Numbers 26:34
These were the clans of Manasseh, and their registration numbered 52,700.
Sermons
The Second CensusD. Young Numbers 26:1-62














I. THE PURPOSE OF IT.

1. The number of those able to go to war in Israel had still to be ascertained. Though the people are now reposing in unaccustomed and grateful quietude, with the promised Canaan just over against them, it is being impressed upon them in many ways that they must win it by conquest. The children, while inheriting the promises given to their fathers, inherit at the same time the services which the fathers had been found incompetent and unworthy to render. We may gather from this repeated census that God would have his people in every generation to count up their strength for conflict. It is only too easy to depreciate and forget our spiritual resources, and think them less than they are. Even a man like Elijah professed himself left alone, when the Lord knew there were still in Israel seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal. Those going forward into life must be made ready, so far as the advice and arrangements of ethers can make them ready, both for the certain conflict peculiar to each person, and for a part in the great battle against darkness and wrong which goes on through every age, under the leadership of Christ himself.

2. Possession of the land had to be prepared for (verses 52-56). The conflict will be a great, an arduous, and a taxing one, but it will assuredly end in victory. God's command to prepare for war brings as its logical and cheering sequence the command to prepare for possession. God is able to make regulations for the future, which, if men were spontaneously to make them for themselves, would savour of braggadocio (Numbers 15:2).

II. THE EXACT TIME AT WHICH IT WAS MADE. It was after the plague. We may presume that Israel had been to some extent purified by this visitation, although the plague was doubtless no respecter of persons, but involved innocent and guilty in one common temporal suffering, according to the fixed law of our fallen nature that the sins of the fathers are visited on the children. The dreadful result which the infecting idolatries of Moab had brought upon Israel was indeed a very impressive intimation that the full strength of the people was required. Those numbered in the army by reason of fit age were to see to it, and examine their hearts, and become as fit as possible in all other respects.

III. THE METHOD. Still the same as before, by tribes. There had been many changes, losses, and sad disturbances during this time of wandering and severity, but each tribe had kept itself distinct. They were still ranged in the same order round the tabernacle, and regarding it from the same point of view. So if we take a period, say of forty years, in the course of Christ's Church, we shall find the sects at the beginning of the period still existent at the end of it. The men who looked at truth from a certain point of view at the beginning have their spiritual successors who look at truth from the same point of view. The differences, the marked, emphasized, and pertinacious differences, found amongst believers are not so much between truth and error as between different aspects of the same external object.

IV. THE RESULT. It must have been anxiously waited for, not only to see the grand total, but the relative position of each tribe. The result shows somewhat fewer in number, but, as we have suggested, they were possibly purer in quality. Some tribes have increased, others decreased. In Simeon there is a most extraordinary falling away, but still it was quite within truth to say that for practical purposes the number had not diminished. Yes; but if Israel had not been passing through a temporary curse there ought to have been, and probably would have been, a marked and exhilarating increase. But instead of increase there is a slight decrease. Things had not been going lately as they did in Egypt, when "the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them" (Exodus 1:7). Certainly if one goes by the actual state of the people, there is but little room for Balaam's cheering words concerning the dust of Jacob and the fourth part of Israel (Numbers 23:10). In the light of this second census the whole narrative is seen to harmonize in a most subtle way. If Israel were under a curse these forty years, if there were a real suspending of God's favour and of the previous communications of his energy, it is just what might be expected that at the end of the period the people would be found no further forward than at the beginning - 600,000 when they left Sinai, 600,000 still when they reach Jordan. - Y.

