11/28/2023 – God Uses the Few to Bless the Many
Numbers 1: 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.
Numbers 26: 63 These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 64 Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
One of the most important lessons from Numbers is that God uses the few to bless the many. Multitudes tend, by nature, to be unruly, rebellious. Be careful of the crowd. Do not let yourself be caught in the herd mentality of the world! Just because the majority agrees does not mean it is right! Just because most people are doing it does not mean you should do it! In fact, most likely it means you should not! It becomes easy to get lost in a crowd. Moses counted over 600,000 men who were listed as soldiers. That is a big army. But if we learn anything from the way God works, it is that God is seldom glorified by a big army. Remember Gideon and how God systematically downsized the army of Israel until He was left with 300 men.
God counted every man 20 years and older, who were able to fight. From the outset, God made it clear that to be on that list meant to be ready to fight at any time. What are you willing to fight for? That is one of the key indicators of who you are. We are ready to fight for our children, for our money. Above all, we must fight the good fight of the faith.
How many of those 600,000 were willing to fight the giants once they arrived at the gates of the promised land? On that day, only two were counted- Joshua and Caleb. When they were put to the test, it was demonstrated that God could only count on two out of the half a million soldiers on the list. Can God count on you?
God is always looking for the few laborers, the few soldiers that He can count on to save the multitudes that will not obey, will not trust, will not love! With the few who believe, the few who trust, the few who obey, God will conquer the promised land for the whole!