Counting
I learned to count at a very early age. I was taught how to use my fingers and toes if necessary. Counting is a part of my everyday life. I can do some counting in my head, but often I have to use a calculator.
The Lord did a census (counted) when His people were first out of Egypt at Mt. Sinai. The number totaled 603,550.00 men of fighting age. They are now encamped in Moab near the Promised Land once again and he tells Moses to count the men once again. The number is 601,730 now. He did not count the Levites in with the general population. The numbers were similar but different. Check this out…
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 opposite 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. (Numbers 26:63-65 NIV)
This was a whole different group than was here before. I have no doubt that they had heard the story from many different angles about having been here before. They are coming out of a 40-year journey that if they had GPS, they would realize that they had been going in a big circle. The Lord had thinned their ranks.
I did some math on this situation:
40 years equal 14,600 days (365X40)
603,550 Total population less the Levites before the wilderness wandering
41.34 funerals per day to completely change the population of Gods people!
I live in a county in Georgia where we have over 110,000 people and I sometimes think that the obituary column is a bit full. This was a lot of people traveling together across the 40 year period and the number counted was the male population only. This was a lot of funerals per day – they would have to average just over 41 funerals per day to completely turn over the male population in that 40 year time frame. This is hard for me to get my head around. I wonder if the people figured out that this is what was happening. I think it would have changed my attitude if my Dad, Uncle or Grandpa was in decent health but would die during this time period because they were alive when the people of Israel chickened out the last time.
I’m learning that the Lord loves a trusting heart. He understands my doubts and even my questions. I believe at the end of the day, He wants me to trust His heart. There is more to this life than this. I could die at anytime and the weight of my days would be measured by how I had loved and served. I wish others could know the peace that comes from walking in His way. It’s not always a piece of cake, but there can always be peace in my heart when walking with Him.
I was reminded today to “make my days count instead of just counting my days”.
Pressing On!
Dwayne