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, Sermons
I. THEY ARE MERE NAMES TO US. Were we asked who Eliab was, we should say the eldest, envious, angry brother of David, not the census-taker for Zebulun; or Gamaliel, he who stood up in the council, not the census-taker for Manasseh. High as they may have been once, their position in human history is little better than oblivion. "The long, proud tale of swelling fame II. Yet though mere names now, they WERE ONCE WELL KNOWN. Every child of Zebulun would be taught to look up to Eliab. III. Though mere names to us, THEY DID A USEFUL WORK IN THEIR TIME. It would be no small satisfaction to them, if they looked at the thing rightly, to consider that they had been able to undertake for Moses such an important work as making sure of the fighting strength of each tribe. IV. There was doubtless some appreciation of their services AT THE TIME, both by Moses and the sober-minded of the people. V. But in any case GOD HAS MARKED WHAT THEY DID. He has the record of all the faithful and the holy who have only their names in human history, and the far greater part of them not even that. - Y. 1. Barrenness. Temporal and material things cannot satisfy spiritual beings. 2. Homelessness. The soul cannot find rest in this wilderness world. 3. Pathlessness. Man, if left .to himself, is bound to stray and lose himself. 4. Perilousness. The wiles of the devil, the seductions of the world, and the lusts of the flesh. 5. Aimlessness. The years pass, opportunities come and go, and so little seems accomplished, so little progress made in our character, so little true work done. II. THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN THE DESERT. 1. Divine communication in the desert. God's voice is never silent. He is ever speaking in the sounds and silences of nature; through Scripture; and by His Holy Spirit. 2. Divine provision in the desert. "The Lord will give grace and glory; no good will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 3. Divine shelter and rest in the desert (Psalm 90:1). 4. Divine direction in the desert. (1) (2) (3) 5. Divine protection in the desert. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." "If God be for us, who can be against us?" "Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" III. THE DIVINE USES OF THE DESERT. 1. That the generation of slaves might pass away. There is much in us that must die and be buried before we can enter upon the inheritance of spiritual perfection. Our craven-hearted fears, our carnal lusts, our miserable unbelief, must be buried in the desert. 2. That a generation of free men might be educated. In the desert we are being trained by God into spiritual perfection and power for service and blessedness.Conclusion: 1. Ponder well the Divine design of our life in this world. 2. By the help of God seek its realisation in ourselves. (W. Jones.) People Aaron, Abidan, Ahiezer, Ahira, Ammihud, Amminadab, Ammishaddai, Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Deuel, Eliab, Eliasaph, Elishama, Elizur, Enan, Gad, Gamaliel, Gideoni, Helon, Israelites, Issachar, Joseph, Levi, Levites, Manasseh, Moses, Nahshon, Naphtali, Nethaneel, Ocran, Pagiel, Pedahzur, Reuben, Reuel, Shedeur, Shelumiel, Simeon, Zebulun, Zuar, ZurishaddaiPlaces Egypt, SinaiTopics Ancestry, Assembled, Assembly, Births, Clans, Clear, Company, Congregation, Declare, Declared, Families, Family, Fathers, Father's, Gathered, Got, Households, Houses, Indicated, Listed, Month, Names, Pedigrees, Polls, Registered, Themselves, Twenty, UpwardOutline 1. God commands Moses to number the people5. The princes of the tribes 17. The number of every tribe 47. The Levites are exempted for the service of the Lord Dictionary of Bible Themes Numbers 1:18 1654 numbers, 11-99 Library The ConsolationComfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received at the LORD 's hand double for all her sins. T he particulars of the great "mystery of godliness," as enumerated by the Apostle Paul, constitute the grand and inexhaustible theme of the Gospel ministry, "God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on … John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Census of Israel The Child-Life in Nazareth Genealogy According to Luke. The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah Numbers Links Numbers 1:18 NIVNumbers 1:18 NLT Numbers 1:18 ESV Numbers 1:18 NASB Numbers 1:18 KJV Numbers 1:18 Bible Apps Numbers 1:18 Parallel Numbers 1:18 Biblia Paralela Numbers 1:18 Chinese Bible Numbers 1:18 French Bible Numbers 1:18 German Bible Numbers 1:18 Commentaries Bible Hub |