11/03/2023 – Counted by God
Numbers 1: 1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: 2 “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. 3 You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army
45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families. 46 The total number was 603,550.
The book of Numbers receives this name because its foundational theme is the census ordered by God. Not once, but twice, God commanded Moses to count His people. This is curious because God does not take a census lightly. In the book of Exodus, chapter 30, God told Moses that for a census to be taken, each person counted had to pay a ransom. God wanted every person to realize the privilege and the responsibility to be counted as a member of the people of God.
You may appear in other important lists. The Dean’s list, the list of good employees. But the most important list you can be on (you already are) is God’s list- the Book of Life!
While it may be one of the most difficult reads in the Bible, God wants us to realize that He is interested in every single person, and that there is untold blessing along with great responsibility in being counted by God. We also have been counted by God. Our individual names are included in the book of life.
I think it should be called the book of Numbers and Names. They were to be counted, not just by number, but by name. In John 10, where the Lord reveals Himself as the Good Shepherd, He explains how the shepherd interacts with the flock. He calls each by name. We are a flock, not a herd. We are a congregation, not simply a gathering.
The calling and documentation of each name on the lips of our Lord and in the book of life reveals the love that Christ demonstrates and the value He places on each individual. You are never lost to the eyes of your Good Shepherd. He has a lot of children; but he never loses sight of any of them! He cherishes you, your identity in Him!