Take the sum of all the congregation. &&&
God is a God of numbers. He is always numbering. He may number to find out who are present, but in numbering to find out who are present He soon comes to know who are absent. He knows the total number, but it is not enough for Him to know the totality; He must know whether David's place is empty, whether the younger son has gone from the father's house, whether one piece of silver out of ten has been lost, whether one sheep out of a hundred has gone astray. We are all of consequence to the Father, because He does not look upon us through the glory of His majesty, but through the solicitude of His fatherhood and His love. We need this kind of thought in human life: living would be weary work without it. This chapter reads very much like the other chapter in which the census was first taken... The historic names are the same, but what a going-down in the detail! We must enter into this thought and follow its applications if we would be wise in history; generic names are permanent, but the detail of life is a panorama continually changing. It is so always and everywhere. The world has its great generic and permanent names, and it is not enough to know these and to recite them with thoughtless fluency. Who could not take the statistics of the world in general names? Then we should have the wise and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the faithful and the faithless, the good and the bad. That has been the record of life from the beginning ; and yet that is too broadly-lined to be of any real service to us in the estimate of human prayers and human moral quality. What about the detailed numbers, the individual men, the particular households, the children in the crowd? It was in these under-lines that the great changes took place. The bold, leading names remained the same, but they stood up like monumental stones over graves in which thousands of men had been buried. So with regard to our own actions; we speak of them too frequently with generic vagueness; we are wanting in the persistent criticism that will never allow two threads of life to be intertangled, that must have them separated and specifically examined. God will have no roughness of judgment, no bold vagueness, no mere striking of averages; but heart-searching, weighing — not the action: any manufactured scales might weigh a deed. He will have the motive weighed, the invisible force, the subtle, ghostly movement that stirs the soul; not to be found out by human wisdom, but to be seized, detected, examined, estimated, and determined by the living Spirit of the living God. The sin of the individual does not destroy the election of the race. Israel is still here, but almost countless thousands of Israelites have sinned and gone to their doom. With all this individual criticism and specific numbering, do not imagine that it lies within the power of any man to stop the purpose or arrest the kingdom of God. There is a consolatory view of all human tumult and change, as well as a view that tries the faith and exhausts the patience of the saint. It is pitiful for any Christian man to talk about individual instances of lapse or faithlessness, as though they touched the infinite calm of the mind of God, and the infinite integrity of the covenant of Heaven. It is so in all other departments of life — why not so on the largest and noblest scale? The nation may be an honest nation, though a thousand felons may be under lock and key at the very moment when the declaration of the national honesty is made; the nation may be declared to be a healthy country, though ten thousand men be burning with fever at the very moment the declaration of health is made. So the Church of the living Christ, redeemed at an infinite cost, sealed by an infinite love, is still the Lamb's bride, destined for the heavenly city, though in many instances there may be defalcation, apostasy — yea, very treason against truth and good. Live in the larger thought; do not allow the mind to be distressed by individual instances. The kingdom is one, and, like the seamless robe, must be taken in its unity. Individuals must not trust to ancestral piety. Individual Israelites might have quoted the piety of many who had gone before; but that piety goes for nothing when the individual will is in rebellion against God. No man has any overplus of piety. No man may bequeath his piety to his posterity. A man cannot bequeath his learning-how can he bequeath his holiness?

(J. Parker, D. D.)

These uninteresting verses suggest —

I. THE APPARENT INSIGNIFICANCE OF HUMAN LIFE. How dull are the details, and how wearisome the repetitions of this chapter! What a number of obscure names of unknown persons it contains!

II. THE REAL IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN LIFE. This will appear if we consider that —

1. Every man has his own individuality of being and circumstances.

2. Every man has his own possibilities.

3. Every man has his own influence.

4. Every man has his own accountability.

5. Every man is an object of deep interest to God.To Him nothing is mean, nothing unimportant.

(W. Jones.)

I. HERE IS THE COMMONPLACE.

II. HERE IS THE INTERESTING IN THE COMMONPLACE. If we look into this chapter carefully we shall discover certain words which are suggestive of deep and tender interests. "Sons" is a word of frequent occurrence so also is the word "children"; we also read of "daughters" (ver. 33), and of a "daughter" (ver. 46). A profound human interest attaches to words like these. They imply other words of an interest equally deep and sacred; e.g., "father," "mother." The humblest, dullest, most commonplace life has its relations. The least regarded person in all the thousands of Israel was "Homebody's bairn." We also read of "death" (ver. 19); most of the names which are here recorded belonged to men who, were gathered to their fathers; from the time of the twelve sons of Jacob here mentioned to the time of this census in the plains of Moab, many thousands of Israelites had died, of all ranks and of all ages. Reflection upon these facts awakens a mournful interest in the mind.

III. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COMMONPLACE. Impatience of the ordinary and the prosaic is an evidence of an unsound judgment and an unhealthy moral life.

