By the time Israel had entered the Zared valley (21:12), the old generation had died off (Deut. 2:14–15), except for Moses, Caleb, and Joshua (Num. 26:63–65); and very soon, Moses would die. Israel was making a new beginning, thanks to the faithfulness and mercy of God. It was time to take a census of the new generation and start looking toward the future.
Moses had two purposes in mind when he took the second census. As with the first census (1:1–46), Moses needed to know how many men were available, twenty years and older, who could serve in the army. The second purpose for the census was to get an idea of how much land each tribe would need when Israel settled down in Canaan and claimed their inheritance (26:52–56). Assigning each tribe its inheritance would be the task of Joshua, Eleazar the high priest, and ten leaders representing the tribes that were settling west of the Jordan River (34:16–29).
The first census had revealed a total of 603,550 available soldiers (1:45–46), while the second census totaled 601,730 (26:51), a slight decrease. When you consider that every man had now been replaced who had died during the previous thirty-eight years except for only 1,820 men, this total is quite remarkable. Just as God had multiplied His people during their years of suffering in Egypt (Ex. 1:7, 12), so He made them fruitful during their years of traveling in the wilderness. The Lord was faithful to keep His covenant promise (Gen. 12:2; 15:5; 22:17).
The available soldiers dropped in number in the tribes of Gad, Simeon, and Reuben, with the tribe of Simeon showing the biggest drop, from 59,300 to 22,2000. These three tribes camped together on the south side of the tabernacle and may have been a bad influence on each other. Dathan and Abiram belonged to the tribe of Reuben and were part of Korah’s rebellion during which nearly 15,000 people died (Num. 26:9–11; 16:35, 49). Perhaps many of the rebels came from that tribe. Also, Zimri, who arrogantly sinned in the matter of Baal Peor (25:6–15), was a prince in the tribe of Simeon. His evil example may have influenced other men of Simeon to share in the Midianite idolatry and immorality, for which sins they too perished.
Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, who encamped on the east side of the tabernacle, all showed significant gains. It’s strange that Ephraim lost 8,000 people while the brother tribe of Manasseh gained 20,000.
God could have sent angels to clean up Canaan instantly, but He chose to work through human beings, a day at a time. God is certainly longsuffering toward His people, and we ought to count it a great privilege to know Him and be able to work with Him in doing His work.
Preparing for the inheritance (26:52—27:11; 36) Israel had not yet crossed the river and entered the Promised Land, and yet by faith Moses was already preparing for the tribes to claim their land. (The words “inherit” or “inheritance” are used twelve times in this section.) Except for fulfilling God’s command to wipe out the Midianites (25:16–18; 31:1–11), Israel would have no more battles until they arrived at Jericho. Though he wasn’t allowed to go in himself, Moses invested the closing weeks of his life in preparing the new generation to enter Canaan and claim the land God promised to give them.
The tribal inheritance (26:52–56). Once the land had been conquered and God had given His people rest, Joshua, Eleazar, and the ten tribal representatives (34:16–29) would cast lots to determine each tribe’s portion of the land (Josh. 14—19). Naturally, the size of the tribe would help to establish the amount of land that would be assigned. According to the record in the book of Joshua, some of the tribes gladly accepted their inheritance and went to work making it “home,” some complained about the land they were given, and some went out and conquered more territory. “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matt. 9:29).
The Levitical inheritance (26:57–62). From the first census to the second, the number of Levites increased slightly from 22,000 (3:39) to 23,000 (27:62). The Levites were not given their own territory to possess but were scattered throughout the nation in forty-eight assigned cities (35:1–5; Josh. 21). There were at least three reasons for this procedure.
First, scattering the Levites fulfilled Jacob’s deathbed prophecy that Levi’s descendants would be distributed throughout the land (Gen. 49:1–7). Levi and Simeon had been violent in their treatment of the people of Shechem (Gen. 34), and Jacob felt it would be safer if the sons of Levi were widely dispersed.
Second, by scattering throughout the land, the Levites had a better opportunity to teach the law to more people and influence them to be faithful to the Lord. Parents were obligated to teach their children God’s Word (Deut. 4:1–10; 6:6–15), but it was the responsibility of the priests and Levites to teach the people the meaning of God’s law and the blessing of obeying it (Lev. 10:11; 2 Chron. 15:3; 17:7; Mal. 2:4–7).
The third reason the Levites were not allowed to inherit property was that God was their inheritance (Num. 26:62). They were privileged to serve God by assisting the priests, and they shared in the sacrifices and tithes that the people brought to the Lord (18:20; Deut. 10:9; 12:12; 14:27–29; 18:1–2; Josh. 13:14, 33). The Levites were to devote themselves wholly to the service of the Lord and His people and to live by faith, receiving what they needed from God’s hand through His people.
The family inheritance (27:1–11). Since the land belonged to the Lord (Lev. 25:23–28), the Jews couldn’t divide it or dispose of it as they pleased. Maintaining the inheritance from generation to generation was important to each family and to the tribes to which the families belonged.
As with the other nations of that day, Israel was a strongly masculine society, and fathers left their property to their sons. The eldest son received two-thirds of the inheritance and the other sons divided the remaining one-third (Deut. 21:15–17). If a man didn’t have a son, he left his estate to his nearest male relative, but not to a daughter. When a daughter was married, she received a dowry from her father and would no longer live in the family home. The dowry was her inheritance.
The five daughters of Zelophehad, of the tribe of Manasseh, thought that this law of inheritance was unfair, and they asked Moses, Eleazar, the tribal princes, and the whole congregation to consider changing it. Why should their father’s name be blotted out of Israel because of something over which he had no control? Should his family be penalized because he had no son?
Being a wise man, Moses took the matter to the Lord, just as he had done with the problem of the blasphemer (Lev. 24:10–16) and the man who violated the Sabbath (Num. 15:32–36). The Lord agreed with the five women and decreed that a father who had no son could leave his estate to his daughter. If he had neither son nor daughter, he could pass the land on to his nearest male relative.
The decision to allow daughters to inherit solved one problem but created another one, and the leaders of the tribe of Manasseh called it to the attention of Moses (Num. 36). If a daughter who had inherited her father’s land married into another tribe, this would take the land away from the original tribe and make it part of her husband’s estate. At the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8–24), it could not return to the original family, and this would rob a tribe of its property.
Moses must have taken the matter to the Lord, because he replied “according to the word of the Lord” (Num. 27:5). The solution was to require daughters who had the inheritance to marry men who belonged to their own tribe. This simple procedure would permit the daughters to marry but would at the same time keep family property in the original tribe. The five sisters obeyed the edict and each one married a cousin.
Regulations like this are unnecessary in today’s society, but they were very important to God’s ancient people. God owned the land and allowed His people to use it as long as they obeyed Him. When the Jews turned to idols and polluted the land, God allowed other nations to invade and steal the produce (see the book of Judges). When Israel’s sins became so heinous that God could endure it no longer, He took the Jews off the land and exiled them to Babylon. There they learned to appreciate what the Lord had given to them.
To the Jews in Canaan, possessing land was the foundation for building a family, earning an income, and having security and the necessities of life. The prophets frequently denounced wealthy people who amassed great estates by stealing land from the poor (Isa. 5:8–10; Mic. 2:1–3; Hab. 2:9–12). The ideal life for an Old Testament Jew was to own his own land and be able to sit under his own fig tree and enjoy his family and the fruit of his labor (1 Kings 4:25; Mic. 4:4).