading something like this is the thought that God knows us all by name. The world population has reached 8 billion recently, and it’s hard for us to see how God can know each one that intimately. Yet, David tells us in Psalm 147:4 of God, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.” Surely, if God can make them all, he knows them all. Jesus once told his disciples that God pays close attention to His creation. He pays closer attention to the people he creates. In Matthew 10:30-31, Jesus encourages us all to realize that truth. The fact that he not only knows everyone by name, but He also knows every sparrow and when one of them might fall to the ground dead. He tells his followers, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Each person is valuable to God. Their self-worth is not based on their view of themselves relative to other people but on God’s expressed love for them.
God’s promise to Abraham to make him the father of a great nation whose numbers will be like the stars at night or the grains of sand on a beach is fulfilled in many ways in the book of Numbers. We see that the first census taken in the book of Numbers and the second census taken before the nation moves into the promised land a generation later are nearly the same. I think Sakenfeld is right when she writes, “The narrator wants to emphasize God’s amazing sustaining of so many people under the difficult and dangerous wilderness conditions so that the second generation is the same size as the first. In a world where population stability (rather than growth) was the norm and where decimation by famine was well known, the very numbers of the census counts proclaim the power and grace of Israel’s God.”[2]
[1] Allen, Ronald B. 1990. “Numbers.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, 2:705. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
[2] Sakenfeld, Katharine Doob. 1995. Journeying with God: A Commentary on the Book of Numbers. International Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Edinburgh: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.; Handsel Press Ltd.