Numbers 26:52 - Meaning and Application

If anyone asks why such a careful record is kept of the tribes, families, and numbers of Israel, here is the answer. As the people were multiplied, so they were also given their share of the land, not by ordinary providence alone, but by God’s promise. To support the truth of divine revelation, God wanted both their increase and their inheritance to be noticed as fulfillments of that promise.

When Moses counted the people, God did not say, “By these the land will be conquered.” He took that for granted. Instead, he said, “To these the land will be divided.” These people, now entered in the record as the sons of Israel, were to be admitted, as it were, by an official court roll, as heirs of the land of Canaan.

Now, in dividing, or assigning, these tribes, a general rule of fairness is given to Moses, that he should give more to the many and less to the few (Numbers 26:54). Yet Moses himself was so far from receiving any share that he must not have one at all. This command was meant for Joshua, his successor.

The use of this rule was to be decided by lot (verse 55). So even if it seemed to be left to the wisdom of their leader, the final decision was reserved for the providence of God, and they were to accept it, no matter how much it went against their plans or desires. “According to the lot shall the possession be divided.” Just as God is Lord over the nations, so he is Lord over Israel in particular, and he keeps for himself the right to appoint the place where we live.

In the same way, Christ, our Joshua, when he was pressed to assign one disciple to his right hand and another to his left in his kingdom, acknowledged his Father’s rule in that matter: “It is not mine to give.” Joshua was not to divide inheritances in Canaan according to his own will. Instead, it was to be given to those for whom the Father had prepared it.