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Matthew 10:31
“Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” In the first chapter of the Book of Numbers we read about a census of the Children of Israel. It is not the first census in the Hebrew Scriptures neither will it be the last. Censuses are conducted with different parameters and for different purposes. This census in the Book of Numbers was a military census (Numbers 1:3). One could be left to wonder what is it with God and censuses. To what can it be compared? It can be compared to a man collecting precious pearls. Each day he dives to the bottom of the abyss to gather oysters. After opening the shell, he puts all the pearl into a box. He then rubs each one against his teeth to separate the real ones from the others. One can go through a ton of pearls to get three or four real ones. These are precious to him; the price of very hard, intense and dangerous labor. In the evening he sets them before him sorts and counts them. He admires and loves his pearls; they are his pride. It is the same with God: censuses are a sign of His affection for His people. Hear what Rashi, a famous sage of Israel said about God’s censuses: “Because of Israel’s dearness before Him, He counts them all the time. When they departed from Egypt He counted them (Exodus 12:37). After some fell from the sin of the Golden Calf, He counted them to determine how many remained (Exodus 38:25-26). And when His Shekinah came to rest upon them, He counted them again.” There is an ancient teaching that on ten occasions Israel was numbered. The first time when they went down to Egypt (Deuteronomy 10:22), a, second when they came out (Exodus 12:37), and a third after the incident of the Golden Calf (Exodus 30:12). They were counted twice in the Book of Numbers, once in connections with the standards and once in connection with the division of the Land, and twice in the days of Saul (1 Samuel 11:8; 15:4). The eight time was in the days of David (2 Samuel 24:9) and the ninth in the days of Ezra after the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 2:64). The tenth census the Prophet Jeremiah tells us will be in the future: "Thus says the LORD of hosts: In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the LORD. "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jeremiah 33:12-14). In those days, the whole of the Israel of God, the last harvest of the souls of the world will be counted. See you there!
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John 10:3
… He calls his own sheep by name … The Torah tells us that when a census is taken, each man is to bring the price of his atonement to avoid the plague (Exodus 30:12-13). A census in the Bible was a very serious and dangerous thing. It means to be counted and recognized as a full subject of the Kingdom of God. At that time, regardless of our social standing, our worth is the same as anyone else. At that time, our name and lineage are fully recognized in front of all. At that time, we can stand in full posture and be counted. The price of a man’s ransom is the same for all: half a shekel. The half a shekel price is not to be understood as a payment for salvation or as ‘indulgences’ for sins; the Hebrew word used here is ‘kaphar’, a word meaning: covering’ or ‘atonement’. It is an awesome thing to come into the presence of God. We need a covering. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Messiah is often called the ‘Shield” (Psalms 5:12). The money collected is to be used for the maintenance of God’s sanctuary. By giving it, we all take personal responsibility for our enrolment into Israel and for the care of the Temple. Our giving makes us part of the work of God. Censuses were often taken for the purpose of military enrolment when only male twenty on up were counted. The reasons a census incurred a plague are not given to us clearly in the Torah text, so they have been left to scholars’ personal deduction and speculations. One thing is sure though, is that we want to be part of such census’. From Genesis to Ezra, Israel was numbered on nine occasions. The Tenth time will be in the future when ‘… flocks shall again pass under the hands of the One (Messiah) who counts them, says the LORD (Jeremiah 33:13). In that day, the Messiah will be the one counting His sheep from both Israel and the nations: He is our ‘half-shekel’, whose confession is at the same time priceless and dangerous. In my case, a long time ago it caused me the scorn and separation of my family; hasn’t He said that He came as a stumbling and an offence (1 Peter 2:6-8)? No matter what anyone does though, to those counted part of His final census He says, I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand (John 10:28). |
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