Census

 "Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war."
Numbers 26:2 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/num.26.2.ESV

If we know a bit of Biblical history, God's command here might surprise us. After all, for David to call a census as king many years later was a bad thing. So why is it a good thing here?

David was trusting in numbers. He thought he could feel good about his military strength if he could just account for every last fighting man. At this stage in the book of Numbers however, God wasn't just a ceremonial head of state whilst a human king called the shots. God was firmly in charge here.

God didn't call a census for the same reason as David. David was trusting in numbers. God was numbering His people so that they could record how good He was to them.

Paul tells us that love doesn't keep a record of wrongs. Moses tells us in Numbers that God does keep a record of rights, He records how gracious He was to the children of Israel. Under His leadership, they had become a great multitude, to fulfil His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

'O Lord Almighty, we worship You for every soul You have redeemed. We pray that You would continue to ingather many into Your Kingdom, until Christ returns, in His name, amen'

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