Thoughts on Numbers 1

Numbers… here we go.

We could take a lesson here on Organization setup. Moses had the task of mobilizing an army from the ground up. By the end of their consensus there were more than 600 thousand men! Did Moses have experience in group dynamics or in organizing large groups of people before this? Probably not. Most of his organizing experience probably were with sheep rather than people. So for this assignment, just like Moses’ previous assignments, God gives the instructions (according to Moses’ ability) and Moses’ part was to obey in faith. This setup works really well.

The names listed here were not chosen by man, but were given by God personally to Moses. This shows that God knows us by name. He knows our background – our ancestry – as well as our capability.

12 leaders from each of the 12 tribes (except Levi). Even Jesus picked 12 disciples. There must be wisdom here with regards to the optimal group size.

The tribe of Levi were not included in the consensus. Why? Because they were set apart by God, designated for a particular purpose, and therefore could not be part of the army headcount. That doesn’t mean they won’t go to battle, quite the opposite. The Levites were usually in the forefront – in the direct line of fire.

I have to admit, I was not expecting Numbers to be this interesting. Thank you Lord. Your Word is amazing in the way that even something like a list of names and numbers and rules, can be a source of wonderful insight.

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