Armies of Christ

6 min read

44 These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families. 46 The total number was 603,550.

Numbers 1:44-46

There is actually a good amount of debate about the numbers that are reported in the book of Numbers. Most archeologists do not believe that there could have been that many men twenty years or older who were strong enough to fight. If 603,550 is accurate, that would mean that the population of the Israelites was over two million.

There are even many Bible scholars who believe that the number is probably 60,355, because what they were counting were the heads of families, which were referred to as “ten” (a typical family size for an extended family). So one “ten” is one head of a family who is able to fight. And there are other interpretations as well.

However, every major English translation uses the number 603,550. And so without clear evidence otherwise, it seems best to take those numbers at face value.

The point, however, is that God had been faithful to His covenant with Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky (Genesis 22:17).

Whenever I talk about God’s goal to fill the Earth with His glory in Jesus’s name through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God-loving communities and families, the church, a significant aspect of God’s goal is meant to be fulfilled by the propagation of Christian families.

That is part of the reason why the institution of marriage is consider holy. That is why God has ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman for life.

But many Christian communities have adopted the world’s values of individualism and career over the biblical values of community and family. I see that tension at work even in our own church. I see it in my family too.

And so more and more, we find people who think of marriage as an option that is too troublesome to pursue with any kind of real urgency. When they pursue marriage with urgency, perhaps they think that they look desperate and less attractive.

That doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with being single and Christian. But the Bible makes it pretty clear, I think, that if a Christian is choosing singlehood, they should actually think of themselves as being married to Christ.

It takes a considerable amount of work to (1) shield our hearts from the negative values of the world and to (2) teach the logic of Christian values to our children and to the church.

Many Christians think of our Christian culture (the things we do with respect to church) as being like a magic wand that makes everything good as we teach our children to chase after the treasures of this world. It takes considerable and consistent work and effort and modeling on our part to teach our children otherwise.

Father, You ways are high above, and we lose Your ways so easily. Our vision is clouded by the world. Our hearts are muddied by the world. Have mercy on us. But protect our hearts from the lies of the evil one. Teach us Your ways. Guide us in Your ways. Let this be the generation that rejoices in Your truth. In Jesus’s name. Amen.