We are through Leviticus and I've gotta tell ya...not bad. Everyone warned me that it would be a challenging read and boring and potentially would bother me with all the rules but really it was entertaining in parts. I do have to say as a nurse a big thank you for those rules about cleanliness and frequent washings especially with regard to drainage/discharge. Although, it is apparent that some people have not read the bible and do not follow this rule. I honestly can say I'm not surprised at the correlation. Yet another reason we need to focus a little more on religion in our society. CLEANLINESS!!
Leviticus 26:44 "yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God."
I like this because it shows God's nature that even though he can be very harsh and has his expectations if you are in need he is always present. He will not turn you away.
Numbers - the census and continuing in laws (according to the little summary at the beginning of my Chronological Study Bible)
So it seems according to the numbers that there are possibly 603,550 men of age to fight in a war. So between the ages of 20 and above. It doesn't specify to what age and considering the amount of travel thus far and the living conditions in Egypt. I can't imagine they have a long life span. Anyway...thought it might be interesting to see where the Isralei military is now. 2000+ years later.
Here's their numbers according to my ever faithful Wikipedia. 187,000 active personnel and 565,000 reserve personnel, all isralei citizens male and female are required to join the military at age 18 unless there is a reason for them not to go such as being Arab, religious preference, physical or psychological reasons. Women are required to serve for 2 years and men 3 years. They have a very large number of "available for military service" numbers that can be utilized if necessary.
OK back to Numbers. The Levites were not counted in this census because they were assigned by God for a different task. They were to care for the Tabernacle of the Testimony, over all it's furnishings and all things related to it. While I'm sure war is not an appealing option nor is the wrath of God if you put one of those fiber vails in the wrong place.
After the census it just amazes me that all these people are just hanging out in the desert. They have to take up a lot of room even if this is the desert. That's a lot of people to stick in the desert to go unnoticed. How did Moses communicate with all these people. There weren't t.v's,newspapers, nothing. How did they all know that they were in the desert for a reason. A good reason and just keep hanging out. Surely they didn't all know that all the sacrificing of animals was going on...all 600,000 and that's just the men of war age...
How would they know anything that was going on. Was someone blogging all this??? Yep, that's how we ended up with the bible right?
Hey Kelly,
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't specify to what age and considering the amount of travel thus far and the living conditions in Egypt. I can't imagine they have a long life span.
According to Psalm 90 (written by Moses), the average lifespan in those days was "70, or by reason of strength 80"... the fact that Moses and Aaron lived so much longer is considered a miracle, in that it outstripped the average life expectancy by close to 50 years.
How did Moses communicate with all these people. There weren't t.v's,newspapers, nothing.
For major things like moving camp, they just followed the giant pillar of wind/fire.
They also had a network for relaying commands to the people - remember "commanders of 100's, 50's, and 10's"? I think the instructions were probably given to the leaders of the tribes and then passed down the chain of command.
Finally, it's a little hazy for me, but didn't they have instructions about horn-blowing signals in Leviticus? "If the horn sounds like this, do that; if it makes a different sound do something else..." that kind of thing. I guess they would have used a lot of horn blowing to relay basic instructions. Best guess anyway.