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Numbers Chapter 26 (ESV)
51 This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.
52 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 53 “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. 54 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. 55 But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56 Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”
57 This was the list of the Levites according to their clans: of Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; of Merari, the clan of the Merarites. 58 These are the clans of Levi: the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the clan of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram. 59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. 60 And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. 62 And those listed were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward. For they were not listed among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel.
63 These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
REFLECTION:
- The second census was taken, only Joshua, Caleb and Moses were from the older generation. Flip through the whole chapter and then read the passage slowly.
- A comparison of the censuses demonstrates that God could still fulfill His promises to the patriarchs even though the Israelites’ failures had postponed their fulfillment. This is one of the most important revelations of the Book of Numbers.
PRAYER:
- What does “inheritance” mean to me? What does my family have as an inheritance from my ancestors? What do I want to inherit? What have I already inherited? What can I inherit from God? (See I Pet 1:4)
- What has God been doing in my life so that parts of my past, positive or negative, have become good blessings? Or am I still struggling with my past and can’t see God’s faithfulness?
- Thank God for my “inheritance” from my family. Pray for His faithfulness in making my past a more beautiful blessing and inheritance to be passed on to others.
HYMN:
Great is Thy Faithfulness – youtu.be/ErwiBz1QA4o
