Chapter Summary

The new generation of Israel numbered.

Discussion Questions for Numbers, Chapter 26

1. Numbers 26:51, “This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.” (ESV) What do you imagine it would be like to account for this many people today? How would you apply this census to modern times?
2. What can be learned about the significance of a family name through this chapter? How does Numbers 26 showcase its value? How do we treat family names in today’s culture?
3. Why do you think a census was taken for the sake of going into war? Do we see any differences between this census and the one we read about in Numbers 1?
4. Numbers 26:54-56, “To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.” (ESV) How does this reflect God’s just heart? How would you approach equal distribution among people today?
5. Numbers 26:59, “The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister.” (ESV) What is it like seeing Moses’s lineage accounted for in light of him being raised by Pharah’s daughter? How does this give space to reflect on the ways God worked both through Moses’s family and his upbringing?
6. Which clan would you say you have learned the most about? Which would you like to learn more about and why?
7. What kind of heart posture would this census/counting have put on the Israelites? What are things in your life that you can count and take note of to remember God’s promises and provision?
8. How do the events in this chapter serve the development of the people of Israel? How does intentional preparation set us up well for the future?
9. Numbers 26:64-65, “But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.” (ESV) What would this have communicated to the people of Israel? How would this have reminded them of the importance of keeping in step with God’s commands?
10. What is the new generation of Israel experiencing that the previous generation did not? What course of direction do you most desire for your personal generation to go in? How can you play a role in that?

Key Words/Phrase

Numbered, v. 64.

Characters

God, Moses, Eleazar, Caleb, Joshua.

Strong Verse(s)

64, 65.