Numbers 1:2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls.
Do you trust the polls? So much that we hear today comes down to polls, people asking questions and taking numbers in the country. Do you trust the polls? Well, you may or you may not, and someone may say, “Well, numbers don’t lie.” Of course they don’t lie. Have you ever heard a number lie or even talk? People lie, and oftentimes they use numbers to do it. There is also a difference between knowing the facts and knowing what to make of the facts. It is important to know facts, but all of us know someone who is smart, knows a lot of facts, but doesn’t have discernment or wisdom to use the facts they have. So, what are you counting and why?
Numbers 1 begins by God taking the sum. Numbers are important. You may or may not be a numbers person, but numbers are significant. We count what matters to us. In Numbers 1:2-3 God said to Moses, “Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel…number them by their armies.”
So, what are you counting and why? We count what we wish to control. So, if you are counting calories right now, it is because they matter and you are trying to control them. Are you counting statistics or taking polls of the American people? That will be because you want to know something, but often it is also because you want to control something. Do you count days? Of course you do. I have a couple of friends who are soon to be married, and they are counting the days. They can tell you exactly how many days until they are married. Do you count dollars? Why? It is because dollars are important to you and you wish to have control over them.
Let me give you three thoughts to break down Numbers 1. First, we have the context. The context is national. It is a nation. It is God’s chosen people Israel through whom He’ll bring the Messiah.
Second, the unit, which is very instructive, is the family. The family is the molecular unit of any healthy society. In verse 2 Moses was to take the sum of the children of Israel. What do we mean by the children of Israel? Do we mean a bunch of kids under ten years of age? No, we are talking about the offspring of Jacob who became Israel. This was a family, and centuries later it was a nation, a teeming host of people. So, the children of Israel is a reference both to a family and then to a nation.
The family is the foundation of the nation on a molecular level. The Bible says, “The children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers.” So, everything points to family. That is very important, and it is one of the things that is being undermined in our culture today. When the family fails to be what it should be, the next institution, the state, is going to come in and try to do everything the family is not doing.
Third, the purpose of the poll in Numbers 1 was war. It spoke to a common purpose and the common protection of the people of Israel.
The question today is, “What matters to you?” Someone says, “Numbers don’t matter.” Well, let’s take the framework of a church. How many people attend your church? Someone may say, “That doesn’t matter. It just matters that people are here.” That is true. God sees every person individually, but because individuals matter, the number of individuals matters also. Now, numbers can certainly be misused. Some people just care about numbers and having a big church. But, do you count the offering? You have to know how much money came in. So, if money is important, then certainly people are important. We need to count those things.
What about numbers in your personal life? Are you counting calories, days, or dollars? All of those things can be good and beneficial to count. You can tell what matters to you by what you are counting. So, numbers do matter, and you might think about what you are actually counting in your life. What we count shows us what is important to us. What are you counting today?