Numbers 1

“You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites.”

Seeing that the descendants of Levi were excluded from the census, the descendants of Joseph are listed according to the families of his two sons; Ephraim and Manasseh. In this way, the tribal number of 12 is maintained and Joseph is given a “double portion” of the ranking heir. Along with that, we also see Jacob’s blessing (back in Genesis 48) on Ephraim and Manasseh come to reality in that Ephraim’s tribal count is greater than his older brother Manasseh’s tribal count.

The Levites were appointed by God to be in charge of the tabernacle and all its furnishings. This is an example of how God calls different people to perform different tasks in order to fulfill His plan.

“The total number was 603,550.”

The Israelites had become so numerous that they were regarded as a threat to the security of Egypt. The number in the verse above only relates to the men and children over the age of 20. Adding the younger children and wives into the community count suggests a population in excess of 2,000,000 people! Israel’s amazing growth from the 70 that entered Egypt was evidence of God’s great blessing and His faithfulness to the covenant He made with Abraham of making him into a great nation.

We read and see the promises of God being fulfilled over and over again and yet we still find ourselves trying to do things on our own.