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Scripture Reading: Num. 26:1-65
God created the universe in such a way that we have both day and night. The principle is the same in our spiritual experiences: we have both nights and days. The experience described in Numbers 25 was in the night, but in Numbers 26 we have something related to the day.
Chapter twenty-six is devoted to the renumbering of God's people.
The renumbering in chapter twenty-six took place immediately after the purification by the plague on the fornicators and idolaters (v. 1a). The failure in chapter twenty-five was the greatest failure of God's people in the wilderness. This is proved by the fact that twenty-four thousand people died by the plague (25:9). This plague was a purification of God's people, and this purification was a sifting that dealt with the mixture among them.
Numbers 11:4 speaks of "the mixed multitude." This indicates that among the congregation of the children of Israel there was a mixture. Some impure ones had become mixed with the people of God.
Since the history of Israel is a complete type of the church, the mixture among the children of Israel is a type of the mixture in the church. There will often be some kind of mixture in the church life. Even with the apostles chosen by the Lord Jesus there was one — Judas — who was not pure. Acts 5 indicates that, at the very beginning of the church life, there was mixture in the church in Jerusalem. The mixture there was with Ananias and Sapphira, who were genuine believers but were not pure. Furthermore, the last of the epistles written by Paul, 2 Timothy, has much to say concerning mixture. Some, like Alexander the coppersmith (1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 4:14-15), hated Paul and opposed him to the uttermost. Many of those in Asia who had been raised up by Paul turned away from his ministry (1:15), and Demas, a co-worker, because of his love for the present age, forsook Paul (4:10). The point here is that there is mixture among God's people, and God uses the failure and turmoil among His people to purify them.
After the great failure in Numbers 25, the children of Israel were purified. The punishment in chapter twenty-five was the last purification of the children of Israel before they entered into the good land. The twenty-four thousand who were killed by the plague should have included some of those who had been condemned for their failure in chapter fourteen. Those who survived all the purifications in the wilderness, especially the last and greatest purification, were a purified people. These purified ones needed to be renumbered.
This renumbering implies some amount of replacement and re-formation. There was the need to replace all those in the army who had died. Also, there was the need for the army to be re-formed. From this we see that the renumbering was very significant.
The first numbering had taken place in the wilderness of Sinai (1:1-2). The renumbering took place in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho (26:3, 63). This indicates that the place of the renumbering was at the entrance to the good land.
The first numbering was for the formation of the army (1:3). The renumbering was for the inheriting of the land (the enjoyment of Christ). The renumbering had the fighting and the distribution of the land as its goal (26:53). The aim was to gain the good land and distribute it so that all the people could share it and enjoy it.
The purpose of the first numbering was absolutely for the formation of the army to follow Jehovah, to journey with Him, and to fight for His kingdom. We may say that the first numbering was for the way to reach the goal. The second numbering, however, was for the goal of entering into the good land. This, of course, still required fighting. In our Christian life there is always the need to fight. In order to fight, we need to watch, pray, and be one with the Lord all the time.
"Take the sum of all the assembly of the sons of Israel, from twenty years old and above, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go forth to war" (26:2). Here we see that the people were numbered according to the fathers' houses. In order to be numbered, one could not be adopted but had to be born into the house of his father.
The father's house is a matter of life and of the fellowship of life. To be a member of a certain house is to have the life of that house with its fellowship. Those who are in the same family have the life of that family; they also participate in the fellowship of that family, which is a fellowship of life.
The matters of the life of God's house and the fellowship of this life are revealed in the writings of John. In the Gospel of John we see the life of God's house, and in John's epistles we have the fellowship of the children of God in the Father's house.
In order to be numbered, the children of Israel were required to be in the fellowship of the life of their fathers' house. The renumbering, therefore, was not a superficial thing but something intrinsic. It was based on life and on the fellowship of life.
The renumbering was also according to age (maturity). An Israelite who was under the age of twenty could not be numbered. From this we see that in order to be numbered one had to grow in life to maturity. The standard was strict and required not only life and the fellowship of life but also the maturity in life.
Furthermore, the renumbering required the recognition by the authorities. Here we have the matter of divine authority, in particular, deputy authority. We cannot deny the fact that among God's people there is such a thing as deputy authority, that is, the authority of God delegated to His representatives. We find such deputy authority both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Concerning the renumbering of the people in Numbers 26, the deputy authorities were to recognize the things that were done according to God's regulations.
In 26:5-51 we have the numbering of the twelve tribes, with the number being 601,730. If we compare the second numbering with the first, we will see that some tribes decreased, whereas other tribes increased.
Those numbered had to be twenty years old and above (v. 2). This means that they had to be mature for fighting.
Verses 33 and 46 indicate that some of the daughters were numbered. Their being numbered was for inheriting the land.
In verses 52 through 56 we have the regulation for the distribution of the land.
"To these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; each shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers" (vv. 53-54). These verses indicate that the distribution of land to each tribe was according to the number of people in the tribes. This means that the distribution was according to the increase of life. Those with a greater increase were to receive a larger inheritance.
"The land shall be divided by lot, according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller" (vv. 55-56). This distributing of the land by lot was according to the blessing under God's sovereignty, whereas the distributing of the land according to the number of people was a matter of human responsibility. On the one hand, the people had to bear the responsibility to have the increase in number. On the other hand, God ordained that the land be distributed according to the blessing under His sovereignty. Therefore, the distribution of the land depended both on human responsibility and on divine sovereignty.
The children of Israel were a peculiar people, a people who were for God and thus stood apart from the nations. Among this peculiar people there was an extraordinary tribe — the Levites — and this tribe was not numbered among the sons of Israel. The Levites were the tribe which was closest to God and which served God as the replacement of all the Israelites.
In verses 57 through 62 we have the numbering of the Levites, who were not to have a portion of the land. "Those numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and above; for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the sons of Israel" (v. 62).
Among all those who were included in the second numbering, none had been in the first numbering, except Caleb and Joshua. This means that only Caleb and Joshua were numbered twice. With the exception of these two, all those in the first numbering, including Moses and Aaron, were not in the renumbering.
