Numbered

March 10

Numbers 3

Psalm 32:8-11

Proverbs 7:21-23

Mark 10:32-52

Numbered

“Then Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ‘Number the sons of Levi by their father’s households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.’  So Moses numbered them according to the word of Yahweh just as he had been commanded.”  Numbers 3:14-16 LSB

The Bible contains multiple genealogical records.  When we encounter them in our reading, we often skim over them or skip them completely.  They seem irrelevant and don’t offer instructions that are meaningful to our personal lives.  However, it is important to recognize that God chose to include them in Scripture so there must be something we can learn from them.  Over the last few days we have been reading the genealogies in Numbers.  Let’s consider some of the reasons they might have been included for us to study.    

            The lists demonstrate God’s interest in individuals.  God did not just see Israel as a nation, He saw them as His children, each one important and valuable to Him.  Our God is detail-oriented and makes sure that each person is listed specifically.  He gave us their names (which I must say causes a great deal of anxiety when we have to read those difficult names out loud.)   There are 8 billion people on the earth currently.  It would be easy to think that God has more important things to deal with than my problems.  There are major issues in the world that He needs to address like wars, famines, terrorism, climate change, etc.  The fact that He chose to include the names of seemingly insignificant people in lists in His Word tells me that He cares about the details of each of our lives and He can and will help me while He is taking care of the big things in the world.  He is not limited in His capacity to intervene in any situation at any time.  He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.   

The genealogies also substantiate the Bible’s historical accuracy.  They confirm the existence of the people in the Bible.  It isn’t just a collection of made-up stories passed down through the generations.  It is a historical document giving the accounts of real people and the events that happened in their lives.  Many of the names and events can be cross-referenced with other historical documents confirming its authenticity.  I have to interject here that as believers we should have such a confidence in the authority and accuracy of the Bible that instead of using other documents to authenticate the Bible, we should use the Bible to authenticate other documents. 

The genealogies confirm prophecy.  The genealogies in Matthew and Luke clearly show that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the lineage of the Messiah showing that He was in the line of David and that His lineage could be traced back to Abraham. They also point to future prophecy.  In Revelation 7:4-8, we are told that 12,000 from each tribe of Israel will be sealed which means they have a special protection from God that will allow them to preach the gospel throughout the world during the tribulation period.  As a result of their ministry “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” will come to faith in Christ.  Over the years, the lines between the Jewish tribes have been crossed.  They have failed to follow God’s instructions to marry within their own tribes and many have also married Gentiles.  However, God is keeping up with their lineage.  At the time of the tribulation, there will be 12,000 men from each of the 12 tribes who have a pure lineage that can be traced perfectly back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  God is precise and has carefully preserved them throughout the ages even though they probably don’t even realize it themselves at this point. 

It is interesting that all of those in Jesus’ family tree are not of royal descent or those that anyone would want to include in their family history.  A prostitute named Rahab, a Moabite woman named Ruth, a murderer and adulterer named David, and a woman who got pregnant outside of wedlock named Mary are just a few that many would not have mentioned.  But God saw fit to include them because He wanted to emphasize the fact that He loves everyone, not just the rich, the powerful, the important or the “holy.”