1. Most of life's duties are commonplace. Yet how important it is that these duties he faithfully fulfilled!

2. The greater number of persons are commonplace.

3. The greater part of life is commonplace. Be it ours to give the charm of poetry to prosaic duties, by doing them heartily; and to ennoble our commonplace lives by living them faithfully and holily.

(W. Jones.)

People
Aaron, Abihu, Abiram, Ahiram, Ahiramites, Amram, Ard, Ardites, Areli, Arelites, Arod, Arodites, Ashbel, Ashbelites, Asher, Asriel, Asrielites, Becher, Becherites, Bela, Belaites, Benjamin, Beriah, Beriites, Berites, Caleb, Carmi, Carmites, Dan, Dathan, Eleazar, Eliab, Elon, Elonites, Enoch, Enochites, Er, Eran, Eranites, Eri, Erites, Gad, Gershon, Gershonites, Gileadites, Guni, Gunites, Haggai, Haggi, Haggites, Hamul, Hamulites, Hanoch, Hanochites, Heber, Heberites, Hebronites, Helek, Helekites, Helkites, Hepher, Hepherites, Hezron, Hezronites, Hoglah, Hupham, Huphamites, Iezerites, Imnah, Imnites, Ishvites, Israelites, Issachar, Ithamar, Jachin, Jachinites, Jahleel, Jahleelites, Jahzeel, Jahzeelites, Jamin, Jaminites, Jashub, Jashubites, Jeezer, Jeezerites, Jephunneh, Jesui, Jesuites, Jezer, Jezerites, Jimna, Jimnah, Jimnites, Jishvites, Jochebed, Joseph, Joshua, Kohath, Kohathites, Korah, Korahites, Korathites, Levi, Levites, Libnites, Machir, Machirites, Mahlah, Mahlites, Malchiel, Malchielites, Manasseh, Merari, Merarites, Milcah, Miriam, Moses, Mushites, Naaman, Naamites, Nadab, Naphtali, Nemuel, Nemuelites, Noah, Nun, Onan, Ozni, Oznites, Pallu, Palluites, Perez, Perezites, Phallu, Phalluites, Pharez, Pua, Puah, Punites, Reuben, Reubenites, Sarah, Sardites, Saul, Saulites, Serah, Sered, Seredites, Shaul, Shaulites, Shechemites, Shelah, Shelanites, Shemida, Shemidaites, Shillem, Shillemites, Shimron, Shimronites, Shuham, Shuhamites, Shuni, Shunites, Shupham, Shuphamites, Shuthelah, Shuthelahites, Simeon, Simeonites, Tahan, Tahanites, Tirzah, Tola, Tolaites, Zarhites, Zebulun, Zebulunites, Zelophehad, Zephon, Zephonites, Zerah, Zerahites
Places
Canaan, Egypt, Jericho, Jordan River, Moab, Peor, Sinai
Topics
52, 700, Fifty, Fifty-two, Hundred, Manasseh, Manas'seh, Numbered, Ones, Seven, Thousand
Outline
1. The sum of all Israel is taken in the plains of Moab
52. The law of dividing among them the inheritance of the land
57. The families and number of the Levites
63. None but Caleb and Joshua was left of those who were numbered at Sinai

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Numbers 26:1-61

     5671   clan

Numbers 26:1-62

     7230   genealogies

Numbers 26:1-65

     5249   census

Numbers 26:12-50

     7266   tribes of Israel

Library
The Census of Israel
Thirty-eight years had passed away since the first numbering at Sinai, and the people had come to the borders of the Promised Land; for they were in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. The time had come for another census. The wisdom which commanded the counting of Israel at the beginning of the wilderness journey, also determined to count them at the end of it. This would show that he did not value them less than in former years; it would afford proof that his word of judgment had been fulfilled
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Training of a Statesman.
MOSES IN EGYPT AND THE WILDERNESS.--EX. 1:1; 7:5. Parallel Readings. Goodnow, F. J., Comparative Administrative Law. Hist. Bible I, 151-69. And he went out on the following day and saw two men of the Hebrews striving together; and he said to the one who was doing the wrong, Why do you smite your fellow-workman? But he replied, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid and said, Surely the thing is known. When, therefore,
Charles Foster Kent—The Making of a Nation

Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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