Feb 13 - Num. 26

There were 4 tribes that decreased, Naphtali, Gad, Rueben and Simeon. Simeon decreased by over 50% which is more than any other tribe. In fact the whole assembly decreased by a couple of thousand. All of the other tribes increased and almost made up for the decrease of these four tribes.

There is a significant lesson for me here, the parts effect the whole. These tribes didn’t reproduce themselves in the first 20 years so the whole of Israel had fewer men as a result. The other tribes increased, some substantially, but that couldn’t make up for the tribes that didn’t. However, maybe it wasn’t that they had a severe reduction in reproduction, but it was that these tribes suffered under the plagues of God. The most recent plague was because a Simeonite leader brought a Midianite woman to his tent to have sex with, and he past right by the Tent of Meeting to do it! It is interesting that the tribe of Simeon is the tribe that decreased the most. I can’t help but tie these events together. A leader of the tribe of Simeon… Simeon decreased substantially… What I do know is this, that in order to increase (not just in number), I must avoid idolatry (putting things before the importance of God) and follow God whole-heartedly!