I am currently in the middle of reading the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament of the Bible. It sounds like the best book ever, coming from a Mathematics major. I was tempted to write down all of the numbers given in the first few chapters of the book, but I did not do that when I was reading. I will do it for you now, though. The Book starts in the second year after all of the Hebrews left the land of Egypt. The LORD told Moses to take a census of all of the men who would be able to go to war. That meant men from age 20 years old and above would be recruited to be warriors. All of the clans, except for the Levites, were counted for that service.. The following are the 12 tribes and the results of the warriors census:
Reuben:46,500
Simeon: 59,300
Gad: 45,650
Judah: 74,600
Issachar: 54,400
Zebulun: 57,400
Ephraim (son of Joseph): 40,500
Manasseh (son of Joseph, too): 32,200
Benjamin: 35,400
Dan: 62,700
Asher: 41,500
Naphtali: 53,400
+__________________
603,550 able men from 20+ years old listed by their fathers' houses, to go to war in Israel
Each clan had a chief. This chief was head of their whole tribe, which came from the sons of Jacob (Israel). The tribe of Levi (which Moses and his brother, Aaron, are from) was left out of this count because they had a very different job. They were in charge of the whole Tabernacle and all of its furnishings. They had the responsibility of transporting the Tabernacle, setting it up and taking it down. The Levites are charged with keeping guard over the Tabernacle. The LORD spoke to both Moses and Aaron. There are even more details in Numbers, if you are interested in reading it (which I hope you will).
I believe that everything written in the Bible is intentional. There are more numbers in the book of Numbers besides the census of able-bodied men. I have not studied nearly enough on why all of those numbers were listed, but I will tell you why those numbers are significant to me. If you are not aware, my own ancestry is Jewish. My mother's mother was Jewish. Her parents are from Russia, and immigrated to the United States in the 1900's to escape not just persecution, but annihilation. They created a life in a foreign country. They had to rely on each other, and their God. Their home country hated them, and their new country was not too fond of them either.
Seeing all of those numbers from the tribes reminds me of my own heritage, and how God has promised His Chosen. His Chosen are not just the Hebrew people, the descendants of Abraham and Jacob, but also those who have heard the call of following God's only Son, Jesus Christ.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
