Reading… and Thinking

After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, “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 26:1-2 (ESV)

This, of course, was the second census taken by Moses. The first was in Numbers chapter one, when they were still at Sinai. A comparison of the results is shown in the following table. This may seem to just be a bunch of boring numbers. But the numbers tell a fascinating story. Stick with me!

Some of the tribes remained about the same size, but there are some interesting changes. For example, Manasseh grew dramatically. Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher also had strong growth. On the other hand, Gad, Ephraim, and Naphtali saw significant declines.

But the change that sticks out far beyond any of the others is the 63% reduction in Simeon’s numbers. This tribe was the third largest when they left Egypt. Now, as they are ready to enter the land, it is only a third the size it was. It is now the smallest of the tribes. The other changes are hard to link to any specific cause. But there is a major clue as to why Simeon is so reduced.

In the chapters just before the second census, we’re told about the Midianite king Balak’s attempt to curse Israel through Balaam, and how the Lord would not let Balaam do anything but bless them. This is followed immediately by the Baal Peor incident, in which Israel bound themselves to Baal, resulting in a terrible plague. What isn’t explained here, but we learn later, is that there’s a connection.

Balaam was greedy. He wanted the riches that Balak was offering. The Lord prevented him from earning the money with a curse. But Balaam was a clever fellow. He went to Balak and said, “I can’t curse these people, because God has blessed them. But there’s a way that they can bring a curse on themselves. Just get them to worship one of your gods.” To which Balak replied, “How?” The answer: “Sex. Use the sexual rituals of your fertility cult to lure them.” (I’m making up the dialog, but the fact of this cynical plot is recorded in Numbers 31:16, and referred to in Revelation 2:14.)

And it worked. Many in Israel “played the harlot” both literally and spiritually. They thought this pagan religion was just fine! It was a disaster, and of course Moses knew it. As he had done once before, he called on those who were faithful to take up the sword against their own brethren, to slay those who had joined themselves to Baal. This time it wasn’t just the Levites who responded. So the idolatry was swiftly dealt with.

But one of the top Israelite leaders was not to be put off. He made a public, official alliance with Midian and with Baal—he took the daughter of one of the leading Midianites to his tribe, and then publicly took her to his tent. The man was Zimri, leader of the Simeonites. The fact that he first presented this woman to his tribe implies that they approved, or at least did not try to stop, him in this alliance. This was more than lust, more than idolatry. It was a political statement, rejecting the leadership of Moses and therefore rejecting the Lord God.

A plague started instantly, and did not stop until Phinehas the priest killed Zimri and the woman. Twenty four thousand died. We are not told, but it seems likely that the plague hit Simeon the hardest—they seem to have been supportive of this rebellion. If they were the main supporters of the Baal worship as well, they would also have been hit the hardest by the earlier judgment by the sword.

The second census was ordered right after the plague. And we find Simeon reduced to a shell of its former strength. There is no explicit connection drawn between Zimri and the plague, and the reduction in Simeon’s numbers. It is an “undesigned coincidence”—a lining up of facts that fit, and support the details of the accounts, with no particular attention being drawn to the connection. This kind of incidental support of details is a mark of truth.

One other undesigned factor that fits: With Simeon’s reduced numbers, the stage was now set for the fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecies regarding his sons. He said that Simeon and Levi would be scattered among their brethren. That could hardly have happened when Simeon was the third largest tribe. But with their greatly reduced numbers, when the allotments are made later, they will just be given a few cities within Judah. There wasn’t really a specific area that ever belonged to them. (Joshua 19:1-9)

Two points to take away from all of this. First, the details of the Bible add up. The presence of many, many “undesigned coincidences” is powerful evidence that the Bible is history, not legend. And second, there is a spiritual lesson for us. Somewhere out there, there’s a temptation that could cause you to turn your back on God. Falling into that temptation is deadly. God’s judgments are severe against those who know Him, and then spurn Him. Why would you choose death, when you are right at the border of the promised land, about to be given everything? We need to be careful we aren’t as foolish as the Simeonites were!